Where Was God? [2014] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Pastor Thompkins has a secret, but his life becomes even more complicated when a desperate man decides to hold him hostage in the pastor’s own home. During their standoff, the man asks Thompkins pressing questions about the problem of pain and life’s true purpose. Will either man come out of the situation alive?

Production Quality (1 point)

With such a low budget, it’s unclear why this production was put forth just for it to contain cheap sets and props, lack actual locations, and have inconsistent lighting throughout. As it’s basically people hanging around in a house, the camera work and video quality are fine, yet it all feels very cut-rate. The soundtrack is very generic, and all audio is quite hit-and-miss, including silly sound effects. There’s also no editing to speak of, which rounds out an overall poor effort that undermines this film’s existence.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

As a heavy character-based plot, Where Was God? needed some serious help in the narrative department for it to even have a chance, but with only wooden characters to speak of due to overly constructed, obvious dialogue, there’s really no hope for this movie. The entire premise, full of unrealistic circumstances, feels very contrived, and the storyline is an overused waste of time because it seeks to drag things out as long as possible. Dead time also fills gaps where substantial content could have gone. Instead of a real plot containing believable dialogue, the audience is only left with silly gender stereotypes and a strange endings that both instantly fixes all the problems and almost negates the entire situation at the same time. Due to all of these factors, no points can be awarded to this section.

Acting Quality (0 points)

In nearly every facet of Where Was God?, the acting is extremely awkward, including wooden emotions and incredibly forced line delivery. The drama is also manufactured, and the cast is so small that even the smallest errors are very noticeable. Unfortunately, there’s just nothing positive to say about this category, which rounds out an overall basement-level offering.

Conclusion

What else is there to say? Where Was God? is just another in a long line of embarrassing Christian projects that will fade from memory as time goes on. There’s next to nothing that justifies its existence and no reason for it to be made. The only thing that can be gleaned from it is how not to produce Christian entertainment, but there are already too many examples of that.

Final Rating: 1 out of 10 points

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May 7, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 1 point, 2014, Bailey Rossetti, Chelsea Casanova, Chip Rossetti, CMD Distribution, David Ross, Donna Botts, Drama, Joe Mayse, Kaitlin Borst, Kristi Miller, Matthew Ulm, Pamela Cash, Paul Spite, Rossetti Productions, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Seth Adair, Suspense, Timothy Paul Taylor, TPTFILMS Entertainment, TRU Media Film Distribution Leave a comment

The Dream Motel, Season 1 (Series Review)

Plot Summary

Jesse and Matteo are angels who have been assigned to do various tasks on earth, one of which is to fix up an old motel in rural Georgia so that they can win the spiritual war of owning buildings around the world. If the angels can own enough buildings, they can apparently lead more people to salvation, but if the demons in disguise keep taking over God’s properties, they’ll somehow be able to bring more darkness to the earth. Can Jesse and Matteo stop them one motel guest at a time?

Production Quality (1 point)

Although the video quality and camera work are mostly fine in The Dream Motel, save for a few shaky action shots, there aren’t many other positives to point out here. Audio quality is too inconsistent, including annoying background sounds, and there’s basically no soundtrack at all. Also, outdoor lighting is fairly poor, and the sets, locations, and props are often cheap to the point of not even representing what they’re supposed to represent. Further, there’s no real editing or transitions throughout the season, and there some awkward fadeout moments. To top things off, there are bad special effects throughout, which rounds out a mediocre effort.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Besides the fact that The Dream Motel is a boring stock plot based on robotic dialogue and wooden characters, the world constructed in the premier and finale episodes makes no sense at all for a number of reasons. For one, it’s unclear from Scripture whether or not angels have emotions or free will to wrestle with various philosophical issues like these characters do. For another, why would God need magical locations around the world to do His bidding, and how could demons steal them without His allowance? How are atheism and secularism powerful enough to halt Christ’s will? Why would demons even have an interest in stealing magic buildings rather than actual people? These premise problems aside, the villain is stupidly obvious, some of the characters seem unnecessarily outraged at logical things, the narrative incorrectly portrays realistic circumstances involving HIPAA protection, and it’s downright creepy to have smiling angels tell humans private things about the people. It feels like this storyline exists outside of reality even though scenes drag on as lines are painfully dragged out of the characters, who talk in circles to fill the runtime, and although boring activities of daily living, expository dialogue, and off-screen content make The Dream Motel seem like most poorly crafted Christian entertainment. With basically no personality or motive for the characters and far too many coincidences to hold up the plot, this series is just a collection of disasters.

