Healed By Grace 2: Ten Days of Grace (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Jessie really wants a horse, but her mom hates horses, so it’s probably not going to happen.  However, her father decides to send her to horse camp for the summer while her mother secretly gets treatment for the cancer she’s hiding from Jessie.  Unfortunately, the summer camp is full once her father gets there, which causes him to divert his plans to asking his wife’s long-lost father, Gauff from Healed by Grace, whom he has never met, to watch Jessie for a while.  Will their family be able to reconcile because of this?

Production Quality (.5 point)

For a 2018 production, Healed By Grace 2 is a major letdown and is actually a decrease in quality from previous Blended Planet films, with the exception of Disconnect Reconnect.  The poor production of Healed By Grace 2 is manifested in very poor audio and weird sound effects, as well as poor lighting and strange video quality.  The camera work is mostly fine, however, which is the only positive element in this production.  A lot of the audio seems overdubbed, and there are weird sequences of dead air, as well as a generic soundtrack.  Sets, locations, and props are mostly limited and uncreative.  There are also a lot of awkward and strange cuts and transitions, including unexplained portions that may or may not take place in the minds of the characters.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Where the first installment of this ‘series’ had a tiny amount of potential, this sequel bears little to no potential at all.  The dialogue therein is extremely vanilla and pedestrian thus creating empty characters.  A lot of the plot elements seem to completely disregard the previous film, as if it really matters.  Some characters seem purposely off-the-wall or even ‘magical.’  There are also a collection of cringe-worthy ‘comedy’ sequences that are like fingernails in the chalkboard.  As this plot meanders with little to no purpose, there are also other odd elements included, such as odd suggestions about people getting cancer due to lacking forgiveness.  Overall, there is very little content to work with in this extremely forced and basically purposeless sequel, which suggests that it was misguided from the beginning.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

The acting from the original movie was partially awkward in its own right, but the acting of this second film is much worse.  There are many very awkward moments, as well as blank emotions and half-hearted line delivery.  Many cast members appear to be trying far too hard to make their mark, and there is basically no coaching present.  Unfortunately, there was really little to no point in making this film.

Conclusion

Do we really need another horse film?  Until somebody produces a substantial, creative, and non-regurgitated film in this genre, we really need to have a moratorium on inspirational horse movies.  Besides this fact, productions and acting this bad are no longer acceptable in this era of Christian film, so it’s more than likely that Healed By Grace 2 will soon be forgotten.

Final Rating: 1 out of 10 points

 

April 30, 2018January 1, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Animals & Pets, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 1 point, 2018, Andy Wilson, Blended Planet Pictures, David Matthew Weese, Disease, Horse, Inspirational, Kennedy Martin, Larry Bower, Lorraine Knox, Natalie Weese, Sean Young, Sports, Stacy Munsie, Ted LeBlang, Teresa Bower, Valerie Sherman 1 Comment

Disconnect. Reconnect. (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

When Mark Vanderberg’s Com 16 project falls through and causes a massive error in the communications grid of the country, his employer tells him to lay low and stay home with his family until it all passes over.  With nothing better to do besides clean their rooms and discuss the curious social media site called Blended Planet, the family decides to practice their survival skills while trying to understand their strange astronomer neighbor and his antics.  But then the unthinkable happens as the power grid nearly reaches its quantum threshold and Mark is the only one who can save the world from reddish orange destruction.  What will they ever do?

 

Production Quality (0 points)

Despite trying to create some kind of high-profile premise, Disconnect Reconnect has a very cheap production.  Video quality is quite poor and there are a lot of unnecessarily dark scenes.  Camera work is inconsistent.  Audio quality is unprofessional, as is the juvenile soundtrack.  Sets and locations are severely limited to one house and the surrounding neighborhood and do not give off a professional persona.  There are too many abrupt cuts and transitions in all the wrong places, thus making the editing very amateurish and silly.  Unfortunately, there is nothing positive to say about this production.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Disconnect Reconnect is one of the most off-the-wall premises ever constructed.  The story is driven by very quirky and offbeat characters that are built using absurd and childish dialogue.  The writers construct a bizarre world filled with forceful references to their other films, especially product placements for Healed by Grace.  Besides the large of amount of wasted time, there is no way to really understand what is happening except for a bunch of isolating technical lingo that only demonstrates how little the writers really know about how the American communications infrastructure works.  Why center a plot around this obscure concept without attempting to be realistic?  To make matters worse, a cheap and juvenile Christian message is shoved into the story as it all culminates in one of the most laughable climax scenes ever.  In short, though this movie is good for laugh, it’s funny for all the wrong reasons.

