The 5th Quarter

Being a pastor, I was excited to see another faith-based movie. The movie was inspirational with great values supporting faith, dealing with the death of a loved one, and overcoming tremendous obstacles. However, I was surprised at the amount of alcohol that was promoted in the movie, especially when the mother was shown drinking shots with her friend. When she couldn't get her breath, I didn't know if it was stress or taking too big of a swig. There is a time or two when vulgar language is used in the movie. So, I would recommend this movie for Christian families, however I do not know that I would approve of watching this film in church. Do not let the eccentricities keep you from watching. Although this movie is not at the level of spiritual prowess that Fireproof and Facing the Giants are at, it is still a great movie overall.

I don't understand the negative reviews. Please watch this movie and see for yourself. I thought the actors did a fantastic job. I have never seen a father's love portrayed so beautifully as Aiden Quinn showed in this movie. Men do not often show such tenderness but he brought such an endearing character to life for me. Andie McDowell was the perfect choice to play the mother in this film. You could just tell how proud she was of her three sons and how hard she was holding on for the entire family. I fell in love with all three of the sons and felt the two surviving sons each brought a unique reaction to the tragic loss of their brother. Bring a box of tissues and let all of your teenage children watch this! We need to teach our children how one bad decision can alter the rest of our lives and the lives of others that we care about.

"For the entire history of mankind everyone is born and everyone dies. You think we'd have learned to handle it, but we don't." After a car accident changes the lives of the Abbate family forever, older brother Jon (Merriman) has a tough time coping and want to give up playing football. After his teammate talks to him Jon decides to give it one more try. This is a true story about the tragedy of the Abbate family and the 2006 Wake Forest football team. More then a sports movie, this is more of a Christian themed film about dealing with loss. This was a good movie overall. While I enjoy a feel good type movie like this one, the big problem I had with this is that (like most Christian movies) everything seems to perfect and when the main character begins his quest there is not much that stops him. This movie is very heart-wrenching in parts, but the poor acting takes away from the emotion. Overall, this is a good movie, but the fact that everything works out a little too well and the bad acting makes this a little worse then I wanted it to be. I did like it though. I give it a B-.

Would I watch again? - I don't think I will *Also try - Facing The Giants & The Perfect Game

This film does an excellent job of portraying how the unexpected death of a young teen affects his family, friends, and community. Have the tissues handy. Wish they had done a better job of including a sister and another brother into the story. Watch through the ending, when they share actual statistics of the Wake Forest football team in 2006. Also how the family moved forward to help others through a group they formed to educate about the organ donor program and the dangers of reckless driving. Yes I recommend it, James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 2/15/2021

It's Football Season again! And Fox Faith just released their film, The 5th Quarter to Blu-ray/DVD this week.

Storyline: When a close-knit family is nearly broken by tragedy, hope is restored by their eldest son who carries the weight of victory on his shoulders in THE 5TH QUARTER.

One of our KIDS FIRST! youth film critics reviewed it this week: "I just finished watching The Fifth Quarter and I enjoyed it. It's about a boy named Luke who dies in an auto accident because of drunk driving. The story is really about how the family copes with the loss of their 15 year old son and brother.

I really like the character John Abbate, Luke's older brother, played by Ryan Merriman. The acting is superb. He couldn't have done a better job.

I would say that this movie is for kids 13 and up. There is one little tiny extremely short scene showing some surgery that is disturbing, but there is also a lot of talking and emotion and crying, of course. Any kid younger than 13 would not appreciate that. However, older kids will appreciate the amazing acting.

By Sam Connan, Age 13, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. Sam's review is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC90wSHTklg