Jessica ran away from home as a teenager after she did something she would regret forever, but now, after living with an abusive boyfriend for several years, she finds herself running back home for help. However, when she arrives on the farm she once lived on, she finds that all is not well nor how she left it. As she struggles to begin a new life, she discovers that she will need to return to her childhood faith in order to move forward.
Production Quality (2.5 points)
As should be the case for all recently-made Christian films, Christmas Manger demonstrates high production quality, as evidenced by good video quality and camera work. Though the audio can be quiet at times due to not having enough soundtrack, the sets, locations, and props are adequately used and well-constructed. Besides a few one-off lighting issues in some scenes, which may be by design, the editing is good, which rounds out a great production that we should see become more and more commonplace as we move into a new year of Christian film.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)
Andrea Gyertson Nasfell has always been good at writing plots that portray real and accessible characters in believable life situations. This is paired with dialogue that is mostly good at building character personality and motive, but we really needed to see a bit more from the conversations among the characters in order to develop them a bit further since this is a highly character-based plot. While there are some great character back stories, flashbacks would have been helpful to enhance them. However, this return-to-hometown for Christmas plot does a great job with avoiding most of the cliches that come with this genre, and it’s a more meaningful Christmas movie than usual, even if the story is a bit simplistic. As a whole, this is an enjoyable story with no glaring errors but nothing truly dynamic either.
Acting Quality (2.5 points)
This film also has surprisingly good acting, including Andrea Logan White’s arguably best performance to date as she excels at playing herself. Other cast members are also effective and comfortable in their roles, even if a few random cast members tend to put a damper on things to keep this section from being perfect. In the end, however, this is a professional acting job to round out a professional and adequate film.
Conclusion
Films like Christmas Manger should be the norm and the baselines in Christian film (especially Christmas movies) rather than the exception. Hopefully, as we close out another year of Christian entertainment, we are beginning to see more of this, which will presumably lead to more dynamic and groundbreaking films from Christian creators. Movies like this one was a good launching pad to begin with, so it will be good to see Andrea Nasfell continue to release quality content that is memorable and culture-changing.
Just in case you didn’t get enough stereotypical PureFlix stupidity from the first season of Malibu Dan, the old gang is back with a new ‘season’ that they refuse to call a season for no reason. This collection of new episodes (totally not a season) offers more of the same stick-your-finger-down-your-throat humor we had from Season 1, only with an even cheaper production setup and a smaller cast. It’s basically like the second season of Hilton Head Island: nobody asked for it and nobody cares that it’s here.
Production Quality (1 point)
Now that we’re on the topic of Hilton Head Island, the Whites and company borrowed their horrible green screens that make everyone and everything have an obvious outline, like they’re cardboard cutouts. Oh wait… But I digress. As previously mentioned, this non-season of Malibu Dan has even fewer sets than the first and even more reuses of the same old ones. This gives it an overall cheap feel, and it goes without saying that the ‘blooper episode’ is virtually indistinguishable from one of the other episodes because it merely depicts the cast acting like idiots, which is what the other episodes are all about anyway. Did we mention that this new non-season of no one’s favorite sitcom contains another endless and obnoxious laugh track that cues every five seconds whether the scene is supposed to be funny or not? Basically, the only thing keeping this entire mess from 0 points or less is the fine video and camera quality, in conjunction with professional audio work. But that theme song gets annoying over and over again. As a whole, there isn’t much good to say here.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
What could be done in a new non-season that wasn’t done in the first season? This new batch of episodes that’s totally not a season is virtually indiscernible from the other season, but it’s actually possibly worse due to the painfully-forced so-called comedy that contains nothing funny whatsoever. Basically, this collection of fingernails-in-the-chalkboard creations is just as mindless and ridiculous as regular TV shows that PureFlix and their audience would complain about. Malibu Dan no better than something typical you would see passing by on cable TV as it has just as little potential and just as little hope for any.
Acting Quality (0 points)
Whenever the old PureFlix gang gets together (see Hitting the Breaks, Holyman Undercover, and Me Again), they are content to act like imbeciles. The only consolations this second season cast provides to us is that Jennifer Lyons makes a long-overdue cameo to continually make a fool of herself and that Carey Scott reprises his insultingly fake European accent from Holyman. Steered by the comedic anti-genius of David A. R. White and the sadistic mind of Tommy Blaze, Malibu Dan offers more of the same absurd and zany acting from the expertise of Brad Heller. What’s surprising is that Kevin Downes still puts up with this nauseating experience when he has much better things to do. The constant funding of this insanity is beyond us.
Continuity Quality (0 points)
The second season of Malibu Dan takes on the typical mistakes of sitcoms, besides not developing characters properly, by repeating the same thing over and over again in each episode with no continuity between them. Episodes exist in its own isolated universes as each one appears to have no bearing on another. It seems like they were all filmed in one day with no story-boarding, which is a likely method that has been employed by PureFlix in the past.
Conclusion
With not much else to say, it’s time to address the obviously elephant in the room (no, it’s not David A. R. White dressed up again). What’s the point of randomly pretending that this collection of new episodes isn’t a new season? It’s a very common practice to release an entire season at once with streaming series like this one. Nevertheless, one must take a step back from this mess that’s so easy to make fun of in order to examine what the true state of Christian series is. What are we really accomplishing? Is there any true inspirational or culture-changing value to things like Malibu Dan? I can’t even foresee a monetary gain in it. This begs the question “What is it even for?!?!?” The only answer we can discern is that it’s just another outlet for the twisted comedy desires of White and Blaze, which further goes to show the true darkness behind the PureFlix giant. Needless to say, let’s hope Kevin Downes wipes this from his memory (again) and is able to help the Erwins produce a truly good TV series next year.
Much like other newer, more mainstream PureFlix releases, Do You Believe sports professional production quality with very few errors to speak of. Naturally, due to the nature of this film, the editing is mostly a mess as each scene tries to be a dramatic climax with no resting periods or relief scenes. Thus, the only issue with the production can be rectified by improving the plot.
Plot and Storyline Improvements
Much like God’s Not Dead, Do You Believe takes on far too many subplots than it can handle. Easily half of them are unnecessary, as each of them try to insert a dramatic turn into nearly every scene that comes up. The paramedic subplot is mostly unrealistic and unnecessary, and its deletion would have also rendered the Andrea Logan White\Sean Astin subplot useless. The military veteran suffering from PTSD and the girl with the unknown past who tries to commit suicide belong in their own film, so they can be developed better as characters. The criminal brothers subplot is awkward and stereotypical. With the removing and reassignment of these subplots, the more pertinent elements of this storyline, namely the older couple who helps the homeless mother and daughter and the pastor and his wife who help the young homeless mother, could have been given more room to grow and be developed beyond their current state. An alternate option to improve this plot would have been to start at the mass car accident scene and then work backward by following each character’s path to the accident, but this would take a lot of skill and discipline. Also, the narration has to be totally eliminated. In short, there is so much content in Do You Believe that there is bound to be potential in here somewhere.