Acting Quality (0 points)

The unintentional comedy continues into the acting as cast members unwittingly portray caricatures of themselves, as if their lines were written for a cartoon film.  Some performances are lazy while others are forceful.  Any way you look at it, it’s all one big mess.

Conclusion

It’s very difficult to pinpoint where the Blended Planet team is coming from.  They definitely wanted to be funny and different in Disconnect Reconnect, but it definitely did not work.  True comedy requires believable and accessible characters, not comic strip characters.  A comedy premise can certainly have an air of absurdity and still be good, but not this absurd.  Also, there is certainly no excuse for poor production quality.  Perhaps their work will improve in the future.

 

Final Rating: 0 out of 10 points

 

July 6, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Comedy, Movie ReviewsTags: 0 points, 2013, Blended Planet Pictures, Com-16, Comedy, Conner Bland, Daniel T. Phillips, David Matthew Weese, Dawn Stevenson, Gabrielle Phillips, Jayce Rothrock, Matthew Forish, Michael Wilhelm, Natalie Weese, Phase 4 Films, quantum threshold, reddish orange, Samuel Williams, Scott Nedbeg, solar flares, Tony Lemmon, zero points Leave a comment

Healed by Grace [2012] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Riley Adams is a talented dancer, but when she is involved in a car accident, her life changes forever.  Now partially paralyzed and being forced to relearn speech and motor skills, Riley feels like her life is over since she can no longer dance like she used to.  However, she soon discovers a special form of physical therapy involving horses that changes her entire perspective on life.  Through the newfound therapy, she not only finds a new lease on life, but a new chance at faith and love.

 

Production Quality (.5 point)

With obviously limited resources, Healed by Grace is plagued by cheap production problems.  Video quality is grainy and camera work is shaky.  The sets and locations are fairly limited, but the usage of props is pretty good.  The soundtrack is okay, but we would have liked to hear something more dynamic.  There is really no editing present here; if there had been editing, this production probably would have improved.  However, there is care and thought put into this film, making it stand apart from your average sloppy and thrown-together Christian movie.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)

Despite its obvious production flaws, Healed by Grace demonstrates heart and effort.  The creators actually seem to care about what they are doing, despite their limited resources.  The plot’s message is very touching and realistic.  Though the plot is slightly simplistic, it’s based on a believable premise and is a generally interesting idea.  The dialogue is pretty good and the characters have interesting arcs.  Though there is little content here, the writers did the best they could with what they had.  We would have liked to see a little more complexity, but it’s definitely a good start.  Some things happen off screen, obviously due to budget constraints.  The ending is authentic but we would have liked to see a little more.  Overall, this is a great starter effort with room for improvement.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

Though the cast is very amateur, they are trying harder than most.  They demonstrate a willing attitude to act well, even though they sometimes fall short.  It’s not easy to effectively act like you are disabled from a car wreck, but the main actress pulls this off well.  Line delivery and emotional delivery are average.  Costuming is realistic throughout.  Overall, this is an applaudable effort.

Conclusion

In summary, Healed by Grace is a true-to-life story that is accessible by Christian audiences.  Though many facets of the film are amateur, the creators still show that they care about what they are doing rather than just slapping a horrible film together and sticking the name ‘Christian’ on it.  It’s hard to make independent Christian films, especially starting out.  What’s important is that you, as a Christian film maker, give it your best effort and leave the results up to God.  If He has called you into film making, He will give you the resources you need.  You just have to be faithful and do your absolute best.

 

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

 

October 31, 2016January 14, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Animals & Pets, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, RomanceTags: 2012, 3.5 points, April Oberlin, Blended Planet Pictures, David Matthew Weese, Dija Henry, Horse, Inspirational, LaDonna Pettijohn, Larry Bower, Mark S. Esch, Michael Wilhelm, Natalie Weese, Romance, Sharon Nelson, Tommy Beardmore 2 Comments