Mary 4 Mayor (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Mary Parsons is tired of the way her family has been torn apart by her father’s obsession with his mayoral work. To make matters worse, her father begins making governmental decisions that negatively impact Mary’s life. She’s fed up with this and decides to run against her father in the upcoming mayoral race. What she discovers is that everything is not as it seems, and she has a lot to learn about life.

Production Quality (2 points)

In this film, Corbin Bernsen and his team mostly upheld their tradition of professional productions. There are very few errors in this section as there is good video quality, camera work, and audio quality. Though the soundtrack is dumb and generic, which detracts more than it should, the sets, locations, and props are well-constructed. There are also a few slight editing concerns, but these could relate to narrative issues. In the end, this production is at least above-average.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)

Consistent with Bernsen’s past tendencies, Mary 4 Mayor is an out-of-the-box plot idea that has good themes and relatable messaging without being too in-your-face with the Christian elements. Portraying a true-to-life family experience with authentic characters and dialogue, Bernsen finds some success with his trademark quirkiness that’s actually truly funny at times. However, other times, the comedy feels overly engineered or half-hearted. Unfortunately, the characters feel like that they could be a bit deeper, but their full development is short-circuited by extraneous content that crowds out the runtime. Sometimes, coincidences randomly happen simply to suit the needs of the story, and in other instances, the narrative aimlessly meanders to hit certain points without properly building up to these events. The first half of the screenplay contains too much wasted time, but there is a really good twist in the middle of the plot that is very thought-provoking. Nonetheless, some occurrences move too fast due to lost time, thus taking away from the chance for natural development. As a result, the climax is quite rushed and silly even though it does contain some effective payoffs. Therefore, due to all these factors, this section is a mixed bag that receives an average score.

Acting Quality (3 points)

The strongest aspect of Mary 4 Mayor is the acting, which is very professional with few, if any, errors. Each cast member seems comfortable in their respective roles. Line delivery and emotions are believable and realistic. Thus, a rare perfect score is awarded here.

Conclusion

In this movie, Corbin Bernsen successfully offered an authentic relevant message about the political problems of today. However, Bernsen continues to hover next to greatness without taking that next step into the truly meaningful. He still can’t seem to decide where he’s committed to satire and comedy in his films. He has also failed to consistently focus on central themes. Mary 4 Mayor would have benefitted from deeper characters, which would have required elimination of extraneous story elements. Character arcs needed to be more effectively developed to prevent the arcs from being too steep. These small changes would have likely given Bernsen his fist Hall of Fame screenplay. Nonetheless, we’re only left wondering what could have been.

Final Rating: 6.5 out of 10 points

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May 25, 2021May 25, 2021 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Comedy, Drama, Movie ReviewsTags: 2020, Amanda Pays, Annmarie Aronoff, Ben Long, Brenton Costa, Bridgestone Multimedia Group, Cameron Protzman, Catherine Gaffney, Charlie Terry, Chris Aronoff, Christopher Brian Nicoletti, Comedy, Corbin Bernsen, Drama, Frances Mitchell, Hannah Breck, Henry Penzi, Home Theater Films, James Greilick, James Kessler, Joel King, John E. Bauer, Jordan Smith, Judah Duncan, Kera O'Bryon, Kimberley T. Curtis, Marty Terry, Noah Long, Robert Shepherd, Scott Mielock, Sean Gaffney, Teodora Marcella, Vincent Duvall Leave a comment

Roe v. Wade (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

In this propaganda version of history, Roe v. Wade only happened because a giant conspiracy involving the media, the court system, and the medical field forced it to happen since they were so addicted to abortions. This alleged cabal supposedly loved abortion so much that they regularly sang songs about it. If this film is to be believed, all the conspirators ever thought about night and day was abortion, and anyone who stood against them was to be completely ostracized. With movies like these, it’s no wonder that so many people are skeptical of the pro-life movement.

Production Quality (1.5 points)

As a whole, the production of Roe v. Wade is mostly acceptable, including good video quality and camera work. However, audio quality is uneven, as shown by very poor overdubs and an inconsistent soundtrack. Some scenes are very dark while others have odd soft lighting. Sets, locations, and props are passable, but the editing is quite choppy. Cuts and transitions are all over the map, but this aspect of the film is likely due to the utter disaster that is the plot. In the end, the production section is at least average.

Plot and Storyline Quality (-2.5 points)

Seemingly in a mission to become one of the most obnoxious and in-your-face movies since Assassin 33 AD or The Reliant, Roe v. Wade succeeds on all fronts. Beginning with the very first scene, the screenplay’s extreme pro-life message is pushed on the audience via immediate and constant narration that sometimes covers up dialogue. Moreover, it’s not like the conversations are really worth hearing since most of the dialogue is designed for shock factors and propaganda. Not a single spoken line can exist without a fundamentalist agenda being shoved down the viewer’s throat. Elsewhere, tons of content is forced into the narrative, including random asides that continually interrupt the storyline. Large time jumps and information dumps attempt to connect it all together, so all these pitfalls inevitably create wooden characters. The “bad” characters, such as the abortion activists, could not be worse strawmen, and there are generally way too many characters to keep up with. The most disgusting aspects of the issue are obsessed over, and the pro-abortion side of the argument is portrayed in the most evil way possible. Due to the massive amount of content in this film, many sequences are very rushed, leading to a nonsensical and incoherent conclusion. Needless to say, this section easily earns its negative rating.

Acting Quality (0 points)

A majority of the acting in this movie is quite overplayed and disingenuous. Line delivery is robotic, and emotions are forced. It’s extremely difficult to believe that many of the actors and actresses in this bloated cast are taking the matter seriously. Hence, this aspect of the screenplay rounds out an effort that should have never happened.

Conclusion

Much like the production process of Unplanned, the creation of Roe v. Wade was seemingly based on deception as some of the initial cast and crew were allegedly not given complete information about the film’s intentions. Whether or not this claim is fully or partially true, it seems to shed light on the attitude of the movie’s creators: produce propaganda at any cost and through any means necessary. Thus, we’re left with this finish product, which is a total disaster in every way. Hopefully, in the very near future, we’ll no longer see offerings like this one that further mar the reputation of Christian entertainment.

Final Rating: -1 out of 10 points

April 1, 2021 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Historical, Movie ReviewsTags: 2021, Adi Cohen, Alan Robertson, Alex J. Joseph, Allen Dixon, Alveda King, Amy Paffrath, Andrew Bath, Andrew Vogel, Ann Hamilton, BCL Finance Group, Brent Phillip Henry, Brett Beoubay, Bruce Coen, Carine Rice, Cathy Allyn, Chad Governale, Chéri Ballinger, Chelsea Bruland, Chris Lemmon, Christopher A. Ferrara, Corbin Bernsen, Courtney Friel, Craig Wayne Boyd, Diane Heavin, Drama, Elliott Grey, Frank R. Wilson, Gary Heavin, Greer Grammer, Historical, Jack Millard, James DuMont, Jamie Kennedy, Jarrett Ellis Beal, Jean Paul S. Afif, Jeffrey Baruch, Jennifer Titus, Jenny Taylor, Jessica Serfaty, Jessica Vargas, Jim Gleason, Joey Lawrence, John McConnell, John Schneider, Jon Voight, Jordan Salloum, Jordi Rediu, Justine Wachsberger, Katira Banks, Ken Davitian, Ken Kushner, Kirk W. Johnson, Laura Flannery, Lucy Davenport, Manny Fajardo, Michael Bassick, Michael Laundon, Mike Lindell, Miles Doleac, Milo Yiannopoulos, Mindy Robinson, negative points, Nick Byassee, Nick Loeb, Nigel Smith, Octavius Prince, Peter Thomson, Quiver Distribution, Richard Holden, Richard Portnow, Robert Davi, Roe v. Wade, Sharon Smith, Sherri Eakin, Smoke Shows & Clown Shows, Stacey Dash, Stephanie Honoré, Steve Guttenberg, Steve Monroe, Summer Joy Campbell, Susan B. Anthony List Education Fund, Susan LaBrecque, Tim Beasley, Tom Guiry, Troy Duhon, Upcoming Movies and Series, Wade Williams, Wanda Leigh, William Forsythe 7 Comments

The Farmer and the Belle: Saving Santaland (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Belle Winters is a model who’s been told that she’s aging out of the business. Thus, she decides to revisit a place from her childhood to find the secret to true beauty, which she believes was found on a bracelet she left behind. However, when she returns, she once again crosses paths with the pen pal she thought forgot about her. In seeing him again, what Belle finds is unexpected.

