Watched a good little film the other night called "Forever Strong".

I'm not really a huge fan of sports themed films, but this one had been recommended by a friend as a good inspirational movie for family viewing, and they loaned me their copy. Definitely watchable. The main story concerns a basically selfish,teenage boy who considers himself a superstar player on his coach father's high school rugby team and is heading down a path to nowhere, esp. with alcohol, has a car accident while drinking which nearly kills his girlfriend, and is sentenced to a juvenile detention home until he's 18. As part of his rehab, he's given the chance to play for a rival rugby team, Highland, and in doing so, he becomes part of a real team, learning their values, etc., and manages to turn his life around. Yes, it sounds sappy and silly and overly dramatic, but it's better than that. The characters are well drawn, some mystery exists between the two coaches of the rival teams (the boy's dad and the Highland coach), the feelings of being torn between right and wrong, a parent's anguish at being separated from your child, death, redemption, etc. Never quite realized how violent a game rugby is, and how fanatical fans are about the game. No huge names in this movie--Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Faris; I guess Sean Astin could be considered a big name actor since his "Lord of the Rings" fame, but his role in this, while pivotal, does not give him large amounts of screen time. I found this a worthwhile flick.