Acting Improvements
While there are some good elements to the acting of this film, most casts would be improved in the absence of Liam Matthews, Andrea Logan White, and of course, Ted McGinley. There are just so many cast members involved here that any good portions are cancelled out by poor performances. However, if the storyline was pared down to a realistic medium, the cast would have also been trimmed to ensure quality of quantity.
Conclusion
Quality over quantity was truly the order of the day for this film. Dumping every subplot you can think of into one film will make a film that a lot of people will see and perhaps like momentarily, but its lasting impact is blunted by its onslaught of content. However, there are enough good ideas in this film to perhaps kickstart a better film in the future.
Malibu Dan and Holidae Sinclair run the southern California early morning show Good Morning Malibu. Dan is always getting himself into comedic scrapes, while Holi is always looking for a better media offer. They work with a goofy but likeable crew, but most of all, Dan considers himself to be a devout family man. What else could go wrong in Tommy Blaze’s latest zany comedic endeavors?
Production Quality (1.5 points)
Much like Hitting the Breaks, Malibu Dan the Family Man is a sitcom with an average production, which means it comes with that annoying laugh track again. There are also other sound effects used now, however. Another annoying aspect of the sitcom genre is the use of ridiculously fake backgrounds and cheaply limited sets, as well as a total lack of actual locations. Props are fine, however, as are other standard production elements, such as camera work and video quality, which keep this production from being totally worthless. However, the editing also suffers from lack of creativity as it is quite choppy. In the end, however, these few production positives are the only ones that exist in this unnecessary series.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
If Tommy Blaze and company were so desperate to make another sitcom, why not just make another season of Hitting the Breaks? Malibu Dan is really no different—just some rearranged characters and different cast members. Who would have noticed if some cast members changed for a new season of Breaks? As it is, Malibu Dan includes the same old tired and ridiculous messages Blaze and David A. R. White have been hanging out to dry for years, such as an absurdly stark gender divide, their patronizing view of Generation Y, and the endless pursuit of media fame and stardom. As usual, David A. R. White is the bemused husband\father who gets himself into a comedic venture that solves itself in twenty minutes or less. Everything is the same, and there is nothing new in PureFlix.
Acting Quality (0 points)
With the same old egotistical PureFlix cast members—the Whites, Brad Heller, Kevin Downes, Gregg Binkley—Malibu Dan throws in a few more, such as comedy staple Victoria Jackson and Erik Estrada with a few more plastic surgeries since the last time we saw him. Regardless of the changes, the zaniness and the over-the-top non-subtlety is still present and still makes for an eye-rolling experience as the leadership of Blaze continues to push ‘Christian’ comedy to the limits of absurdity. The other cast members are swept along in the wave of nonsense and must wonder how they got stuck with this crew.
Continuity Quality (0 points)
Sitcoms are not made for continuity. There are no story arcs or character arcs as each episode exists within its own twenty-minute bubble in which all conflicts introduced are promptly and easily solved in time to tack a trite Christian antidote onto the end. Thus, no points can be awarded here.
Conclusion
As long as the PureFlix faithful continue to garner funding for these frivolous projects, they will keep making them to satisfy their longings to parade themselves around like idiots in the name of Christian entertainment, ever in the pursuit of fame and stardom, just like the characters they portray. They are as shallow as the comedy they create, but as un-ignorable as David A. R. White’s bombastic displays of idiocy. They project themselves as the leaders in Christian film and the saviors in a dark world of Christian persecution, but if this is all we have to lead us, it’s no wonder so many people scoff at Christian media.
After racecar driver Randy Wilcox crashes his car in a race, his family convinces him to retire. Thus, he decides to move the bed and breakfast in rural Colorado that his father willed to him. What the Wilcox family finds there is a lack of modern conveniences and a collection of quirky characters who live eccentric lives. Yet through the comedic mishaps they endure, they begin to like their new home, despite the inconveniences.
Production Quality (1.5 points)
Though the production of this series looks good on the surface, it really just boils down to a silly sitcom. Video quality is fine, but camera work has a lot of shortcuts taken in it due to the genre. The genre also brings with it an obnoxious laugh track, as if we are to believe that this was recorded in front of a live studio audience. However, other audio quality is fine, even if the soundtrack is extremely generic. Furthermore, sets and locations are severely limited, once again due to the sitcom genre. Finally, editing is very standard and uninspiring. Basically, PureFlix still knows how to make things look good on the outside without any real substance.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
Much like past comedy projects from the bizarre minds of David A. R. White and Tommy Blaze, Hitting the Breaks is one half lazy and one half downright zany and nonsensical. Full of cheesy small town characters that are obviously copycatting other films and series, one has to endure constant reality television confessionals that litter the series. In these ten episodes, each one follows a predictable formula: David A. R. White gets himself into some comedic escapade and then has to get out of it in twenty minutes or less to leave himself time to read a ‘life lesson’ from his father’s journal at the end that attempts to force a purpose into this madness. These ‘life lessons’ are laughably cheap Christian messages, thus leaving the series pointless and purposeless. Most of the comedy isn’t even funny, whether it’s for the right reason or the wrong reason. The dialogue is chock-full of stupid catchphrases and caricatures as everything generally gets zanier and less explainable as the series progresses. In the end, it’s like they just run out of ideas and find a random way to end it. Basically, there is little to no point in this mess.
Acting Quality (.5 point)
For this barn-burning cast, PureFlix trotted out ever crazy person they have ever had in their films and put them all together in one place. Everyone is as absurd as can be expected, especially the Whites, Kevin Downes, Moran Fairchild, and everyone’s favorite Jennifer Lyons. Gregg Binkley makes a special spectacle of himself throughout the series as he tries desperately to be the new Barney Fife. It’s surprising that Tommy Blaze didn’t make an appearance in this cast, yet the cast of Ray Wise is actually appropriate for once and saves this section from the abyss. But it’s still not good enough to count for much.
Continuity Quality (0 points)
With extremely short episodes that repeat the same formula over and over again, it’s safe to say there is no continuity here. There are no story arcs or characters arcs to speak of. Thus, there is nothing good to say here either.
Conclusion
Once again, PureFlix is one step ahead of other film makers by breaking new ground for Christian entertainment. Though this is the first legitimate Christian sitcom, that doesn’t mean it’s any good. The PureFlix crew basically just packaged up all the craziness they’ve had pent up since Me Again and put it all into one wild series just for the sake of making it. There is zero purpose and no clear direction here and it only further serves as an embarrassment to Christian entertainment. Needless to say, the world is still waiting for a truly legitimate and interesting Christian series, which is something that is obviously very difficult to come by.
