Football and a Look Back : A Review of Touchback

Recently I added a movie that looked good - or so I thought.  I tend to enjoy good uplifting football movies.  From Remember the Titans to movies like Woodlawn - I'm all for a good sports drama that demonstrates the power of sports and a common mission to bring people together.  Touchback is different though in a good way.  Touchback sets itself apart because it isn't mainly a football movie.  Football definitely plays a major theme,  but overall there are many more aspects to this movie that help set it apart from the other movies like it.

Brian Presley stars in this movie about a high school quarterback who after having everything going for him,  gets a serious injury in his final game that changes his life dramatically.   Kurt Russell plays the coach in his life who helps him sort through what is really important in his life.   The rest of it is for the viewer to find out.   Without giving it away here is why Touchback got a very high rating in my opinion:


1.  Realistically balances the sports story with other aspects of living your life.   Like stated above, this movie isn't totally about football,  and in this case that is a positive thing.

2. Enough content to keep the ladies interested.  My wife wasn't sure she was going to like this movie.  She went into watching it expecting to possibly leave half-way into it.   She ended up loving it so much that she watched it twice and we now own a copy!  For a movie that features football, that is very impressive!

3.  Great lessons shown throughout that enforce the value of family, perseverance, and resisting what looks good now for a better goal long term.  These types of themes are hard to find in many flaky, stupid movies made today.

4. Convincing acting and tightly written story.  Many times positive value movies have a great message with some moving music, and decent acting.  I felt this movie was in a league above the average positive family movie.   Yes, it was a great family movie,  but it was also very well-written and acted out.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well this movie was put together.

Although this movie wouldn't be considered religious in the content,  the values it conveyed hit it out of the park and it was one I would love to watch again.  If you want a movie that I would describe as well-done, edifying and encouraging to watch,  you should check out the movie Touchback!  Two thumbs up from Paul & Chrystal.

Concussion Review

Will Smith has taken on a very thought-provoking role in the movie I just watched : Concussion.   I must admit I was a little surprised to see his role in this movie.  I had envisioned Will Smith would be one of the football players who ends up injured by concussions in the NFL.   That turned out to be quite different than how the story goes.  Instead, Will Smith plays a doctor named Dr. Bennet Omalu who has a passion for investigating why people die.  As a forensic scientist he has to examine dead bodies and many times has to testify to cause of death.  Things get interesting when certain NFL legends in the town of Pittsburgh, PA end up going crazy and having strange deaths that are not in line with their overall health.  Dr. Omalu does some research on his own and finds some serious causes to the death.  The problems start when he tries to share his discoveries.

Let me be clear:  This movies is not a great feel-good story.  It is based on a true story which makes it very interesting.  The observations and discoveries of Dr. Omalu also give you a whole new perspective on the NFL and even watching NFL games.   It makes you think twice.  It makes you realize that NFL players are jeopardizing their health and mental well-being by being successful in the sport.  In the end, it makes a very strong statement about America's love for football.  It just may not be the statement you were hoping for.

Will Smith does a great job in his role and I think he plays his part very convincingly.   Although I wouldn't want to re-watch this movie,  I did feel it made fascinating observations about football and the NFL and it made you think about this sport in a new perspective.   For that it gets bonus points in my book since it doesn't leave hot topics untouched.   I give this movie a solid 4 stars out of 5.   Although I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy the Superbowl quite as much after watching this movie.