Production Quality (1.5 points)

Despite being average, The Farmer and the Belle isn’t quite good enough for a 2020 production. Video and audio quality are good, and sets, locations, and props are acceptable. However, camera work is randomly shaky at times. The generic soundtrack is sometimes too obvious for the situations it’s played in. Editing is quite choppy as some scenes cut off prematurely. Nonetheless, there’s some improvement as the film goes on, but it’s still just run-of-the-mill.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Surprisingly, this plot begins with good attempts to develop character motive via a flashback prologue. Though the often-expository dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, there’s actually a basic narrative focus, including obvious themes albeit slightly juvenile ones. The tongue-in-cheek comedy is sometimes funny and sometimes not. At times, things happen simply because the writers want them to, and convenient turns transpire simply to suit the story’s purposes. The middle of the plot wastes a lot of time, seemingly kicking the can down the road, and a few sequences seem too staged and forced to exist. Overall, there is some potential in this section, but the contrived nature of the narrative and the lack of strong characters holds it back from being all that it could be.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

Due to the back and forth nature of this section, the final score comes out as average. At times, the acting is professional while other times, it isn’t. Line delivery and emotions are overall inconsistent. Some scenes are more dramatic than others, but it’s not all bad. In the end, this mixed bag caps off an mostly underwhelming effort.

Conclusion

Movies like Saving Santaland are neither bad enough to be remembered nor good enough to be upheld. In the end, this screenplay is likely to fall into the same bin with other forgettable Christmas offerings that clamor for the attention of audiences. It’s definitely possible that holiday films are more likely to be viewed, so why not give the watchers something to remember rather than forget?

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

November 17, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Comedy, Drama, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, RomanceTags: 2020, 3.5 points, Adele Chandler, Amy Sutherland, Beckah Shae, Benji Russell, Betty Sullivan, Billy Falcon, Bob Sáenz, Chip Lane, Christmas, Comedy, Corbin Bernsen, Delilah, Derrick Warfel, Drama, George D. Escobar, Henry Cho, Inspirational, Isaac Hernandez, Jade Froeder, James Covell, James M. De Vince, Jeff Rose, Jenn Gotzon, Jenn Gotzon Chandler, Jesse Medeles, Jim E. Chandler, Joe Battaglia, Joel Bunkowske, John Schneider, Justin Peters, Laura Mae Poore, Livi Birch, Mona Barros Langham, Natasha Bure, Reuben Evans, Richard Swingle, Robert Amaya, Romance, Roxzane T. Mims, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Sophie Ma, Starla Christian, Terry Chase Chenowith, Wes Llewellyn Leave a comment

When We Last Spoke (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Evangeline and Juliet, once they were abandoned by their mother after their father was drafted into the Vietnam War, were raised by their grandparents in a small Texas town. However, the sisters always wondered when they would see their mother again even as she sent them gifts and letters. As time went on, the two sisters grew apart due to various circumstances and family secrets. Now that they’re adults, will they be able to reconcile their differences to help their family?

Production Quality (2.5 points)

It’s no surprise that a well-funded film like When We Last Spoke has high production qualities. Video, camera work, and audio all meet industry standards. The sets, locations, and props demonstrate attention to historical detail, which is important for a period drama. The soundtrack is mostly average but fits the time period. The only flaw to note here is the somewhat choppy editing, but this seems to be a consequence of the plot. Therefore, a high score is warranted for this section.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Despite having source material, When We Last Spoke has one of most bizarre story presentations of recently released works. The past and present narratives are often blurred as the writers push one thing after another on the audience. As a stream-of-consciousness plot, it feels like a collection of disconnected and completely mindless scenes, most of which lack clear direction or purpose. There’s an unusual amount of unnecessarily edgy content that’s explained away in strange manners, and whatever Christian message was supposed to be portrayed is extremely vague. In attempts to create so-called twists, the viewer is purposely led in one direction only to be taken in another, thus making them feel extremely forced and shoehorned. In what’s supposed to be a character-based story, dialogue and conversations are basically meaningless, doing nothing to adequately develop the characters but instead wasting the audience’s time. Because of various problems and no real potential, this area can’t be given any points.

Acting Quality (1 point)

There are some moments of good acting in When We Last Spoke, and some cast members are better than others. However, there are some instances of uneven line delivery and generally unsure performances. Elsewhere, obnoxious and shocking emotional outbursts mar certain scenes. Despite a dose of positive, this section is overall below average.

Conclusion

This film is just another well-funded and heavily publicized creation that’s gone down the tubes. At this point, Christian audiences are growing tired of being told that screenplays are good only to be disappointed by them. There’s little patience left, and the number of consistent viewers is ever-shrinking. Just because you have money and recognizable cast members doesn’t mean your movie is automatically good. The funding for When We Last Spoke could have been used to bring an actually transformative book to the big screen, but instead, we just have a waste of time.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

October 27, 2020October 27, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Historical, Movie ReviewsTags: 2020, 3.5 points, Alicia Fusting, Braxton Bjerken, Chandler Head, Cloris Leachman, Corbin Bernsen, Darby Camp, Donny Boaz, Drama, Fred Miller, Fred Miller Productions, Gray Hawks, Greg Parrow, Hilliary Begley, Historical, Hope Ivers, Jayden Fontaine, Jill Bloede, Jimmy Hager, Joanne Hock, Johanna Jowett, Jonathan Grubbs, Julia Denton, Lacy Camp, Marci Henna, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Harding, Philip Fornah, Rebecca Koon, ReelWorks Studios, Rick Eldridge, Rob Pottorf, Rodney Eldridge Leave a comment

Life With Dog (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Joe Bigler wants to shut the world out after his wife died a tragic death. However, his daughter won’t leave him alone, the bank wants him to pay his mortgage, and a big company is threatening to turn his neighborhood into a housing development, which prompts them to constantly offer to buy his house. Nonetheless, when a stray dog takes up residence with Joe, his life begins to take a different trajectory. Will he finally be able to make peace with his past and move on with his life?

Production Quality (2 points)

As is the typical custom of Corbin Bernsen and his team, Life With Dog sports a respectable production, including good video and audio qualities along with professional usage of sets, locations, and props. There are really no concerns to note save for the randomly poor lighting and the inconsistent application of editing. Also, the soundtrack is a bit off since it sometimes doesn’t fit the moods of scenes, but as can be seen in the remainder of the film, much of the oddness seems purposeful.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Life With Dog is a capstone of Corbin Bernsen’s erratic and unusual Christian entertainment career because it’s the ultimate encapsulation of everything he’s ever done. Not only does this film boast the typically odd elements he inserts into movies, but it carries an inexplicably unusual tone that can’t be easily quantified. Some example of this intangible bizzareness are evidenced by some actually interesting scenes that appear to make fun of cliched film tropes, some subtle asides that range from eyebrow-raising to borderline inappropriate, and a tendency for the dialogue to frustratingly meander among some actually pertinent topics that need to be discussed, some complex philosophical concepts that are difficult to grasp, and a constant itching feeling that the narrative is hiding some deep secret that’s never to be revealed. Besides this, there are logical inconsistencies in the writing, such as the fact that the main character is seemingly able to do whatever he wants with little to no consequences for his sometimes questionable actions and the fact that there are too many coincidences that allow the plot to exist. Though there are many half-hearted attempts (we suppose) to do something meaningful in the story, like provide an accessible character exploration, nothing specifically significant materializes and is instead left as an unfinished, off-the-wall idea. The climax scene is probably the best example of the entire film in a nutshell because it pretends to keep building to something real but never gets there and only leaves the viewer with something that’s both vaguely significant and head-scratchingly odd, as if the storyline was purposely written to dangle hidden things in front of the audience without actually revealing their true natures. In the end, though there is some potential in this chaos, it’s not enough to keep this movie above water.

Acting Quality (2 points)

Much like other Home Theater films, the acting of Life With Dog is fine without many noticeable errors. Though there are some overdone emotions are certain moments, the cast members’ line deliveries are consistently on point. Also, each individual appears to assume their roles well. Thus, this rounds out a slightly below average effort.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, Bernsen’s career is marked with wasted potential (Christian Mingle, In-Lawfully Yours, 25 Hill, to name a few), and it’s unclear whether or not he ever intends to change. It seems like he’s always striving to make the next great iconic Christian film but consistently falls short due to intangible oddness. The worst part is that he clearly has the connections and the resources to do better than he is, yet he usually comes up short as he settles for second best. Perhaps, in future projects, he will finally unleash his full skill set and collaborate with others who can make up for his shortcomings.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 10 points

February 23, 2020February 24, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Animals & Pets, Drama, Movie Reviews, Mystery, Psychological, SuspenseTags: 2018, 4.5 points, Andrew Burkum, Andrew Joslyn, Animals & Pets, Brandon Beemer, Bridgestone Multimedia Group, Chelsey Crisp, Christopher Brian Nicoletti, Clynton Lamur, Corbin Bernsen, Drama, GEM Entertainment, Gregory Hoyt, Henry Penzi, Home Theater Films, Hunter Fischer, James Greilick, John E. Bauer, Jordan Smith, Marilu Henner, Michael Everett, Mill Creek Entertainment, Monica Olive, Mystery, Pay It Forward Entertainment, Psychological, Robert Goon, Suspense Leave a comment

First Lady (February 2020)

Coming to theaters February 14, 2020

Writer(s): Nina May

Director(s): Nina May

Producer(s): Nina May

Cast: Nancy Stafford, Corbin Bernsen, Stacey Dash, Bejamin Dane, Melissa Temme, Jenn Gotzon, Burgess Jenkins, Tanya Christiansen, Gabriela Kostadiniva, Paul Milotte, Griffin Duy, Joel King, Robert Shepherd

Plot summary: A romantic comedy about a woman, not married to the president, who runs for the office of First Lady. However, she winds up getting a much better proposal than she ever expected. She is torn between a promise and her calling.

