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.

When You Want to Do Life Over : A Review of The Illusion

Just recently watched the Illusion with Kirk Douglas.  This is the moving story of a screen writer/director (forget which) who is very old and on the verge of dying.

Great start,  right? 

 Anyway as you learn more about this screen writer/director you find out that he was a dad at one point in his life but decided to pursue his career rather than be a caring dad and is now realizing that was a poor choice in his life.  He has a son who is a romantic and has struggled not having a father figure in his life.  His son is actually a pretty nice guy and is in love with a mysterious woman who continues to pop up in his life.  Kirk Douglas plays the aged father and does a great job with his role. Found out this was Kirk Douglas' declared last movie.   Much of the movie is showing Kirk Douglas' observation of how his son grows up without him around.  He realizes that his son has a negative self-image continually spoken to him in his father's voice, because of one pivotal moment where his dad drives off to pursue his career rather than picking up his son for his allocated time of the week with him.   Here is what I liked about Illusion:

1. Great movie that depicts the power of a father in the life of his son.   Not having a dad is a rough way to grow up.  A positive father figure in a child's life is a powerful factor that is not always portrayed in movies today.

2. Kind of comes off a bit like Highway to Heaven or Touched by An Angel -  without going too much into plot details this movie resembles Highway to Heaven where an angel comes and shows you your life in way that makes you want to change it.  A Christmas Carol is also very similar in theme to some of the parts of the Illusion.

3. Great redemptive ending -  I admit I don't always like a miserable, sad ending just because it is realistic and artsy.   I'm not saying I love movies that always come out happy and singing songs - but a good story with a good ending makes me encouraged to see more movies that have values.  Illusion delivers with a great ending that makes you reflect on your own life and relationships and helps you to think about the choices you are making now in life.

4. For a romantic movie - it definitely kept my interest.  I don't love romantic movies all that much.  The occasional chick flick I can enjoy watching with my wife,  but overall I don't rush to turn on Romeo and Juliet just for good times.  This movie was different in that it spun an interesting romance that kept me intrigued by how it was going to turn out.   I actually thought it was a fun journey as the main character's son continues to pursue this woman who has meant so much to him throughout his life.

Overall - if you are looking for a good movie in the same category as A Christmas Carol,  you may enjoy watching The Illusion.   It had a great soundtrack and a redemptive story overall.  4 star rating in my book.

What type of movie is this? - A Review of The Tourist

Johnny Depp isn't cranking out hits lately,  but this movie came out a while ago and starred Angelina Jolie alongside him.  What was this all about? - I decided to rent it and see if it was as bad as the critics seemed to think.  First off - the acting is good - it was the story that really lacked something.  Angelina plays a spy of sorts who is working with someone mysteriously who tells her to pick a non-suspecting tourist and try to make those who are following her believe it is the man she really intends to make contact with.  So she picks Johnny Depp's character who claims he is a math teacher from America.  He seems like a nice enough guy and although kind of clumsy kind of likes the idea of Ms. Jolie following him around and rescuing him from danger.   However, that plotline didn't save the movie from an overall lackluster journey.  Here is where this movie fell short in my opinion:

1. Like stated before it wasn't the acting - it was the story behind the movie that really was missing something.

The story had potential, but when you are making a movie in the same genre as The Bourne Identity or James Bond series, you have some high expectations to compete with.   Unfortunately, I don't think this movie has the same ingredients that made The Bourne Identity so great and it also tried to blend too many genres of movies like point #4 below elaborates on.

2.  Bad guys who are hard to take seriously. 

Are they meant to be funny and comedic or are they really trying to be threatening?  This movie kind of leaves you guessing and the result is that you aren't rooting that hard for the good guys to get away and come out ahead, because you don't know if the bad guys are going to be so stupid they will end up sabotaging themselves.

3. A twist that feels forced and not that surprising.

A good twist can really keep you guessing throughout the movie and make you feel a sense of surprise and admiration for the writers. This movie's twist (although it does contain one) - doesn't seem to deliver that result.  It feels a bit too forced and not really that surprising.  Compared to the ending/twist of Limitless, which is open to interpretation and almost makes you want to re-watch the movie, this movie doesn't deliver a satisfying one.

4. Not sure what type of movie this is trying to be.

I had heard spy adventure and comedy so I watched it expecting something like that - but after it was all over - I actually thought this movie came off more of a romance??  I prefer adventures, action movies and comedies all to romances - so that definitely took some stars away from my review.  In the end, I'm not positive what type of genre the directors/writers were going for.   I guess if you aim at too many targets you won't hit any of them.

Conclusion: while this movie wasn't terrible, it delivered a movie that left you thinking it could have been so much better.  If that is the best you can say about a movie - I would say this is no more than a 2 star rating out of 5.