With this creepy look, who doesn’t want an encounter?
Plot Summary
When someone is going about their everyday activities, they never know what is about to happen or who they are about to meet. They all have struggles and secrets that they don’t want anyone to know, but they would be free if they just knew someone they could trust them with. But people never know when they are about to meet Someone Who will change their life forever. They never know until they have their own Encounter with Jesus.
Production Quality (1.5 points)
The Encounter series follows a typical production formula that PureFlix has been using for years. They check the boxes for making the production look good on the surface, including video quality, audio quality, sets, props, and locations. The soundtrack is sometimes engaging but mostly standard. Sometimes there is too much shaky camera work, especially in the poorly shot actions scenes. The biggest issue here is that large amount of wasted time throughout the series. Most episodes are 25-28 minutes long, but the plots are usually so thin that this is too much time. The exception to this is of episodes one and four, which will be discussed later. But in the end, this series demonstrates an overall typical and average production effort.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)
For eight episodes, The Encounter rehashes the same types of ideas, concepts, and conversations over and over again, just with different characters. Outside of episodes one and four, there is no creativity here, as the opening sequence tells you what’s going to happen in each episode. Besides being predictable, these stories are also very quick and punctuated, like they’ve been made in a quick plot factory. While there are some good issues raised in the series, there are too many quick fixes and easy solutions based on creepy and plastic Jesus dialogue. Thus, the messaging is quite shallow. However, there is some potential here, as the first episode is very interesting and should have been the focus of the whole series so we could have gotten to know these characters better. Also, the fourth episode would have made an interesting movie, if done properly. But overall, this series just hops from high point to high point and discards substance and realism along the way. It’s a good idea done very poorly.
Acting Quality (1.5 points)
While there are bright spots in this large scale cast, there are also plenty of issues. For one, it seems like Bruce Marchiano, who has done well portraying Jesus in the past, has lost his touch. Other cast members are typical PureFlix standbys and rejects who seem to be lazy and phoning in their performances. But as it is, it just comes out as average.
Continuity Quality (0 points)
When the same ideas repeat over and over again in each episode and new characters are constantly being introduced, there is no chance or hope for continuity in this season. There are no story arcs or character arcs. We need to see what happens to these characters after their initial encounters, which is why it would have been great to have the characters from the first episode be the main focus of this series. Yet the way it has been done is shallow and lazy, thus warranting no points here.
Conclusion
There’s nothing wrong with having Jesus intervene in everyday situations, but spitting out a whole bunch of episodes that are all basically the same doesn’t accomplish anything. It’s easy to create a bunch of surface characters and then leave them; it takes true skill to craft meaningful characters that we can connect with. It’s also a great idea to create a Christian series, but we need something better than this. We need sustainable ideas that make people want to follow a set of characters across an arc. PureFlix has the resources to do this, but will they?
After the Rapture, the inevitable one world government materialized and began rounding up the Christians when they wouldn’t take the mark of the beast. Thus, Christians began to form groups in secret to protect each other from the new one world order. Former FBI agent Adam Riley, now a resistor, escapes from captivity and sets out to find the truth about the Christians in hiding. His former partner Charles Baker is also called back to serve the one world order and to search for the elusive Jacob Krause. As their paths cross once again, choices will be made that will affect them forever.
Production Quality (1.5 points)
The Awakening is a slight improvement from the first Moment After installment. Camera work is the most marked improvement, as action scenes are shot better. Sets and locations are also improved to give the film a bit more of a realistic feel. Audio quality is fine, but video quality is slightly inconsistent. Some scenes are not lit as well as others. The soundtrack is just average. However, the editing has its positive elements as the story seems to unfold. In the end, this is an average production, but something is still missing.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
The Awakening has strong comparisons to Revelation Road and could be considered its predecessor. As such, there are some intriguing elements in The Awakening, but it’s still not a very dynamic story. Slightly more effort was put into the complexity of this installment than in the first one, and there is an interesting twist near the end, but there isn’t really much else good to say here. The characters are still empty and the plot is filled with too many boring and meandering conversations. The villains are quite cheesy and the apocalyptic elements are, as usual, manufactured. Also, this film is inevitably continued into nothing, like many apocalyptic efforts after it, thus making the overall story very empty and pointless.
Acting Quality (1 point)
This acting performance is much the same as the first installment, just with an extra dose of Andrea Logan White in all her usual stiffness. David A. R. White and Kevin Downes are also their usual selves with random outbursts and fake action-guy demeanors. Brad Heller surprisingly remains sane throughout the film. Overall, this is just another below-average performance.
Conclusion
Why start a series you never intend to finish? This incident was not isolated to The Moment After series; the Whites and company repeated this again with Jerusalem Countdown, In the Blink of an Eye, and possibly The Mark series as well. The fate of Revelation Road is still unknown, but the bottom line is that if you keep starting and never finishing the same apocalyptic plots over and over again, there’s a problem. Rather than constantly flooding the market with half-ideas, how about finishing what you start and actually delivering something original for a change?
Sarah wants a big executive break like her boyfriend has, that’s why she sees an opportunity when she gets interviewed for a temporary job. The only catch is that in order to get hired, she has to prove that she’s not pregnant. But after she takes a test, she finds that she is pregnant and is faced with a serious decision: pursue a career and abort her child or give up her career and have her child. Sarah will have to decide how real her faith is and what direction she wants her life to go in.
Production Quality (2 points)
The one thing PureFlix usually has going for them is that they can put together a respectable-looking production. Sarah’s Choice is not an exception. Notwithstanding an odd opening sequence, the camera work is at least above average. The video quality is good, as is the audio quality. The soundtrack could use some improvement, but the sets are respectable. Also, the editing is mostly average, though there are a handful of unnecessary scenes that put a damper on this production. But overall, despite their obvious flaws, PureFlix can usually put together a semi-professional production.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
Leave it to PureFlix to take an important social issue and mutilate it with over the top messaging. As a plot filled with typical White-style extremist characters, Sarah’s Choice sports a ridiculously unrealistic premise that is designed to force the issue of abortion on the audience. As usual, pro-abortionists and other people who disagree with the PureFlix worldview are portrayed in offensive ways. The dialogue is very obvious and forces the plot along, even though there is plenty of time wasted on bizarre asides. There is also a silly shoehorning of the Christmas story into this plot, along with some odd ‘magical’ Christmas elements. While the psychological parts are intriguing, they are not enough to offset the onslaught of nonsense in the remainder of the storyline. As can be expected, the end is neat and tidy with no real justification for it ending up that way. Basically, every horror story regarding the combination of PureFlix and the issue of abortion comes true in Sarah’s Choice.
