Not as great as they say it's supposed to be

Rating: 6/10 (10 March 2010)

I really don't know why this film got so much praise and credit, but when I saw it for myself, it wasn't all that astounding and all. The movie follows the story of Micheal Oher before and (mostly) after he is adopted by the well to do Tuhoy family where after staying with the family for some time, he magically becomes one of the best football defenders in the college division.
Beyond that, there's nothing more to it. Once again, we are given yet another inspirational sports movie with the same plot seen in other films; the underdog guy/ team is helped/ coached by the compassionate but unexpected coach and they all live happily ever after as "better people" (similar films include "Glory Road," "Gridiron Gang" and "Pride"). There; that pretty much sums up the entire movie. If they're going to make another sports movie in the future, at least bring something new to the genre; I've had it with sports movie being too predictable just like this one.
Massive lack of originality and overused story aside, the one shining point of the movie was Sandra Bullock's performance (which was a big improvement compared to her other movies of the year, which include the okay "The Proposal" and the better forgotten "All About Steve") but I don't see why she deserved the Best Actress award in this year's Oscars. Compared to her fellow nominees for the same award (especially Gabourey Sidibe for "Precious"), her performance was really weak. She may have done a good job in an otherwise mediocre film, but giving her the Oscar just doesn't make any sense.