Doing My Research

Admittedly, I'm very good at wasting time on the internet. (Evidence lies here. And here. And here. Just to name a few.)

Saturday evening, after getting a lot of work done, I decided to kill some more time, so I tucked into my bed and Googled "movies streaming online free."

This is the part of the story where I realize again what a magical place the internet is.

I found It's Complicated! I'd wanted to see it so badly! It was so silly and fun! Alec Baldwin at his most irresistible! Hurray!

Then, I watched Brothers, which, as you can see from this, I really wanted to see. It was harrowing and so well-acted. The silences were used beautifully and hauntingly.

I've hit the internet pirated movie jackpot.

So, now, I've decided to catch up on all the Oscar-nominated movies I haven't seen yet.

This morning, I watched The Blind Side.

I am not ashamed, the trailers made me weep, but it wasn't the kind of movie I was willing to pay $11 for to see in the theaters. Still, it feels like part of my pop culture duty to see what everyone is talking about in Sandra Bullock's performance.

And, honestly, I think I wept through the entire movie. Minus the football game parts.

Yes, yes, it's full of horrible, white lady saves the black kid cliches. Some of which even offended me, like the fact that the thug the lead kid escapes from actually said, "I will bust a cap in yo' ass" or that Sandra Bullock's character actually only wears white and tan. (SEE? It SYMBOLIZES the difference in their RACES!) Or the duet of "Bust a Move" between the lead kid and his tiny white brother.

But it's about a kid who needs to learn how to learn, about really great teachers and about family.

And I forgot it was Sandra Bullock on the screen. And her eyes filled up with proud and overwhelmed tears at just the right moments.

And then they showed actual photos of the real Tuohy family with Michael Oher, and I cried through the entire closing credits.

And now you know.

Still on my list: Crazy Heart, Up in the Air, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Sherlock Holmes. Watching movies like Avatar and even Inglourious Basterds on my computer just seems silly...

Make no mistake. These movies had the very clear DO NOT COPY, TRANSFER, OR GIVE AWAY fine print flashing sporadically through them. Someone else broke the rules. Do not judge me. I am a poor graduate student. And the internet is a magical, magical place.