The Blindside

I'm just going to put this out there right away, "The Blindside" is the feel-good movie of 2009. Based off of the book by Michael Lewis, it is the incredible true story of Michael Oher, Baltimore Raven and the 23rd overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft.

"Blindside" begins by discussing the importance of the left-tackle in the NFL because of what Lawrence Taylor's crushing hits to the blindside of the quarterback during the 1980s (even showing the infamous snapping of Joe Theismann's leg). It continues to chronicle Oher's journey from the streets to the gridiron. Being a repeat runaway from a foster home he had seen and experienced things that most kids should never had to go to through. But because of his great size and big heart. He was a perfect candidate to become the protector of the blindside. Oher becomes adopted by a family of Ole' Miss alums (played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw) who later adopt him. His family pushes him to improve his grades, realizing that Michael could seeing some bright lights coming his way from NCAA schools. It is quite the journey of hope, faith, and courage as the family adds a big addition and Michael grows into a brother, son, student, and football player.

The "Blindside" is such a uplifting movie, I was nothing but inspired as I left the theater. Sandra Bullock actually blew me away with her performance after boring me with her other work. Tim McGraw, who I didn't even recognize has some impressive acting chops as well. Some people will be a little sick to their stomach over the level of sentiment in this movie, but it was well balanced by a great level of humor much from the little brother "SJ". Such an incredible story put into a well made movie. Look for Michael Oher on Sundays (#74 for the Ravens) as he continues his rookie year. Go see this movie, bring your friends and family. In the Holiday spirit, "The Blindside" will only make you appreciate life and its surprises even more.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 Stars

Trailer

Movie Midterms

For this week, we decided to do something a little different. There will be no reviews whatsoever for this week. Instead, we will be predicting. It is roughly half-way to the 2010 Academy Awards, so we figured that we would pull out our crystal ball and try to predict the nominees and winners for the awards. The only catch is that we are only doing movies up to now, so there is much room for change. Nevertheless, here are our nominees and predictions:

BEST ACTOR:

Jamie Foxx, The Soloist

Johnny Depp, Public Enemies

Matt Damon, The Informant

Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Brad Pitt, Inglourious Basterds

TR: Jamie Foxx- Again he blows away the pack with another character of another level, from Ray Charles, to mentally challenged homeless musician, to the musical artist filling your airwaves with "Blame It," Foxx is one successful and talented dude.

EB: Jeremy Renner-Although he's a relatively unknown actor, when I was watching him play Sgt. James in this film, I couldn't help but actually believe that he was this character. Incredible job.

BEST ACTRESS:

Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia

Hillary Swank, Amelia

Rachel McAdams, The Time Traveler's Wife

Abigail Breslin, My Sister's Keeper

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

EB: Gabourey Sidibe. I have never felt so much for a character in a movie. She captures every single emotion so perfectly that this becomes a no-brainer to me.

TR: Rachel McAdams. Just cause I want to marry her and she's endlessly talented.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Michael Mann, Public Enemies

Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are

TR: Spike Jonze. In no way do I expect him to be nominated but something about how this movie was directed made it one of the weirdest movies ever while being front to back enjoyable.

EB: Kathryn Bigelow. Again with the Hurt Locker pick, I think that Bigelow just gets the whole tension and caution of a bomb defusing squad absolutely perfect.

BEST PICTURE:

The Hurt Locker

Precious

Sin Nombre

Star Trek

Public Enemies

Disctrict 9

Up

Goodbye Solo

EB: Surprise, surprise, I'm picking The Hurt Locker. I have never been more on the edge of my seat during a movie. This movie is perfect. Enough said.

TR: I've got to go with Public Enemies, it doesn't seem like the sexy pick but as of right now I am yet to be blown away by something better. Johnny Depp does a great job in a role outside of his whacky Tim Burton plots. Director Michael Mann, made this gangster film a great night at the movies.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

Up

A Christmas Carol

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

TR: Disney+Pixar= Gold. Up. Hands down. Squirrel!

EB: Up. The best Pixar movie to date. Possibly the most I've laughed at a dog in a movie. Good stuff.

Best Movie You've Never Heard Of: "Once"

Many people have the dream of playing a musical instrument, many have loved and lost, and many still hang on to some faint trace of hope. The 2006 film Once is one of the simplest movies I have seen in years. At 83 minutes total runtime this former winner of the Audience Award of the Sundance Film Festival, Once is a modern-day musical with a fantastic soundtrack without any show stopping numbers.

It is a story of an Irish musician (Glen Hansard) with a broken heart, who fixes "hoovers" by day while playing the streets with his guitar. During one of his numbers he meets a young woman (Marketa Irglova selling roses who enjoys his playing. They become acquainted and she agrees to bring him her hoover the following day. After a cup of coffee they stop in a piano shop and play the entire song "Falling Slowly" (winner of an Oscar for original song) and it is really one of the most enjoyable scenes in any film you can find. The couple soon become very close friends and the man is persuaded to chase his musical dreams and records a demo record so he can move to London and make it big. Along the way they share stories of their life and romantic struggles, making the audience quietly root for the two to get together. The whole story is well played, and there is a lot of great music and first time acting. Nothing is drawn out, and it is 83 minutes of pure artistic simplicity. "Simple" is the single greatest word to describe this movie and it makes it one of the best movies you've never heard of. Check it out.

Rating: 4 of 4 Stars

Also, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova have since been touring around the world as The Swell Season, which will be coming to the State Theater in Minneapolis on December 5th. I have heard from personal accounts from friends that they are one of the best acts to experience in the business and should not be passed up. Otherwise, check out the Once soundtrack and the new album from The Swell Season "Strict Joy" available now.

Trailer

The Swell Season Live