Acting Quality (1.5 points)
While some cast members, including Rebecca St. James, post moderately respectable performances, this is probably Andrea Logan White’s most obnoxious role to date as she attempts to caricature a vain (well this mostly true) pro-abortion feminist. There are some bright spots here that keep this category from being terrible, but there are still too many unrealistic emotions and drama moments. Line delivery is fairly average throughout. Overall, this is just average, despite Andrea Logan White.
Conclusion
In a PureFlix Christmas movie about abortion, what could go wrong? Well, a lot, actually. The Whites and company continue their addiction to portraying non-Christians as heartless ogres and construct an unrealistic framework designed to shove a social issue down your throat. Do they even have any regard for reality or are they just trying to sell movies? Movies like Sarah’s Choice are exactly why people tire of legalistic Christianity. Unfortunately, while this blog is unashamedly pro-life, this is not the type of film we can support.
When Roy, a ‘young’ Amish man, supposedly turns 18, it’s time for him to go on his ‘Rumma Shpringa’, the time when all Amish ‘young’ folks go out into the world to hopefully discover how evil the world is and come running back to their drab lifestyle. But Roy is determined to not only find his long-lost uncle, who disappeared to Hollywood on his ‘Rumma Shpringa’, but also to witness to the heathen of the world about Jesus Christ. But what he finds instead is a cold world with no care for the things of God. Roy finds his uncle, who advises him to jump into the show business in order to covertly share the gospel. Roy runs into all sorts of odd characters along the way, including a producer he’s attracted to, who entices him to play Satan on a daytime soap opera. But the further he does into the showbiz game, the more Roy finds himself compromising all he has been taught. Which set of values will prevail?
Production Quality (.5 point)
If Holyman Undercover has anything going for it, it does have pretty good video quality. But that’s where the positivity ends. Camera work is all over the place, obviously trying to be ‘funny’ and ‘comedic’. Audio quality is fairly consistent, but cheesy sound effects interrupt it. The sets and locations are purposely cheap-looking, and the surroundings are clownish, like they’re from a comic book. I could go on about how the editing is poorly done, but it doesn’t really matter because it’s all purposeful. This film was purposely created to be ridiculous, and that’s exactly what it is.
Plot and Storyline Quality (-1 points)
Watching Holyman Undercover is a surreal experience unlikely to be replicated by anything else—expect for Me Again. From slurs against the Amish to blatant and rude Hispanic stereotypes to gigantic strawmen of Hollywood insiders, this film really takes the cake. As the split personality of David A. R. White, manifested in his two-character acting role, jumps from one random schizophrenic scene to the next, the audience can only laugh and look on at this train wreck of a creation. Yet if you look past the zany madness that is this storyline, you can see truth emerging from the cracks. This is a wild and embellished retelling of how the Whites began their film careers. Coming from a strict Mennonite upbringing, David A. R. White must have felt like he was confined and not allowed to create, yet his stint in Hollywood has given him a chip on his shoulder the size of Kansas (pun intended) that makes him feel like the entire world is against Christians. But in his usual extreme black and white thinking, the false dichotomy between overly strict Christians and hopelessly evil ‘worldly’ people is far outside of reality. There is nothing real about this plot, and we believe that it was never intended to be real. This is a sick satire, borne from the damaged emotions of David A. R. White, yet it is a window into what makes him tick. But in the midst of trying to be over-the-top hilarious, there is zero coherency to this madness. It would certainly be one thing if this creative wonder had a consistent thought across the continuum, but it does not. There is no understanding of what and why goes on, or what is coming next. It’s basically an embarrassing failed attempt at parody. On the flipside, it’s a shame that a drug commercial satire idea got wasted in this movie. Otherwise, Holyman Undercover can be seen as nothing more than a big joke that wasted over a million dollars.
Acting Quality (-1.5 points)
This clownish bunch of cast members is only lacking in Tommy Blaze, Morgan Fairchild, and David Blamy. The actors and actresses have obviously been instructed to act as zany and stereotypical as possible, from the mentally ill ‘uncle’ David A. R. White, to the robotically mindless Andrea Logan White, to the histrionic Jennifer Lyons, to the egotistical Fred Willard, etc., etc. Also, nothing beats Carey Scott trying to be a European maître d’. David A. R. White has basically let himself out of the box in this one and acts as maniacal as he possibly can. There is truly no seriousness here and a lot of lines seem adlibbed. Emotions are blown out of proportion and line delivery is either lazy or forced.
Conclusion
The mind boggles as to how and why the Whites acquire so much money for films like this one. Just think—what if the million and a half dollars blown on this train wreck was put toward a film that actually needed it, one that could have actually used the money for something good. This is perhaps the real travesty with this film and with PureFlix in general. Sinking millions of dollars into dead end films designed to make fun of stereotypes is a terrible use of God’s blessings. This is why we continue to call the White and PureFlix out: wasted money and wasted potential. Hopefully, one day, the tide will finally change and Christian movies will be something to be proud of.
In a film market far, far away, before the birth of PureFlix Productions, David A. R. White, Kevin Downes, and Stephen Baldwin (with a cameo from ‘Logan White’) all teamed up to create an apocalyptic film to remember. This movie was unlike any other and focused on the hard-hitting topic of…the daily ins and outs of a futuristic men’s prison? Caught in the grip a dictatorial international government and threatened with death in three weeks if they don’t take the Mark of the Beast, the men of the prison are…allowed to walk around however they please and write Bible stuff on the walls? Busted for smuggling illegal stuff like painkillers and old movies to Eric Roberts and for stealing a pizza, Downes and White are forced to spend their three weeks in a cheesy looking set with a group of Christian prisoners who draw Christian-themed stuff on the walls of the prison without punishment. Will they ever escape or will they be forced to take the Mark?
Production Quality (0 points)
Watching Six: The Mark Unleashed is a surreal experience. We can’t even believe this thing exists. Everything about it feels like one big joke. The fingerprints of Downes and White are all over this one, from the cheesy sets to the poor camera work to the bad lighting. They went so overboard trying to look futuristic that it comes off as a Star Trek knockoff. Are we really supposed to believe that the future of the world is peppered with Star Trek wardrobes and buildings? What’s more, there is no coherent thought to the editing, as a vast majority of the ‘plot’ takes place in a giant concrete box billed as a prison. Any other elements are completely isolating, as will be discussed next. In short, this is nothing short of a production disaster, one that should have never been funded.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
As Downes and White bumble their way through this ‘plot’, many characters are introduced and then quickly discarded with no explanation. Vague concepts are constantly referred to that isolate the audience. After being arrested and spending tons of time in the prison reading stuff off of darkly lit walls and talking to mysteriously creepy Baldwin, Downes and White employ absurd tactics to escape the freakishly bald Brad Heller, such as hacking using Tommy Blaze keyboard gymnastics and calling on an enigmatic figure to help them get to ‘the walled city’. But never fear, for Brad Heller’s ‘spiritual bloodhounds’ are quick on their tails. Do you get the picture of how ridiculous this ‘plot’ is? By the end of the movie, there are more questions than answers. What’s the deal with that one prisoner who sometimes acts as a double agent? What ever happened to Eric Roberts’ smuggling business? How did the people in the tent city escape the dictatorial rule? Who’s Rahab and where did she come from and why do we care? Why is Brad Heller wearing so much eye makeup? Yet in the wake of all of this, the prologue and the epilogue of the film actually demonstrate a stroke of creative genius; they are likely the reason why this horrifying mess was even made in the first place. It’s just too bad that they get lost in the swamp of nonsense. In short, it is extremely unclear what type of message is supposed to be conveyed in this film, as the plot is very disjointed and schizophrenic. Stuff like this makes you wonder how White and Downes ever made it anywhere in filmmaking.
