'The Blind Side' movie review - 'The Blind Side' showtimes ... - Ensign

'The Blind Side' movie review - 'The Blind Side' showtimes - The Boston Globe02/12/09 5:20 PMTHE BLIND SIDEWritten and directed by: John LeeHancock, adapted from MichaelLewis’s book “The Blind Side:Evolution of a Game’’Starring: Sandra Bullock, QuintonAaron, Tim McGraw, and KathyBatesAt: AMC, Regal, suburbsRunning time: 125 minutesRated: PG-13 (one scene involvingbrief violence, drug and sexualreferences)In miniskirts and clingy pants, and with a heavycosmetic lacquer, Bullock sashays away from thecamera, leaving the males in a tizzy. The lastword is always hers. She’s part Erin Brockovich,part Julia Sugarbaker. And like Sugarbaker,Leigh Anne is a designing woman. Her interestin Michael feels momentarily like an extensionof her job. “Lord knows that place could usesome color,’’ she says of the private Christianacademy that has charitably accepted Michael,who, until Leigh Anne, was homeless and couldbarely express himself. The state wrested himaway from his birth mother, who’s a drug addict.AUDIO PODCAST:VIDEO PODCAST:MORE 'TAKE 2' MOVIE REVIEWSCURRENT RELEASES‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’‘Red Cliff’‘The Road’‘Ninja Assassin’'Oh My God'‘Old Dogs’Bullock’s levelheaded acting frequently saves the movie from emotionalgarishness. She’s hardly subtle, but she’s not showy, either. This is basically oneof her comedic parts given a “Real Housewives’’ gloss. But watching Bullocklight up with satisfaction brought back unwelcome memories of that nauseatinghug she gives her Mexican maid at the end of “Crash’’: I love you, person ofcolor. Leigh Anne gives Michael his very first bed and a real shot at a collegefootball scholarship. He reminds her that her dining room table happens to beuseful for dining with the family someplace other than in front of the two TVsin the living room.INSIDE BOSTON.COMPUBLIC APOLOGIESALL NEW RELEASESWriter and director John Lee Hancock bears down on the more affecting partsof Michael Lewis’s 2006 book, “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.’’ (Half ofit was devoted to Oher, the other to Lawrence Taylor’s arrival in the NFL.) TheTouhys’ compassion and the idea of a white community banding together tohelp a disenfranchised black teenager is a touching human display (Kathy Bateseven shows up as a tutor).Tiger Woods is one of manywho've had to say 'I'm sorry'PHOTOSHancock doesn’t exactly have a heavy touch. Following the arc of Lewis’sjournalism, he delicately raises possibilities of cynicism, boosterism, and liberalguilt, and the movie grazes the idea of being afraid of certain black malestereotypes - long after they occur to us, but still. And it seems to anticipate ourworry that Michael, gracious and pacific as he is and as good as Aaron is in thepart, has too few thoughts of his own. Oher plays in the NFL for the BaltimoreRavens now, and you wonder how he feels about being represented as such apassive part of his own success.Notable deaths of 2009WEDDING PHOTOSCommercial American movies seem interested in stories about young black mensaved from God knows what by nice white people or sports. Here it’s both. Thatdouble jackpot happens occasionally in life. But it’s a staple in Hollywood,where large, kind black men are sometimes both a blessing and a threat (see“The Green Mile’’). Oher’s life is meant to make us feel good, and it mostlydoes. But how good we feel about his story is proportional to how blind we’rewilling to be about how it’s told.See pictures from readers'proposals and marriagesCELEBRITY BUZZWesley Morris can be reached at wmorris@globe.com. For more on movies,go to www.boston.com/movienation.Meredith Baxter is a lesbianand more entertainment news© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.Start your week off right with in-depth coverage. Subscribe now to the Globe.PLUS...Blogs | Crossword | Comics| Horoscopes | Games | Lottery| Caption contest | Today inhistoryhttp://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2009/11/20/blind_side_sticks_to_the_playbook_on_race_and_renewal/Page 2 of 3

'The Blind Side' movie review - 'The Blind Side' showtimes - The Boston Globe02/12/09 5:20 PMREADER COMMENTS »View reader comments (0) » Comment on this story »MOST E-MAILEDAds by GoogleGas & Oil OpportunitiesNew Natural Gas & Oil investment opportunities in Egypt. Info herewww.investment.gov.egWatch Movies Online Free15,000 Movies in high quality Completely free - no credit cardwww.Graboid.comRugs For KidsGet Rugs For Kids Ideas. Fun And Easy Child Bedroom Ideas!KidsBedrooms.Kidica.comwhat's this?1. A new look for downtown Quincy2. Wal-Mart agrees to record $40M wage settlement in Massachusetts3. Living in Unity4. Longtime Emerson leader to step down in 20115. Meredith Baxter comes out6. Harvard offers retirement program to professors7. 25 things to do in Boston for under $25RECOMMENDED SEARCHESTiger WoodsGlobe SantaObituariesAfghan buildupCostly kidRECIPES All-AmericanABOUT THIS LISTGive The Gift OfBlue Man GroupClick Here!Come unlock The Secretsof Tomb 10A: Egypt 2000BCSee what's new at theMuseum of Science!Home | Today's Globe | News | Business | Sports | Lifestyle | A&E | Things to Do | Travel | Cars | Jobs | Real Estate | Local SearchCONTACT BOSTON.COM | Help | Advertise | Work here | Privacy Policy | Newsletters | Mobile | RSS feeds | Sitemap | Make Boston.com your homepageCONTACT THE BOSTON GLOBE | Subscribe | Manage your subscription | Advertise | The Boston Globe Extras | The Boston Globe Store | © 2009 NY Times Co.http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2009/11/20/blind_side_sticks_to_the_playbook_on_race_and_renewal/Page 3 of 3