Movie Review The Blind Side

The Blind Side (2009) 

Directed by John Lee Hancock

Written by John Lee Hancock 

Starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, Kim Dickens, Kathy Bates

Release Date November 20th, 2009 

Published November 19th, 2009 

Until this past summer and the hit comedy "The Proposal" Sandra Bullock had been wandering in the woods in Hollywood. Now, after her summer blockbuster and despite the disastrous shelf-dweller “All About Steve,” Sandra Bullock is back on top in a big way with “The Blind Side.” Starring as the matriarch of one exceptionally compassionate family, Bullock shows never before seen range and depth in a story of great warmth and strength.

Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) was a 16 year old kid with few prospects for the future. Living part time on the streets, and the couch of friends and extended relatives when he could, Michael got a small but urgent break. Because of his immense size and athleticism a football coach at a small Tennessee Christian high school pushed and got him enrolled.

That was only the beginning. Michael, still living on the streets, had only a 4th grade reading comprehension. He had no school transcripts and the teachers at his new school had little patience. It was then that fate intervened in the forceful form of Leigh Anne Tuohy (Bullock.) Seeing poor Michael late one night after a sporting event wandering in the cold wearing only shorts and a t-shirt, Leigh Ann invites him home.

Michael intended to stay only a night but a night became a week and then a month and soon he was family, fitting in well with new little brother S.J (Jae Head) and eventually with sister Collins (Lily Collins). He also found a strong father figure in Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw) , an athlete in his own right who pushes Michael to join the football team.

While Sean is supportive it is Leigh Ann that is the driving force in changing Michael's life, he eventually comes to call her mama. In a scene that has been prominently figured into the movie trailer; Leigh Ann is the one who explains to Michael just what a left tackle does on the football field. It's a little cheesy, but the scene plays and so does this movie.

Based on the book "The Blind Side: An Evolution of a Game" by Michael Lewis, The Blind Side is one extraordinary true story. Michael Oher is today a multi-millionaire left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. The real life Tuohy's did indeed bring Michael into their lives and were there the day he was drafted into the NFL. Michael's story was ready made for the movies.

Writer-Director John Lee Hancock has experience with inspirational true sports stories, he scored a hit for Disney in 2005 with the story of a 40 year old relief pitcher who gets his big break in the big leagues in "The Rookie". That film was a saccharine melodrama that suffered from cliché and lack of invention. 

Some of those same issues are present in "The Blind Side" but that is where Ms. Bullock's performance steps in. Leigh Ann Tuohy is a no nonsense character who keeps the artifice of the director at bay with grit and a lively sense of humor. When Leigh Ann does succumb to the emotion of a particular moment it has power because she has so assiduously avoided the simpleminded emotional moments offered earlier. 

Sandra Bullock drives "The Blind Side" over the potholes of pedestrian direction. She gives the film resonance and emotional strength and she is aided greatly by newcomer Quinton Aaron who's gentle, teddy bear-like performance is a total winner. It's hard to believe an NFL lineman could be as amiable as Aaron's Michael Oher but I would like to believe it.

The real life Michael Oher story has quite a few differences from what you see in "The Blind Side'' but for what it is, a Hollywood-ized melodrama, "The Blind Side'' is a warm compassionate fairytale come true featuring a career best performance from an actress long ago written off as a comedienne on the downside of her box office career. Welcome back Sandra Bullock. 

Movie Review The Alamo

The Alamo (2004) 

Directed by John Lee Hancock

Written by John Lee Hancock, Stephen Gaghan, Leslie Bohem

Starring Patrick Wilson, Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric 

Release Date April 9th, 2004 

Published April 8th, 2004 

With the patriotic fervor of the war in Iraq having died down, the time for a rousing patriotic war film may have passed. Indeed the producers of The Alamo had to be considering that fervor when they went into production in early 2003. Unfortunately, they lost the opportunity to capitalize on it when the film was deemed not ready for its original December release. Now dumped with little fanfare into the month of April, The Alamo arrives as a professionally made but unmemorable history lesson.

Directed by John Lee Hancock (The Rookie), The Alamo tells the story of how legendary figures Jim Bowie (Jason Patric), William Travis (Patrick Wilson) and Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton) came to a tiny church in San Antonio to fight for the idea that would become the state of Texas.

For Bowie, San Antonio was the home of his late wife where he had spent many happy nights. His return to San Antonio and to the Alamo was a favor to his friend General Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid). Houston was to retrieve the Texas army's largest canon and return it to Gonzales, Texas where the leaders are debating their future. By taking the canon, they are essentially ceding San Antonio to the Mexicans.