Acting Quality (0 points)
It’s no surprise that the acting of this film is just ridiculous. Emotions are extremely awkward and too many cast members are trying to be mysterious action heroes. No coaching is employed as line delivery is forced and disingenuous. Some lines are horribly slurred and annunciation is inconsistent. Basically, no effort was put into acting, just like the rest of the movie.
Conclusion
Is any movie viewer supposed to take this film seriously? It’s so absurd and out of touch that I would be embarrassed to recommend it to someone or even admit that it is supposed to be a Christian film. What is gained from this level of immaturity? Are we supposed to applaud the effort lest we be condemned for persecuting Christians or for not standing with ‘our own’? Are Christian films allowed to be however poor quality they wish yet still be promoted in Christian circles? We say no. The line must be drawn somewhere. Someone must hold filmmakers who claim the name of Christ to a higher standard if we ever expect to impact the field for Him. Otherwise, we’re just talking to ourselves about the good things we do and making money off of it while the world looks on in disgust and\or confusion.
Richie Chaplin is a mess. He’s struggling to convey meaning in his pastoral ministry. His wife has separate from him due to his depression and sleepwalking, taking their three children with her. His two younger children don’t even know who he is. His older daughter is messing around with a boy. Basically, Richie doesn’t want to be himself anymore. He wants somebody else’s life because his life stinks. He’s forgotten the original purpose God created him for, so he’s about to embark on a wild journey outside of his control to remind him why he is living the life he is living. In the end, he will have to decide whether or not he likes the life God has given him or if he is going to make one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
Production Quality (1 point)
To their credit, at least PureFlix invested in better camera quality than usual for this film. The sound quality is also fine, but these are the only positive aspects of the production of Me Again. Throughout this zany drug trip into the creative faculties of David A. R. White and Tommy Blaze, the camera angles can get dizzying, confusing, and downright amateurish in their attempt to be dramatic or comedic. Cheesy horror effects are inserted randomly and out of context. Low-quality special effects are overused and invasive. The surroundings are painfully obviously reused from Marriage Retreat, suggesting that this movie was borne out of that film’s B-rolls. Finally, all editing sense is thrown out the window as the plot tosses hither and fro with no system or consistency, like they’re just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what happens. Overall, Me Again feels like an experimental film that either accidentally got released or was released to try to glean desperately needed funds. Either way, it doesn’t work.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
Few screenwriters venture to create a psychological comedy, and Me Again may stand as a testament as to why. The plot of this film is extremely hard to nail down. After watching an unusual sequence on television two nights in a row, David A. R. White is suddenly transported into an alternate universe in which he gets to become a random rich guy, a model he saw on TV, a goldfish (?!?!), an infant, a housemaid, the teenage boy trying to date his daughter, and finally his own wife. The only real explanations that are offered for this potentially interesting psychological journey are vague and trite inspirational quotes from an offbeat angel character he should have already known about (more on that shortly). The leaps from one impersonation to the next are not only painfully horrible at trying to be funny, but also leave no room for real character development. The dialogue is horrifically childish and often feels adlibbed and impromptu. Yet somewhere in the midst of histrionic displays from A. R. White, including a fake (or not) heart attack, a purposeful makeup disaster, voiceovers for a goldfish and an infant, generally idiotic behavior, self-parodies, and an epic conversation with himself in the alternate universe (perhaps his acting dream), there is some interesting meaning hidden here. If someone was able to ‘walk in someone else’s shoes’, then they would view life a lot differently. But this potential meaning is covered up due to time wasted on downright stupidity. This goes without saying that, in keeping with usual White themes, everything is too black and white. ‘Good’ characters are obviously perfect and wise while ‘bad’ characters are complete over the top strawmen, bringing more disgrace to how people think Christians view ‘worldly’ people. Also, solutions to problem are far too easy, trite, and shallow, and offer no real help for people struggling with the real issues presented.
But perhaps the worst element of this entire plot is found in the unusual sepia tone flashback prologue and epilogue. It’s so devastating that it warrants a Box Office Revolution first: a separate paragraph of discussion. The prologue and epilogue are presumably supposed to depict Richie and his wife as childhood sweethearts drinking honeysuckle tea (whatever that is). The epilogue completely undermines the purpose of the plot and suggests that it’s all one big joke. Either that or PureFlix is full of incompetence (probably a little of both). Richie’s wife, as a girl, tells him that she knows they’ll be married one day because the specific angel he later sees on television and has a conversation with in the midst of his psychological adventure told her so. If this is the case, then he should have known what was happening when he recognized the name of the angel. Another alternative possibility is that the entire middle of the movie is just part of the girl’s dream, which suggests that the entire movie is useless. Whatever the case is, this plot is so slipshod and incompetent that we can’t make heads or tails of it. All we know is that it’s an experience we’ll both never forget and never wish to repeat.
Acting Quality (0 points)
As usual, the Whites and their comrades have no restraint or direction in their acting but are content to blurt out lines in ‘funny’ fashions and lazily act their way through another cheap movie full of one-take scenes and adlib behavior. No emotional meaning can be felt here because the acting is so absurd, especially David A. R. White’s zany impersonations of other characters and Tommy Blaze’s generally bizarre behavior. In short, another zero point acting job is business as usual for PureFlix.
Conclusion
If anything was accomplished through this unique experience, it was that a movie like this has never been made before and should never be made again. Unfortunately, any attempt at deeper meaning is so shallow that’s easily washed over with a tide of absurdity. Many elements of this movie seem to suggest that the Whites and company have no grasp on the real world, as they treat important issues too lightly and portray people has completely good or completely bad. It seems like the only purpose of Me Again is to make fun of everything, including themselves, and to waste another good idea. The one merit PureFlix has is an acceptance of creating different types of movies, but in most cases, like this one, they ruin the reputation of Christian movies in unique genres. This is not to mention the fact that Me Again is just another film that makes the name ‘Christian film’ more of a laughingstock. At some point, the creation of this type of nonsense must end and Christian filmmakers must get serious about generating quality content if we are ever going to make a true difference.