February 8, 2020February 8, 2020 by amg16 Categories: Movie ReviewsTags: Bejamin Dane, Burgess Jenkins, Corbin Bernsen, February 2020, First Lady, Gabriela Kostadiniva, Griffin Duy, Jenn Gotzon, Joel King, Melissa Temme, Nancy Stafford, Nina May, Paul Milotte, Robert Shepherd, Stacey Dash, Tanya Christiansen, Upcoming Movies and Series 1 Comment

Game Changer (status unknown)

Status currently unknown

Writer(s): Joel DeVisser

Director(s): TBA

Producer(s): Richard Tavernaro

Starring: Corbin Bernsen, Ashley Bratcher, Joel DeVisser, John Smoltz, Isabella Zentkovitch, more TBA

Plot Synopsis: Game Changer follows the best, richest, and possibly most self-centered quarterback in the pro’s as he’s forced to coach an inner-city little league baseball team. A hilarious comedy for all ages that showcases how our lives are better if we live to help people around us.

September 28, 2019January 27, 2021 by amg16 Categories: Upcoming Movies and SeriesTags: Ashley Bratcher, Corbin Bernsen, Isabella Zentkovitch, Joel DeVisser, Richard Tavernaro, Upcoming Movies and Series 1 Comment

Dead Man Rising (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Daniel is a death-row inmate awaiting the lethal injection, but he will be one of the first prisoners to receive the new experimental injection drugs. Desperate for an out, he convinces his lawyer to lobby for him to have limited and monitored internet access in order to research the drug in his last days. He is granted this privilege, but a fellow inmate keeps provoking him to research arguments for and against Christianity, and Daniel keeps taking him up on the challenge, even though he has never believed in God. before he knows it, something is changing inside of him, but is it too late?

Production Quality (2.5 points)

As a more recent film, Dead Man Rising lives up to the expectation of higher production quality, which is evident in the professional camera work and video quality. Audio is also good, even if the soundtrack is a bit generic at times. It’s noted that the sets, locations, and props are relatively limited by the design of the plot, but the props are nonetheless realistic. It’s definitely a better idea to live within your means as far as the production goes rather than to over-extend and look silly. This is really the only issue with this production since the editing is good. Moreover, this limited production design definitely puts more pressure on the plot and characters to deliver…

Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)

…which they unfortunately do not do as much as they could have. While the plot is a unique idea, it too easily devolves into a boring philosophical conversation between two characters that appears to push a pre-determined agenda a bit too strongly rather than to let things develop naturally. There are also some slightly unrealistic plot circumstances that are designed to make the story happen, even if there are portions of intriguing dialogue that make attempts at character development. However, since there are so few characters, they needed to be developed deeper than they were with more effective flashbacks and clearer character motivations. While there are some attempts at flashbacks, we needed to see more in this area and less in the area of apologetic information dumps that sacrifice precious time that could have been used to increase character growth. We needed a story that tells us about actual people, but we only got half-measured. Nevertheless, the ending is very interesting and effective if you make it that far, but after the wearing apologetic dumps in the middle, many people won’t get to the meaning in the end. Basically, this movie, like most other films, was made or broken by the plot, which didn’t deliver as much as it could have.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

For the most part, this small cast demonstrates good acting skills even if there are some forced lines and emotions that seem out of context for their situations. Although each cast member assumes his or her respective role well, due to the small size of the cast, each error is more pronounced. There are also some unnecessary yelling scenes that can become wearing. However, as a whole, this is an average performance that rounds out an average film that could have been more.

Conclusion

A common theme in Christian film that few Christian movie-makers have discovered and remedied is that audiences want characters they can relate to as real people. This is done through effective flashbacks and conversations that reveal to us what the character wants, why he does what he does, and how he got to where he is. Filling time with worn-out Christian debate talking points only implies that a film maker doesn’t know how to relate to real people on this level. However, when this trend changes in Christian film and when Christian movie creators begin depicting real characters we can relate to on these levels, that’s when the Christian entertainment field will finally take the culture by storm, which is good food for thought as we begin a new year.

Final Rating: 5 out of 10 points

January 2, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, PsychologicalTags: 2018, Carol Freeman, Corbin Bernsen, Daniel Roebuck, Delpaneaux Wills, Drama, five points, Francois Jolin, Inspirational, Jax Distribution, Lawreen K. Yakkel, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Michael Gaglio, Mike Capozzi, Psychological, PureFlix, Sean Anthony Moran, Shaun T. Benjamin, Shawna Waldron, Thomas L. Callaway, Travis Johns, Will Freeman 2 Comments

Roe V. Wade (April 2021)

In select theaters April 2, 2021

Writer(s): Cathy Allyn, Nick Loeb

Director(s): Nick Loeb, Cathy Allyn

Producer(s): Alveda King, Cathy Allyn, Nick Loeb, Mindy Robinson

Starring: Jon Voight, Robert Davi, Corbin Bernsen, John Schneider, Stacey Dash, William Forsythe, Steve Guttenberg, Wade Williams, Richard Portnow, Greer Grammer, Ken Davitian, Chris Lemmon, Steve Monroe, Lucy Davenport, Sherri Eakin, Jim Gleason, Andrew Vogel, Allen Dixon, Chad Governale, Octavius Prince, Jarrett Ellis Beal, Summer Joy Campbell, Peter Thomson, Joey Lawrence, Milo Yiannopoulos, Robert Davi,

Plot Synopsis: Roe v. Wade chronicles the untold story of the infamous abortion enabling court case that impacted American history. It exposes the truth that a magnitude of lies has deprived millions of people of their human dignity and rights. Dr. Bernard Nathanson and Dr. Mildred Jefferson square off in a national battle in this untold conspiracy that led to the most famous and controversial court case in history.

November 20, 2018March 10, 2021 by amg16 Categories: Upcoming Movies and SeriesTags: Allen Dixon, Alveda King, Andrew Vogel, Cathy Allyn, Chad Governale, Chris Lemmon, Corbin Bernsen, Greer Grammer, Jarrett Ellis Beal, Jim Gleason, Joey Lawrence, John Schneider, Jon Voight, Ken Davitian, Lucy Davenport, Milo Yiannopoulos, Nick Loeb, Octavius Prince, Peter Thomson, Richard Portnow, Robert Davi, Roe v. Wade, Sherri Eakin, Stacey Dash, Steve Guttenberg, Steve Monroe, Summer Joy Campbell, Upcoming Movies and Series, Wade Williams 3 Comments

My Daddy’s in Heaven (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

When Becca Smith suddenly loses her husband in a tragic car accident, she feels like her world is falling apart.  Then she meets an old friend from the past who decides to introduce her to a new lifestyle of partying and drinking to help drown her sorrows away.  However, Becca is unable to fill the void.  Will she come back to the faith she was always taught before it’s too late?

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

On the surface, My Daddy’s in Heaven has a fairly good production, as evidenced by some great outdoor scenes and good video quality.  For the most part, camera work is good, except for some weird camera angles.  Audio quality is sometimes too echoed, especially in indoor sets.  Lighting is somewhat inconsistent, including some odd sequences of soft lighting.  There are also some sequences of disorienting sound effects and special effects, but there is some slight production improvement shown throughout, thus warranting an average score.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Unfortunately, though this film is based on a book and tries to have a good point, the storyline is quite thin.  There seem to be a lot of scenes grasping for substantial content as the plot meanders aimlessly and purposelessly for nearly sixty minutes.  During this time frame, a good portion of the time is spent on the main two characters getting drunk.  Dialogue is all over the place, including too many instances of forced comedy.  Though this film is billed as a family movie, there is a lot of embarrassing content within, including long and pointless bar scenes.  However, the last ten to fifteen minutes of the film take a slightly interesting turn based on some intriguing ideas.  Unfortunately, with no buildup to this point and no support from the rest of the film, these ideas are wasted, and there are too many quick fixes employed.  Thus, only half a point can be awarded for this section.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

The two female leads of this cast, outside of a few good moments, do their best to make fools of themselves.  Most of the acting in this film is oddly forced and awkward, but it’s likely that the cast members didn’t have much good to work with in the first place.  There are also some mumbled and whispered lines that make for a frustrating experience.  Overall, unfortunately, there is little good to mention about this film.