William Travis on the other hand, has been charged with holding the Alamo until a decision can be made as to how Texas will declare and defend itself from Mexico's dictator Santa Ana. Will the Texans declare their independence or negotiate a settlement with Santa Anna to hold onto their land under Mexican rule? Under the assumption that Santa Anna will not attack in the winter, the Alamo is thought to be fairly secure, allowing time for the leaders to debate their options.

For David Crockett, as he prefers to be called, Texas is a place to reclaim his legend after losing his congressional seat in Tennessee. Crockett has spoken to Sam Houston and been assured a good deal of land and power if Texas is declared independent. Crockett arrives at the Alamo unaware that the fighting has not stopped, only slowed due to the weather and the Texans' indecision over how to declare independence.

The setup for the climactic battle is slow and drawn out, probably because the actual battle of the Alamo didn't last long. Once Santa Anna decided on a full frontal attack with thousands of Mexican soldiers, there was little that the three hundred or so Texans could do to stop them. The setup for the battle has its moments, such as when Davy Crockett grabs his fiddle and plays along with Santa Anna's army marching band. Still, for the most part it's all rather dull.

We learn little about the historical figures of Bowie, Travis or Crockett other than both Bowie and Travis were slave owners and that Crockett never actually jumped a raging river or took on 20 men at once. Credit Billy Bob Thornton with the film’s best performance. Davy Crockett is a poetic pragmatist who struggles with his legendary status that was assured well before he became a martyr for Texas independence at the Alamo.

The film’s best moments are the battle scenes, the siege at the Alamo, which is quick and brutal, and the battle of Houston where Sam Houston avenged the Alamo by routing Santa Anna's army in 18 minutes. Director John Lee Hancock manages one great moment of emotion with Houston's "Remember The Alamo" rallying cry but other than that the film is rather staid and emotionless. Well made, but soulless.

The film is very professionally crafted with solid acting and a well remembered story. However, it plays like a history lesson from a very dull high school class. None of the characters, aside from Davy Crockett, have much of a personality and none of the supporting performances makes any impression whatsoever.

There was a controversial rumor about Davy Crockett's death but it's only a misunderstanding. The Crockett legend is very much intact at the end of the film. Without the controversy there is very little that is memorable about this Alamo.

Movie Review: The Rookie

The Rookie (2002) 

Directed by John Lee Hancock 

Written by Mike Rich 

Starring Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, Brian Cox 

Release Date March 29th, 2002

Published March 28th, 2002

Is there any more tired genre than the sports movie?

Many films are bogged down by the conventions of genre but the sports movie is so constricted it's almost pointless. Every sports film ends up a clone of every other sports film. 2001's Hardball was essentially an urban Bad News Bears with a hint of The Mighty Ducks. The 2000 football movie The Replacements was the same movie that was made in 1993 under the name Necessary Roughness, and so on and so on. Examples of this tired genre stretch out for miles and now comes yet another tired sports movie The Rookie starring Dennis Quaid.

In this mostly true story, Dennis Quaid stars as Jim Morris, a small-town science teacher and baseball coach. With his team playing poorly and desperately needing motivation, Morris cuts them a deal. Morris agrees to try out for a major league baseball team if his team makes it to the States. You see, Morris was on the fast track to the majors in his youth but blew out his arm. Now his arm is healthy and throwing harder than ever. Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you what happens next; after all it is a true story. Even if it weren't a true story do you honestly think the team would lose and the coach not tryout for the majors?

The Rookie is not a bad film. Technically it is well shot and the acting is first rate. I especially loved Rachel Griffith who, while having very little to do in the picture, still manages to create a strong character. In the end though, no matter how proficient the project is it cannot escape the demons of the sports genre, which is more than ripe for parody. Those genre conventions and the film’s corn-pone, family values, Disneyfied universe make for a film that while efficiently made was doomed to failure even before it began because it is so by the numbers. 

Jim Morris's triumph is intended to be inspiring but because it feels like EVERY other sports movie, every other baseball movie, The Rookie is rendered inert. The drama drags along through scenes that feel as if we've seen them in every other movie. The Rookie has a true life story but director John Lee Hancock makes that story feel so like every other sports movie that even this TRUE story feel like just another sports genre movie. Each beat of the story, every character development, and the ultimate triumph all feel unimpressive and forgettable.