After witnessing the Rapture, Josh McManus sets out on the road trip of his life to discover the whereabouts of his family, whom he is unable to contact. But making the trek back won’t be easy with a crazed biker gang on his tail, bent on revenge for how he stole their pride. Josh is joined by Beth, whose grandparents were taken in the Rapture. As they travel across the desert, navigating the strange new world they live in, Josh will have to come to grips with who he really is and what he has done in the past. Not only him, but Hawg will also have to reconcile with the person he has become. On a collision course, Josh and Hawg will both have to determine how they are going to change who they are.
Production Quality (1 point)
Believe it or not, production quality improves from the first series installment to the second. Video quality remains the same, but sound quality also improves. Special effects are used more responsibly. The weird lightning is still there, but it’s a step in the right direction. The camera work is strange at times, but not nearly as bad as the first film. The editing is still a work in progress, but there seems to be more effort put into this installment. Overall, that’s the story of Revelation Road 2—the thought is there, but the execution is only half there.
Plot and Storyline Quality (2 points)
The Beginning of the End was obviously driving to something, as that non-plot continually delayed the inevitable next film. Thankfully, that something was actually worth waiting for. Who knew that Pureflix would begin using flashbacks to develop characters? Since when do the Whites and company create character backstories? Stranger things do happen, and they happened in The Sea of Glass and Fire (whatever that title’s supposed to mean). The core idea behind Josh’s character is very innovative, and seemingly beyond the reaches of the Pureflix creative realm. Even Hawg is turned into a somewhat believable villain through flashbacks. And Cat…oh wait, never mind. But pitfalls still exist in this film—mindless violence rivals B-grade Hollywood action flicks and time fillers litter the plot. Dialogue is better in the flashbacks than in the present plot. The ending inevitably leads to another film, but we have to wonder if this is really necessary at this point. Overall, this plot is a huge step in the right direction, but there is still work to be done.
Acting Quality (1 point)
Mostly due to the flashbacks, the acting slightly improves from the previous movie. This is probably the best David A. R. White, Andrea Logan White, and Brian Bosworth will get when it comes to action acting. Line delivery and emotional delivery are blasé, making this an overall underwhelming cast performance. But hey, they got one point!
Conclusion
Revelation Road 2 is one of the rare Pureflix movies that really had something, but never found it. The overarching idea behind the series, if you ignore the strange eschatology, is very creative and breaks genre barriers in Christian film. Yet under all of this is a sad storyline, and this is the fact that four points is a monumental accomplishment for this creative team. The Sea of Glass and Fire stands as an example of how good even this crew can be when they put their minds to it, but it also makes us hunger for more. Unfortunately, that more is probably not going to happen, if history is any indication. Basically, if this idea were put into the hands of another team, it would have been Hall of Fame and beyond.
Josh McManus is a confused man. As a traveling self-defense product salesman, he is used to meeting new people on a daily basis, but he is not comfortable with the secret man inside of him. While travelling across the western America desert, strange things start to happen. Pursued by mysterious biker villains and plagued by weather anomalies and electrical failures, he is finally forced to face off with his pursuers. Hawg is a troubled biker gang leader with an agenda to take over random small towns in the western United States. His disgruntled mentality tends to cause discontent in his gang, but they ride on, bent on destroying the mysterious Josh McManus. All of the characters involved must not only come to grips with who they are, but with the strangely changing world around them.
Production Quality (.5 point)
Where to begin? Let’s start with the positive. The only reason this film’s production is not zero points is because there is at least clear video quality. Otherwise, there is nothing good to discuss. The camera work is obnoxious, with random dizzying cuts and zooms for faux-dramatic effect. To ‘enhance’ action sequences, the camera jerks all around, getting weirdly close to important characters. While we’re on the topic of action scenes, they are either very poorly executed or far too long, eating up huge chunks of the movie’s runtime. Watching a David A. R. White action scene is usually dizzying, and Revelation Road is no exception. Speaking of dizzying, the sheer overuse of special effects in this movie makes us wonder if it’s safe for epileptic viewers to watch. Topping things of, the soundtrack is deplorable. Therefore, as you can see, this is another horrific Pureflix production.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
With this movie packed so chock full with useless action sequences that add nothing to its overall purpose, whatever that is, actual plot depth is squeezed out of the picture. The intended plot can be summed up in a nutshell: random guy drives to a random desert town to sell self-defense gear (does anybody really do that?) and gets caught in the middle of a store holdup, uses secret military training to defeat mindless biker villains, hangs out with the store owner and his family, observe strange weather anomalies with eccentric local policemen, calls his worried wife about stuff, plays vigilante with local deadbeats, and observes a strange ‘rapture’ from a local motel. Elsewhere, we are shown the life and times of a bizarre desert biker gang led by a grunting leader and his sidekick, plus Andrea Logan White in a makeup disaster. No character development occurs as the ‘plot’ jumps from one explosion and gunfight to the next. Dialogue has a typical cheesy, off-the-wall Pureflix feel. We are unsure what is trying to be communicated here except for another offbeat Christian apocalyptic concept. This movie might as well be a commercial for the next one, as it delays the viewers any real substance for over ninety wasted minutes. Finally, the ending is extremely confusing and isolating. In short, Revelation Road is the story of the White action films: toss out convention and common sense and exchange it for cheaply constructed action sequences.
Acting Quality (0 points)
What more is there to say that hasn’t already been said? With the same old Pureflix actors and actresses recycled in the Revelation Road saga, their acting skills do not improve. When a collection of cast members is kept in such a bubble, there is no reason for them to improve when there is no constructive criticism or filter. Through this film, emotions are forced and unbelievable. Action scenes are sloppily acted and line delivery is lazy. Unfortunately, there is nothing unique or surprising from this cast.
Conclusion
We promise we are really not out on some kind of Pureflix warpath, but when a company so consistently generates such low quality and bizarre content in the name of Christianity, they must be called out. Revelation Road may be the pinnacle of the Whites’ action movie career. It involves every possible element of a C-grade action flick. With creations like this, only two conclusions can be determined: either Pureflix does not know how to make a good movie or they do not care to make a good movie. Apocalyptic movies are usually bad enough, but this motorcycle madness takes things to a whole new level. The end result is just another ridiculous Pureflix creation.
Stuck in a long line of pastoral succession at a megachurch headed by the popular Johnny Kingman, James White is desperate to make his mark and to stand out from the crowd. But doing so only gets him into further trouble. After nearly ruining a children’s Sunday school class and an expensive painting and disrupting a church service, Kingman send James on a probation to pastor a struggling church in Atlanta. So James, his wife Lily, and their two children make a cross-country move to the Peach State and find themselves thrust into a multicultural world they have never before experienced. Not only must James find a way to save the struggling church, but he must come to grips with the fact that he is not invincible and must rely on God and his family for help.
