The Blind Side

Does it get on your good side?

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Let the light in
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I'm not usually into sports dramas at all really but I thought this was a warm and lovely movie, there's nothing unpredictable or spontaneous about it, it's very clear where the plot is going scene to scene. And I know I shouldn't but I LOVED Sandra Bullock in it, she totally had more screen time than her own character warranted, especially compared to the rest of the family and 'Big Mike' himself (he barely spoke in the first 45 minutes of the movie) but she had the best bits.

It's getting a VERY good reaction from the audiences but Slant seems to think it's prejudice and borderline offensive (which is arguable, tbh)
 
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OMG this is not a movie for moopy :D

It's cheesy as hell, in fact if not for Bullock this would never have gotten a distributor; it's a straight-to-TV-movie if I ever saw one

The script is largely terrible, the performances outside of Bullock are as flat as anything and the best part about it all is the story, which nobody involved in the making of the film had a part in.

As for Miss SB - yes she's good. She makes what could have been a very stereotype or cliched role quite subtle and believable. She has great presence as always and is easily the shining star of a totally average film. But Oscar worthy? Not even close. It's not her fault of course; the dialogue and direction gives her no chance to break out of the norm. The closest thing to this performance is Erin Brokovich - but Julia Roberts had a really sharp script, Albert Finney to bounce off of and some genuinely heartbreaking scenes.

The one good scene in the movie is when Sandra's character goes to meet the boy's real mum. That was great.

Worst scene was when the boy went back to the 'ghetto' to find his mum and meets the 'gangstas'. Oh how embarrassing. The Wire this is NOT :bad:

6/10, for Sandra. Go get that Oscar, love. You don't deserve it at all for this specific film, but when did that matter?
 
I saw the trailer for this last night and thought it looked absolutely dreadful. Quite surprised that Bullock is actually going to stand a good chance of getting the Oscar for this (obviously being 'best in show' helps but considering what the rest of 'the show' looks like that's hardly HIGH PRAISE).

The film just seems to be the type that wouldn't even normally get anywhere near the right amount of attention - I'm sure there have been COUNTLESS times other likeable actresses who haven't received big awards traction before have made movies like this and have still gone completely unnoticed. However obviously this film seems to have struck some sort of chord with American audiences and people are running with the Sandra love this year and as you say the role/film she is nominated pretty much becomes secondary once you get the nomination and the race to the end commences.
 
you know i got this a month ago, but the poster was enough to put me off it, but a friend played me the trailer last night and i decided to dedicate today's hangover to the movie

and i loved it
yes it was schmaltzy and sentimental, but i found it touching and really heartwarming

sandra was very good, i wouldn't have thought oscar though, but i guess it's time for her to get some recognition
 
Y'know, I agree with most of what's been said- it WAS cheesy and sentimental slush, it wasn't GROUNDBREAKING STUFF but I did sit there and remain quite happy throughout, so 7/10 on that basis alone.

BUT

Who the hell decided Sandra Bullock should be the frontrunner for Best Actress as a result? Don't get me wrong, she's QUITE GOOD and all, but I don't see how it's much better than most other QUITE GOOD Sandra Bullock performances, except that usually she's acting in "lesser" (and I mean "less weighty" by that) fare. I'm only to see one of the Best Actress nominees so far but I'd take Meryl Streep over her BY A MILE so far...and I actually QUITE LOVE HER!

The lead black bloke guy was ROTTEN too, I thought. Compare that to Gaby Sidibe- another performance that for the most part relied on physical acting than dialogue...completely and utterly blown out of the park.
 
Apparently the DVD screener of this is watermarked and gets interrupted every 30 minutes

I do wish I could be BOTHERED either way
 
The UK reviews for this have been hysterically bad compared to the praise it got in the US.
 
VoR said:
The UK reviews for this have been hysterically bad compared to the praise it got in the US.
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VOR you are going to go into 'Crash mode' on this movie aren;'t you... :|
 
Perhaps seeing it on a TV screen in the back of a plane seat isn't the BEST venue for it, but I thought it was completely average. And Bullock's performance only a little bit more than that.
 
VERY GOOD.

Total schmaltz and very lightweight, but I don't think those things need be negative really... her performance really is great too. I can totally see why it's been so big in America. Sandra Bullock, national treasure, starring as middle-American do-gooder. In fact, her performance just screamed SARAH PALIN to me, and we all know how popular that bitch was.

I can't see Brits buying into it in the same way... you really do have to take all the schmaltz and sentimentality quite seriously to enjoy it. Still, a perfectly enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.
 
I really enjoyed it, I don't think the performance was Oscar-worthy, but a good film regardless.
 
I found this abhorrent other than Sandra. I found every time she was on screen the feeling to stick pins in my brain subsided a little bit. Luckily she was in it a FAIR BIT or i'd have died. SICK.
 
I'm prepared to bet that the woman and her family are absolutely INSUFFERABLE in real life.
 
RobotBoy said:
I'm prepared to bet that the woman and her family are absolutely INSUFFERABLE in real life.
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I listened to her brief interview at the Oscars red carpet and she seemed ok
 
I thought it was nice. Not spectacular, just nice.

The poor guy had a lovable bear-like quality about him. I kept expecting Sandra to burst into that dorky, OTT character she's renound for in most of her features. Oscar worthy? Perhaps not. But I was impressed that she could break away from her typecast personality nonetheless.

It dragged a bit towards the end but on the whole I enjoyed it.
 
Saw this on the plane, so I may be biased, but I thought it was a completely clichéd Hallmark drama, only with enough budget to cast Sandra Bullock.
 
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I'm curious, why did most of you go to see this? I only went because I'm an American football fan.
 
