The Visual Bible: Acts (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

After Jesus Resurrected from the dead, He charged His disciples to go out and complete the work He had begun by making new disciples and building His kingdom on earth.  Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to give His followers power, and they spread His Gospel to ends of their known world.  God also raised up an unlikely champion of the faith in Paul of Tarsus, who formerly persecuted the very people he joined forced with.  Through the power of God, the followers of Jesus turned the world upside down.

 

Production Quality (2.5 points)

Much like the other installments of The Visual Bible saga, Acts demonstrates superb production quality, including in the areas of video quality, audio quality, and camera work.  The soundtrack is a bit generic, but the sets, props, and locations are excellent in historical and cultural authenticity.  There are virtually no errors to point out here—except for the fact that there is no editing, which is by design.  In the end, however, this is a top-notch production.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)

Acts demonstrates the same ambition as other Visual Bible films, which cover entire books of the Bible in one film.  Unfortunately, while there are many excellent stories in the book of Acts, this rendition is simply too long to have full impact.  Once again, designed narration hurts character development and thus makes this more of an informational resource than a drama film.  However, it still has its place, even though this film tends to have a strange portrayal of angels.  In the end, the historical accounts therein are very enjoyable and worth a watch.

Acting Quality (2 points)

Unfortunately, Acts still contains the Visual Bible struggle for cultural authenticity as not many of the cast members are culturally appropriate.  While there are some moments that are too theatrical, this cast is mostly professional even still, with good emotions and line delivery.  Also, costuming is a major plus.  This rounds out another generally average effort.

Conclusion

At least this depiction of Acts is not cheesy, but one has to wonder what it would have been like if this was a series.  It seems like it would have had great impact.  Actually, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey already tried that.  However, I think we are still due a good series based on the book of Acts.  Any takers?

 

Final Rating: 5.5 out of 10 points

 

February 14, 2018January 1, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Biblical, Movie ReviewsTags: 1994, 5.5 points, Adrian Poulsen, Andre Jacobs, Bible, Biblical, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Bruce Marchiano, Carole Prentice, Charles K. Robertson, Chris Truter, Constantine Zakochenko, Dale Cutts, Dan Johnson, David Clatworthy, David Dennis, David Miner, Dawid Minnaar, Dean Jones, Edward Lopatin, five points, Francesco Quinn, Frantz Dobrowsky, George Ballot, Gordon Mulholland, Gordon van Rooyen, Graham Weir, Henry O. Arnold, Historical, Hugh Barrett, James Brolin, James Ryan, Jana Cilliers, Jennifer O'Neill, Joanna Weinberg, Johann Posthumus, John Carson, John Whiteley, Joyce Marcarelli, Louw Verwey, Marko van der Colff, Matthew Dylan Roberts, Mauro Blanco, Michael McCabe, Michael Richard, Neels Coetzee, Norman Coombes, Patrick Mynhardt, Peter Krummeck, Pippa Duffy, Ralph Lawson, Regardt van den Bergh, Robert Marcarelli, Sean Higgs, Tertius Meintjes, The Visual Bible, Tim Parr, Wilson Dunster Leave a comment

Paul the Emissary: A Biblical Epic (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Paul was called out by God to become a world-shaking Apostle for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  God took him from being Saul the persecutor of Christians to becoming Paul the Emissary.  He took the Gospel to the furthest reaches of the Roman world and literally turned the world upside down.  His work for God still has a lasting impact on Christianity today.

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

As a 1997 production, Paul the Emissary is fairly good, but it still comes out at average.  Video quality, camera work, and audio quality are all fine, as they should be.  The soundtrack is also okay, but it is somewhat generic.  Sets, locations, and props are surprisingly well-constructed and realistic, but most of the good elements in this production are marred by the most ridiculous special effects you can imagine.  If you don’t have the funding for professional special effects, just don’t do them at all.  Furthermore, the editing of this film is horrific, as tons of content was shoved into a short runtime, as will be discussed next.  Basically, this is another run-of-the-mill Bible production.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

It’s simply not possible to condense the entire life of Paul in fifty minutes.  Paul the Apostle couldn’t even do it properly with nearly two hours under their belt.  There is little to no point in trying to accomplish this impossible task.  Why not focus on one element of Paul’s life, like in Saul: The Journey to Damascus?  Paul the Emissary is way too condensed, which causes the story to jump from one high point to the next with no continuity or flow.  It’s basically a collection of random scenes about characters that are lofty and inaccessible.  There’s no way to get to know them as the dialogue is too theatrical.  Essentially, there’s no way you can call this movie an epic when it’s less than an hour.

