The Blind Side

        - Based on the extraordinary true story

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

Actors:

Sandra Bullock

Quinton Aaron

Tim McGraw

Jae Head

Lily Collins

Ray McKinnon

Kathy Bates

Other info:

Director:          John Lee Hancock   

Producer (s): Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove

Running time: 126 minutes

Age rating: PG-13

Genre:                           Biography, Drama, Sport

Release date: 20 November 2009

Budget:         $29 million

Box Office: $309,208,309

IMDb rating: 7,6 / 10

Rotten Tomatoes: 66%

Our Experience

Rating:        9/10

Since I saw this movie, I've wanted a white watch, like the one Sandra Bullock's character wore. My kids are scarred for life, as I may have watched it a couple of times more than what they appreciated. But this story has inspired me and given me hope at a time I really needed it. If you want to, you will find a lot of fault with this movie. You can judge it by its generalizations, political incorrectness, and stereotypes. It can also be seen as a typical rags-to-riches story.

But for me, it's about the hope this story inspires within me.

Audience Suggestion & Guidance

Age: All, but with guidance

Swearing:   2/10

Profanity:   Yes

Violence:   1/10

Thinking/Twist factor: 3/10

Blood & Gore:   N/A

Scary factor:   2/10

Nudity:   N/A

Sex:   N/A

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Michael "Big Mike" Oher has been in foster care with different families in Tennessee, due to his biological mother's drug addiction, but every time he is placed in a new home, he runs back to her. His friend's father, on whose couch Michael has been sleeping, asks Burt Cotton, the football coach of Wingate Christian School, to help get his son and Michael enrolled. Impressed by Mike's size and athleticism, Cotton gets him admitted despite his poor academic record. Michael is befriended by a younger student named Sean Tuohy Jr. ("SJ"). SJ's mother, Leigh Anne, is a strong-minded interior designer and the wife of wealthy businessman Sean Sr.

Read the full synopsis here: The Blind Side

The Shawshank Redemption

        - Fear can hold your prisoner. Hope can set you free.

Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.

Actors:

Tim Robbins

Morgan Freeman

Bob Gunton

William Sadler

Clancy Brown

Other info:

Director:         Frank Darabont

Producer: Niki Marvin

Running time: 142 minutes

Age rating: R

Genre:                           Drama

Release date: 23 September 1994

Budget:         $25 million

Box Office: $28,906,619

IMDb rating: 9.3 / 10

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%

Our Experience

Rating:        9,8/10

Before I knew that the rest of the world also see this movie as one of the best movies of all time, I have loved this movie already. It's slow enough to make sure you get the story and have time to put the pieces together, before revealing an ending you still didn't see coming. It's raw, but filled with hope.

And for me, hope - no matter how small - has the power to dispel the darkest darkness.

Although there are some disturbing scenes, and it is rated R, I have shown this movie to my kids since they were small. There's worse stuff on TikTok or YouTube or even on the news. But this one has hope.

Audience Suggestion & Guidance

Age: All, but with guidance

Swearing:   2/10

Profanity:   Yes

Violence:   4/10

Thinking/Twist factor: 4/10

Blood & Gore:   N/A

Scary factor:   3/10

Nudity:   N/A

Sex:   Implied sexual violence

Synopsis:

In early 1947, Portland, Maine, banker Andy Dufresne arrives at Shawshank State Prison to serve two consecutive life sentences for murdering his wife and her lover. He is befriended by Ellis "Red" Redding, a contraband smuggler serving a life sentence, who procures a rock hammer and a large poster of Rita Hayworth for Andy. Assigned to work in the prison laundry, Andy is frequently raped by "the Sisters" prison gang and their leader, Bogs Diamond.

Read the full synopsis here: The Shawshank Redemption