Acting Quality (0 points)

Having very stilted and overly practiced acting is almost a given when it comes to Rossetti Productions, and The Dream Motel doesn’t disappoint. Using the patented Rossetti style of basically reading lines for a church play, the cast members exhibit forced wooden emotions that make the viewers think that the actors and actresses don’t actually care about what they’re doing. Some cast members seem unnatural or even uncomfortable in their roles, and a portion of the theatrical annunciation is off-kilter. Many scenes feel like one-takes as some actors and actresses appear to forget their lines in some instances and awkwardly grasp for something to share that can fill the blank silence. Essentially, there’s nothing positive to note in this section.

Continuity Quality (1 point)

Following a predictably typical series model, The Dream Motel offers premier and finale episodes that depart from the norm while all the between episodes are standard recurring dramas that introduce characters only to discard them before the credits roll. Concepts explored in the pilot aren’t returned to until the last episode, which concludes with a cheesy cliffhanger ending. While this section isn’t all bad due to some recurring subplots among the main characters, it’s still a run-of-the-mill offering with missed opportunities for continuity.

Conclusion

There are just so many things wrong with The Dream Motel from the get-go. Basically a redux of The Encounter, only with angels, this Rossetti series is based on illogical and questionable concepts yet still commits errors beyond this. Even the best ideas can be easily derailed by poor storytelling, low production quality, and abysmal acting. With so much experience under their belt and a trailed of wasted opportunities, it’s hard to know where the Rossetti Productions team is headed at this point, but this series is definitely not worth your time.

Final Rating: 2 out of 14 points

April 11, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Inspirational, Series ReviewsTags: 2019, Allen Hogan, Bella Martin, Brittany Goodwin, Caleb Martin, Carey Jones, Chip Rossetti, Christian St. John, Christian Weissmann, Christopher Hensel, Cole Cadman, Dakota Bruton, David Ditmore, David Ross, Dominick Wilkins, Donna Botts, Doris Collier, Doug Stroup, Drama, Francine Locke, Inspirational, Jeff Armstrong, Jeff Rose, Jessica Rossetti, John Cameron Bishop, John Schlitt, John Wells, Jonathan Plowman, Kaity Martin, Kamber Cain, Katie Stewart, Leah White, Margaret Tant, Mark E. Holmes, Peggy Goodman, Preston Douglas, Questar Entertainment, Reen Vogel, Robert Shepherd, Rossetti Productions, Shane A. Doyle, T. Graham Brown, TJ Cates, Todd Halliburton Leave a comment

Turbulent [2018] (Movie Review)

Oooohh scary

Plot Summary

When a man and his wife have a sudden plane accident in the middle of nowhere, they have to do whatever they can do to fight for survival. However, the strained relationship between them becomes a detriment to their quest as she believes in God while he resists her faith because of the tragedies they’ve endured in their marriage. Will they be able to overcome both the elements and the distance between them in order to survive another day?

Production Quality (-1 point)

With a production this bad in 2018, we don’t even know where to begin. It’s literally terrible in every way you can conceive: weird outdoor lighting, horrible audio quality with loud background sounds, and basically no soundtrack on top of this. Sets, locations, and props are extremely cheap and don’t line up with what they’re supposed to portray. There are also weird special effects and oddly chosen sound effects that contribute to the annoyingly bad quality of this production. Since you almost have to try to make a production this bad, it warrants a negative point. It goes without saying that the editing is very choppy, but that’s just white noise in the bigger picture because there are so many problems here.

