The Citizen Review " A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man." -Robert Warshow

Average Grade: B-

Jack says: B-

It doesn't matter what you say to me, I will never believe that The Blind Side is Oscar-worthy in terms of Best Picture. I have finally seen the movie and I wasn't moved from my side of the fence. Did I enjoy this movie? Yes. It wasn't my favorite kind of entertainment but parts of it were worth watching.

One such aspect was the performance given by Sandra Bullock. There's no denying that Bullock is one of the finest actresses in Hollywood today, but not even her performance could save this movie which is drowning in it's cliches and drowsy montages. The worst part of this movie (aside from the lackluster, store-bought musical score) were the performances by the actors whose names weren't Sandra Bullock or Kathy Bates (yes, she snook her way into this one, too). The focal point of the story, Michael Oher, was played by Quinten Aaron and I'm sad to say it's one of the worst performances of the year.

Some of the scenes are good, but there are some scenes and montages that are just unforgivable in terms of acting caliber and believability. The movie isn't horrible but is it one of the ten best of the year? Not even close. As it remains, The Blind Side is one of the biggest outrages in Best Picture history.

Matthew says: C+

The Blind Side is a film that has been getting a lot of buzz around Christmas time, it being the inspirational film for the holiday season. That being said, this film isn't very inspirational or moving, or emotionally filled. It's one of the most emotionally empty "emotional" film I've ever seen. And that is certainly no thanks to the writer/director John Lee Hancock. Did this guy just say to read from the script and then leave the set?

I'm sure you all know the story of The Blind Side, then again, you only need to see the cover for the film, showing the black teenager and the rich white mother together, to know what this movie is about. The story is secondary to Hancock's vision for the film (or lack thereof). The only thing on his agenda is getting the audience to root for this story, no matter what it is.

One of the few good things of this movie, and without it this film would have been completely unenjoyable) is the performance of Sandra Bullock. Now, just because I said that, does not mean I think it is the best of the year. And, as you might have guessed, I certainly don't think it is one of the best pictures of the year. It is far from it.