Seen at: Carmike 10, Ft. Collins, at 4:20 p.m. on Nov. 23.
Boy howdy, I was not looking forward to this movie. I'd seen the trailer about two dozen times by the time it premiered a couple weeks back, and I was eager to cross it off my list.
Shame on me. This was an awesome movie. It really broke my cynicism. It's full of interesting characters trying to be honorable and do the right thing in the face of difficulties and challenges. It rivals Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself as the most classical Hollywood movie of the year.
The most startling thing was that it broke what amounts to a three-decade long drought of positive Christian characters in movies. The purported Christians on screen actually strive to embody the Gospel and the teachings of Christ in regard to universal love, instead of playing to Christianoid stereotypes.
It really won me over. So did Sandra Bullock. Given her roles in The Proposal and All About Steve, it's obvious that Bullock, in her mid Forties, is really trying to challenge herself as an actress while she is in the age range to playing leading women in these kinds of roles (she's almost my same age, so I'm on her side in this regard). The trailers made me think she was biting off more than she could chew in this one, but those impressions were wrong. She strikes exactly the right note all the way through, and I concur with those putting her among the favorites for the Best Actress Oscar.
This movie isn't for everyone. If you're in a cynical mood, it might not work for you, but if it is approached with an open mind, I think it shines forth as superb cinematic storytelling with a breakthrough neo-Classical slant.
About the only disappointment I had about this movie was that although it was set in Memphis---a city I came to discover and love this year---it was filmed in Atlanta. Oh, well. You can't have it all.
Verdict: outstanding
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