Plot and Storyline Quality (-1 point)

In this storyline, there are no breaks in negativity or balanced scenes as everything is dour and dramatic in infantile ways. It has a very juvenile outlook on life as characters do things that have no grounding in reality and as the plot contains unrealistic survival elements. The majority of the film is painfully long and drawn out scenes that are like pulling teeth to watch. It’s obvious that the main agenda of the film is to scare the viewers into being saved (as if any non-believers would ever think about watching this garbage), yet there are a lot of fantastically weird magical concepts that don’t seem to line up with typical fundamentalist ideologies. These elements are connected to a really bizarre twist at the end of the movie that comes off in a very strange and off-putting way. In the end, there’s so much wrong here with so little to deal with, which is why this is a rare feat deserving of negative points.

Acting Quality (-1 point)

With such a small cast, everything stands out, and the acting therein is annoyingly horrible. Emotions are excruciating to watch as if the cast members are being tortured to say them…it’s like fingernails in the chalkboard to watch it unfold. Every little drama is extremely forced to the point of straining, and because of these issues, there’s no way to properly connect with the character struggles. It’s not like the cast members had good lines to work with in the first place, but they make matters worse with their agonizing delivery. Thus, in summary, if you’re looking for the exact opposite of how to make a Christian film, watch Turbulent.

Conclusion

Negative films are absolutely unacceptable in the modern era of Christian entertainment, and survival plots as a whole are worn out and should be used sparingly unless somebody actually has a good idea to share. Basically, from Turbulent, we can learn the same old lessons we’ve seen before: if you don’t have the money for your film, don’t even think about making it because the higher production standards in the field today demand better delivery. Also, even if you have the money for a decent production, please make sure you actually have a worthwhile plot to share and can properly coach your cast to be believable. The time for poor quality Christian films to go away is long overdue.

Final Rating: -3 out of 10 points

June 4, 2019June 4, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Movie Reviews, Psychological, SuspenseTags: 2018, Allen Hogan, Brandon Porter, Chip Rossetti, Donna Botts, Drama, Faith Murphy, Isaac Hernandez, Jeff Rose, Jonathan Plowman, Mark Potts, Nathaniel Sizemore, negative points, Psychological, Rossetti Productions, Suspense, Zachary Leffew 2 Comments

Mission Improbable [2016] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

The lives of several substance abusers and a pastor who lives a luxurious ministry lifestyle suddenly become interconnected as God leads each them down different paths to the same place: a Christian substance abuse rehab. They all have different motives and different reasons for being there, but by the time it’s done, none of them will be the same. However, when each person’s past comes calling, how will they respond?

Production Quality (1 point)

One of the most glaring problems with this production is that it’s over-extended and cannot adequately portray what it’s meant to portray. This is evidenced by very cheap and limited sets, locations, and props, as well as poor lighting throughout. The audio quality, both indoor and outdoor, are also both inadequate. While the video quality is mostly fine, there are a lot of strange camera angles. Also, while the editing is mostly fine, this is overall a very cheap production that really has no place in this era of Christian film.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

While this film seeks to portray unfortunately realistic circumstances that can be found virtually anywhere in America, it does so in a very tone-deaf manner. Substance abuse is a real and serious issue, but this movie treats it solely like a spiritual issue (there are spiritual components, but not only that) and does so in a very legalistic and unrealistic fashion, such as implying that praying and becoming a Christian immediately cures substance abuse. However, there is a refreshingly honest look at church problems, even if the bad characters are total strawmen, especially the ‘bad’ women. It doesn’t help that all of the dialogue is painfully forced and has a very archaic style and tone about it. As such, the conversations do nothing to build or grow characters even though there are very steep character arcs that come as a result of reading Bible verses, which are also highly unrealistic. In the end, everything is magically fixed when the characters act as the plot wants them to act. Essentially, this is a worthwhile topic to explore in film, but screenwriters need to do so in the context of actual research about and\or experience with substance abuse rather than the total ignorance this film displays.

Acting Quality (0 points)

To top things off, this film contains some of the worst acting of the past few years. This poor quality includes weird scenes of cast members talking to themselves and is most represented by the very awkward and overly-practiced tone of the acting. Many cast members seem self-impressed for no reason and demonstrate tone-deaf emotional and line delivery. Elsewhere, emotions are extremely forced to the point parody. In the end, this film has very little going for it.