Conclusion

While the effort and the heart behind this film might have been there, the good intentions were terribly misplaced.  Production was almost passable, but it’s unsure what the intention of this plot was.  Audiences who are expecting a family-friendly film will likely be disappointed at the number of drunken scenes of this film.  While it great to show the struggles of real people in film, there is a way to do this without being so embarrassing.  Unfortunately, the interesting pivotal scene near the end of the film is out of place and could have been used in a better film.  Better luck next time, I guess.

 

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points

 

March 10, 2018January 1, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2.5 points, 2017, Albert Thakur, Antuone Torbert, Corbin Bernsen, Daddy's Girl Pictures, Dureyshevar, Dustin Harnish, Inspirational, Jack Nasser, Jacob Nasser, Jake Jacobson, Jeff Faehnle, Jenn Gotzon, Jill Morrison, Jim E. Chandler, Joseph Nasser, Kent Rock, Lee Benton, Mark Famiglietti, Mark Tietsort, Nasser Entertainment Group, Nat Mundel, Noelle Nelson, Riley St. John, T. C. Stallings, Victor Warren, Voyage Media, Waymon Boone 1 Comment

Rust [2010] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Former pastor James Moore, who is running from his faith and his career, returns to his hometown to discover it the grounds of a dark mystery and closely held secrets that has put one crazy man in prison for arson.  With nothing left to lose and nothing else to do, Moore decides to take it upon himself to solve the mysterious case that was too open and shut.  As he looks at all the angles of the fire and the events of that night, Moore finds himself turning to God again as he rediscovers the faith he left behind.

 

Production Quality (2 points)

Corbin Bernsen and his teams have always been committed to high production quality.  Rust is the earliest example of this commitment, as it sports great video quality, audio quality, and camera work.  The soundtrack is also intriguing.  Sets, locations, and props, for the most part, are professional.  The only issues to point out here pertain to some choppy editing and some slightly poor lighting in some parts.  But otherwise, this is a professional and model production.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)

From the beginning of his foray into Christian film, which was this film, until now, Corbin Bernsen’s creative motivation has always been an enigma.  What is he ever going for?  Rust adopts the mysterious and semi-dark approach that was seen later in Beyond the Heavens.  Neither film truly makes much sense or has any driving purpose behind it.  Yet the mystery portion of Rust is intriguing and somewhat engaging.  The characters, while a bit eccentric, are also interesting in their own way, sometimes due to unique and cryptic dialogue.  Movies like this one always seem to be hiding something, like a private joke or secret, but they never let us in on the puzzle.  At least the ending is slightly unexpected, even though it takes a somewhat predictable path to get there.  If there were some more clarity in this plot, it could have been interesting and more highly rated, because there was a lot of potential here.

Acting Quality (2 points)

Much like the production of this film, the acting quality is professional and above average.  For the most part, actors and actresses are cast appropriately, and their line delivery is on point.  Sometimes emotions tend to be a bit forced, but they are good as a whole.  There are also some other moments of underwhelming performances, but they are not enough to keep this section from being highly rated.

Conclusion

Corbin Bernsen always has a lot of potential in his films.  He usually maintains high production and acting quality.  However, he is also committed to plots that are seemingly purposely unusual.  Rust is no exception to this trend, especially since it is his first Christian film.  One can understand why ‘secular’ film makers want to dip into the Christian market, but we have never understood Bernsen’s odd approach to movie making, despite his quality productions.  Yet perhaps we will never understand.

 

Final Rating: 5 out of 10 points

 

December 15, 2017January 2, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Movie Reviews, Psychological, SuspenseTags: 2010, Adam Guider, Angela Lamarch, Audrey Lynn Tennent, Brad Kearns, Brandon McCormick, Cavan Cunningham, Chesney Caswell, Chris Aronoff, Christina Weeding, Christmas, Christopher Weeding, Corbin Bernsen, Dana Lesiuk, Denise Singleton, Duane Leicht, Dwayne Johnson, Erik Heuck, five points, Frank Gall, Gerald Lenton-Young, Graham Bell, Home Theater Films, Isabel Wilson, James Greilick, Jesse Twietmeyer, John Hutchinson, Judith Davies, Kenzie Storm, Kipling Film Productions, Kirsten Collins, Lloyd Warner, Lorne Cardinal, Margaret Duke, Mark Edmonds, Mike Kernahan, Mike Post, Mystery, Noah Wilfong, Nolan Hubbard, Psychological, Rust Productions, Ryder Debreceni, Shannon Jardine, Sophie McLeod, Suspense, Team Cherokee Productions, Troy Hakansson Leave a comment

The Last Straw [2014] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

The McDonald family is full of screaming kids, and now they have taken on a trouble making relative for the holidays whose family doesn’t care about her.  As the kids perform all of their silly escapades, the shunned relative tries to fit into the neighborhood and meets a random boy next door whom she automatically likes, of course.  Then Mrs. McDonald, at the end of her rope, decides to institute a contest to see who can do the most deeds so they can put straw in their nativity manger.  It’s just another holiday tale.

 

Production Quality (2 points)

For the most part, Rob Diamond and his team know how to put together a respectable production.  Video quality and audio quality are what they should be, even though the soundtrack is fairly generic.  There are some random moments of shaky cam, however.  Yet sets, locations, and props are fine, albeit somewhat limited.  There are also some minor editing concerns, but there are really no glaring errors.  On the whole, this is an above average effort.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the plot.  Besides being an extremely limited idea full of silly asides and manufactured drama, it is mostly eccentric.  The characters tend to be overdone yet not well developed, even though they spend a lot of time sitting around and talking.  With no clear purpose or direction, sometimes it seems like this story is a joke.  The ‘struggles’ of the characters are impossible to appreciate.  There is also a cheesy forced romance.  Overall, this is really not a complete enough idea to make a full-length film; the priorities of this film needed to be reevaluated.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

Besides being very awkward at times, the cast members have a tendency to be overly happy and loud in most scenes.  Emotions are very plastic and laughably fake.  There is far too much shouting and yelling throughout, especially from the child cast members.  However, there are plenty of good moments, as well as improvement throughout, which saves this section from being zero.

Conclusion

In summary, it’s very hard to justify the making of this film.  It is based on a very thin idea, and it seems like it was rushed into being made without stopping to think about where this plot was even going.  Stories like this need to be seriously slowed down and evaluated for necessity and quality.  Until this happens on a consistent basis, we will keep having films like this put out.

 

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

 

December 1, 2017January 3, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Movie ReviewsTags: 2014, 3.5 points, Adam Johnson, Aisha Marie, Barry Evans, Britani Bateman Underwood, Bryton Myler, Cassidy Nelson, Christmas, Corbin Bernsen, Darien Willardson, Disciple Cinema Group, Emerson Hamp, Grizzly, Joshua Pearson, Kellen Hart, Madison Bontempo, Rob Diamond, Rob Diamond Films, Ron Brough, Russ Whitelock, Shelley Bingham-Husk Leave a comment

Prayer Never Fails (Movie Review)

Make a serious face Eric

Plot Summary

When Aiden Paul is fired from his job as a public school teacher and basketball coach, he feels like God wants him to hire a troubled agnostic lawyer to help him win a case against his former employer.  But the school district prepares to throw the book at Aiden and make an example out of him, so he soon finds he will have to fight for his rights and for the team that loves him.  Will he be able to prevail over the odds that are seemingly stacked against him?

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

Prayer Never Fails begins as a very rough and raw production with very shaky camera work and strange camera angles.  The lighting also begins very poorly.  Audio quality is relatively stable throughout.  Moreover, sets and locations are consistently realistic throughout.  The good thing is that the camera work and angles do improve later in the film, if you make it far enough.  Yet the editing is confusing throughout and leaves too many dead sequences intact.  In the end, though the production ends up average, it’s a very rocky road to get there and certainly doesn’t help this film’s already-shaky cause.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Though this story is very low-key and slow to develop at first, it is based on an absurdly unrealistic religious freedom premise that would never stand up in the real world.  This is combined with a typical downtrodden legal premise and several other confusing and disjointed subplots.  However, the agnostic lawyer character is one of the best we have ever seen in these sorts of films and should be transported to a different movie where his flawed characteristics can be more professionally explored.  Yet other characters are not nearly as well-developed, including the downtrodden lead and the strawman villain lawyer.  Furthermore, like certain other ‘persecution in the courtroom’ stories, this film fails the test of realism and boils down to an easily patched-up and fixed ending.  This story needs to be scrapped and started over with the agnostic lawyer character only.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

Though this is a semi-professional cast, they begin in a very underwhelming fashion.  The lead actor is especially unsure of himself and cannot carry the leading role.  However, there is potential here and the acting, especially the emotional delivery, does greatly improve in the second half of the film.  Overall, this rounds out a very roller coaster experience of a film.

