The Blindside

[Art Vandelay]

Does the book answer the question of what happened to the other kid who was going to start the private school with Michael? His dad, Big Tony, took them both there for the express purpose of getting his son into the school. The counselors said he had the grades (when the coach was arguing to get Mike enrolled), but he was never heard from or seen again.

I read an op-ed in my local 10 page paper that mentioned that part of the story was true. Big Tony promised his son's grandmother he would get his son out of the Memphis public schools. I am curious what became of him.

The other interesting tidbit was Michael's IQ supposedly increased from 80 to 110 in two years. Something that obviously shows the inaccuracy of IQ tests (I'm confident my 140 was measured too low).

[MarkGrace]

So the dad in this movie was played by Tim McGraw? I don't know how I missed that, though by the same token I'm not sure why I would have known that.

My wife and I kept commenting about how bad the dad's hair was in the movie. I guess that's why McGraw never takes off his hat?

[TripletDaddy]

So the dad in this movie was played by Tim McGraw? I don't know how I missed that, though by the same token I'm not sure why I would have known that.

My wife and I kept commenting about how bad the dad's hair was in the movie. I guess that's why McGraw never takes off his hat?

You went to see a Sandra Bullock movie and New Moon in the same week?

sack up.

[MarkGrace]

You went to see a Sandra Bullock movie and New Moon in the same week?

sack up.

Not only that, but I saw The Proposal and Star Trek on DVD in the last week. It's been a bad run for me.

[MarkGrace]

It should be noted that The Proposal was by far the worst of the bunch. I mean, Sandra Bullock takes a dog out to pee and an eagle swoops down and picks it up. Then she starts waving at the eagle with cell phone in hand, demanding that it drop the dog. The eagle swoops back down, drops the dog, and takes the cell phone out of her hand. I'M NOT JOKING!

[falafel]

It should be noted that The Proposal was by far the worst of the bunch. I mean, Sandra Bullock takes a dog out to pee and an eagle swoops down and picks it up. Then she starts waving at the eagle with cell phone in hand, demanding that it drop the dog. The eagle swoops back down, drops the dog, and takes the cell phone out of her hand. I'M NOT JOKING!

To be fair, Betty White did warn her about the eagles.

[BoylenOver]

I'm a fan. Two thumbs up.

[BoylenOver]

The other thing I was going to mention was that the little kid in the movie was just totally annoying. The role they had him in is kind of tricky, as there's typically a fine line between charmingly precocious and outright obnoxious. Unfortunately I felt this kid was the latter.

I disagree, I think he portrayed the kid accurately as he was presented in the book.

I also wished they spent more time on how good of an athlete he is, the kid did a standing back flip at 6'5 330 pounds, he can dunk from a stand still under the hoop, he is just a freak athlete.

They did show him shooting a lot of threes in that small timeframe they were playing basketball, which was nice because the reason he didn't make for as good of a basketball player is he wanted to play guard. He had the feet and handle for it, but not the size.

[MarkGrace]

I disagree, I think he portrayed the kid accurately as he was presented in the book.

I didn't say that he inaccurately portrayed the kid in the book; I've never read the book.

[BoylenOver]

I didn't say that he inaccurately portrayed the kid in the book; I've never read the book.

The reason I didn't find him annoying is I felt his portrayal was accurate.

[MarkGrace]

So if an actor accurately portrays a character from a book on-screen that precludes him/her from being annoying? Is the only point in translating a role from book to film to make sure that you play the character the exact what it's portrayed in the book?

I know that's exactly what you are seeing, but that seems to be the general idea. I find it that notion a bit puzzling.

[BoylenOver]

So if an actor accurately portrays a character from a book on-screen that precludes him/her from being annoying? Is the only point in translating a role from book to film to make sure that you play the character the exact what it's portrayed in the book?

I know that's exactly what you are seeing, but that seems to be the general idea. I find it that notion a bit puzzling.

Certainly you can consider a person annoying on their own merit. I feel that way about other people, and people feel that way about me.

Knowing that the book is about a true story, and enjoying how the kid's personality provides a humorous and sincere presence, I don't find it annoying.

Ultimately, the difference between our opinions on the kid is personal preference, and me citing the accuracy of his performance vis a vis the book is ancillary.

[LA Ute]

Some of us enjoyed the movie. Some didn't. That's OK.

[Katy Lied]

A lot has been made of Sandra Bullock in this movie, but I found her performance rather unremarkable.

Just to calibrate, what did you think of Bullock's performance in Crash?

[TheBYUGuy]

I saw this movie the other night. I would recommend it if you're wondering whether to see it. The movie opens up with the clip of LT sacking Theismann and ending his career, but you don't really get to see his leg snap. This was a highlight for me because it sparked a 5-minute conversation (during the movie) with my wife asking questions about football.

The movie was overall inspirational and introspection-inducing, but it was not over the top in that sense, nor was the theme watered down too much with unconvincing sports action. In short, it can be enjoyed by all, not just the hardcore sports fans out there.

I agree with MG that the kid was more annoying than cute, regardless of how he was in real life. Another thing that seemed odd to me was how they portrayed Memphis as a town with a firm geographical boundary between where white people were allowed to be vs. black people. I've never been to Memphis, and while I don't doubt some racial tension, I have a hard time believing that people would have never seen a black person on a high school football field or that someone would be middle-aged before they met a Democrat.