The Blind Side

I absolutely love this movie!!! It has to be on my top 10! I am extremely picky about the movies I watch and even more picky when it comes to rating them high. The screenplay was beautifully written. The artists were brilliant. The mother, Mrs. Leigh Ann Tuohy, was played by the beautiful and talented Miss Sandra Bullock. She's already nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress. The father, Mr. Sean Tuohy, was played by the compelling Mr. Tim McGraw. The Oscar winning, Miss Kathy Bates, also joined the star-studded cast as Michael Oher's private tutor. Quinton Aaron made his debut by playing Michael Oher. Lily Collins plays the Tuohy's daughter, Collins Tuohy, who is Oher's age. One of the most darling characters in this movie is SJ!!!! He is the Tuohy's son and is played by Jae Head. He is cute as a button. But, don't let his charm fool you! He is one of the smartest, most entrepreneurial little guy I have yet to see!

The Tuohy family is one in a million. Who would dare take in a complete stranger and bring them home? Who would have this much compassion towards a kid on the street? From my assessment of this family and of this situation, I believe without a shadow of a doubt that this was all God ordained. God had his eye on Michael Oher. God favored him, just as he favored a little shepherd boy to be one of the greatest kings of Israel. God loves everyone and he protects everyone. His eye is on everyone and everything he has created. But, I believe that his special favor rests on a few, special ones through whom his love and power are manifested. That was Michael Oher. He could have easily been a statistic on the streets. In his own words, in an interview he gave, he said, "zero" make it out or alive from where he was from. I praise God for his divine plan and intervention in this young man's life. I praise God for the compassion and the willingness of the Tuohy family to be open to the riskiest thing they had ever encountered in their lives.

One of the many amazing things in this movie was how Mr. & Mrs. Tuohy were both on board. Even though they were two separate beings with their own separate ideas, at the end, they were on the same team. And the central message of the movie was all about protecting your family. At the end of the day, it's immensely vital to the existance of your spirit and soul, to protect those you love. That entails protecting your loved ones with your words, protecting them through your actions, and protecting their emotions and their hearts. It's so easy to kick someone, especially when they are down and out. It takes courage to lend a hand and to pick someone up and encourage them to be their best. That's exactly what the Tuohys did. They recognized the great talent he had in playing football. He had no idea about the game when he started. He was encouraged and he was trained well. The Tuohys were persistent in bringing his GPA up in order for him to be eligible to play football in college. It's remarkable to me how much effort and time and money the Tuohys spent on Michael. In other words, they never treated him any less than how they treated Collins or SJ. Why would they? He is their son.

One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Leigh Ann Tuohy tries to get to know Michael better and asks him to indulge her with any information about himself. He replies by saying, "I don't like to be called 'Big Mike.'" At that, Leigh Ann responds by saying, "All right then. I will be calling you 'Michael' from now on." You can see the advent of a beautiful relationship forming between them. Another heartbreaking scene is when Michael is given a beautiful room with a custom-ordered bed for his size. As he's surprised by her generosity, he says, "Never had one before." Then, Leigh Ann turns around and asks, "What? A room to yourself?" Then Oher responds by saying, "A bed." I was also blown away by a few teachers who took a special interest in him, especially his hired tutor, Miss Sue. Last but not least, SJ is nothing but adorable!!!! It brings you to tears and eruptive laughter to see the bond that develops between Oher and SJ!!!! It's absolutely hilarious and brilliant how SJ works these legendary coaches pretty hard when they come to convince Michael to be recruited to their respective schools.

I am so excited to see where Michael Oher's life is heading. I've always been crazy about Ohio State football!! (GO BUCKS!!!!). But, recently, over the past 5 years or so, I've gotten into the NFL. I haven't been faithful to my home teams - - the Bengals and the Browns. I love the Manning brothers, though :) Who doesn't? I've been supporting the Colts or the Giants in the past couple of years. I'll be rooting for the Ravens to go all the way to the Super Bowl this year!!! Flacco looks promising! What an exciting ride for Michael Oher and the Tuohy family!!!! It also made me realize of something so precious and fundamental: God is never in debt to those who do great things for him. If you take one step towards God in obedience and humility, he will take a million steps towards you to bless you and to reward you! I just praise God for this family and for the testament of what God has been doing in this family and in this young man's life! I am so blessed by this movie!!!!!!!! I encourage everyone to go and see this movie with your loved ones, if you haven't done so. It's a great movie to see before you enter the new year! It will motivate you and inspire you to do great things in the year ahead! :)

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me." - Matthew 25: 37-40 (The Message).