'Lights' shine on Thornton
At first glance, "Friday Night Lights," a film about a 1988 West Texas football team, could easily have been just another formulaic sports movie in the mold of hits like "Remember the Titans" or "Varsity Blues." All the components are there: an out-of-towner, star football coach, a group of driven but lost young men and a rabid football atmosphere. What serves to separate "Friday Night Lights" from the pack is its gritty, knuckles-to-the-bone depiction of life and football in the middle of nowhere.

