Desires of the Heart [2009] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Ethan and Jack always had a strained relationship as brothers, but events surrounding the death of their father lead to an even larger wedge being driven between them. Now, after time has passed, things have greatly changed in each of their lives, and there are other family members to forgive. The family business is thriving, but rifts still abound. Will each person make the decisions they need to make in order to heal wounds from the past?

Production Quality (2 points)

Although this production’s background audio quality tends to be poor at times, this is really the only major error to note, and it does improve as the film progresses. Elsewhere, camera work and video quality are good, and the sets, locations, and props are well-utilized. Though the soundtrack is a bit generic and the editing mostly average, the second half of the production is better than the first and overall ends on a good note. Thus, this is enough to warrant an above-average score.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)

Desires of the Heart is a rare instance in which a modern-day adaptation of a biblical story actually works because the writers successfully preserved the narrative’s original concepts without being over-representative or too obvious with their rendering. As such, the plot makes good use of flashbacks and creatively weaves a non-linear storyline that explores the complexities of family inner workings. The characters are pretty good even if they could be a bit better with more substantial, motive-revealing dialogue. Nonetheless, they do have very authentic backstories, and the story as a whole isn’t afraid to create unfortunately realistic consequences that can come as a result of family disputes, bitterness, and unforgiveness. It also contains a great message that is relevant for many audiences, but the slightly abrupt ending seems to keep it from being all that it could be. Nevertheless, this section does enough to earn an average rating.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

For the most part, the acting in Desires of the Heart is average since some if it is fine while the rest of it is a bit robotic and overly practiced. However, many of the cast members seem honest and committed to their roles. Additionally, much of the line delivery and emotions are mostly believable. Thus, this section rounds out an overall standard effort.

Conclusion

Desires of the Heart is a good example of how focusing on a shorter story is sometimes better than overextending resources with a longer project that could be lower quality. While many audiences enjoy longer creations, beginning small is a great way to maximize potential and practice entertainment making skills. For these reasons, we look forward to seeing what this creative team will produce next.

Final Rating: 5 out of 10 points

March 7, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: Bridgestone Multimedia Group, Cameron Wofford, Cheryl Ariaz Wicker, Christi A. Watson, Christi Watson, Dodie Brown, Drama, five points, Glen Gabriel, Hevin Hampton, Inspirational, James Adamitis, Kip Cummings, Martin Navarro, Max W. Jenkins, Parker Dash, R-Squared Productions, Robert Collier, Rodney Ray, Tammi Arender Leave a comment

New Hope [2012] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

When the Evans family comes to the small town of New Hope to pastor the church, they inadvertently walk into a hurting town that’s still lost and confused following the unexpected suicide of their basketball star.  The oldest son, Michael, suddenly realizes that he has accidentally filled the shoes of the late town legend, and immediately becomes a target for the angry best friend of the dead hero.  The Evans family and the town must together navigate the wake of suicide and determine how they are going to discover a new identity together.

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

For a little known independent film, the production of New Hope is decent enough.  The camera work is average and the angles are good.  The video and sound qualities are consistently above par.  However, the musical score is uninspiring and there are quite a few editing errors.  Scenes are cut off at odd times, some scenes are awkwardly placed, while others seem completely unnecessary.  While most of the surface issues are covered, there is simply too much amateurish editing for the production to be rated any better.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Dealing with life after the suicide of a family member and friend is an issue that needs to be discussed in the context of film, but New Hope is either too melodramatic, too inauthentic, or too inappropriate.  Dialogue is too obvious and dramatic, thus making extreme characters.  Michael is an okay character, but the others are not accessible.  There are too many screaming matches throughout.  There is a generally offbeat flavor to New Hope, like there’s something the characters aren’t saying out loud.  There is also some inappropriate content that doesn’t belong in a supposedly family-friendly movie, all in the context of a bizarre and forced romantic subplot.  Overall, this plot meanders along with emotional outbursts, picture taking, and basketball games, without really accomplishing anything.  The end is very rushed and the implied scenes during the credits are absurd.  In short, there is little to be positive about here.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

The story here is much like the production quality—it’s good, but not good enough.  Some actors and actresses perform well while others do not.  Emotional delivery and line delivery are inconsistent.  Costuming is average.  Overall, this is just average.

