The Blind Side

"You threaten my son, you threaten me."

Relying on the kindness of a friend, Michael (Aaron) gets a football scholarship to the local Christian high school. His parents are essentially non-existent and he survives by sleeping in the gym and washing his clothes in the sink at the local laundromat. He is considered a burden to his teachers and his classmates ignore his presence. All of that changes when the Tuohy family sees Michael walking home on a cold night. Matriarch Leigh Anne (Bullock) insists Michael spend the night at their house. Her husband, Sean (McGraw), agrees "It's just for one night....right?" and son S.J. (Head) is thrilled.

What begins as providing a warm place to sleep turns into something more as Michael becomes one of the family, and even appears in the family Christmas card. Michael is a man of few words, but protective of those he cares about... which proves invaluable at football and in protecting his family.


So many films take a good story with an uplifting message and throw in unnecessary crap that takes away from that message... or they litter the story with cursing and sex. I understand that those qualities draw audiences (and can be acceptable in some genre films, like action, but not this kind), it is refreshing to see a story without it. It's the kind of film you can recommend to friends or see with your mother (which I did) and not feel ashamed of. In addition, I am impressed with the way the filmmakers treat the Tuohy family. Typically, when a Christian family is portrayed in a film they are either preachy hypocrites (unless it is a film produced specifically for Christian families, then the themes are very apparent throughout the film) or mocked mercilessly... however, in this film the family is seen as loving and caring.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I love Sandra Bullock and tend to see films she is involved in. And once again (see "The Proposal") she did not let me down. She is not the main focus of the film, but she is definitely one of the highlights. Quinton Aaron makes Michael a gentle soul who can convey as much through his face as he can with his few words. You definitely root for him throughout, and it helps to know that he will prevail (as Michael Oher plays football professionally for the Baltimore Ravens). Some of his best / funniest moments occur when Michael interacts with his little brother S.J. They have a cute sing along to the song "Bust a Move." And Tim McGraw shaved his moustache to play Leigh Anne's husband Sean. I didn't recognize him in the previews.... but read somewhere that he wanted people to see the story and characters instead of pulling out and going "oh, it's Tim McGraw!"

Overally I don't have anything negative to say about the film. I don't know anything about Michael Oher, nor have I read the book this film is based on... so I can't speak for the facts, but the filmmakers deliver a heart-felt story without being overly sappy or overly focused on the football aspects. Good job Hollywood.

The Blinde Side (2009) 128 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references.
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy
Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy
Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher
Jae Head as S. J. Tuohy
Lilly Collins as Collins Tuohy
Ray McKinnon as Coach Cotton
Kathy Bates as Miss Sue

Erik the Viking

"Maybe none of us will return."
"Oh, well that's much more sensible than just Thorfinn getting killed. Shall we all go and pack now"

The life of a viking is rough: there's the looting, the pillaging, the killing, etc. During one raid, Erik (Robbins) encounters a woman, Helga (Bond), who questions his occupation. After she is killed by other vikings, Erik begins questioning his purpose and the rationale for all the death and destruction his cohorts cause.

After talking to the wise woman, Freya (Eartha Kitt), Erik assembles a group of brave vikings to travel across the ocean to the country of Hy-Brasil to find the "Horn Resounding" to wake the gods and end the age of violence (Ragnarok). But not everyone wants the violence to end... Keitel Blacksmith (Cady) needs war to continue his trade, so his scheming apprentice Loki (Anthony Sher) suggests going along to sabotage the trip... and to further guarantee the violence will not end, but his master will, Loki goes to Halfdan the Black (Cleese) to make sure none of the vikings return.

With Halfdan and his "dog-soldiers" giving chase, the vikings battle the sea and each other...until they reach Hy-Brasil. But the vikings are confounded by the inhabitants:

"You mean... you can't kill ANYBODY?"
"Right! Isn't it wonderful?"
"What? Not being able to kill anybody?"
"Well, of course."
"How?"
"Well... for a start... er... there's no killing..."
"Well, OBVIOUSLY there's no killing."
"Well..."
"But how d'you take revenge?"
"How do you punish people?"
"How do you DEFEND yourselves?"
"We don't have to. We're all terribly nice to each other."

