Woodlawn

A very hard film to review, a film clearly of the "faith" genre so well produced, acted, directed, cast that it literally pulls at its own leash and tries to cross over into the mainstream.

Also lost in the shuffle is the fact that the "mystery" evangelist who appears out of nowhere and sparks the story fathered two sons who .. big coincidence here.. produced the movie.

A wonderful performance by Voight who frankly we take too much for granted. Compare his work here to Ray Dovovan and you will wonder if you are looking at the same actor.

A film is in many ways the ultimate recipe for a soufflé. Leave it in the oven a few minutes too long and it falls.

The irony is that with a little more judicious editing, a little less preaching, the objective of a true crossover might have been achieved.

The wife and I watched "Woodlawn" last night. We were surprised that we liked it so much. It's a combination of a sports movie, an anti-racism movie, and a pro-Jesus movie. In most cases, I don't much care for any of the three, because I don't like preachy movies and I don't care about sports itself. But this one really worked for me. It's based on true events. I found myself cheering out loud over a lousy touchdown (I never do that)! I found myself caring about the characters. It doesn't go over-the-top on the anti-racism message - so many movies have one or two token white guys who are decent, while the rest are vicious devils, just to make sure we don't miss the point, because after all we're too stupid to get it otherwise. The pro-Jesus message is there because it is necessary to the plot and the furthering thereof, so you don't feel like your church took you to see it in a van just to keep it from tanking at the box office. And the sports element is - well, OK, any football scenes in any movie are basically 'will he get the ball to the end zone or not?' because that's what sports is. It's a darned inspiring movie is what it is.

The most emotionally driven sports film since 42 in 2013. With a very similar idea but with more of a spiritual message. For a film with many unknown people and little known companies this is very well made. But if it was Universal I would expect a little more as this film offers a lot of talk and some action and not much character development. This will probably be one of those films that will fly over everyone's head and may not get many viewers and money. But we'll see strange things happen. But for what it is I'm glad I saw it and was worth the 6$ price and a film I'd recommend after it comes out on Redbox. Here are the grades for the film. Directing: B Acting: B+ Music: B Story: B Overall: B

This was one of two football movies coming out at the same time. The other was My All American. Being football movies they do have a similar concept, but while My All American seems to be about an underdog overcoming his physical condition, In Woodlawn, the underdogs use faith to over come their challenges, the biggest one being off the field...Segregation.

Based on a true story of a high school football team that fought segregation with the help of Christ. I'm not that big of a fan of faith based films, and this movie is faith base. It seemed too easy, even to the coach of the high school team, for these teenagers, who haven't even wrapped around their heads going to an non-segregated school, to somehow band together through the love of Jesus, but who am I to argue with the touching moments that occurred through those scenes (maybe that's how it happen?).

For me, the best part of the movie was the football. The way the camera moves within the players on the football field was hands down spectacular. I don't think I've ever seen a football movie filmed in such a matter. I felt closer to the grid Iron than I ever did watching a film.

Overall, it's an amazing story about how Jesus united blacks and whites in a place in Alabama on a football field. Go to watch the football, stay for the inspiring message.

While there is a Woodlawn High School in my town of Baton Rouge, LA, this one is about a Woodlawn in Birmingham, AL, that seemed in danger of closing because of the racial incidents that happened when it was integrated in the early '70s. The coach employs a motivational speaker-played by Sean Astin-to help heal whatever issues the school football players had with each other and it seems to do the trick, especially when one of the black players-Tony Nathan-suddenly becomes very valuable to the team. I'll stop there and just say this is quite an inspirational true-life drama to watch in light of recent racial strife we seem to be going through right now. Oh, and I also liked Jon Voight's playing of legendary Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, as well. So on that note, I recommend Woodlawn.