A neighbor wanted to see The Blindside, so I went along, and was very glad I did. Sandra Bullock gave a performance of spitfire Leigh Anne Tuohy worthy of an Oscar nomination. I'd seen the trailer, and the movie looked schmaltzy, and being a sports film wasn't on my must see list. It was the perfect movie for Thanksgiving weekend. The theater on Friday night when we went to see it was absolutely packed, and the audience were all ages. This is a true family film, with a little something for everyone.
What's absolutely amazing is that this is based on a completely true story. The wealthy Tuohy family of Memphis did adopt a homeless African-American teen named Michael Oher. With their help and a tutor (Miss Sue played by Kathy Bates), he made it to Ole Miss on a football scholarship, and now plays pro-football for the Baltimore Ravens. He was just drafted earlier this year! It all hits you when the photographs at the end of the film during the credits show the real Michael and his family.
This was a real feel good film, and Sandra Bullock was just excellent as the spitfire Southern Belle Leigh Anne Tuohy. She deserves an Oscar nomination for this role, and she had one of the best performances I've ever seen her do. Tim McGraw was also surprisingly good as her "Yes, Dear" husband.
The real find was gentle giant Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher. That must have been a challenging casting search. I also really enjoyed Jae Head as SJ, the wise cracking little brother. Yes, this family is a bit too good to be true, but the essence of the story is, in fact, true.
It's a heart warming tale that I give three stars. You could wait for a rental, but this is a great choice to see this holiday season in the theater with your whole family.
Sandra Bullock said she spent one day with the real Leigh Anne, and she was simply exhausted trying to keep up with her!
Good morning, Daniel Radcliffe! EW's latest issues has a few of the pictures from photographer Tim Hailand's new book, One Day in the Life of Daniel Radcliffe. The book has 50 photographs of Daniel in New York last January when he was performing in Equus on Broadway. Part of the proceeds go to charity, and this is the first in a series. You can order the book here.
T.J. Miller, an LA-based comedian (Cloverfield, Carpoolers) shot this video after two unsuccessful auditions for the Warner Bros' Yogi Bear movie. Studio boss Alan Horn and producer Donald De Line saw this footage and offered him a major part in the film. He's already in New Zealand shooting.
Yes, they're making a Yogi Bear film and Dan Akroyd is in it. What else can they grab from my childhood and make into a movie?! Oh, yeah, I forgot. Real Steel starring Hugh Jackman -- a futuristic take on Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots.
This Thanksgiving weekend I saw the best animated film I've seen all year - Fantastic Mr. Fox. Yes, that includes Up. I liked the quirky Wes Anderson humor of Fantastic Mr. Fox better, and the stop motion animation you know is all hand-done, which makes it even more amazing.
This has been an interesting year with two unique directors of adult films, with Spike Jonze doing Where the Wild Things Are with live action puppets, and Wes Anderson's amazing tour de force here with Fox. Anderson's off-beat style seems perfect for a Roald Dahl story. This story was not one I'd read as a child, so I came in with no preconceived notions. But the character of Mr. Fox, who schemes the perfect squab-nabbing job at the neighbor's farm is just dead-on perfect for George Clooney, almost reprising Danny Ocean of Ocean's Eleven. I adored Clooney in this film with his trademark click and whistle. Everyone is fantastic. Meryl Streep doesn't have a lot to do as his wife, but of course she's great, as always. Bill Murray is a lawyer badger, and the "Are you cussing with me?" scene in his office with Mr. Fox where they briefly turn into their wild animal selves just slayed me.
It's most of the regular cast of actors from other Wes Anderson films. We've got Owen Wilson as a sports coach, but Jason Swartzman as Mr. Fox's son is so like every other offbeat character he's played. The son who's just a little different, but doesn't know it, like Rushmore, my favorite Anderson film. Really, Rushmore was the pinnacle for me of Wes Anderson films, and until Mr. Fox none of his other films have quite measured up to that greatness. I enjoyed them, but not the wayI adore Rushmore and now Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The animation is just superb. Listen to Wes Anderson's interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air to get some sense of the painstaking care that went into creating the fur-covered miniatures and stop motion animation. The color palette is all browns and golds - autumnal colors - because Wes Anderson visited Dahl's writing hut in England at that season, and it's the setting for the book. Wes Anderson said that animation like this, where he has control over absolutely every part of the look, including every sunset and cloud, is the closest a director can get to being God. I loved the look of this film. All that care was worth it.
The story is very fun, as Mr. Fox sort of has a mid-life crisis, going back to his youthful poultry stealing. The chief mean farmer is voiced by Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), and it took me about half the film to realize that as he is so menacing sounding. Willem Dafoe plays a Rat, one of Mr. Fox's nemesis.
Mr. Anderson, my hat's off to you. The movie was just a delight. I give it 4 stars and an enthusiastic recommendation that you must run out and see it in a theater this holiday season. It is a great film for the whole family. Kids will love the basic story, and adults will love the subtle adult layers as well. I adore the hand made feel of it, and I hope Wes Anderson does more family films. His quirkiness works well in animation and children's stories, like Tim Burton works well for fantastical stories like Alice in Wonderland.
Here's a cool short featurette that shows some of what went into the film behind the scenes, including how they recorded the voices on location at a farm, instead of in a studio as is the case with most animated films:
Dear Lord, thank you for this Thanksgiving holiday. And for all the material possessions we have and enjoy. And for letting us white people kill all the Indians and steal their tribal lands. And stuff ourselves like pigs, even though children in Asia are being napalmed.
I love movies and the Oscars are my Super Bowl. I am also a news and political junkie. This blog is eclectic, as I come across all sort of interesting things as I web surf. I post news about upcoming films and my own movie reviews.