Conclusion

It’s great to write a legal plot, but why does it automatically have to be about religious freedom and so-called persecution that’s not even believable in the real world?  Also, why leave production and acting to be so shoddy in the beginning?  It’s never worth just slapping a movie together just for the sake of having a movie, especially in the new era of Christian film that demands higher quality.  We’ll never begin to understand movies like this.

 

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

 

August 6, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 2016, 3.5 points, Alston Kelley, Billy Sawilchik, Cathy Lee Crosby, Chandler Lane, Clifton Davis, Corbin Bernsen, Eric Roberts, Esther Lim, Garney Hill, Inspirational, Jessica Webb, Joseph Belk, Justin Webb, Legal, Leonard Ohaebosim, Lorenzo Lamas, Lynn Whitfield, Marianne Graves, Nick Lashaway, Rene Perez, Scott Seegmiller, Shaune Bordere, Sid De La Cruz, Sports, Sweet Unknown Studios, Ted Ensminger, Vanessa Lyon, Wes Miller Leave a comment

25 Hill (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

After Trey Caldwell’s father is tragically killed overseas while serving in the military, Trey feels like he will never fulfill the dream his father gave him—the dream of racing their soapbox car in the derby.  But then, Trey’s kind school principal introduces him to Roy Gibbs, a troubled fireman who would like to forget the death of his son.  The two of them find that they have something in common: a passion for soapbox derby racing.  As Roy trains Trey, they develop a unique bond and inadvertently find healing from their wounds.

 

Production Quality (2.5 points)

As Corbin Bernsen’s first foray into the inspirational market, 25 Hill demonstrates his typical high production quality that he likely learned in the mainstream sector and is unfortunately not commonplace in the Christian field.  Beginning with an effective opening sequence that tells the story without narration, this film checks all the necessary boxes for production quality.  Video quality, camera work, audio quality, and soundtrack are all professional and effective.  Sets, locations, and props are also above standard.  The only complaint to raise here is the high number of sports montages, which are too typical of this genre.  Otherwise, this is a very respectable production that many Christian film makers can model after.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)

Before Bersen decided to develop his own zany brand of satire, he decided to create a grief plot that has a commitment to taking jabs are stereotypical plot elements.  His take on this predictable plot structure is enjoyable, yet like Bernsen’s other films, 25 Hill still includes too many formulaic elements that are commonly found in sports\grief plots.  Yet his continual pointing out and exposing of typical movie clichés is a fun experience nonetheless, as is his satire on product placements.  With good dialogue and character development, this story demonstrates a better version of the Bernsen brand, which later devolved into silliness and insanity in Christian Mingle, 3 Day Test, and In-lawfully Yours.  The biggest thing that holds 25 Hill back is its predictability, as Bernsen does his typical flirting with creativity but doesn’t really follow through.  Yet in the end, this will be an enjoyable story for most and is certainly worth a watch.

Acting Quality (3 points)

Bernsen and his team completely nailed their casting work.  Each actor and actress fits their characters comfortably as they deliver their lines and inflections flawlessly.  Emotional performances are highly effective, thus making this a perfect score.

Conclusion

We definitely understand where Bernsen is coming from—sometimes.  He wants to make quality inspirational films while at the same time exposing where many films in the genre go wrong.  He always thinks about doing something different with his storylines, but in the end goes back to the typical, safe ending.  Nonetheless, 25 Hill will be liked by most audiences, and it is certainly worth a watch.  Perhaps eventually, Bernsen will finally hit the home run he has been searching for all these years.

 

Final Rating: 6.5 out of 10 points

 

June 27, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2011, 6.5 points, Alexis Fowler, Bailee Madison, Brad Raider, Cameron Moore, Chris Aronoff, Christopher Morrow, Corbin Bernsen, David Gillmore, Finley Bernsen, Home Theater Films, Inspirational, James Greilick, Kelleigh Miller, Lee Strauss, Mary Ethridge, Maureen Flannigan, Meg Foster, Nathan Gamble, Peter Lawson Jones, Phil Kibbe, Ralph Waite, Rolonda Watts, Ross Russell, Sean P. Beck, Sports, Team Cherokee Productions, Timothy Omundson, Tyler Murphy, William K. Baker 1 Comment

Apocalypse 4: Judgment (Movie Review)

Everything else has happened in this series, so let’s throw Mr. T in here too

Plot Summary

As the ONE has tightened its grip on the world, Christianity is outlawed and everyone must take the Mark of world leader Franco Macalousso, or they will be arrested and possibly executed.  The world must worship Macalousso or be doomed.  But when the world leader feels that excitement about hating Christians is wearing thin, he decides to stage a televised trial for infamous Christian Helen Hannah to get people interested again.  Enigmatic defense lawyer Mitch Kendrick is recruited to ‘defend’ her, even though it’s all staged.  But no one knows that Mitch is searching for the truth himself—will he be able to find it?

 

Production Quality (1 point)

As this stupid series finally grinds to a halt, we can say affirmatively that production quality barely changed throughout it.  While camera work and video quality have improved in this final installment, nothing else has.  The audio quality is inconsistent and the soundtrack is quite loud at times.  Sets, locations, and props, in an attempt to look ‘futuristic’, only come off as cheesy.  Finally, like the rest of the series, editing is quite poor.  On the bright side, there’s no more product placements, but it’s unacceptable to have a series this long with such bad production quality.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Was there really a justification for a fourth installment in this series that doesn’t include anything about the subplots that were supposedly continued at the end of Tribulation?  Helen Hannah remains to be the central Christian character of the series for some reason, but otherwise we are introduced to even more characters we’ve never seen before, including Mr. T.  The same ridiculous concepts this series has always pushed are present in this final film as well, but this time transposed on top of a staged legal battle.  Dialogue does nothing for character development as a lot of time the is filled exploring vague and isolating concepts.  It seems like the writers are constantly inventing ways to kill time without actually helping us to get to know all these characters they shove at us.  Finally, though the end is slightly interesting and has some potential, it cuts off with an abrupt transition to the nonexistent fifth film they obviously wanted to make.  Thankfully, their funding was finally cut.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

As Corbin Bernsen and Mr. T join this crowded cast, things really do not improve.  There are too many over the top emotions and shouting sequences.  There is some potential with line delivery, and this cast seems professional on the surface, but it’s just not good enough.  This is another disappointing effort.

Conclusion

Well, it’s finally over.  What did we learn?  When you can’t even create an average production, don’t make four movies.  When you don’t have any plot or character development to speak of, don’t make four movies.  When you can’t focus on a central story or character arc in your series and instead constantly come up with new characters and subplots with each installment, don’t make four movies.  When you cast all kinds of ‘big names’ but don’t bother to coach them, don’t make four movies.  Are you seeing a theme here?  The Apocalypse series is just another blight on Christian film and will hopefully be forgotten one day, but at least we can learn something from it…I hope…

 

Final Rating: 2 out of 10 points

 

March 9, 2017January 10, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Apocalyptic, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 2 points, 2001, André van Heerden, Apocalypse series, Apocalyptic, Arnold Pinnock, Cloud Ten Pictures, Corbin Bernsen, David Gardner, Doug Lennox, Gary Koftinoff, Jason Michaels, Jessica Steen, John Gordon, John Patus, Karen Glave, Legal, Leigh Lewis, Marium Carvell, Michael Copeman, Mr. T, Nicholas Tabarrok, Nick Mancuso, Nicole Leroux, Ola Sturik, Once Upon a Time Films, Patrick Gallagher, Paul Lalonde, Peter Lalonde, Roman Podhora, Sandra Caldwell, Speculative, Steve Jackson, Suspense, Tony Nappo, Yank Azman 2 Comments

Suing the Devil (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Luke, a struggling law student, is angry that the drunk driver who killed his mother is now walking free and contemplates killing him.  But he decides against this and instead directs his anger at the devil.  Concluding that Satan is responsible for everything evil in the world and that he needs to pay for it, Luke does the only rational thing he can think to do: file a lawsuit against Satan himself for damages totaling eight trillion dollars.  What could go wrong, especially when the devil actually shows up in the courtroom?

 

Production Quality (0 points)

Though this production is not as deplorable as the horrid thing that is Final: The Rapture, Suing the Devil still has plenty of avoidable issues.  Timothy Chey prides himself in having money to make quality films, yet he is content to flush all of his funds down the toilet in some kind of bizarre effort to get attention.  Anything good about this production is drowned out by wild and amateurish cuts and transitions between scenes, inconsistent camera work, wacky camera angles…the list goes on and on.  Loud sound effects constantly annoy the viewing experience as a lot of the audio quality is overdriven.  There is no semblance of coherency when it comes to the editing, yet this is also a plot issue.  In short, just having a pile of money to make a movie doesn’t produce results—it actually has to be applied properly.