Conclusion

New Hope had the right idea to try harder on production than most Christian films, but it never found its story identity.  The plot is a vague idea that it slapped together with sports elements and a pathetic attempt to be edgy.  The bottom line is that the creators rushed ahead too quickly and didn’t think this movie through.  We feel that the resources could have been used more appropriately, as will your time in watching this film.

 

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

 

March 22, 2016January 17, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie Reviews, SportsTags: 2012, 3.5 points, Amy Dousay, Ben Davies, Benjamin Hollis, Christina Porter, Daryl Wolgemuth, Dodie Brown, Emily Prestridge, Garrett Hudson, Inspirational, Jennifer Sanderson, Jill Ray, John Sutherlin, Joshua Walker, Julie Kendall, Lyndae Gilbert, Meghan Woods, Nope, Perry Frost, R-Squared Productions, Reginald Johnson Jr., Reginald Robinson, Rodney Ray, Samuel Davis, Sports, Troy Wold, Will Schwab Leave a comment

Finding Normal (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

While driving to her destination wedding location in the Hamptons, Dr. Lisa Leland has an unfortunate run-in with the local law enforcement of Normal, Louisiana.  Due to her new speeding ticket and unpaid parking tickets, a local judge decides to give Lisa a choice between community service or jail time.  Lisa chooses community service and finds herself as the new town doctor.  While begrudgingly performing her duties, Lisa clashes with the town lawyer, who is in the middle of a heated legal battle.  Finally forced to slow down in her fast-paced life, Lisa realizes there is more to her existence than just making money.

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

The production quality of Finding Normal is better than usual, but it is still only average.  The camera work is passable, as are the video and sound qualities.  The sets and locations are limited and seem cheap.  The editing is all right, but there is not really much to work with.  Overall, Normal is a step above other PureFlix movies that contain glaring errors, probably since it was made for TV, but it is still not as good as it should be, knowing how much funding PureFlix has available to them.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

The plot content is really where this movie takes a nosedive.  For starters, it is a typical small town hostage plot in which a big city character gets stuck in a small town with every cliché imaginable: little to no cell phone coverage, a local judge with an agenda, a police officer that pulls over newcomers, a small church with typical church events, a predictable town event, and even fishing.  Besides this, the storyline is trumped up and inaccurate—local jurisdictions cannot enforce parking tickets in other states.  It is a stretch to believe that being a doctor could count as community service.  In other news, an unrealistic religious freedom case is inserted into the film, along with some save the farm plot elements.  In the wake of this nonsense, the characters are empty and the dialogue is painful.  The ending makes little to no sense—the whole movie seems like it was forced to happen.  Unfortunately, there is nothing good to say here.

Acting Quality (1 point)

The acting is not as bad as it could be, but it is also not as good as it could be.  Candace Cameron Bure is average at best.  The surrounding cast tries too hard to have a ‘small-town feel’.  Overall, there is nothing dynamic enough here to warrant any more points.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that this type of movie has been done before, too many times.  There is nothing new about a big city character getting stuck in a backwards small town and being forced to slow down their fast-paced life.  When these types of movies are being pitched, creators need to be challenged to change it up and do something that hasn’t been done before, even something slightly different.  Christian films are already too replete with mediocre nonsense and we certainly do not need anymore.  We implore Christian film distributors everywhere to use the funding they have to make one truly dynamic movie, one that can change cultures, not five more that will be forgotten in a few years.

 

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points

February 12, 2016January 18, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Comedy, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, RomanceTags: 2.5 points, 2013, Andrew Bongiorno, Anna Zielinski, Ashleigh Jolly, Brian Herzlinger, Candace Cameron Bure, Cary Solomon, Cheryl Ariaz Wicker, Chuck Konzelman, Comedy, Delia Farizath, Dodie Brown, Inspirational, Isabel Myers, Jarred Coates, Jim Elliott, Kendrick Hudson, Lou Beatty Jr., Mark Irvingsen, Mary Alfred Thoma, Pam Dougherty, PureFlix, Romance, Russell Wolfe, Trevor St. John, Unpaid Parking Tickets, Valerie Boucvalt, Will Musser 4 Comments