dws may consider it beating a dead horse, but I found this pretty hilarious.
http://www.the-editing-room.com/the-blind-side.html
The Blind Side
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Big Magilla
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Interesting article in the new E.W. fills in the blanks on the Michael Oher character and details from the book missing in the film.
When taunted by racist footballers in the film, Michael shoulders it with silent stoicism. In the book, he flips them the bird.
In the movie, Michael blossoms academically when teachers discover he can learn. In the book he takes an easy 10 day internet course from Brigham Young University that replaces the Fs on his transcript with As.
In the movie, the Touhys take him in as soon as they see him trudging along the road. In the book, that doesn't happen until months later. In the book it's the school custodian, "Big Tony" who houses him until a series of families, both black and white, take turns putting him up.
Michael is the main character in the book, not the "nice white lady" who takes him in.
So, yes, it's based on a true story, but whose true story?
When taunted by racist footballers in the film, Michael shoulders it with silent stoicism. In the book, he flips them the bird.
In the movie, Michael blossoms academically when teachers discover he can learn. In the book he takes an easy 10 day internet course from Brigham Young University that replaces the Fs on his transcript with As.
In the movie, the Touhys take him in as soon as they see him trudging along the road. In the book, that doesn't happen until months later. In the book it's the school custodian, "Big Tony" who houses him until a series of families, both black and white, take turns putting him up.
Michael is the main character in the book, not the "nice white lady" who takes him in.
So, yes, it's based on a true story, but whose true story?
)))
I finally saw The Blind Side and I'm sorry I waited so long, for this is the kind of inspirational film that restores your faith both in movies and in people too! It's a primer in all the good that can be brought about by kindness and how when we help others we are truly helping ourselves. Sandra Bullock has my vote in the Oscar sweepstakes -- I love her combination of grit, determination, sassiness and sexiness. Tim McGraw was a model of husbandly support and the boy playing their son is just about the most appealing child actor since Jackie Coogan. And Kathy Bates is a hoot and a half! That’s so funny when she “confesses” she’s a Democrat! Filled with memorable scenes (Bullock instructing the coach on the finer points of handling Michael, her putting her snotty friends in their place, the hilarious demands the boy makes on the visiting recruiting coaches -- that was amazing; oh and I was heartsick with worry at the car accident), The Blind Side does what the best movies do -- they fill you with warmth, and make you laugh while shedding an occasional tear. Bravo!!
10/10
But Seriously . . . (small spoilers)
I expected it to be not very good, but I had no idea it would be THIS ghastly! It is so bad in so many ways. Where to begin? First of all, the entire film is phony -- there’s scarcely one believable moment in the whole thing. “But it’s based on a true story!” counter its partisans.
In terms of presenting a cogent narrative, this is extremely lax filmmaking. For instance, what happened to the other black kid who was enrolling in the school at the same time as our hero? And clearly the man (Big Tony, I believe) who brought him to the school would have kept some dibs on Michael even after the unnamed woman demands offscreen his expulsion from their couch.
Moreover, when a new student who doesn't fit the mold arrives at a school, faculty and administration do tend to keep on eye out for him -- one would assume and hope that this was particularly so in a religious school such as the one presented here. (And surely someone would be cognizant that the kid had no home.) Writer/director John Lee Hancock never shows Michael interacting with his classmates -- again, one would think that at least some of the kids at a Christian school would act out their values and extend a welcoming hand. Or that the kid's trouble fitting in would offer at least one scene more interesting than some very small girls being ascared of him. But we do HEAR intimations that some of the daughter’s classmates have made suggestive comments about her living under the same roof as an African-American guy, although we never SEE such moments, and that story-line goes nowhere.
But the whole religious aspect of the picture is something Hancock apparently doesn't want to deal with. Except for wearing a crucifix necklace and an off-hand comment that she's in a prayer group with the D.A., there’s no indication tht religion plays any particular role in the life of Bullock and her family. They don’t even treat Thanksgiving as a day to thank the Lord for family and plenty until Quinton Aaron inadvertantly shames them into it. In fact, given her attitude and personality, Bullock's character could be transformed into an agnostic on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and, except for the accent, no one would be any the wiser.
Oh, and for a movie that is meant to condemn racism, it has no problem throwing the word “rednecks” around a couple of times at uneducated whites -- Bullock even calls one particular boor “Deliverance.” And that comes within a further completely unrealistic sequence. By the early 2000s, high school football teams were long-integrated, so having a black player on one’s opposing team would be no novelty at all. Also completely unbelievable -- that Kathy Bates would be the first Democrat these people had ever met. Since the Democratic party had been the long-dominant party in the South, Bullock and McGraw would at least have known some growing up.