With the clueless King Arnulf (Jones) more interested in "singing" with his people, and his cunning daughter Princess Aud (Stubbs), will the vikings get the horn and reach their destiny?


This was my first non-Python Terry Jones film... and I'm not entirely impressed. Yes, this film had funny moments and lines, but they aren't enough to save the film. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.

One of the funniest gags is the seating arrangements on the viking ship. There is a single row of seats on either side of the ship so the occupant can row, but picking seats isn't easy. At first they pick their own seats, but people aren't happy, so Erik moves them around... then all the bigger men are on one side, so Erik moves them again....

"Now you've got all the ones with beards on one side and all the moustaches on the other"
"It doesn't matter"

John Cleese steals the few scenes he is in (his part should have been bigger) as Halfan the Black. And his ship has another funny scene involving an invisibility cloak and viking battle. But the funniest lines of the scene go to Slave Master, played by Tsutomu Sekine, who yells at the viking slaves in Japanese (he is Japanses, they are not and don't understand anything he is saying). All of his lines are gold!

Most of the well known actors in the film, only appear in a few scenes... and overall their purpose is questionable (such as Mickey Rooney, who is billed second, but only appears in a few scenes and doesn't do much). Their presence takes away from the film, as you pull back to recognize the actor and miss whatever information the character is supposed to pass on. Also, the ending is a major letdown... I haven't lost faith in Jones (after all, he did co-direct the Python films), but I doubt I will watch this film again.

Erik the Viking (1989) 107 minutes
Director: Terry Jones
Starring: Tim Robbins as Erik
Imogen Stubbs as Princess Aud
Gary Cady as Keitel Blacksmith
Charles McKeown as Ulf the Maddeningly Calm
Tim McInnerny as Sven the Berserk
John Gordon Sinclair as Ivar the Boneless
Richard Ridings as Thorfinn Skullsplitter
Freddie Jones as Harald the Missionary
John Cleese as Halfdan the Black
Samantha Bond as Helga
Terry Jones as King Arnulf

The Great Race

"Bury the hatchet."
"And you know who has the hatchet."
"He doesn't have a hatchet, he doesn't even have a whole mustache"

At the turn of the 20th century, automobile races are considered passe and women are demanding equality. "The Great Leslie" (Curtis), a highly successful daredevil, proposes a way to change the first: a race from New York to Paris. The second is pushed forward by reporter, Maggie Dubois (Wood), who forces her editor to enter a car in the race (after she forces him to hire her). They are joined in the race by Leslie's arch rival, Professor Fate (Lemmon) and his assistant Max (Falk), who sabotage the other cars in the race,

"What's next?"
"Car number five, the engine falls out!"
"Car number five! Ha ha ha ha! [pause] Max... we're number five"

With everyone else out of the race, Leslie and Fate battle to stay out front, which is further complicated by Maggie, who vows to finish the race even though her car died along the way. The competitors cross paths several times: at the midwest town of Boracho to get gas and engage in a saloon hall brawl, trying to stay warm and away from the polar bears in the Alaskan wild, and trying to survive the journey across the ocean on a block of ice. As Paris draws nearer how far will they go to be named the winner?


I have loved this movie since the first time I saw it (I was 7)... While the entire film is funny and quotable, there are two standout scenes. The first occurs early in the race, in the town of Boracho. The party scene is stolen by singer Lily Olay (Provine),

"Are you a native of Boracho?"
"I ain't no native, I was born here!"

and outlaw Texas Jack (Storch), "NOWWWWW will you gimme some FIGHTIN room?!?", who turn the party into a fist fight that literally tears the room apart.

The second standout scene occurs in the fictious country of Pottsdorf. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but Pottsdorf gives Jack Lemmon a second role as the happily intoxicated Prince Hapnik (think the polar opposite of the perpetually angry Professor Fate). This section of the film also includes the great pie fight... which involves all the main characters, and is the largest pie fight on film. You can't help but laugh at the crazy antics of the characters,

[gets hit with a pie] "Mmmm... brandy! Throw more brandy! More brandy! [gets hit with a second pie] Ugh, rum! I never mix my pies"

The actors look like they are having a blast, and by the end of the scene all are covered in pie filling. Love it!

