Rating: 
Summary: Thoughts from producer...
Review: Just a quick response to Mr. Warren's review, as well as a thank you to all of you who have been so kind here...I don't want to be defensive (I'm fully aware of any of this movie's shortcomings), but I do want to make sure that potential customers are getting accurate information. We didn't intend Hometown Legend to be an evangelical film--he summed it up best when he said that if this were made by Hollywood, he would have been pleasantly surprised. Well, we ARE Hollywood, so the movie should be judged on its own merits. We didn't tone anything down, we simply told the story the way we felt it should be told. This movie wasn't about how to become a Christian, this was about a high school football team in a small town that also included some Christian characters. Any football movie about the South that didn't include God or prayer would be unrealistic. Regarding the coach's behavior, we never said he was a Christian, and even if he was, it is very common for high school football coaches to be demonstrative and even tempermental. We weren't making a Christian instructional video, we were simply trying to tell a realistic story. Are Christians only supposed to make movies that show perfect Christians and only tell stories that are "clean?" That would pretty much rule out the Old Testament, wouldn't it? If a Christian was an architect, is he only allowed to design church buildings or "Christian" houses? Of course not. We're filmmakers who happen to be Christians. Therefore, our worldview will obviously be represented in our work, like any artist, but that doesn't mean that we must use movies as our evangelical tool. If you want to criticize the movie for what is IS, that's one thing...but don't criticize the movie for what it's NOT. Unless, of course, you're saying "it's NOT a good movie." :) And for those parents who are concerned--Coach Schuler never calls anyone an ass. And a piss ant is an actual insect. As to the other complaints about certain words, to each his own...
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Worth Watching
Review: My husband and I have been waiting for this DVD to come out for quite sometime and it was worth it. I'm a huge fan of Jerry B. Jenkins writing and I loved Hometown Legend. I grew up in the south and it made me homesick for a Friday night football game under the lights. The movie does an excellent job of incorporating the main theme behind the book, and it was great to see what ideas carried over and what new perspectives the producer added. It's hard to come by a movie these days that I can recommend to anyone, Christian or non-christian, and Hometown Legend definitely falls into that category. I love how the message of faith and God are throughout the film but presented in a non-intrustive manner. Just enough to make everyone who sees the film think twice about where their heart is. If you want to see a movie that will leave you with that good feeling inside I highly suggest checking this one out. And to piggy back on a few other reviews...I absolutely LOVED the music!!
Rating: 
Summary: GOOD but not Great.
Review: My score card: Direction: C+
Story: A-
Character Development: B-
Dialogue: B-
Acting: B
Editing: B
Cinematography: A
Music: A
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Overall Execution: B- Point by point: Hometown Legend tells an excellent story with decent execution. The movie starts off powerfully, but in trying to tell its story, the direction loses some footing with some continuity errors and lack of character development (though nothing extravagant) The acting was decent albeit Terry O'Quinn who pound-for-pound laid on a thick performance.
(Man...he was GOOD.) As for the editing - it was overbearing on a couple of occasions, but overall it was slick and engaging. The lighting and cinematography was CRISP making HL a visual treasure. And finally, the music composed by Jars of Clay front man Dan Haseltine was excellent. I wish there was a soundtrack! When the direction was in danger of falling, the music was there to hold it up. All in all, though it could have been better, Hometown Legend was entertaining, uplifting and best of all...CHEESE free. Considering its relatively miniscule budget (only $2 million) and
coming from the mind of a first-time director, Hometown Legend is a success. Give it a try. You might like it. I did.
(I bought it before I saw it and have decided to keep it.) One more thing: When is the widescreen version coming out on DVD??? Full screen was disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth seeing!
Review: Not being a fan of the Left Behind series, I was cynical going into this movie, because I heard it was from Jerry B. Jenkins, author of that series. However, I was pleasantly surprised, as the movie wasn't preachy or poorly done like most movies with Christians behind them. This was a very good movie, on any scale. The acting was terrific (if this were a bigger movie, Terry O'Quinn would get an award nomination), Lacey Chabert looked gorgeous (man, has she grown up!), and the music was amazing. The story wasn't flawless, but by the end, I was swept up in the emotion of this small town and their passion for their football team, and I was really moved. Do yourself a favor and see this movie, whether you like football or not. I especially recommend getting the DVD, because I saw on the "Legend" website that there's a new Jars of Clay music video that they shot on the set. Can't wait!
Rating: 
Summary: In Bama , Football is MORE than a sport !
Review: Ok , first let me preface this with my attitude going in. Almost all "Christian" movies are found lacking.....either the story is shallow or the cinematography is weak or the dialog just seems unrealistic. This movie is NOT your typical "Christian" flick. It was as good as any major-budget film and the story BLOWS AWAY "Remember The Titans". This is probably the best movie nobody saw last year , and if you haven't seen it , friend , you are missing a great film. It really captures the attitude and presence of highschool football in Alabama. Watching it makes you wish it were Friday night so you could go back to your alma mater to pull the boys on....and you do just that while watching this movie. HIGHLY RECOMENDED , esp. for Fathers/Sons to see together !
Rating:
Summary: A good start...