Plot and Storyline Quality (-2 points)

Guided by constant narration from a maniac, whoever subjects themselves to this torture is forced to witness a descent into utter madness.  Since the entire point of this film is to depict a zany trial sequence, the story speeds to this point and forces you to sit through the world’s most ridiculous legal premise, which is filled with heavy-handed messaging, obvious dialogue, and wacko strawman characters.  Chey chooses the strangest villain concepts to caricature and fills the movie with bizarre theology. The story gets stranger and stranger as it goes on until you feel like you are the victim of the world’s most serious trolling.  To get to the point, Suing the Devil is a juvenile effort and an absolute laughingstock of a movie.  There is no justifiable reason for this debacle to have ever been created.

Acting Quality (-2 points)

But it gets worse.  Emotions are extremely over the top and dramatic.  There are too many sequences of yelling and some cast members get more and more unhinged as the film slogs on.  It’s painfully clear that there was no thought put into any of this.

Conclusion

Is this film a joke?  That’s the only conclusion we can come to.  There is literally no point to this unstable diatribe that is fixated on Satan, oil companies, and big banks.  Sure, all three of these have their share of problems (especially the devil), but are they worth dedicating a movie to?  As Christians, we have too much of a tendency to give Satan more attention that he’s worth, and this movie is sort of an example of that.  But otherwise, Suing the Devil is a collection of incoherent and downright asylum-insane psychobabble that does nothing except further tarnish the name of Christian film.  Whoever keeps giving Timothy Chey money needs to stop, like now.

 

Final Rating: -4 out of 10 points

 

January 23, 2017January 11, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Movie Reviews, PsychologicalTags: 2011, Annie Lee, Bart Bronson, Bella Blaikock, Chad Lammers, Comedy, Corbin Bernsen, David Turrell, Denning Isles, Dennis Cole, Drew Pearson, Fallen World Productions, Gabrielle Whittaker, Gemma Kaye, Gordon Anderson, Hannah Bath, Hannah Forsyth, Jeff Crabtree, Jeff Gannon, Jennifer Skyler, Kenny Epps, Linda Mercorella, Malcolm McDowell, Marina Mercorella, Melissa Hanes, Michael Grady, Morgan Roy, Mouthwatering Productions, negative points, Phil Pringle, Rebecca St. James, Rob Walters, Robin Royce Queree, Roslyn Gentle, Samantha Clarke, Shannen Fields, Shira Van Essen, Timothy A. Chey, Tom Sizemore 1 Comment

Love’s Complicated {My Life As a Doormat} (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Leah lives a very controlled and scheduled life.  She does the same things with her safe boyfriend, tries to write, and lets people tell her what to do all the time.  But something is missing.  When her publisher asks for deeper writing, Leah feels inadequate.  But her life changes forever when her boyfriend signs her up for a conflict management course under the guise that he will be attending with her.  Though she is angry at first, she slowly begins to see just how much her life can change.

 

Production Quality (2 points)

As we have said before, Hallmark knows how to invest in a proper production.  In this film, camera work is flawless and video quality is crisp.  The audio quality is good but the soundtrack is standard for Hallmark.  Sets and locations are realistic.  The biggest issues to raise here are the editing problems.  The editing causes the film to be choppy and confusing.  Otherwise, this is a baseline production.

Plot and Storyline Quality (2 points)

Love’s Complicated, which is the Hallmarked title of My Life As a Doormat, is probably as good as a Hallmark plot is going to get, and they only have Rene Gutteridge to thank for her ideas, witty dialogue, and believable characters.  Though the plot still fits into the stereotypical and formulaic Hallmark romance storyline and progression, it is developed to its fullest extent.  The premise vacillates between cheesy and intriguing but is still enjoyable due to some genuine comedy.  However, there appears to be too much missing content as the plot tends to hop from highlight to highlight.  In the end, this is a good plot and makes the movie worth watching.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

As usual for Hallmark, the casting totally derails this film from being all that it could have been.  Most of the cast members are over-costumed and generally average in their emotional delivery.  However, their line delivery is very robotic and measured.  The biggest drag is the lead actress, who was clearly not suited to play an introvert.  Though not all is bad here, the acting overall puts a strain on this otherwise fine movie.

Conclusion

Hallmark should really consider having Rene Gutteridge regularly write more of their plots.  She has a true gift of character development, enough for her storyline to survive Hallmarking to an extent.  Love’s Complicated also has good production support to a point, but the acting really holds this film back.  In a romantic comedy, the cast is everything, and this group just didn’t deliver.  Nonetheless, Gutteridge’s plots and characters are always enjoyable and many will find this movie to be so.

 

Final Rating: 5.5 out of 10 points

 

January 18, 2017January 12, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Movie Reviews, RomanceTags: #Hallmarked, 2016, 5.5 points, Alysia Topol, Amanda Brugel, Ben Bass, Brad Borbridge, Catherine Disher, Corbin Bernsen, Dormat Productions, Hallmark, Holly Marie Combs, Jerry Ciccoritti, Jill Girling, Jim Annan, Lori Mather-Welch, Michael Barbuto, Muse Entertainment Enterprises, Paula Rivera, Precious Chong, R.H. Thomson, Randal Edwards, Rene Gutteridge, Romance, Sean Nimmons-Paterson, Sherry Miller, Steve Solomos, Tammy Isbell Leave a comment

3 Day Test {3 Day Christmas} (Movie Review)

The marauders are coming…

Tina says no!

Plot Summary

Martin Taylor, an obsessive accountant, is tired of how his family never spends any time together.  Prompted by his half-crazy prepper brother to begin preparing for doomsday by taking the 3 Day Test, Martin sees it as his last chance to get to know his family again.  So he disconnects them from modern amenities and is assisted by local police in convincing his family to endure the three days in the comfort-free world.  But little do they know that they were not at all prepared for what’s coming next…

 

Production Quality (2 points)

As usual for Corbin Bernsen, production quality is slightly above average in 3 Day Test.  The camera work is pretty good and video quality is clear.  Audio quality is fine except for an annoyingly blaring Christmas soundtrack and dumb sound effects.  The sets and locations are slightly limited due to the premise, but they are well designed.  The editing is fairy respectable with only some minor quirks.  In short, Bernsen has always succeeded at production quality, but that’s not even the half of this film.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Where to start?  3 Day Test is based on a bizarrely forced Christmas apocalyptic survival premise in which you never really know what’s coming next.  Though it doesn’t have to be a Christmas film at all, it takes place during Christmas and contain many sarcastic head-scratching asides and forced comedy moments.  Since the dialogue is either information dump or downright zany, the characters come off a mostly mentally insane and unstable.  As slightly interesting concepts are shoved in your face and packaged in ridiculous ways, many occurrences are highly unrealistic and head-scratching.  The longer the movie goes on, the weirder it gets as the audience is pulled into an over-the-top descent into madness coupled with a wacky Home Alone rip off.  By the time it’s all over, no sense can be made of it and there are unexplained factors and loose ends.  Is it satire or just total insanity?  Your guess is as good as ours.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

Sporting some professional cast members and some odd child actors\actresses, this cast is a mixed bag.  It’s sometimes pretty good while other times it’s histrionic and annoying.  Line delivery is actually quite professional, but there are just too many episodes of craziness to warrant any more points than this.

Conclusion

Once again, what are we to make of Corbin Bernsen?  Is he a mad satirical genius or is he just trolling?  3 Day Test is actually less satire than usual for him and more goofy madness.  While we wholeheartedly agree that families need to spend more time together, and not just during the holidays, this does not have to involve a ridiculous false survival premise.  This leads us to wonder if Bernsen is actually advocating for ‘prepping for an apocalypse’.  Who knows what he really believes; we may never know.  The bottom line is that he’s wasting his talents and resources on facepalm-inducing films that no one really cares about when he could be making a real difference.  Will he ever change?  We somehow doubt it.

 

Final Rating: 4 out of 10 points

December 5, 2016January 13, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Comedy, Movie ReviewsTags: 2012, 4 points, Aidan Potter, Bill Bradshaw, Chris Aronoff, Christmas, Comedy, Corbin Bernsen, Francesca Capaldi, George Newbern, Heidi Wilhelm, Home Theater Films, Kelleigh Miller, Kevin Crowley, Megyn Price, Michael Winnick, Richard Fike, Taylor Spreitler 5 Comments

Beyond the Heavens [2013] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Oliver Henry wonders what is really out there, beyond the stars in the night sky.  Ever since the tragic death of his brother, his family has never been the same.  But that has only made Oliver all the more curious about the true nature of reality.  So when a mysterious man comes to town and reads to the local kids after school every day, Oliver finds himself drawn to the man’s unique outlook on life.  Though his mother is skeptical of everything the strange man does, Oliver looks deeper and deeper into his claims and into how others view reality.  What he finds is not what he expected, but is exactly what he was looking for.

