Billy Bob Thornton in "Friday Night Lights"
courtesy of Universal Home Video
"One of the Best Sports Movies Ever"

"Friday Night Lights" is one of the best sports movies ever made. It is based on a true story and tells about a small town Texas high school football team. In this town and this state at this time football is everything. The stars of the high school team are gods and the town is in their thrall.

Billy Bob Thornton plays the coach whose acceptance by the town depends on how good a job he does as coach. Tim McGraw is amazing as the alcoholic father of one of the players. In truth there isn't a weak performance in the entire film.

The DVD version offers interviews with the real life players as well as other "extras." This is a video to watch over and over, and to enjoy more every time.

Charlize Theron followed up her Oscar winning role in "Monster" with the film "Head In the Clouds." This is a romantic movie set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and the impending war to end all wars.

Theron, real life boyfriend Stuart Townsend, and Penelope Cruz star as three people caught up in the romance of the wild and crazy world they find in Europe. But as life matures them some become better while others become worse. And when does romance take precedence over duty?

Theron is an impressive actress in any role and this film gives her a chance to show her beauty and talent. Cruz still does not make much of an impression but Townsend is okay.

Is getting back at a bully a form of bullying too? That is the question raised in the film "Mean Creek" which stars Rory Culkin (of the famed Culkin clan). Culkin plays a shy kid who is constantly being bullied. He and his older brother come up with a plan by which they can teach the bully a lesson. But things go wrong from the start and the result is not what has been planned.

"Mean Creek" is a good movie for showing how things can get out of hand, and that actions once begun can sometimes not be stopped. But as good as the message is, the film is rated R and is not intended for young audiences.

Katie Holmes is the young actress who captured our attention as the charming Joey of "Dawson's Creek." In the movie, now out on video, "First Daughter" she doesn't show much of that charm. But that is more the movie's fault than hers.

This film is another of the seemingly endless movies about a President's daughter and her desire to be independent. Yes we did see Mandy Moore in this same kind of movie. This film is a little bit better than that movie was, and little means little.

Marc Blucas is the love interest here and Michael Keaton plays the President. There is talent to spare but it is all wasted in this simple and silly film.

There is a feeling in Hollywood that you are never as big a star as you are after you die. Think Elvis, Marilyn and James Dean. So when Pauly Shore feels his career is washed up he fakes his own death. At least that is the premise of the new to video release "Pauly Shore Is Dead."

The movie features cameos by such luminaries as Ellen DeGeneres, Pam Anderson, Heidi Fleiss and other "legends" of the silver screen. And of course there is always Pauly to entertain you. Maybe.

Your kids will enjoy "The Easter Egg Escapade," an animated film about some bad creatures who steal Easter Eggs from Egg Town. It takes real heroism to try and get the eggs back but brave souls make the effort.

This is an animated musical that features songs by Natalie Cole and the speaking voices of Brooke Shields, James Woods and others. Its fun, its funny, it's a good story for kids, and the songs are hummable.

"September Tapes" is a film about actors and filmmakers going into Afghanistan to try to uncover the real story behind the actions of 9/11 as well as the situation in Afghanistan. They have a script they are planning to use for their film but it gets overcome by events. The real story they find is better than anything they could have planned.

With the War in Iraq in our faces daily, this is a jolting movie about the other war. It is compelling and shocking. It is also interesting to watch.

The Gobi Desert in Mongolia is the setting for the film "The Story of the Weeping Camel." This amazing movie tells the story of a baby camel that is rejected by its mother. Since without its mother's milk the baby will die, the herders who own the camels go through a variety of methods to get the mother and baby reunited.

This award winning magical movie tells some wonderful lessons about love and family. It is unique and should not be missed.

 

 

 

 

 

©2005 Jackie K. Cooper

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