Conclusion

Nearly every movie starts off with a good idea. One of the most error-prone areas of Christian film is converting that good idea into a movie that’s worthwhile, high-quality, and accessible by several different audiences. If a film can’t be understood or can’t properly relate to people, there’s really no hope for it. This besetting sin of Christian film is an overall symptom of problems facing the church: American Christians, as a generalization (there are always exceptions), have difficult time understanding real people because they don’t know them very well. Until this changes, Christian film as a whole won’t change on the large scale.

Final Rating: 1.5 out of 10 points

February 14, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 1.5 points, 2016, Cameron Arnett, Collin Alexander Brown, David Vandergriff, Doc Benson, Donald James Parker, Donna Botts, Drama, Inspirational, Jeff Ailshie, Jeff Yarbrough, Juli Tapken, Kathlene Ashcraft, Kelly Nelon Clark, Ken Dohse, Kimberly J. Richardson, Little Cherub Entertainment, Marc Ridgeway, Matthew Perdie, Melissa Pinkston, Michael LaCour, Mike R. Tinker, Omar Lagudali, Randall Moser, Richard E. Wilson, Robert Gobelet, Sword of the Spirit Publishing, Valorie Neal White 3 Comments

The Christmas Reunion (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

When a group of four unlikely friends from high school reunites in the small town of Cave City, Kentucky, for a brief Christmas reunion, they suddenly get stranded by the snow and are forced to recount the old days they had together.  However, Cave City is falling apart at the seems as it gets bought up by some Eastern Syndicate – even the old diner!!  Will they ever be able to save the small town from ruin?

Production Quality (1 point)

In this 2016 production, there are many elements that should not be for one this new.  This includes poor audio quality that sometimes echoes, as well as a cheesy holiday soundtrack that sometimes overpowers the scenes.  There are also very cheap and limited sets, locations, and props, including an overpowering amount of Christmas decor.  The only good areas of this production that keep it from being zero points are the fine video quality and camera work.  However, the editing is fairly poor, and the use of special effects is cheesy, which keeps this at a one-point production.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

In keeping with his past script-writing practices, Chip Rossetti includes 
extremely stilted and unnatural dialogue throughout this story that makes the characters seem like robots.  Another commonly used Rossetti theme that’s present in this film is the heavy-handed small town values that are under attack by big city corporations.  Paired with this are 
constant return-to-small-town conversations and plenty of exposition through conversations that might as well be narration.  All of these elements severely cripples any potential for character growth and reduces it to a church play feel.  Besides this, there is really little to not plot potential here at all as the characters are cardboard cutouts instead of people.  Instead of trying to develop the characters, the storyline seems to grasp at anything it can do to fill time with except for actually developing characters, and this includes poorly constructed flashbacks.  As extremely convenient dialogue forces the plot along, the audience is forced to listen to the message that small town values fix everything even while big city evils try to destroy them.  Essentially, there is little interesting to mention here.

Acting Quality (1 point)

In keeping with the way the lines are written, the delivery of them is also extremely practiced and measured, as if the cast members are robots.  Acting is either overdone or underwhelming, and while it’s fine sometimes, it’s mostly very wooden and stilted.  There is such a thing as over-coaching, and Chip Rossetti’s teams have consistently done this in nearly all their films (except Fathers).

Conclusion

Chip Rossetti has an unusual production model to say the least.  He advertises 3-5 movies throughout the year, and one of them might be released, but the rest disappear into the black hole while one or two other random films pop up on PureFlix on Demand with no warning or marketing.  We have to give it to Chip, however: he never gives up on making more films.  Nevertheless, all of this film-making experience should have amounted to something better than a two-point half-baked Christmas film by now.  There’s something to be said for doing the same thing over and over again with no results.

Final Rating: 2 out of 10 points

December 2, 2018December 30, 2018 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2 points, 2016, Amitt Parikh, Audrey Heckel, Ava Culpepper, Carl Richmond, Carlie Sanders, Cephas Media Group, Chip Rossetti, Chris Baker, Christmas, Diana Schmitt, Donna Botts, Donnie Allison, Donny Richmond, Donny Richmond Jr., Emma Phipps, Faith Dillon, Heather Dennison, Heather Lynch, Inspirational, John Cosper, Leah White, Manon Guy, Matthew Ulm, Michael LaCour, Peggy Goodman, Ricky Bucy, Robin Frazier, Rossetti Productions, Sarah Anthonie, Shanda Lee Munson, Shannon Le Grand |, Virgil Franklin Leave a comment