David_5000 said:
I'm curious, why did most of you go to see this? I only went because I'm an American football fan.
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a) because I like Sandra Bullock
&
b) I'm trying to watch all the Oscar winners (for acting)
 
I saw it, only because we wanted to see something, and everything else was full. It was good. Obviously more appealing to Americans, but I enjoyed it. And Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for THAT!? Sure, she was good and all, but hardly fantastic. She didn't really have much to do, frankly.
 
It was absolutely fine. But I have hardly any comments to make either positive or negative. I felt exactly the same as Sheena really. It was passable and her performance was solid, but OSCAR-WORTHY? Really? I actually think it's probably the least impressive winner of Best Actress of the last decade, if not longer (probably the worst since Helen Cunt).
 
JESUS what a boring movie. I fast forward the last 30 minutes, I watched Gamer instead :D :manson:
 
I loved this

From my DEFINITIVE review

Surprisingly I loved it. A guilty pleasure.

Yes, it was a cliched load of moralising PC Americanised rubbish, but it was likeable when you got into it despite some eye rolling moments. I can see why it got an Oscar nod for best picture, they eat that shyt up like Forest Gump. I doubt there was much better in such a weak year, so despite the massive backlash I don't care.

All hail Queen Sandra.
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:disco: YES, Gabourey Sidibe should have got the Oscar but Sandy was great and the only realistic choice this year.
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I'll add to that, if Meryl were nominated for It's Complicated rather than the attrocious Julie & Julia then I'd be happy if she won. Loved her in that, great comedic AND dramatic scenes - a whole lot more drama scenes than the one with The Funny Voice, which seemed "more difficult" and Oscar worthy, but was a MESS
 
I watched this today (we need a films you have watched in 2011 thread)

My god it was BORING. I got bored half way through and was really wanting it to end. God knows how she got an Oscar either, she's good in it but nothing outstanding.

5/10 (at best)
 
So Funky thinks this film has one good scene and scored it 6/10? how odd

Anyway I'm not sure why I loved this film - it totally isn't my usual fare at all. But the acting was top notch (I really believe Sandra deserved that Oscar - she was a JOY to behold - such presence) and there wasn't one point in the whole 2 hours where I was looking at the time or willing it to end. And I know it's superficial of me but it was SO beautifully shot that I was always going to enjoy it anyway. One of my favourite films of last year without a doubt.
 
Finally watched this. GOD it's dull!

I think Sandra was fine in it, she has a very unforced naturalness to her acting which fits this sort of no-nonsense character like a glove.

But as someone said, aside from he presence it was a glorified TV movie. Where was the conflict? Nobody in this film displays any kind of introspection at all. They're either saintly white people, slightly (but not threateningly) racist white people, pathetically grateful black people or black people who actually speak and are not pathetically grateful to the white people and are therefore BEYOND REDEMPTION.

I found the treatment of Michael SO condescending. I get that he doesn't speak much because he has no confidence and has been beaten down by life, but he literally has no agency whatsoever. The comparison with Gabourey Sidibe in Precious is an apt one - at least her character is actually allowed to SPEAK. Michael might as well have been played by a PUPPY. I couldn't believe it when they attempted to insert some last-minute drama at the end (which in itself was ridiculously clunky and came out of nowhere!) and it basically consisted of him going back to his old life for 5 minutes, getting into a fight and running back crying to his saintly White benefactors with his tail between his legs. PATRONISING MUCH? :D

The younger kid may also be the most annoying child I have ever seen on screen, and that's saying a LOT.

The script was absolutely laughable in places too. Particularly the dinner table conversations with Sandra's botoxed WASP friends and, as Funky mentions, the awful, cringe-inducing scenes when he returns to the ghetto that could have been lifted straight out of Crash.
 
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How did I KNOW a couple of sentences into this review that there'd be a reference to Crash in it? You really need to go see a few more movies Mr VOR. EVERYTHING doesn't revolve around Crash!
 
VoR said:
Finally watched this. GOD it's dull!

I think Sandra was fine in it, she has a very unforced naturalness to her acting which fits this sort of no-nonsense character like a glove.

But as someone said, aside from he presence it was a glorified TV movie. Where was the conflict? Nobody in this film displays any kind of introspection at all. They're either saintly white people, slightly (but not threateningly) racist white people, pathetically grateful black people or black people who actually speak and are not pathetically grateful to the white people and are therefore BEYOND REDEMPTION.

I found the treatment of Michael SO condescending. I get that he doesn't speak much because he has no confidence and has been beaten down by life, but he literally has no agency whatsoever. The comparison with Gabourey Sidibe in Precious is an apt one - at least her character is actually allowed to SPEAK. Michael might as well have been played by a PUPPY. I couldn't believe it when they attempted to insert some last-minute drama at the end (which in itself was ridiculously clunky and came out of nowhere!) and it basically consisted of him going back to his old life for 5 minutes, getting into a fight and running back crying to his saintly White benefactors with his tail between his legs. PATRONISING MUCH? :D

The younger kid may also be the most annoying child I have ever seen on screen, and that's saying a LOT.

The script was absolutely laughable in places too. Particularly the dinner table conversations with Sandra's botoxed WASP friends and, as Funky mentions, the awful, cringe-inducing scenes when he returns to the ghetto that could have been lifted straight out of Crash.
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Agree with every word. It's pleasant enough if you're in a soppy kind of mood, but really really dull.
 
I thought it was just OK, Sandra Bullock was good but otherwise I've seen it all before, executed far better.
 
Sandra's performance aside, I really did not like this at all. It gets the 2 based on her performance (which wasn't even THAT good), the characters were shit, the story bored me and half of the cast were crap.
 
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I don't think anybody in the cast was 'crap' at all, how ridiculous
 
For Oscar nerds, this is a really good video essay on Sandra's shameful Best Actress win for this terrible, terrible movie.

 
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