Friday Night Lights

There's a motto that always attaches to small town obsessions: "It's all they have." Indeed, but no one ever seems to raise the corollary observation: maybe it's all they are capable of having; or even, maybe it's all they deserve. That idea, though unexpressed, permeates this study of a Texas town's high school football team. The evidence lies throughout and is a part of this film's signature veracity. So, too, with the game footage, which is mostly spot on and extremely well done. But there are also way too many sports film cliches--plot revealed via announcers, the crazy sports parent, unbelievable on-field exploits--that tarnish the overall presentation. Yet again, the film still hits some strong emotional marks, given that, after all, these are just kids. A tough call; your taste for sports movies may be the deciding factor.

Antwone Fisher

An effective story of struggle and redemption. You can't help but root for the title character. Of course, the real Antwone Fisher wrote the screenplay, so there may be reason to be skeptical. Nevertheless, it is a good movie and a good story. A side note, though: this does not exactly depict the ideal patient-therapist relationship--a little too involved there, doc.