Saving Faith [2017] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Faith Scott and her uncle Donny live in the struggling small town of Clifton, Tennessee.  Everything’s closing down in town, and people are either strapped for cash or leaving the area.  Thus, the theater that has been in their family for years is on the brink of foreclosure, which is the delight of the evil local businessman Peter Marsh.  Thus, Faith and Donny decide to schedule a desperation attempt to save the theater: a Christmas in June show featuring big names in Christian music.  Will it be enough to save the theater and even the town from extinction?

 

Production Quality (2 points)

The good thing for Chip Rossetti is that he has shown great production improvement over his movie career.  This fact is also evident in Saving Faith, as evidenced by great video quality and camera work.  Sets, locations, and props are mostly fine, if not a little quaint.  However, the soundtrack can be too loud at times, and there are a handful of unnecessary background sounds, as well as some cheesy sound effects and special effects.  Moreover, the editing is pretty good, thus rounding out a slightly above-average production.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Unfortunately, there is little to nothing creative about the plot of Saving Faith as it follows a stereotypical save the _____ with a holiday show plotline.  The progression of the story is very predictable, as are the characters involved.  A good portion of the characters are also cheesy and generally eccentric, such as the head-scratching Elvis character (no, it’s not The Rev).  The villain is also ridiculous and over the top; each character fits into a predetermined small-town mold: the local eccentric, the local business owner, and the local evil bank guy.  While there are some attempts to have a good Christian message, all the problems are very easily solved in the end.  The romantic subplot is also awkwardly predictable.  In short, there aren’t many positives to note here.

Acting Quality (1 point)

For the most part, the acting of this film is awkward and overplayed.  It is at least good to see Jenn Gotzon and Jim Chandler star opposite each other as a couple.  There are some good moments in this cast, but for the most part, unfortunately, it is mostly bland or silly.  Thus, this rounds out an unfortunately disappointing and pedestrian film.

Conclusion

There truly is little point in constantly perpetuating this same small-town narrative over and over and over again.  If we need more of that, we can always watch Hallmark.  There is no creativity or authenticity in this concept, unless a film maker wants to explore some legitimate reasons behind collapsing small towns.  Constantly making movies about the ‘good old days’ in the name of Christian film is disingenuous and worn out.

 

Final Rating: 3 out of 10 points

 

March 12, 2018January 1, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Comedy, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2017, 3 points, Adam Lewis, Amy Grant, Buddy Jewell, Carey Jones, Carl Richmond, Chip Rossetti, Christmas, Comedy, Donna Botts, Donny Richmond, Doris Collier, Henry Cho, Inspirational, Jay DeMarcus, Jenn Gotzon, Jim E. Chandler, Kirk Wright, Lilly Echeverri, Matthew Ulm, Michael LaCour, Michael W. Smith, Phil Vassar, Rick Bucy, Rossetti Productions, Rudy Gatlin, Scott Hamilton, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Sherry Wright, Steve Gatlin, Troy Luccketta, Victoria Jackson, Vince Gill Leave a comment

The Colors of Emily (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Kate Montgomery is a big city art dealer who travels to a quaint small town to purchase some mysterious paints from a mysterious artist whom no one in the art dealing world knows the true identity of.  However, she is also on the run from her psychologist and her dark past.  While running away, she will have to end up facing everything she’s trying to hide from in the most unlikely ways.

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

While there are some positive elements in this production, there are also some negative ones.  For instance, video quality and camera work are mostly fine, but there is some poor audio quality throughout.  The soundtrack is also a bit generic.  Lighting can be a problem at times, and the sets, locations, and props are somewhat limited in some areas.  For the most part, editing is fine, even though there are a few too many lagging scenes.  Thus, as a whole, this production is basically average and has some room for improvement.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

