Friday Night Lights

I'm not a huge football fan.

Don't get me wrong: I like drinking and watching the game with the guys on a big screen on Sundays. And drinking. But I couldn't tell you, for instance, who's favored in the AFC East this year, or who the Seahawks' quarterback is. I know that the Patriots won at least two of the last three Super Bowls (...uh, I think), but that's about where my involvement with the game trails off.

Having said that, Friday Night Lights, which I just saw, is the best football film I've ever seen (and I've seen a few). More than that, it's also one of the best sports films I've ever seen (and I've seen quite a few). And, though I can hardly believe I'm saying it, it is actually one of the very few best films I've seen this year.

It never ceases to amaze me. In the morass of bad filmmaking out there, just in the nick of time, someone always comes along to remind me that storytelling isn't dead just yet.

Check this one out if you can. Even if you don't like football (and you know who you are).