The movie version of the Tuohy family in “The Blind Side.” Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers.

THE BLIND SIDE (Rated PG-13)

Not being a young female, I thought I was probably not the best person to review “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” even if vampires are the rage today in popular culture. All things considered, I made the right pick with “The Blind Side,” not solely for the reason that one of the central characters is a hulking football player.

Actually, the movie belongs, fully at most times, to Sandra Bullock, who plays a hard-nosed, wealthy Southern belle who defies convention by plucking a homeless black teenager off the road on a winter’s night.

“The Blind Side” celebrates and extols faith, compassion and a raft of other virtues, but most importantly it delivers a feel-good story that proves to be one of the year’s best family movies.

On a cold night before Thanksgiving, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), her husband Sean (Tim McGraw), teen daughter Collins (Lily Collins) and young son S.J. (Jae Head) are driving along a deserted suburban Memphis road when they encounter Michael (Quinton Aaron), a large black kid they recognize from the Christian school which the Tuohy kids attend.

Charitable and impulsive, Leigh Anne insists on putting Michael up for the night. Since the Tuohys live in a sizable home in a very tony, upscale neighborhood, this proves to be a nice gesture for a kid from the projects who has been in and out of foster homes his whole life.

Instinctively, Leigh Anne senses something special about the gentle giant most people call “Big Mike” (though he prefers to be called Michael). Reticent and introverted, Michael rarely speaks his mind, but this doesn’t keep the forceful Leigh Anne from reading his body language.

Digging into his past, she soon learns that Michael, lacking any real educational skills but given his massive size, is seen by the school and the football coach as having real potential for the gridiron. Leigh Anne and Sean, graduates of Ole Miss, are football fans, and also see Michael’s talent, but they want him to succeed as well on an academic level, enabling a chance for a collegiate scholarship to a good university.

Aside from a few lunches in her social circle, Leigh Anne throws herself into an effort to do the right thing for Michael. This involves tracking down his crack-addicted mother at a project, mostly to reassure the birth mother of her best intentions. She hires the tutor Miss Sue (Kathy Bates), an Ole Miss alum, to help him become a decent enough student to get the qualifying grade point average. As a card-carrying member of the NRA, Leigh Anne also struts her no-nonsense stuff to force a gangster in the projects to back down from intimidating Michael.

Back on the school’s football field, Michael has raw physical talent, but little practical application of it that is needed for the sport. While the Coach (Ray McKinnon) likes to bark orders, Michael does not respond to his direction. Thus, Leigh Anne famously enters a practice huddle and schools Michael on the essential need to live up to his natural protective instincts, getting him to see that blocking tackles is the best way to protect the extended family of his teammates.

Sassy and blunt, Leigh Anne is often quite funny in the manner by which she asserts herself, as she seeks to advance the interests of the burly kid she comes to treat as one of her own children.

Having been fully incorporated into the family, it is only natural that eventually the Tuohys become Michael’s legal guardians.

To be sure, as the dynamic and compelling Leigh Anne, Sandra Bullock, nailing the rapid-fire delivery of her character’s Southern drawl, overshadows much of what happens in this wonderful story.

On size alone, Quinton Aaron’s hulking Michael is a presence hard to ignore. But more than physical dominance comes into play for the talented young actor who is very expressive even during his quietest moments.

Fittingly for a movie with a sports theme, “The Blind Side,” directed by John Lee Hancock (“The Rookie”), is a real stand-up-and-cheer experience. This inspired feel-good story is the kind of cinematic experience that has become all too rare in our cynical world.

As a film that is as humorous as it is uplifting, “The Blind Side” is a real treat for the holiday season.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

Another gem from British television is the “Life on Mars” police drama series that was remade in an American version for the ABC Network last year. In most cases, it is best to stick with the original, and now you have the chance to get the DVD release of “Life on Mars, Series 2.”

John Simm stars as Sam Tyler, a detective in contemporary Manchester, who is knocked unconscious by a hit-and-run driver and wakes up in 1973 as a member of the police force.

Although shocked by the brutality of his bullying boss (Philip Glenister) and the callousness of his squad mates, Tyler gamely adapts to crime solving in this retro world. Trapped in the past, he hears mysterious voices from his former life calling him home.

Building to a tension-filled finale, “Life on Mars, Series 2” includes the final eight episodes, along with a 45-minute documentary and behind-the-scenes footage. All in all, it might be a good idea to check out the first season as well, so long as it is the original BBC series.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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