The Colors of Emily is mostly a departure for the Rossetti group.  This story tries to delve into the psychological\suspense\mystery genre, and it contains interesting attempts at psychological elements, but there is too much wasted time before getting to the substantial mystery elements.  This wasted time mostly consists of tongue-in-cheek dialogue about predictable fish-out-of-water concepts, as well as a seemingly vague premise and loose grip on reality.  At times, the storyline seems very unfinished, and the characters come off as too understated and under-developed.  Further, the villain is fairly cheesy, especially in the ‘climax’ scene that’s full of monologuing.  In short, while there is some potential in this story idea, its final product is too vague and undeveloped.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

Unfortunately, most of the acting in The Colors of Emily is very awkward and not well-coached.  A lot of the cast members come off as too unnatural, although Jenn Gotzon posts a more authentic performance than usual.  Moreover, there are some other strange characters in this cast, and there are too many sequences of yelling and screaming, especially in the suspense scenes.  Overall, there are too many forced lines and emotions to warrant any more than half of point here.

Conclusion

The Colors of Emily has a good idea behind it, but its effort is basically half-cocked and incomplete.  On the whole, the production needs an upgrade, as does the acting.  The storyline needs more clarification and deepening, as do the characters and dialogue.  This film appears to be an example of the importance of taking time to make quality films rather than just making another movie most people are going to forget about.

 

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points

 

March 11, 2018January 1, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Movie Reviews, Mystery, Psychological, SuspenseTags: 2.5 points, 2017, Ann Burnworth, Brittany Mann, Brooke K. Taylor, Brookolyn Newton, Chip Rossetti, David Ross, Diana Schmitt, Donna Botts, Doris Collier, E. Carolyn Tucker, Fire Catcher Productions, Garrison Raftery, Greg Robbins, Jenn Gotzon, Jim E. Chandler, Juli Tapken, K. Leah Scott, Ken Dohse, M.T. Arnold, Mardell Elmer, Mary Arnold, Matthew Ulm, Meghan Larson, Mercedes Carter, Michael Warren, Mystery, Nandar Home Entertainment, Psychological, Quinn Alexis, Ray Graham, Richard E. Wilson, Robert Shepherd, Rossetti Productions, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Sherry Wright, Stanna Rae, Suspense, Timothy Paul Taylor, TPTFILMS Entertainment Leave a comment

The Borrowed Christmas (Movie Review)

More delicious cookies!

Plot Summary

John Dale is all alone this holiday season, so he wants to manufacture his Christmas by going to a random store and ordering them to buy all kinds of things that are necessary for him to enjoy an artificial holiday experience, including paying off people from the local ‘actors guild’ to play along with his games.  Will they be able to put together his borrowed Christmas before it gets too late?

 

Production Quality (1 point)

From the ridiculous opening sequence to the end, this production is very cheap-looking.  While camera work and video quality are fine, the audio quality has a lot of issues, including dead portions and unnecessary background noises.  The soundtrack is also a cheesy Christmas one.  The sets, props, and locations are also very limited and underwhelming.  Finally, there is really no editing to speak of as all of the content is just presented at face value.  In short, there is really not much good to say about this movie as a whole because it seems like most of the time that it is trying its best to not be interesting.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Besides the absurd Christmas premise, The Borrowed Christmas is probably the most anti-conflict film we have ever seen, Christmas or not.  The story is very boring, childish, and extremely contrived.  Even so, there are strange attempts to be overly dramatic for no reason at all.  Also, the characters come off as extremely cheesy and plastic due to bubbly and overly happy dialogue.  It’s really hard to understand how this idea even came to be, especially due to the fact that there is basically no conflict to drive this plot.  Thus, the story really has no clear purpose and only comes off as a silly church play.  Even though there may be some good ideas here, they are not presented properly at all.

Acting Quality (1 point)

For the most part, this cast is dry and generic, as well as too theatrical at times.  While they are fine at times, there are also some laughably random outbursts throughout.  Another unfortunate negative to note is some poorly done makeup.  However, not all is bad here, even though this movie still lacks overall purpose.

Conclusion

The Borrowed Christmas is basically a lesson in how to make a movie that completely lacks conflict.  Even most Hallmark movies have more conflict than this one—it’s kind of a requirement for plot writing.  Alas, especially in holiday films, story writing continues to suffer as it is substituted for silly and trite holiday ideas.  The time has come to move past these sorts of conventions and truly make a difference in the film world.  At least Chip Rossetti and his team showed improvement after the creation of this film.