Production Quality (1.5 points)
Compared to other PureFlix productions, Brother White is not horrible. It actually has a lot of potential. The camera work is pretty good, as is the video quality. However, the sound quality is inconsistent and some outside scenes are covered up with musical montages. The editing is decent, but the sets and locations are obviously cheap. There are some slight excuses for this, but it still could have been better. Probably the worst production element is pretending like certain characters are singing when they are obviously not. In short, the production of Brother White is just average—neither horrible nor dynamic. There was a lot of potential here that was not brought to the surface.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)
Unlike many PureFlix plots, Brother White is slightly interesting. Exploring racial relations by inserting an affluent white (White?) family into a predominantly African-American church has a lot of potential, if stereotypes are avoided. For the most part, they are. There is plenty of satire in Brother White that is actually funny, such as tongue-in-cheek swipes at prosperity gospel churches. But there are also elements that are just trying too hard. Too much comedy falls flat and some lines leave you scratching your head. There are plot holes that are glossed over and some humor is way too obvious, such as the name ‘Lily White’. The plot boils down to a simplistic save the farm storyline and seems to lose its original purpose in the end. James’ character arc is commendable, but the whole movie just leaves you wanting more substance. In short, Brother White is not so awful that it’s unwatchable, but it’s also frustrating to watch because there was obviously a lot of creativity left untapped.
Acting Quality (1 point)
Though this is probably David A. R. White’s best lead role, it still leaves much to be desired. The presence of more professional actors in this cast keeps it from sinking to the depths of most PureFlix casts. However, there is still a lack of acting coaching. Were all the actors up to par, this movie would have improved.
Conclusion
This is probably the closest the Whites and Tommy Blaze will ever get to true comedy. But were this plot in different hands, we can’t help but feel it could have been Hall of Fame worthy. It contains a unique plot on a good topic and as it is, has some humorous elements. In the end, Brother White is the highest rated White comedy and unfortunately, it is hard to believe that it will get any better than this.
Following the death of a common friend, Gary, Jeremy, Michael, Harold, and Sherry all gather at his house for a long weekend of repairs and catching up on the good old days. However, all is not well among them. Jeremy discovers that he still love Sherry, his former girlfriend, even though his current girlfriend is staying with them. Michael is guarding a dark secret from his past. Gary and Harold’s wife constantly clash over his Jewish background and his atheist beliefs. In the end, they will have to come to grips their hidden secrets in order to face the future.
Production Quality (0 points)
There is literally nothing good to say about this film’s production quality. The video is grainy and the sound quality is all over the place. The camera work is unprofessional. Everything about the production has a very cheap identity. The sets are severely limited, mostly taking place inside one house or on its roof (yes, seriously). The editing is terrible, but it’s not like there was much to work with. Roof repair scenes, standing around and talking scenes, and thrift store dress-up scenes litter the landscape. But nothing can beat David A. R. White mouthing a Building 429 song and pretending like he’s singing it. As previously mentioned, there is nothing positive here.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
There is only one positive element to discuss from this entire film, and that is its slightly interesting exploration of the various types of secret sins many Christians harbor. Otherwise, the remainder of this film is utter nonsense. The dialogue is almost written purposely ridiculous. One character is an over-the-top, obnoxious, legalistic Christian who is the only one, in her mind, who can interpret the Bible properly. It would be funny if it wasn’t so unwatchable. The atheist character is equally annoying. Other dialogue is absurd and overly obvious, shoving issues down viewers’ throats. There is also no clear plotline to this movie except for repairing a roof, hanging around talking and arguing on various controversial topics, reminiscing about the good old days, playing dress-up in a thrift store, and pretending to sing in a cheap restaurant. Any good intentions there were in making this movie are buried beneath a mound of insanity.
Acting Quality (0 points)
No acting coaching is employed in Hidden Secrets. Actors and actresses are allowed to basically run wild with the material with no quality control. Line delivery is forceful—several actors and actresses are clearly trying to draw attention to themselves. Emotions are also extreme and unbelievable. Once again, there is nothing good to say here.
Conclusion
There is a base idea in Hidden Secrets that should have been given to another film. Unfortunately, Carey Scott, Sean Paul Murphy, and Timothy Ratajczak have not demonstrated that they are good stewards of movie ideas. To make this sort of movie shows one of three things—they either do not care about making quality movies, they do not fully know how to make quality movies, or they are purposely making low quality movies. What type of audience is supposed to derive meaning from this sort of movie? For many reasons, this movie receives a very low score.
Mark and Claire Bowman, James and Donna Harlow, and Bobby and Melody Castle are all close friends, but they are also all struggling in their marriages. Mark has unresolved issues with his father, James is gone all the time, and Bobby has a gambling problem. That’s why they decide to take advantage of a marriage retreat sponsored by their church. They go into the experience with the wrong intentions and quickly find out that they are not all they thought they were. They will have to dig deep in order to save their marriages from disaster.
Production Quality (.5 point)
To begin, the camera and sound quality are pretty good, but that is the extent of the positive elements. The sets are very cheap and limited. Unfortunately, it is difficult to pinpoint how this film could have been edited better, since it is hard for us to quantify its actual plot. There is little else that can be said about Marriage Retreat’s production since much of the movie appears to be mostly impromptu work. One other thing that should be noted is that some of the wedding photos used in the beginning credits are obviously photo-shopped, but when the rest of the movie is considered, this should not be surprising.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
As mentioned, there is little to no plot in this film, not only because it is very limited in scope, but most of the dialogue is very impromptu. A majority of the scenes do not appear to have a clear script, so they meander along a path of horrific attempts at comedy, replete with clownish dialogue. Therefore, the characters greatly resemble the actual actors themselves. This plot’s one small redeeming quality is that it has a good message, but it is lost in a sea of cheap and ridiculous attempts at humor. There is plenty of potential here to showcase different marital issues among Christian couples, but it is reduced to a C-grade cable channel movie that will never make any impact in Christian culture.
Acting Quality (0 points)
It is noble and notable to cast married couples together in this sort of movie, but like everything else potentially positive in this film, it is washed away. There is zero acting coaching for this small cast, which seems to indicate a certain amount of overconfidence on the part of the actors. With coaching, some of the comedy could have been actually funny, but alas, it is just another item on the list of lost potential.
Conclusion
True comedy is needed in Christian movies, as are movies that take on the struggles of Christian marriages. However, Marriage Retreat only serves to further make a laughingstock of Christian films. Instead of quickly spinning out more and more movies, PureFlix crews need to stop and think on the implications of quantity over quality. It is not worth it to simply make movies about good topics—we cannot stress this enough—care and attention must be given to production, plot, and acting quality. Otherwise, the valuable message is completely lost.
