John Lee HancockCritiques

Family

Western

An excellent film, with Emma Thompson brilliantly starring as PL Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, in conversation with Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) as they talk about the possibility of making the film.

Beautifully done, including some poignant flashbacks into the author's childhood which help to explain some of her uptight, rigid nature and why the creation of Mary Poppins and the Banks family are so important to her.

Very highly recommended to teens and adults.

Longer review here: https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2024/01/saving-mr-banks-emma-thompson.html

A Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs. Based on true story.

2400

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family. Rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references.

A poignant, sometimes amusing ,and thought-provoking film involving a young man who has been brought up in.a series of foster homes, and has impressive ball skills. Quinton Aaron is excellent as 17-year-old Michael, and Sandra Bullock wonderful as the warm-hearted but feisty Leigh Anne who takes him into her family.

A good story with many intriguing insights and questions, rated 12 (PG-13) due to some violence, scenes involving drugs and bad language, but none of these were gratuitous.

Definitely recommended.

Longer review here: https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-blind-side-quinton-aaron.html½

2021 movie #126. 2021. Deke (Washington) is a former LA detective now a small town cop who gets drawn into a serial killer case in LA that has echos of the case that ended his career 5 years before. OK thriller with some twists. DW can play these kinds of roles in his sleep.

Enjoyable. I struggled with the Southern US accents at times - there were more than a few not sure what was just said moments. But it kept me interested most of the way - 10 mins shorter might have been better.

The Blind Side - Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless black teen, has drifted in and out of the school system for years. Then Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her husband, Sean (Tim McGraw), take him in. The Tuohys eventually become Michael's legal guardians, transforming both his life and theirs. Michael's tremendous size and protective instincts make him a formidable force on the gridiron, and with help from his new family and devoted tutor, he realizes his potential as a student and football player. Rated PG-13. Approx. 120 minutes.

Dolphin Tale - While swimming free in the ocean, a young dolphin gets caught in a trap and severely damages her tail. Though she is rescued and transported to Clearwater Marine Hospital, her tail cannot be saved, and the prognosis is dire. What the dolphin, now named Winter, needs is a miracle. She gets that miracle in the form of a marine biologist (Harry Connick Jr.), a prosthetics designer (Morgan Freeman), and a devoted boy (Nathan Gamble), who find a way to help Winter swim again. Rated PG 113 min.

El adolescente Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) sobrevive solo y es prácticamente un “sin techo” cuando Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) lo descubre en la calle. Al enterarse de que el joven es compañero de clase de su hija, Leigh Anne insiste para que Michael - que lleva pantalones cortos y camiseta en lo más crudo del invierno - salga de las calles. Sin dudarlo un momento, le invita a pasar la noche en su casa. Lo que comienza como un gesto de generosidad se convierte en algo más cuando Michael se convierte en parte de la familia Tuohy a pesar de que sus orígenes son muy diferentes.
En su nuevo entorno, el adolescente se enfrenta a desafíos totalmente nuevos que debe superar. Y con la ayuda de su nueva familia, Michael explota todo su potencial, tanto dentro como fuera del terreno de juego. La presencia de Michael en la vida de los Tuohy le hace descubrir también muchas cosas sobre él mismo por su cuenta.

A black, homeless teenager is taken in by white, wealthy football fans.

If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the movie. And here I was upset about Avatar's Oscar nominations...

Concept: F
Story: F
Characters: D
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C

Enjoyment: D

GPA: 1.8/4½

Durante catorce años, Walt Disney intentó sin descanso que la escritora australiana P.L. Travers le cediera los derechos cinematográficos de su primera y más popular novela, 'Mary Poppins', que finalmente fue llevada a la gran pantalla en 1964. (FILMAFFINITY)

The Blind Side, without being too didactic (at least not beat-you-over-the-head-level-sermonizing) about it, is a cinematic manifesto expounding the Golden Rule. It inspires non-cynical viewers (and even cynics like me, willing to suspend their cynicism for one hour and forty-five minutes) for all the right - if only mildly trite - reasons. Universal reasons like Good overcoming Evil. Compassion conquering Redneck Racism. Sacrificial, beyond-the-call-of-duty, Hospitality, trumping pampered self-interest and indifference to a pulp, even as it undermines the movie's matriarch's (played Oscar-marvelously by Sandra Bullock) standing in high-falutin', Southern high society.

The Blind Side is about a wealthy, entrepreneurial, and loving family that opens it home, er, mansion, to an abandoned, neglected, near-mute young man, Michael. Michael's near-mute because of his sickening-to-consider, family losses: No Mom, no Dad, no nothing. Michael is big and athletic, with "protective instincts," which is about all he's got going for him. Turns out, along with his big heart, that's all he'll need. And a tutor. And a football coach willing to let (or maybe he didn't have a choice) Michael take some unsolicited, on-the-field and in-your-face "coaching" from his "Mom," Sandra Bullock.

Feel-good cliches gallore? But of course. Am I complaining? No.

Do the bad guys on the football field and their foul-mouthed denim-vest clad Dads in the high school stands get their collective, beer-gutted and bigoted asses smacked without the good guys having to throw a single punch? Hmmm. Could be. Wouldn't be a family friendly, heartwarming football flick without it, would it? Will you cry? You just might!

Remember Rudy? Remember the Titans?

Hell yes I do, and I think The Blind Side, a decade out, will be remembered fondly along side them. And the story of Michael ("Big Mike") - homeless at seventeen and in the NFL at twenty-two - is a true story too, as well as a courageous young man's dream come true.½

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor.

Costner is actually quite good here. Enjoyable movie.

Case 16 shelf 1

Rated PG-13, 128 minutes

Lisa Calles May 24, 2016

"'The Blind Side' knows its football, but it's even smarter about the priceless thing known as a family." -- Richard Roper, Chicago Sun-Times