And what is it with the daughter? In the beginning of the film, she is a typical moody self-centered teen, who refers to her brother as the “twerp.” Then a little later and for the entirety of the picture, she is the perfect ideal young lady. And that hyper-active kid brother -- I can’t recall a more obnxious, charmless child on screen (well, maybe Dakota Fanning), and I can’t believe that someone could actually believe his meeting with the recruiters was funny and charming. No jealousy whatsoever at having a new person to share their parents’ attention and affection? Hah! And Bullock isn’t even a little bit peeved when Michael crashes his truck? No, because she’s a Saint.
But the most unbelievable aspect of this fantasy family is the relationship between Bullock and Tim McGraw. Not a single argument between them, not even a raised voice. He just goes blithely along with her whims. No serious questioning of the wisdom and practicability of simply bringing this youngster from a completely different socio-economic environment into their home, and whether it might hve an adverse effect on their own children. But then again, Michael is scarcely a person at all, he’s more akin to a stray dog they found lost in the rain.
Also, Sandra and Tim know where Michael's brother works -- why don’t they ever try to get them together. This film has plot hole after plot hole to go along with its vile-ness.
Hancock and company don't seem to have a clue that doing good and being charitable is not necessarily an easy task. And no one can be upbeat and giving all of the time. People don't always want to be helped and a lack of appreciation often accompanies acts of kindness -- See Bresson's Diary of A Country Priest or Leo McCarey's Good Sam, for examples. But nothing like that happens to spunky Sandra -- the worst she had to deal with is the close-mindedness of some enlightened ladies in her circle who have the fatal defect of not being as spunky as Sandra.
The Blind Side is a reprehensible movie, and a very reactionary one because it reassures white audiences that racial problems and poverty can be alleviated through the good works and good intentions of good people, and no expensive tax-raising government programs are needed. But luckily for the average white audience member, you have to be very well-off to do these good works, so you yourself need not fret about doing them.
Is there anything good about it? Well, Tim McGraw has a nice laidback screen presence, even if he does look alarmingly like Evan Bayh. Adrienne Lenox as his Michael’s mother is very good, even though her one scene seems to exist only to let the audience go slumming, and it's rather disgusting when she tacitly acknowledges her son is better off with his white mama. Oh, and also, Quinton Aaron's character is not quite as objectionable to Michael Clarke Duncan's in The Green Mile.
2/10
Edited By Damien on 1266483918
10/10
But Seriously . . . (small spoilers)
I expected it to be not very good, but I had no idea it would be THIS ghastly! It is so bad in so many ways. Where to begin? First of all, the entire film is phony -- there’s scarcely one believable moment in the whole thing. “But it’s based on a true story!” counter its partisans.
In terms of presenting a cogent narrative, this is extremely lax filmmaking. For instance, what happened to the other black kid who was enrolling in the school at the same time as our hero? And clearly the man (Big Tony, I believe) who brought him to the school would have kept some dibs on Michael even after the unnamed woman demands offscreen his expulsion from their couch.
Moreover, when a new student who doesn't fit the mold arrives at a school, faculty and administration do tend to keep on eye out for him -- one would assume and hope that this was particularly so in a religious school such as the one presented here. (And surely someone would be cognizant that the kid had no home.) Writer/director John Lee Hancock never shows Michael interacting with his classmates -- again, one would think that at least some of the kids at a Christian school would act out their values and extend a welcoming hand. Or that the kid's trouble fitting in would offer at least one scene more interesting than some very small girls being ascared of him. But we do HEAR intimations that some of the daughter’s classmates have made suggestive comments about her living under the same roof as an African-American guy, although we never SEE such moments, and that story-line goes nowhere.
But the whole religious aspect of the picture is something Hancock apparently doesn't want to deal with. Except for wearing a crucifix necklace and an off-hand comment that she's in a prayer group with the D.A., there’s no indication tht religion plays any particular role in the life of Bullock and her family. They don’t even treat Thanksgiving as a day to thank the Lord for family and plenty until Quinton Aaron inadvertantly shames them into it. In fact, given her attitude and personality, Bullock's character could be transformed into an agnostic on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and, except for the accent, no one would be any the wiser.
Oh, and for a movie that is meant to condemn racism, it has no problem throwing the word “rednecks” around a couple of times at uneducated whites -- Bullock even calls one particular boor “Deliverance.” And that comes within a further completely unrealistic sequence. By the early 2000s, high school football teams were long-integrated, so having a black player on one’s opposing team would be no novelty at all. Also completely unbelievable -- that Kathy Bates would be the first Democrat these people had ever met. Since the Democratic party had been the long-dominant party in the South, Bullock and McGraw would at least have known some growing up.