 

Final Rating: 2 out of 10 points

 

November 25, 2017January 3, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2014, Bailey Rossetti, Chance Caeden, Charlotte Rose Evans, Chip Rossetti, Christmas, Craig Bryant Belwood, Diana Schmitt, Donna Botts, Doris Collier, Jacqueline Josey, Jeff Rose, Jimmy DeTalente, John Paul Josey, Karrington Horvath, Kathy A. Johnson, LillyBea Ireland, Matthew Ulm, Maxi Taylor McDaniel, Mountain Top Entertainment, Rebecca Eaves, Riley Horvath, Rosanna Federico, Rossetti Productions, Scott McDonald, Sherry Morris, Sydney Horvath, Tess Smith, Timothy Paul Taylor, TPTFILMS Entertainment, Virgil Franklin, Zachary Scott 4 Comments

94 Feet (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

The coal town of St. Michaels is falling apart.  The mill has already closed and now the coal mine is downsizing.  The town is shrinking and people are leaving to find better times elsewhere.  But one tragic day, the mine collapses and traps all of the miners beneath the surface of the earth.  The entire town comes together to pray and rescue the miners from certain death before time runs out.  Will they all lose the men they love and their faith at same time?

 

Production Quality (2 points)

In the past, Chip Rossetti has had many rough moments when it comes to movie making, especially production elements (see Right to Believe and Fathers).  However, 94 Feet demonstrates a definite improvement in this department, including professional video quality, camera work, and audio quality.  The soundtrack is also intriguing.  Sets, locations, and props are very appropriate and realistic.  There are some minor issues in the special effects department, but this and some confusing editing are the only errors to highlight.  Overall, this film demonstrates that no matter how small you start, you can always improve in your movie career if you put your mind to it.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)

Though the plot of 94 Feet is a definite improvement over past efforts, it still leaves something to be desired.  It’s great to use a real life story to base your movie on, but the premise if this film is still somewhat shallow as the characters and their dialogue need better development.  There are too many very dry attempts at comedy and too much wasted time.  The beginning of the plot is too slow and not engaging enough and does not use time wisely to develop characters.  While we can appreciate their struggles, they still need more realism to deepen the experience.  As it is, this story is fine and will many audiences will enjoy it, we just can’t help but feel it could have gone a step further.

Acting Quality (2.5 points)

This section is also a major improvement over swing-and-miss casts of previous Rossetti films.  These cast members appear to actually know what they are doing and demonstrate honesty and realism.  Each cast member is cast appropriately.  Emotions and live delivery are on point; this cast only demonstrates minor errors, thus making it this film’s strongest portion.

Conclusion

Though improvement is sometimes slow and meager, any improvement is always good regardless.  Sometimes it takes time to hone film making skills, and it appears that Chip Rossetti and his team are on the right road.  Production and casting have greatly improved, so the final frontier for them will be plots.  With better characters and a more engaging storyline, the Rossetti team will be looking at a Hall of Fame film in no time, if they stay the course and don’t give up.

 

Final Rating: 5.5 out of 10 points

 

June 12, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2016, 5.5 points, Alan Schmitt, Ann Burnworth, Blake E. Schaefer, Charles Skeeta Jenkins, Chip Rossetti, Christopher Ball, Connie Skelton Johnson, Courtney Lee Simpson, David Ross, Diana Schmitt, Donna Botts, Doris Collier, FortySixTen Studios, Inspirational, Jeremy Childs, Jimmy DeTalente, Konner Rudisill, Larry Wilcox, Lightworx Entertainment, Lilly Echeverri, Markus Porter, Matthew Ulm, Michael LaCour, Mike R. Tinker, Rick Bucy, Rossetti Productions, Saratoga Entertainment, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Shanda Lee Munson, Shawna Linzy, Sherry Wright, Steve 'Papaw' Pyatte, Whitney Kraus Jones, Wilson Conkwright 1 Comment

In Gramps’ Shoes (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Ty is a 65-year-old retired grandfather, and he is passionate about running.  He is also passionate about praying for his estranged daughter, whom he has not heard from in nearly twenty years.  Therefore, when he suddenly hears from her one day, he is overjoyed.  She reaches out to him for financial help, so he agrees to move in with her and her teenage children to help be a father figure for them.  However, they are skeptical of Ty at first; will they be able to come around and trust God?