David, a detective, stumbles into the vacation of his life when he saves a famous pop star from a hostage situation. David and his wife Lori, along with David’s partner Larry and his wife Sussette, are invited by the pop star’s boyfriend to spend a lavish weekend with them on their private yacht in the waters of Mexico. But David quickly sense that something is not quite right with the pop star and her boyfriend. Yet before he can do anything about it, strange things start happening. Passengers begin disappearing and David keeps waking up to the same day repeating over and over and over again. No matter what happens, the day repeats over again and David is the only one who can remember anything about the repeats. In order to solve the mystery of his life, he must face the faith he has been running from all his life.
Production Quality (1 point)
For starters, In the Blink of an Eye has pretty good video and sound quality. However, that is all that can be said. The film also contains odd camera angles and confusing editing—this may be due to the odd plot structure, but it is difficult to understand the flow of the movie. There are also plenty of unnecessary scenes that appear to just fill time. In addition to this, the movie has limited and cheap sets and costumes, like they spent most of the money on the expensive yacht, cars, and jet skis. There is also bad makeup work on most of the characters and cheesy apocalyptic special effects. To make matters worse, John Hagee product placements litter the dialogue. In short, there is little to be positive about here.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
This plot has basically no potential. The premise is very trumped up and most of the plot is filler—nothing dynamic or interesting. There is plenty of out of place and awkward dialogue; some of the lines seem impromptu. Thus, the few characters within are mindless and empty. This sort of plot concept, a day repeating over and over again, has been done before and is almost worn out at this point. To top things off, the entire plot, including the confusing end, is based on bad theology regarding knowing the exact hour of the Rapture’s occurrence, which is directly contrary to the Scripture verse used at the end of the movie.
Acting Quality (.5 point)
It is commendable to cast David A. R. and Andrea Logan White together as husband and wife, but it is not worth it if they are not going to be coached properly. Most of the lines are forced, and since the cast is so small, they carry the entire movie on their shoulders. Instead of helping the movie, most of the actors are very poor casting choices, exhibiting overdone emotions and unrealistic actions. There are really only one or two good actors.
Conclusion
There is nothing wrong with expanding the Christian film genres into action adventure and psychological thriller, but In the Blink of an Eye misses the mark. The repeating day plot is overused and is rarely justifiable, especially in the fashion that this movie uses it. Employing such a small cast and limited sets in exchange for using expensive vehicles suggests an air of vanity. Our advice for the Whites is that they listen to constructive criticism in order to improve their film quality, because they certainly have the potential and resources to do so.
Pastor Matthew has almost forgotten why he believes what he believes. His spiritual life is stagnant and he wonders why he is even a pastor, until one day he when he encounters an eccentric man on the side of the road carrying a cross. The man asks him if he truly believes in the cross he preaches about. This prompts Matthew to alter his approach to ministry by assisting a homeless pregnant girl and by learning more about the lives of his congregants. Outside of his realm of influence, events begin to take place that indirectly affect him and the people of his church. They are all headed for an unexpected collision and are forced to truly look at the lives they are living—what do they truly believe?
Production Quality (2.5 points)
In the same vein of God’s Not Dead, the production of Do You Believe is an improvement over previous PureFlix installments. The camera work is good; several difficult action scenes are portrayed well. The sets are realistic and diverse. Audio quality is also good and the soundtrack is respectable. There is not too much wasted time in the movie, but the editing is not the greatest. However, this is most likely due to the high amount of plot content.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)
There are a lot of well-meaning intentions in the plot of Do You Believe. There are a lot of good stories, but like God’s Not Dead, they are all crammed together, thus making it hard to focus on one or for each one to develop as they should. There are more subplots in Do You Believe, and a handful of them are unnecessary and stereotypical. There is also too much narration that replaces the value of developing a plot. Due to the large amount of content, most of the characters are reduced to stereotypes and are therefore not accessible. What would have greatly improved this movie would have been to start at Do You Believe’s climax and then work backward by integrating the past and the present. As it is, a lot is left on the field.
Acting Quality (1.5 points)
Some actors are professional, while others seem unrealistic in delivery. The cast is very diverse, which is a plus. It is possible that the many characters crowded out the scene and did not give actors enough time to work through their characters, but it is also possible that not enough acting coaching was employed in Do You Believe.
Conclusion
Do You Believe has an excellent message, but it is too issues-based. The better production quality and the action sequences do hold the attention of the target audience, but the movie is not as good as it could be. There is plenty of potential with some of the better story lines, but they are drowned out by too much content. It is noble that the creators wanted to address a lot of important issues in a Christian movie, but the point may be lost. In the end, it will be interesting to see how this PureFlix saga plays out in the future.
Sarah Fields just wants to know that she is doing a good job in her occupation as a full time homeschool mom to her three young kids. But a lot of the time, she feels like she does not measure up. She’s also a struggling blogger. She looks up to her pastor’s wife, who seems to have everything put together. On a whim, Sarah decides to plan an impulse night out with her pastor’s wife and her best friend Izzy, also a young mother. Sarah’s husband Sean gets on board and agrees to help watch the kids, but none of them are prepared for the crazy night ahead. Together, along with a cast of offbeat characters, they are thrust into an impromptu search for a missing baby and discover along the way that the things they are all looking for are right under their noses.
Production Quality (3 points)
As expected, the Erwin brothers have put together another top-notch production, from camera work to special effects to editing to creative overlays. Several difficult scenes are filmed with professional flair. The camera angles are well done. Special effects and creative overlays are used appropriately. The soundtrack brings the movie to life exquisitely. Finally, the movie is edited to perfection. There are no wasted scenes and no plot holes. To put it plainly, the Erwin brothers continue to set themselves apart in the area of production.
Plot and Storyline Quality (2 points)
The scope of this plot is limited, but the Erwin brothers make the best of it. The comedy is not overdone and is actually quite funny, contrary to most attempted comedy in Christian movies. It is driven by excellent and witty dialogue, which also supports the accessible characters. The thing that makes the comedy truly humorous is the fact the real-life predicaments are shown in hilarious and sometimes satirical lights, such that we could easily see ourselves in these situations. The film contains no real plot twists, but the events are realistic and true to life, as previously mentioned. Besides the limited plot scope, the one error of this section is the overuse of narration throughout. However, it is still a highly enjoyable storyline that provokes the thinking.
Acting Quality (2.5 points)
The Erwin brothers continue to make average actors great. Each character is cast into an appropriate role, as is to be expected. Kevin Downes and Andrea Logan White play perhaps their best roles to date. In a comedy, the acting is the anchor that determines the quality. The excellent acting coaching of the Erwin brothers crew hit another slam dunk.
Conclusion
In short, the Erwin brothers have defied typical Christian movie genres by creating a successful and truly funny comedy, proving that vulgarity and cheesiness are not necessary to produce laughs. October Baby and Mom’s Night Out could not be any more opposite in genre, yet they are both executed wonderfully. Great things can be expected from this crew in the future.
Box Office Revolution 