And what is it with the daughter? In the beginning of the film, she is a typical moody self-centered teen, who refers to her brother as the “twerp.” Then a little later and for the entirety of the picture, she is the perfect ideal young lady. And that hyper-active kid brother -- I can’t recall a more obnxious, charmless child on screen (well, maybe Dakota Fanning), and I can’t believe that someone could actually believe his meeting with the recruiters was funny and charming. No jealousy whatsoever at having a new person to share their parents’ attention and affection? Hah! And Bullock isn’t even a little bit peeved when Michael crashes his truck? No, because she’s a Saint.
But the most unbelievable aspect of this fantasy family is the relationship between Bullock and Tim McGraw. Not a single argument between them, not even a raised voice. He just goes blithely along with her whims. No serious questioning of the wisdom and practicability of simply bringing this youngster from a completely different socio-economic environment into their home, and whether it might hve an adverse effect on their own children. But then again, Michael is scarcely a person at all, he’s more akin to a stray dog they found lost in the rain.
Also, Sandra and Tim know where Michael's brother works -- why don’t they ever try to get them together. This film has plot hole after plot hole to go along with its vile-ness.
Hancock and company don't seem to have a clue that doing good and being charitable is not necessarily an easy task. And no one can be upbeat and giving all of the time. People don't always want to be helped and a lack of appreciation often accompanies acts of kindness -- See Bresson's Diary of A Country Priest or Leo McCarey's Good Sam, for examples. But nothing like that happens to spunky Sandra -- the worst she had to deal with is the close-mindedness of some enlightened ladies in her circle who have the fatal defect of not being as spunky as Sandra.
The Blind Side is a reprehensible movie, and a very reactionary one because it reassures white audiences that racial problems and poverty can be alleviated through the good works and good intentions of good people, and no expensive tax-raising government programs are needed. But luckily for the average white audience member, you have to be very well-off to do these good works, so you yourself need not fret about doing them.
Is there anything good about it? Well, Tim McGraw has a nice laidback screen presence, even if he does look alarmingly like Evan Bayh. Adrienne Lenox as his Michael’s mother is very good, even though her one scene seems to exist only to let the audience go slumming, and it's rather disgusting when she tacitly acknowledges her son is better off with his white mama. Oh, and also, Quinton Aaron's character is not quite as objectionable to Michael Clarke Duncan's in The Green Mile.
2/10
Edited By Damien on 1266483918
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Big Magilla
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I certainly hope so. The young people at the time were OK. The older people, most of whom must have died out by now, were the problem. Let me know what you find.rain Bard wrote:I hope it's changed. I'm going to be spending a few days in Columbia later this month. And I'm definitely not a Southerner. I've been to Charleston often, as a child and teen, but never before Columbia.Big Magilla wrote:On the other hand I spent a lot of time in Columbia while in the U.S. Army forty-five years ago. I don't know how much it's changed, but back then it had the snootiest locals I'd ever come across before or after. They turned their noses up at anyone who wasn't a Southerner, white, black, Asian or whatever.
I hope it's changed. I'm going to be spending a few days in Columbia later this month. And I'm definitely not a Southerner. I've been to Charleston often, as a child and teen, but never before Columbia.Big Magilla wrote:On the other hand I spent a lot of time in Columbia while in the U.S. Army forty-five years ago. I don't know how much it's changed, but back then it had the snootiest locals I'd ever come across before or after. They turned their noses up at anyone who wasn't a Southerner, white, black, Asian or whatever.
I haven't seen The Blind Side because it looks positively vomitous. I could be off base, but it looks like the kind of movie that is meant to assuage white guilt. My father, who loves the worst kind of schmaltzy movies, and lives in what I call "White Republican Golfland," absolutely loved it. Reason enough for me to stay away.
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Big Magilla
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I could only take a few minutes of Radio. The Blind Side is more along the lines of a Coach Carter, an uplifting you-know-where-it's-gong kind of formula sports movie, but it's never boring. It's also non-preachy except for a couple of brief restaurant scenes with Bullock and her snooty privileged friends.
It's been called a "Precious for jocks" and plays that way, too, except that the people who help Michael Oher are white and nobody uses foul language.
It's been called a "Precious for jocks" and plays that way, too, except that the people who help Michael Oher are white and nobody uses foul language.
I've been silent on it because I haven't seen it and have had no inclination to see it -- please God don't let it or her be nominated because then I will have to see it.ITALIANO wrote:But I'm not surprised by Big Magilla or Oscar Guy. I'm sure that this must be flipp's favorite movie of the year even. What I find shocking is the general silence here from all the others (apart from Zahveed). Weird, really. Sounds like Dreamgirls.
These supposedly "uplifting" sports movie are among my least favorite sub-genre, and from everything I've read, this one has the dubious distinction of being offensive in addition to the usual dullness.
Wasn't there a similarly themed movie a few years back with Cuba Gooding as a mentally-challenged black football player?
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell