Since the Oscars are coming up, I should knock out the reviews I have pending that are actually in Oscar races.  Our first entry is the “based on a true story”” movie, The Blind Side.  The story centers around Michael Oher, a homeless  teen, who is taken in by a family in Mississippi.  What follows is his discovery of football and attempt to get into college via football scholarship.

Sandra Bullock plays the mother in what will turn out to be the performance of her career.  The only cosmetic change was a bleaching of the hair.  What we get on-screen is a caring woman deciding to do the right thing, regardless of what others may think.  Bullock almost didn’t take this role until she met the family.  Given her rollercoaster career of mediocre to bad movie choice, one can only wonder what she turned down that would have been great.

While The Blind Side is nominated for Best Picture, it was not a top-10 movie for 2009.  This is a made-for-tv-like movie that got a big screen treatment because of Bullock and is better than expected because of an unbelievable performance.

My advice:  Check it out if it is still playing in your area; otherwise, get the DVD.