Review: Probably a good movie for adolescents (certainly as good as any other film in it's genre - 'Remember the Titans', 'Breaking Away', 'Hoosiers', ad infinitum) but not much meat for adults. The one thing that distinguishes this film from the others is it's Christian flavor, (the film was apparently made by those with a decidedly Christian world view) and that's worth noting. I have no doubt that many secularists were turned off by the repeated references to God, the explicit Christianity of a central character, and the overall lack of a profane tone to this pigskin flick. I'm sure they feel the movie was somehow besmirched by the injection of religious doctrine into a film that should have been left untainted in all it's football virginity. What's laughable is these folks don't realize how propagandized they've been through the years by all the other sports movies they've seen. Religion, specifically BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANITY, is a key, vital and central role to almost any successful football franchise at any level. From Reggie White to Deon Sanders to Kurt Warner, Joe Gibbs and Darrell Green (and those are just the pros!) football is led, filled with, and dominated by dedicated in-your-face Born Again Christians. The fact you see virtually NONE of that in almost all the other supposedly 'realistic' football films, (Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday and ESPN"s The Playmakers come first to mind) is an indictment of how hostile-Hollywood has scrubbed every vestige of Christianity from it's presentation of team sports in a manner that would've made the Soviet Union quite proud. Ever wonder about that? How come so many of the elite professional athletes are honest to goodness God worshippers, yet even the most modern films about these sports give, at best, a mere tip of the hat to 'the man upstairs'? You cannot overstate the influence of born again Christianity in sports today. From the most recent #1 NBA draft choice to the MVP of last year's Super Bowl, these guys have all publicly and repeatedly declared how important Jesus is in their life. So, in that context, this film, despite being made with the hopes of at least being quasi-evangelical, is actually quite timid. (It's quite enlightening to see how Christians, even when making their OWN statement on the subject, are still so brow beaten by the hostile mainstream culture, that they tread so lightly.) Born again Christians, at least in this country, truly are a persecuted MAJORITY. The film is cute, has a nice unpredictable ending demonstrating silver linings and is bereft of most of the schmaltzy stuff that dooms similar films of this ilk. However, the hot female protagonist is still sort of a 'savior' to the unsaved football hero, which makes it no different than secular films in this regard. I mean, normally the woman flat out IS the flawed hero's savior. In this film, it's a Christian girl, but she's still the one who he 'needs.' Unspoken message: Men need women to civilize them. Let them teach us about God. Not exactly Gen 2 if you catch my drift. Long story short. A small step for man, but not much of a leap for The Kingdom.
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Rating: 
Summary: Jerry Jenkins Leaves God Behind
Review: This is the first film produced by Jerry Jenkins and his son, Dallas and their company Jenkins Entertainment. Jerry Jenkins is most known as a co-author with Tim LaHaye of the Left Behind series. The movie was released last year in limited theaters across the country and is now available on DVD and VHS. I first saw the movie at Zondervan and was excited that Jenkins was using his talents to produce Christian film. I picked up the DVD a few days later and eagerly anticipated what I was about to see. It didn't take long for me to be let down. Don't get me wrong, the film is well done. The acting is good and the story is intriguing. The problem is that all the things that make the Left Behind series so effective as a witnessing tool are missing. As one secular, unsaved film critic put it, Hometown Legend contains "a Christian message that is simply too soft to be effective or impressive." The greatest sin the film commits is the sin of weakness. The moral message is badly underplayed, in hopes of not scaring the secular audience away. The movies most "Christian" character, Rachel says early in the film that a great coach is "50% teacher, 50% S.O.B." She repeatedly fails to use oportunities to witness to Elvis. When he says near the end of the film, "I don't have what you have." She merely responds, "You can." No gospel, no mention of Christ being what is different about her. In the end she hooks up with the still unsaved, albeit nicer and changed, Elvis. This is symbolized by a pasionate kiss. She does pray to open the movie and asks Elvis, "Have you ever dared to think there's something bigger than you?" This is the closest thing to presenting the gospel in the film. Other problems pop up throughout the film. A player is hit in the groin and the coach tells his teammates to help him "pop his nuts out." Coach Schuler calls a player an ass and an opposing coach a piss ant. He also is a hothead. He yells at the refs, throws things, and kicks players off the team for not joining a fight after a game. He is reminiscent of a Bobby Knight on the football field. When later in the film he has the team pray before a game, it seems out of character. During a talk with the team he makes the sacreligious statement, "Unless Jesus Christ Himself comes down here on a white horse" the team won't win. Allusions in the film to drugs and alcohol add to the confusion. I must say that had this been a movie made by Hollywood, I would have been pleasantly surprised that it was relatively wholesome and thankful that there was any allusion to faith in God and prayer. However, knowing it was a film produced by Christians, disappointed is an understatement. Jenkins stated that, "Our script wasn't preachy or evangelical." He is definately right. Portrayals of Christians like those in this film only hinder the testimony of Christ. Our lives and message must be distinct. In the opening scene, Rachel prays for God to "show up and show off." Unfortunately, Jerry and Dallas Jenkins did not do much to allow God to do either.
Rating:
Summary: Family Friendly Football Fun
Review: Well I'll try to make this short and to the point. "Hometown legend" is about a small Alabama football town in need of a miracle, and surprise they get it in a big way! Now being a big fan of football I try to see every football film I can. This is one of the better ones, and it's clean and enjoyable to the whole family not just the kids to boot. As for the story it is rousing and original. The cast does a surprisingly good job for the budget. Terry O'Quinn is on the money as always, but the real standout here is Lacey Chabert who proves she should be an up and coming star. As an aspiring writer I can appreciate the narritive scope of this film. It is a refreshingly well written film in a sea of summer plot hole muck. This no doubt can be attributed to the fact it came from a novel written by Jerry B. Jenkins author of the "Left Behind Series" While I'm not a fan of that particular series, and its film version can't touch "The Omega Code" let alone it's sequel "Megiddo" I may pick up a copy of "Hometown Legend" after seeing this film. This is not quite as good as "Remember the Titans", but it thankfully takes its own original approach instead of delving into proven formula. A worthy film to add to the family section of your DVD collection.
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