REEL SCORE:

          This football film goes beyond the predictable sports story chasing for victory at the end. More than the usual plot of pushing one’s limit to outstanding success, Facing the Giants dwells deeper in its presentation.

This is one great film highly recommended for the entire family. Alex Kendrick plays Grant Taylor, the football head coach at Shiloh Christian Academy, a man of integrity and loving husband at the same time. Though he exerts all efforts to gain the winning streak, his high school team has never tasted victory. With its six losing seasons and his best player moving to another school, Alex finds out that a group of fathers are on the plot of firing him out. What’s worse, a blow in his personal life made him down to frustration. He discovers that his ever supportive wife, Brooke (played by Shannen Fields) deals with infertility. Brooke Taylor is a source of strength for him.

“Facing the Giants is a great movie about how God can change lives on and off the football field. Every family in America should see it.”

--- Dan Reeves, NFL Coaching Great

          Facing the Giants is more than just the goal for victory, it’s about trusting God to do the impossible, in and out of the field.

Kabayan, just last issue, we chose Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights on our Showtime feature.

Now it can be told. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby topped the US box office weekend (August 11-13, 2006). On its opening during the first week of August, it accumulated an estimated $47 million. The results were based from the compilations of Exhibitor Relations from studio estimates.

Oh yes! Witty Will Ferrell has been a top grosser in this NASCAR spoof. He even overtook the charms of Johnny Dep as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest only ranked third with $11 million during the said weekend box-office chase.

        As of August 13, Talladega Nights had a total gross of $90,343,184. And it still led the race up to the subsequent second week. Rory Bruer, President of Distribution for Sony Pictures Entertainment said that though they expect it to be a crowd favorite as America loves Ferrell and NASCAR, still the results was beyond expectation.

        So there it was, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby on the movie hits. Rest assured that the e-BOTAK team will continue to feature and recommend worthwhile sports films.

Suddenly, it came to my mind, could F1’s Juan Pablo Montoya’s shift to NASCAR added more attraction to the film? --- llk J