Editorial
Front Page - Friday, December 18, 2009
The Critic's Corner
David Laprad
You know a movie is going to play well in Tennessee if people don’t mind when it pokes fun at the Vols. And audience members at the screening of “The Blind Side” I attended laughed as Sandra Bullock’s character scrunched up her nose and expressed her disdain for the Volunteer State’s beloved college football team. That’s when I knew the film was going to be a hit.
It’s hard to imagine someone not liking “The Blind Side.” It’s dramatically simple, and it panders to a mass audience, but it’s made with such sincerity and humor, I found it easy to forgive things about which I’d normally complain. Moreover, the performances by Bullock and co-star Quinton Aaron are pitch perfect, and writer and director John Lee Hancock does solid work behind the camera.
“The Blind Side” tells the true story of Michael Oher, a troubled young man who became an All American football player and first round draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
It also tells a story of how compassion can produce miracles. Oher was homeless when a football coach at a private high school convinced his colleagues to admit him, even though he was emotionally traumatized. And he was still on the streets when Leigh Anne Tuohy took him in.
By the time colleges started knocking on Tuohy’s door, Tuohy had broken through most of the protective barriers Oher had built around himself, but the road from there to playing pro ball is still long.
“The Blind Side” is also about bravery and sacrifice. The well-to-do Tuohy had plenty of resources to offer Oher, but when her rich friends ridiculed her, she overcame class and racial prejudice and made a stand.
A movie more inspiring than “The Blind Side” has not graced theaters this year. When the credits rolled, almost everyone stayed seated to view the photos of the actual people in the story, including Tuohy and Oher. And when the screen faded to black, those same folks filled the auditorium with applause.
If you’re looking for a clean, uplifting movie your entire family will enjoy, “The Blind Side” should fit the bill.
•••
“Armored” is almost a good film. Unfortunately, “almost” doesn’t count at the movies.
The film’s opening scenes raised my expectations for what would follow. Instead of jumping right into the action, for example, director Nimrod Antal takes a few minutes to develop his characters. Front and center is Ty Hackett, a new guard for an armored truck company. In the wake of his parents’ deaths, Ty is struggling to pay the bills and raise his younger brother.
Although money is tight, Ty comes across as an ethical man who’s trying to make the best of a bad hand. He also keeps his cool in tough situations. In one early scene, Ty asks his boss for some overtime; when the answer is no, he doesn’t lash out or rob a bank, he goes home and checks on his brother.
Ty’s co-workers, however, have no qualms about stealing money, and approach the young man about faking a heist during one of their deliveries. Appalled, Ty rejects the proposal. But when a social worker threatens to put his brother in foster care, he casts his lot with the other guards — on the condition no one gets hurt. “No one gets hurt. That’s a promise,” says Mike, one of the instigators. Does Mike keep his promise?
Almost.
Things go bad when a homeless man catches them in the act. Minutes later, Ty is holed up in one of the trucks, with the other guards trying to break into the vehicle to kill him. (And you think your colleagues give you a hard time on the job.)
Although I had a hard time swallowing the plan of the guards to steal tens of millions of dollars from their own company, I went along for the ride and, up to a point, had a good time.
For starters, Antal knows how to frame and shoot action. He also gets solid performances out of a great cast that includes Matt Dillon, Lawrence Fishburne and Jean Reno. And the production values in “Armored” are solid.
But Antal stretches the credibility of the story beyond the breaking point by having Ty escape the armored car unnoticed to radio for help. Not only that, Ty is able to move an injured policeman into the truck without the other guards seeing him. This requires some awkward staging in a couple of scenes. Also, unless I missed something, the death of at least one character is implied but not shown, creating an odd loose end. And things are wrapped up too easily at the conclusion of the movie.
Although “Armored” falls short of good, Antal shows tremendous promise. For that reason, I’m excited about his upcoming reboot of the “Predator” franchise. Hopefully, his days of almost making good movies are behind him.
E-mail David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.
com.
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