 

Production Quality (2 points)

Echolight Studios is known for its quality productions, and Beyond the Heavens is no exception.  The camera work is professional, as is the video quality.  However, lighting is inconsistent throughout, with some scenes being too dark.  Audio quality is fine but the soundtrack is uninspiring.  There is an odd use of special effects and overlays in an attempt to make the movie mysterious.  Unfortunately, this also contributes to the editing being confusing and isolating.  Therefore, once again, Echolight has the potential to go all the way, but does not.  Needless to say, this does not only apply to the production quality.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Beyond the Heavens is a very ethereal and mystical experience, one unlike any other movie we have reviewed.  However, this is not a good thing.  The ‘plot’ is very unclear and murky, consisting of vague and meandering ideas and cryptic dialogue.  It’s like Corbin Bernson is winking at the audience with every scene, waiting to reveal some great secret, but it’s never revealed.  The whole has a very tip-of-the-tongue feel, like the characters know something you don’t but never intend to let you in on the secret.  As the characters wax eloquent and philosophize about the true nature of reality, the viewer is left, in the end, with a more confusing view of reality than before.  Is Bernson advocating for or against Darwinism?  Is he a creationist?  Does he really believe that angels come to earth on the tails of comets?  Is Bernson suggesting that reality is not what it seems?  If so, what is his view of reality?  Only God knows the answers to these questions as Bernson spends 90 minutes toying with his ‘big reveal’ and dancing around whatever his philosophical worldview is.  It’s basically just a waste of your time.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

This cast is mostly average in their delivery.  Some acting coaching is present, but some cast behavior is head-scratching.  There are too many unnecessary emotional swings.  However, costuming is appropriate.  Overall, this is just an average performance.

Conclusion

What is to be made of Corbin Bernsen?  What is his place in Christian film?  Is he trolling?  Is he a great mind misunderstood?  Whether it’s abstract musings like Beyond the Heavens or half-hearted satire like Christian Mingle or In-Lawfully Yours, Bernsen’s motivations for making Christian films are very unclear.  It’s possible that he’s smarter than us all and doesn’t know how to show it.  But it’s also possible that he’s just trying to make a quick buck off of Christian audiences.  Reality is probably somewhere in between.  Regardless, Beyond the Heavens really needed to be rethought before anyone spent money on it, because it falls flat and is unable to properly convey whatever message it is trying to present.

 

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

 

November 15, 2016January 14, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Movie Reviews, Sci-FiTags: 2013, 3.5 points, Annmarie Aronoff, Brian Copping, Bruce Davison, Chris Aronoff, Colton Lowe, Corbin Bernsen, Dendrie Taylor, Home Theater Films, Lawrence Pressman, Lloyd Warner, Nathan Gamble, Paul Punyi, Sci-Fi, Team Cherokee Productions, Vernee Watson 1 Comment

In-Lawfully Yours {Jesse and Naomi} (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

When Jesse catches her husband Chaz cheating on her, she immediately files for divorce.  But as they are trying to finalize the details, Chaz’s father dies, leaving his mother in turmoil as she fights against an evil company trying to buy her house so they can tear it down. Jesse feels an obligation to take care of her ex-mother-in-law as her ex-husband tries to hurry her out of her own home.  As she helps her ex-mother-in-law pack up her belongings, Jesse finds herself falling for Ben, the local pastor, who is actually her ex-brother-in-law and used to be married to her ex-husband’s sister.  But as the two of them grow closer, Chaz works to stir up the small town of Bethel Grove against them, possibly threatening to end their relationship forever.

 

Production Quality (2 points)

In-Lawfully Yours checks the box of having a nice surface appearance.  Money was obviously spent on camera work, video quality, and audio quality.  The soundtrack is a silly ‘small town’ composition, but it’s obviously a jab to stupid Hallmark soundtracks.  The sets and locations are pretty good for this type of movie and obviously showcase the ‘small town’ elements this movie is trying to make fun of.  The biggest problem here is the editing.  Even if you’re creating a satire, this does not mean that editing should be ignored.  In-Lawfully Yours is just a random collection of spliced together ‘funny’ scenes with little continuity between them.  In short, this film meets the minimum production standard Christian films should meet, but this does not mean that it’s flawless.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

In-Lawfully Yours is obviously an attempt at satirizing a stereotypical Hallmark small town romance film.  The problem is that the satire is not completely committed to.  At times, the satire is painfully obvious, though not always funny, yet at other times, satire is arbitrarily abandoned.  Dialogue is purposely nonsensical, ripe with offhand swipes and nods to cheesy movie concepts.  But sometimes meaning is awkwardly forced into the dialogue.  Characters are noticeably empty, but they don’t live up to their full comic potential.  Satirical scenes and concepts, like the infamous interrupting-church-services bit from Hidden Secrets, are vastly overused to the point of embarrassment.  This aside is actually the entire purpose of this plot, and its overuse is cringe-worthy.  In the end, everything is neatly fixed in purposefully childish ways.  Essentially, In-Lawfully Yours is a poor man’s Christian Mingle.

Acting Quality (0 points)

Unfortunately, satires still need good acting.  Throwing your cast members into scenes without giving them coaching is no better than Hallmark.  Had the acting been better, this film might have actually been funny.  Emotions are either stale or over the top.  Line delivery is mostly lazy.  It’s disappointing that the acting wasn’t better, because I think there was potential here.

Conclusion

Corbin Bernsen has become somewhat infamous for creating subtle parodies of Hallmark movies, but In-Lawfully Yours tries a bit too hard.  Where Christian Mingle was organic satire, this new film wears out the same concepts over and over again and forces comedy down your throat.  It could have been interesting—tongue-in-cheek references to small town movie clichés are perfectly adequate when executed properly.  But when it comes to satire, familiarity breeds contempt.  Silly Hallmark concepts deserve to be made fun of, but this one is just too repetitive to be funny.

 

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points

September 12, 2016January 15, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Comedy, Movie Reviews, RomanceTags: 2.5 points, 2016, Alexandra Pouloutides, Ashley Tru Ward, August Armstrong, Chelsey Crisp, Chris Aronoff, Comedy, Corbin Bernsen, Erin Muroski, Interrupting Church Services, Joe Williamson, Kate Sanford, Marilu Henner, Philip Boyd, Robert Kirbyson, Romance, Sean Gaffney 15 Comments

God’s Club {Holy Warrior} (Movie Review)

As you can see, they spent a lot of time on that sign

Plot Summary

When his wife dies tragically in a car accident, Michael Evans falls into a funk.  In order to find new meaning and life and try to keep his wife’s memory alive, he decides to return to teaching and start an after-school Bible club, something she had always wanted to do.  But he is shocked when he is met with extreme resistance both from school authorities and parents.  As the pushback goes from bad to worse, Michael considers just leaving it all behind (after all, there’s no churches in his city).  But his daughter reminds him that her mom would never have wanted him to give up, so Michael sticks with the fight (literally) and doesn’t back down.

 

Production Quality (.5 point)

It feels like we repeat ourselves all the time.  There are simply too many Christian productions that are all the same.  God’s Club offers nothing new—clear video quality along with a host of errors.  Between nearly every scene is an awkward fade to black moment that requires a fade-in for the next scene.  In many scenes throughout, especially outdoor scenes, there is shaky camera work, which seems to indicate that someone is holding the camera, which infers that the budget was too small to pay for any other equipment.  The limited funds are also evident in the few cheap sets that there are, as well as in the prop usage.  It seems like the only reason this film is ninety minutes long is because of excessive use of slow motion throughout.  Also, in an attempt to be ‘cool’, the creators crafted a weird soundtrack that sometimes covers for their lack of better sound.  In short, God’s Club commits all the usual production sins, just in different ways than usual.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

In an attempts to frame a religious freedom conflict, God’s Club portrays an all out school war, complete with fistfights, brawls, vandalism, arson, and sabotage, all because of a silly after-school activity called God’s Club, also known as Bible Club or Bible Group.  The worst part is that Christian characters aren’t even able to be sympathized with because they deserve half of the treatment they get, as they either pick fights or continue them.  The Christian perspective is also very empty, lacking meaningful depth and espousing odd Christian philosophies as they try to shove the Bible down your throat.  There are very few characters in this plot; some of them we are supposed to appreciate without even getting to know them.  ‘Bad’ characters are very evil in every possible way until they are randomly fixed up.  Dialogue is in-your-face, leaving nothing to the imagination.  God’s Club also sports a growing trend in offbeat Christian films: a disdain for proper counseling and psychology.  Basically, if you are to believe the worldview of this film, churches are disappearing (the town in this plot has no churches), Christians are being persecuted for having after-school activities, it’s okay for Christians to fight back (literally), and reciting Bible verses will fix your life up.  In our experience, none of these things are true in reality, so why portray them in a film?  Because you’re trying to make some kind of quick buck by preaching to the choir.