 

Production Quality (1 point)

Its small budget aside, In Gramps’ Shoes has an unacceptably poor production.  While video quality is fine, the camera work is too stationary, and audio quality is very static and low quality, especially with the terrible outside sounds.  The soundtrack is very generic and almost non-existent.  Further, the indoor sets are fairly cheap and limited, even though the outdoor locations are okay.  Finally, there is basically no editing present in this production.  Essentially, though this production was relatively simple, it’s still low quality for no good reason.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Basing a movie around an annoyingly perfect Christian protagonist who fixes everything he touches is never a winning formula for a movie, but that’s what In Gramps’ Shoes has done.  This is done through very obvious and forceful dialogue that shoves cheesy messaging down your throat, even though the storyline is very vague and meandering without any clear purpose or direction except to force good-ole-days fundamentalism on you.  The non-Christian characters are total strawmen, and the Christian message is very trite.  Too many sequences of this film are just characters sitting around talking about what their characters are supposed to represent rather than using the dialogue to develop the characters.  At that, this film is far too long to have no substantial content or ideas contained within it.  Thus, it’s basically a complete waste of time.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

Full of typical Rossetti cast members, this group acts very robotic and overly practiced a majority of the time.  Some cast members are downright annoying, and there is a lot of poor teen acting throughout.  There are some slightly positive moments that keep this section from being zero, but on the whole, like the rest of this film, it’s all very low quality.

Conclusion

It seems like the only purpose of awful films like this one is to push an unpopular message or personal agenda.  We apparently needed another movie like this, so here it is.  In the more modern era of Christian entertainment, low-quality films like this one are unacceptable and mostly unwelcome, unless they have a really good plot to share, which is certainly not the case with this film.  Thus, In Gramps’ Shoes should be forgotten.

 

Final Rating: 1.5 out of 10 points

 

June 6, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 1.5 points, 2014, Andrew Wilson Williams, Brittany Blades, Chip Rossetti, Denny Brownlee, Donald James Parker, Donna Botts, Francine Locke, Gavin Martion, Grace Etzkorn, Greg Robbins, Greyson Turner, Inspirational, Jeff Rose, Keegan Martion, Little Cherub Entertainment, Rossetti Productions, Ryan Patrick Williams, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Sword of the Spirit Publishing, Timothy Paul Taylor Leave a comment

Daughters (status unknown)

Status currently unknown

Writer(s): John Cooper, Chip Rossetti

Director(s): Chip Rossetti

Producer(s): Chip Rossetti, Jeff Rose

Starring: Gregory Alan Williams, Francine Locke, Torry Martin, Jeff Rose, Shannen Fields, Andrew Masset, Doris Collier, Tracy Goode, Brittany Mann, Riley Bundick, Cledus T. Judd, Collin Alexander Brown, Donna Botts

Plot Synopsis:

Joel and Megan Graham have been happily married for almost 20 years. High school sweethearts since freshman year, they knew they were meant to be together. Just two years into their marriage, they were blessed with their first baby daughter, Genie. It was always Joel’s dream to have a son, so they kept trying. After two more daughters, they decided that having a son just wasn’t meant to be. So they settled into their lives as parents to three beautiful daughters. Over the last year, however, Joel and Megan have been getting tested at every turn. Genie has become an out of control, rebellious teen. Ten year old Katie has been having trouble in school, having issues with anger management and she can’t seem to control her temper. Three year old Sidney always seems to be sick. We are told that God will never give us more then we can handle. The Grahams are about to find out that He will always test the limits of what we can handle. The greatest thing a person can be in life is a parent. Something tells me that person never had three daughters.

January 7, 2017January 27, 2021 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Upcoming Movies and SeriesTags: Andrew Masset, Brittany Mann, Chip Rossetti, Cledus T. Judd, Collin Alexander Brown, Donna Botts, Doris Collier, Francine Locke, Gregory Alan Williams, Jeff Rose, John Cooper, Riley Bundick, Shannen Fields, Torry Martin, Tracy Goode, Upcoming Movies and Series 2 Comments