Acting Quality (1 point)

Though this isn’t an overly BRITISH cast, most of the cast members sport weird fake accents that off-putting.  Besides this, most line delivery and emotional delivery are overly dramatic and theatrical.  However, the performances are not all bad and there is some authentic costuming to save this section from the abyss.

Conclusion

If you only have fifty minutes to make a film, do not try to make an entire life epic about a Biblical character with a lot of known content.  Either focus on one aspect of their life, or choose a different character.  Also, don’t use any special effects if you can’t use them properly.  In the end, while there were some good elements in this film, it simply wasn’t enough.

 

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points

 

October 22, 2017January 4, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Biblical, Historical, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 1997, 2.5 points, Barbara Sammeth, Bible, Biblical, Carrie Dobro, Curt Lowens, David Miner, Duncan Skinner, Ed Nast, Ed Wasser, Edward Lopatin, Garry Cooper, George Jackos, Grant Parsons, Granville Saxton, Historical, Ian Gelder, Inspirational, Jack Donner, John Frederick Jones, Jolyon Baker, Joyce Marcarelli, Kermit Christman, Leon Lissick, Mark Merkel, Michael Enright, Nicholas Walker, Paul Crouch, Peter Dennis, Richard Johnson, Robert Marcarelli, Steve Sandalis, Trinity Broadcasting Network, Vision Video Leave a comment

Johnny [2010] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Johnny is a foster boy with cancer who sees it as his mission to show people the truth and love of God even though he is suffering.  When he encounters Dr. Carter, little do they know that both of their lives will be changed forever as a result.  Dr. Carter and his wife are still hurting from the death of their young son, and though they are not ready to believe that Johnny could offer healing for them.  However, God has other plans for all of them.

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

In keeping with most recent PureFlix productions, Johnny is most fine.  Video quality is on standard, but there are some unexplainable moments of shaky camera work.  Audio quality is mostly what it should be, but the soundtrack is extremely uninspiring and sometimes it seems like the audio is overdubbed.  Sets, locations, and props are professional.  However, there are far too many montages in this film that serve as a crutch for actual content.  Thus, the editing work is poor.  Overall, this is an average production that should have been better than this, considering the funding it had.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Though there is a somewhat good message behind Johnny, there is far too much melodrama that distracts from it.  It is very difficult to connect with the struggles of the characters because they come off as very manufactured and plastic.  The main character is very cheesily sappy and perfect, almost to the point of embarrassment.  A lot of the dialogue from all the characters is very obvious and forceful in moving the plot along rather than developing the characters.  Thus, the story follows a predictable progression that is obvious from the start.  While there is nothing inherently wrong with the plotline itself, the way it is presented and the lack of authenticity really derails this film.  Also, things are fixed too easily, which doesn’t really help us learn anything.  In the end, these sorts of movies are very formulaic and are unfortunately designed to make money.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

Though this cast is intended to be professional, there is really no coaching present.  While it is not all bad, there are far too many over the top emotions and yelling sequences.  Everything is overly dramatic, which makes for a very distracting experience.  This is not the way to make a meaningful film.

Conclusion

Johnny is one of those films that uses a generic and predictable plot structure to churn out a made-for-bookstore film that can be easily sold on the shelves.  It contributes nothing to the field and only serves the purpose of generating revenue for the production company.  A few weeks after the release, it is totally forgotten and eventually turns up in the cheap Walmart bins and in thrift stores.  Christian film should not be about profit ventures, even though PureFlix has done this for about a decade now.  However, hopefully that tide is turning.

 

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points

 

May 22, 2017January 9, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 10 West Studios, 2.5 points, 2010, Alan Smithee, Aubyn Cole, Brandon Klopot, Brittany Lefebvre, Byron Jones, Clean Slate Productions, D. David Morin, David A. R. White, David Michael Anthony, David Miner, Disease, Grant Cooper Gillen, Harold Cronk, Inspirational, Jeffrey Peterson, Jerry Phillips, Lee Majors, Leslie L. Miller, Leticia Robles, Liam Matthews, Lonnie Colón, Mel Fair, Michael Scott, Musetta Vander, PureFlix, Russell Wolfe, Tom Saab Leave a comment