Snap Judgements: The Blind Side; Red Cliff; The Messenger

Few sports dramas pack as much heart and genuine emotion than The Blind Side, based on the book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. It tells the true story of Baltimore Ravens OL Michael Oher, who grew up mostly alone and homeless, until he was taken in by the well-to-do Touhy family, led by matriarch Leigh Ann(Sandra Bullock). It's Bullock's performance as the fiery, feisty Leigh Ann that provides the juice this film sorely needed to elevate it from stock Disney fairy tale. While some may balk at seeing another tough, emotional story that bears some surface resemblance to the film, Precious, The Blind Side stays away from becoming too dark for it's own good, and focuses on dramatic effect Michael has on the lives of the Touhy's. Arguably Sandra Bullock's best performance of her career. 8/10



Being a historical nut when it comes to the ancient story of the Han Dynasty as told in the novel, Romance of the Kingdoms, I wasn't certain that John Woo could accurately portray the grandiose majesty of the time period. Boy, was I wrong. Not only does Woo do what he does best, which is coordinate huge epic battles consisting of thousands of warriors, but he also deftly mixes the mythological aspects that are so much a part of the lore that makes these stories special. Red Cliff portrays the conclusive battle between Lie Bei and Sun Ce's forces against 800,000 man army led by the evil tyrannical Cao Cao. Expect massive grand scale wars reminiscent of The Lord of The Rings, and an impressive performance by the always reliable Tony Leung(Lust Caution). I can only imagine how good this film would've been if both Ken Watanabe and Chow Yun-Fat had been a part of it as originally intended. It is 2 /12 hours long, but it never feels slow or over long. The Asian version of the film(which I'll be buying on DVD post haste) is 4hrs in length, so we got jipped!

8/10



Of all the bad jobs in the world, being a Casualty Notification Officer for the Army has to be one of the worst. One of my favorite actors, Ben Foster, puts on a stirring performance as Will, war hero returned home and assigned this heartbreaking but crucial task. Woody Harrelson is Tony, his world weary and beaten down partner in this task. The rules of the job are simple but nearly impossible to abide: Don't get emotionally attatched to the next of kin. When Will breaks this one cardinal rule by becoming romantically involved with the recently widowed Oliva(Samantha Morton), it pushes his friendship with Tony to the breaking point and tests all sorts of ethical boundaries. Director Oren Moverman's film has no agenda, and tells a side of the war that has never been presented on screen before. Superb and in my opinion Oscar worthy performance by Foster, Harrelson, and the always amazing Samantha Morton help push one of the best films about the Iraq war yet. Not that that's saying much!

7/10