Acting Quality (0 points)

Why do movies consistently cast Stephen Baldwin in major roles he’s not suited for?  He’s downright creepy in this movie, and when he’s not creepy, he’s lethargic.  It’s beyond me why Corbin Bernsen consistently involves himself in these sorts of messes.  The few other cast members that there are either make no positive impact or remind us why they’re not in any other notable films.  In short, there is clearly no coaching for this cast, thus obvious problems go unchecked.

Conclusion

Was there any thought during the making of this film to attempt to make it realistic and down-to-earth?  We highly doubt it.  At least the persecution subplot of God’s Not Dead is somewhat realistic.  God’s Club is a trumped up preaching-to-the-choir load of nonsense only designed to further inflame Christians against ‘the world’ and give them a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality to approaching non-believers.  None of this movie is reality and it’s a total sham and embarrassment to portray people in this way.  As Christians, our time would be better served using movies to actually reach people for the Gospel and to encourage Christians to go deeper in their faith by using meaningful and realistic plots combined with professional production and acting.  Until Christians are stronger in their faith and until more people are reached with the saving power of Jesus Christ, we have nothing else we need to be discussing.

 

Final Rating: .5 out of 10 points

August 30, 2016January 15, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 1/2 point, 2015, Alison MacInnis, Amanda Godepski, Bridget Albaugh, Carolina Duncan, catfights, Corbin Bernsen, Crystal Bush, Dianna Renée, dogfights, Dureyshevar, fistfights, Inspirational, Jack Nasser, Jared Cohn, John Chadwell, Joseph Nasser, Lorenzo Lamas, Nic Luken, over the top persecution, Rachel Brett, Rico Simonini, Stephen Baldwin, Teagan Sirset 2 Comments

Love Comes Softly (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Taken to the unknown Western lands of America by her husband Aaron, Marty Claridge doesn’t know what to do when her husband dies in a tragic accident.  Alone in a strange land, she accepts the offer of a widower named Clark Davis to marry him for convenience until she can go back home to the East.  As she struggles to cope with her own loss and deal with Clark’s spirited daughter Missy, who is still dealing with the tragic loss of her mother, Marty slowly realizes that she will miss the Davis home when she has to leave.  She will have to decide what will prevail—her heart or her head.

 

Production Quality (2.5 points)

For the most part, Michael Landon Jr. knows what he’s doing when it comes to production.  This was during the heyday of Fox Faith and Hallmark, and it is easy to understand what set inspirational semi-Christian films like this one apart from movies in its genre before it.  The video quality is clear and outside scenes are filmed well.  The camera work is professional.  Care was taken to make the surroundings and props authentic to the time period.  However, the musical score is stock and the editing is just average.  Too many events take place off screen, things that could have set this movie apart from other romances.  But in the end, the production is likely this film’s greatest asset.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)

Adapted from the first novel of Janette Oke’s famous series, Love Comes Softly is an intriguing plot.  This film is likely the most accurate to the original story of the whole movie franchise.  A marriage of convenience plot is not that uncommon, yet it was common for the frontier settlement time period.  Other authentic historical factors are captured.  The dialogue is good, but not great, but the characters are at the very least believable.  But with a simplistic commonly used plot, character deepening is greatly needed.  Unfortunately, Love Comes Softly, though it had the runtime to accomplish this, did not do it.  This is why the plot comes out of just average.

Acting Quality (1 point)

This was a small cast and was far better than many Christian film casts of the time, but it still was plagued with errors.  Some characters (as we will see later from Michael Landon Jr.) are too done-up for the time period, i.e., too much makeup and manicures.  But compared to later, Love Comes Softly was great in this area.  Yet other problems remain.  Only two or three actors are truly good.  Katherine Heigl and Dale Midkiff are okay in their roles, but they needed refining.  Once again, in a small-scope, simplistic plot, acting is essential, and this cast was only marginal.

Conclusion

Love Comes Softly marked the beginning of an era for Michael Landon Jr., Hallmark, and popular author Janette Oke.  Oke captured believable, seemingly common historical characters in her novels and brought them to life for audiences to enjoy.  However, the film franchise did not necessarily do this.  Love Comes Softly is a strong enough beginning and demanded stronger follow-ups.  But if you are looking for a well-produced, semi-typical Christian romance, this is the film for you, and you will not be disappointed.

 

Final Rating: 5 out of 10 points

February 27, 2016January 18, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Historical, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, Romance, WesternTags: 2003, Adam Loeffler, Ain't No Time For That, Alpine Medien Productions, Cindy Kelley, Corbin Bernsen, Dale Midkiff, Dani Goldman, David Fine, Dean Landon, five points, Fox Faith, Hallmark, Historical, Inspirational, Janette Oke, Katherine Heigl, Ken Thorne, Kevin Bocarde, Kyle A. Clark, Larry Levinson, Larry Levinson Productions, Love Comes Softly series, Michael Landon Jr., Nick Scoggin, Oliver Macready, Romance, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Theresa Russell, Tiffany Amber Knight, Western, Wild Woman With an Axe, William Ashford 3 Comments

Christian Mingle (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Gwyneth Hayden is very lonely in life.  All of her dates so far have been flops and she is tired of seeing people her age getting married while she still has no prospects.  So, in a stroke of desperation, after seeing a television ad for the dating service Christian Mingle, she decides to give it a try.  However, she has to bend the rules, since she has never actually become a Christian.  Her false persona is successful, however, as she receives a contact from a Christian man about her age.  As they meet, Gwyn finds herself actually liking him, thus causing her to sink deeper and deeper into her deception.  In the end, will the truth or love win out?  Or both?

Production Quality (2.5 points)

Christian Mingle is a very complicated movie to review.  For starters, the production quality isn’t really that bad.  There are some shades of an independent film feel, but the only real problems pertain to some strange lighting in some outdoor scenes and to some editing issues.  The camera work is pretty good.  Some of the sets could use improvement.  However, some of these errors could be excused if this movie is looked at in a different light.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)

Box Office Revolution maintains that Christian Mingle is intended to be a satire of Christian films.  Corbin Bernsen did not used to be a Christian filmmaker, and it’s possible that this film is based on his experiences within the Christian realm.  It is not overtly branded as a satire, but the dialogue, the plot, the character portrayal\development is too obviously bad for it to be anything but a satire.  The characters are caricatures: the desperate single woman, the nice Christian guy, the Southern Christian parents, the nice Bible study girl, the crazy boss.  There are few Christian themes in the movie, and the ones that are presented are so over-the-top ridiculous that it is satirical.  The dialogue is absurdly comedic and there are off-the-wall tongue in cheek references (some of which are actually a bit funny).  The biggest problem is its predictable ending that doesn’t fit with the rest of the narrative’s themes, but rather than completely skewer this movie for its horrid nature, BOR chooses to applaud an attempt at satire without completely supporting it.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

After a second look, the acting of Christian Mingle is actually quite ingenious since it adequately portrays how the characters are supposed to be.  Some of it is a bit over-the-top and half-hearted, but this is somewhat purposeful.  Quite of the few of the cast members actually assume their absurd roles well, but there are also some unrealistic emotions and lazy line delivery throughout that keeps this section from being all that it could be.  However, this rounds out an overall above-average effort.

Conclusion

Some may be surprised at the unusually high rating for this film, but BOR at least found it entertaining.  What is truly sad is that not only are the events portrayed in this film possible due to online dating services, but that a satire of Christian films is even possible or funny.  Christian films should not be a laughingstock, but some of them are—Christian Mingle exposes this.  It also shines light on the fact that some have experienced disingenuous behavior among Christian circles as well as unfair expectations to act certain ways in order to be accepted.  Despite its formulaic ending, Christian Mingle does offer a fairly good model for how to highlight issues in Christian society through the use of comedy.

Final Rating: 5.5 out of 10 points

February 2, 2016January 25, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Comedy, Movie Reviews, RomanceTags: 2014, 4 points, Alrighty to the Almighty, Anna Anderson, Brenton Costa, Chris Aronoff, Comedy, Corbin Bernsen, David Keith, Door to Door We Shall Restore, Driftwood, Erin Bethea, Heaven Torres, Herson Chavez, Jelynn Sophia, Jessa French, Jill Saunders, John O'Hurley, Jonathan Patrick Moore, Joshua Feinman, Justin Dray, Lacey Chabert, Morgan Fairchild, Romance, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Sascha Alexander, Something Definitely Not Genuine, Steak and Cake, Stephen Tobolowsky, Sweet Cheezus, Tony D. Czech 9 Comments