Jack Lemmon is phenomenal in both roles, giving each character a distinct laugh and mannerisms, and easily becomes a highlight. While Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood are good as well, they don't to play characters as interesting as Lemmon. Curtis is convincing as the charming and clean "Leslie" who always wears white (and doesn't get dirty) and frequently gets kissed by random women. Wood has some funny lines and moments as feminist Maggie. Peter Falk is a great as Max, and plays well off of Lemmon's Professor Fate. I can't think of anything that I don't enjoy about the film... although I do wish the scenes at the newspaper in New York were shorter (it gives the audience a chance to see how far the cars have gone). Some parts are funny, but overall you keep waiting for the action to return to the race.

Dude, it's quotable!: There are great conversations, especially anything said by Jack Lemmon's characters.
Rent it: It might not be the most popular of famous film to feature these actors/actresses (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon starred in "Some Like It Hot" six years prior to making this film), but it is a gem!

The Great Race (1965) 160 minutes
Director: Blake Edwards
Starring: Jack Lemmon as Professor Fate / Prince Hapnik
Tony Curtis as The Great Leslie
Natalie Wood as Maggie Dubois
Peter Falk as Max
Keenan Wynn as Hezekiah
Arthur O'Connell as Henry Goodbody
Vivian Vance as Hester Goodbody
Dorothy Provine as Lily Olay
Larry Storch as Texas Jack
Ross Martin as Rolfe Von Stuppe
George Macready as General Kuhster
Marvin Kaplan as Frisbee

The Pirates of Penzance

"I can explain in two words: we propose to marry your daughters"

After serving as the apprentice to the notorious Pirates of Penzance, Frederic (Smith) is turning 21. While his pirate comrades expect Frederic to join their band as a full fledged pirate, he has other plans. His apprenticeship was a mistake: he was to be the apprentice of a ship's pilot, but his nurse, Ruth (Lansbury), heard "pirate" so they joined the Pirate King (Kline) and his crew. Now that he is no longer bound to the pirates, he feels duty bound to destroy them.

The pirates convince Frederic to take Ruth ashore and marry her,

"What a terrible thing it would be if I were to marry this innocent person and find out that she is, on the whole, *plain*"
"Plain? Ruth? Ruth is very......well..."
"Well?"
"Yes. Very well"

But once they get to land, Frederic discovers the truth when he sees the young, beautiful Stanley sisters. He leaves Ruth, and falls for the prettiest of the sisters, Mabel (Ronstadt), who returns his affections. But the pirates are still around, and they seize the opportunity to find women of their own. However, the girl's father is a Major General (Rose). He keeps the pirates from marrying his daughters... but lies to keep his family safe. Soon it is up to cowardly policemen

"They come in force with stealthy stride. Our obvious course is now to hide!"

I have loved this show since I was in elementary school, when the local high school performed it. I discovered this film in middle school, and fell in love.

I don't know much about Gilbert and Sullivan and their other shows... From what I've read, this film is not a pure version of the show: there are elements of other G&S shows involved. This is a fun film... some of the lyrics, especially the Major General's song ("I am the very model of a modern Major General"), are ridiculous. The filmmakers capitalize on this feeling and let the characters charge over the top and embark on zany adventures.

The cast seem very comfortable with their roles, which makes sense since everyone but Angela Lansbury originated their role in the Broadway revival of P.o.P. Speaking of Lansbury, she is the weakest link in the film. I love her, and I know she's talented, but I'm not sure if she works with this film. Kevin Kline steals the show as the Pirate King. He is over the top, but you can't help but watch him in every scene. The other standout in the film is Tony Azito as the Sergeant. Despite being in the least amount of the film, he is the character you remember. His Sergeant glides across the screen in his two numbers, leading the policemen in their dance... I didn't know people could move like that. I look forward to his entrance. The young lovers, Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith, do o.k. but don't really stand out. And George Rose is memorable as everyone's favorite character: the Major General.

You'll be singing and dancing along!!

pictures from http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/pirates.htm

The Pirates of Penzance (1983) 112 minutes
Director: Wilford Leach
Starring: Kevin Kline as The Pirate King
Angela Lansbury as Ruth
Linda Ronstadt as Mabel
George Rose as Major General Stanley
Rex Smith as Frederic
Tony Azito as Sergeant