In Relation To The Blind Side

Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) is a big, big boy. When the football coach at a Christian private school spots him playing basketball, he immediately decides he needs this young man on his team. That leads to Michael's enrollment in the school, despite his low grade-point average. Then Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), who has two children who attend the same school, spots him and discovers he has nowhere to sleep at night. Being a southern firecracker who always gets her way and always does the right thing, Leigh Anne brings him home - supposedly just for the night.

Pros: I was pleasantly surprised at how much God was mentioned in this movie. It's refreshing to watch a Christian movie that wasn't put out by a low-budget Christian studio. I liked all the main characters, especially the little boy S.J. (Jae Head), who was a scream. There were some very funny parts. I had heard that the filmmakers used Michael's story as a "prop" for showing the Tuohys's goodness, but I thought the movie was equally about Michael and the Tuohys.

Cons: Personally, I don't think Quinton Aaron is a particularly good actor. There were one or two very cliche lines.

My Rating: MT (sexual and drug references)

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Regarding The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

(Written by Michael Lewis.) Lawrence Taylor, one of the greatest NFL players ever. Michael Oher, a homeless kid on the streets of Memphis. What's the connection? Lawrence Taylor changed the game of football. His play forced teams to find extremely talented offensive linemen to block him. Michael Oher began to play offensive line in football when Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy took him into their home. His talent for football helped change his life.

Pros: The movie, while it was pretty much as good as a movie adaptation could be, does not do Michael's story justice. He was pretty much completely clueless about everything - and even continued to learn a lot of basic things when he got to college. The movie gives only a hint about how much he grew as a person from when he first came home with the Tuohys to when he graduated from college. Also, this book was absolutely filled with NFL history. Which is awesome for a football fan like me!

Cons: The writing style was much more "tell" than "show" - in other words, there weren't "scenes," there were "stories." Which is a little annoying for someone who likes fast-moving novels. But, I might add, there really wasn't any other way to write the book without excluding all the history.

My Rating: MT (language, sexual references)

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On We Are Marshall

A tragic plane crash in 1970 wipes out nearly all of Marshall University's football team, along with the coaching staff and several wealthy fans. Nate Ruffin (Anthony Mackie), the captain of the team who wasn't on the plane because of an injury, rallies the students and rescues the football program from suspension. Then the head coach at the University of Wooster, Jack Lengyl (Matthew McConaughey), decides he can help out. He applies for the head coaching job and gets it - mostly because no one else wants to be the head coach of a team starting from scratch. His off-beat personality and genuine compassion help the players, the university, and the entire town find healing.

Pros: This is a tear-jerker that even men can like. Coach Lengyl is so funny all he has to do is walk into a scene and I laugh. I also really like assistant head coach Red Dawson (Matthew Fox), though Matthew Fox isn't the greatest actor I've ever seen.

Cons: There's little mention of God (though Red goes to sit in a church during one of his "questioning" scenes). The girl (who, luckily, is in very little of the movie) is a bit of an airhead.

My Rating: T (language)

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Pertaining To Leatherheads

In the beginning, the rules were simple. There weren't any. A story that tries harder to be a romantic comedy than a sports movie, Leatherheads is about professional football before there were rules - or money. Brash, charming Dodge Connelly (George Clooney) finds it hard to adjust to life without football after his team goes bankrupt. So he jumps at the chance to revitalize his team by signing college football star and war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski). Dodge soon finds himself at odds with Carter over who exactly is the big dog on the team - and over Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger), a saucy reporter who has an agenda of her own.

Pros: The football action scenes are funny. I also like the fistfight by the railroad tracks. Renee Zellweger plays an awesome fashionable 1920s gal.

Cons: Lexie's mouth can be pretty dirty. In fact, I skipped parts of two scenes with her and Dodge because I got tired of the sexual references.

My Rating: MT (sexual references)