Steps of Faith (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Faith Houston believes God has called her to move to Texas on blind faith and try to get a job at a Christian horse ranch that ministers to troubled kids.  Though her family is against it, Faith plunges ahead into unknown territory to see what God has for her.  However, when she arrives in Texas, she soon discovers that not everything will be as easy as she thought it would.  Yet she perseveres and finds out what God really wants for her life.

 

Production Quality (2.5 points)

Much like A Man Called Jon, Poorchild Films has discovered better production quality as of late.  Video quality is clear and camera work is great.  Audio quality is fine and the soundtrack is as good as can be expected.  Sets, locations, and props are realistic and diverse.  Really the biggest issue to point out here, of course, is the editing.  Some scenes are too choppy while others lag too long.  But in the end, this is a nearly model production that they should be proud of.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Yet also in a similar vein as A Man Called Jon, and especially Hiding in Plain Sight, Steps of Faith, though it is ninety minutes long, just doesn’t contain enough content to sustain a feature-length film.  Even if there was more content here, it is still a very basic and predictable storyline that contains very flat and boring characters.  Dialogue is very uninspiring and uncreative.  The least a writer can do with this type of formulaic story is make the characters accessible, but this does not happen.  Instead, time is wasted on pointless sequences and forced comedy that’s not funny.  In the end, Poorchild Films needs to seriously invest in some screenwriting.

Acting Quality (2 points)

Much like their other films, this movie recycles a lot of familiar cast members, yet some of them show improvement from other performances.  Emotions are mostly believable and line delivery is pretty good.  There are just some minor errors throughout that add up, as well as the dry comedy.  Overall, this film hovers right around the average range.

Conclusion

In the end, it still appears as though Poorchild is getting better at what they do—if they continue to improve in each area, they could be onto something great very soon.  If they seriously invest in some better screenwriting, then they are on their way to greatness for sure.  The day that plots of Christian films overall improve is the day that the entire industry is turned upside down.

 

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 10 points

 

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September 14, 2017January 5, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Animals & Pets, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2015, 4.5 points, Amy Weber, Carlos Battey, Charles Malik Whitfield, Christian Heep, Chrystee Pharris, Cynthia Jackson, David Dginguerian, Eric King, Federico Chávez Blanco, Gabrielle Blumetti, Gail Cronauer, Higher Heights Film Works, Higher Heights Filmworks, Horse, Inspirational, Irma P. Hall, Jim Blumetti, Judy Ciancio, Kelly Gray, Kenneisha Thompson, Kenzie Pallone, Kimberly Gail Williams, Levi Dginguerian, M. Legend Brown, Madison Dginguerian, Marion Cox, Mathew Greer, Michael Ciancio, Micheal D. Brown, Monica Peña, Nathan Tyler, Poorchild Films, Rebekah Turner, Reda Jo Films, Sharice Henry Chasi, Steven Battey, T.K. Henderson, Ted Lange, Tracey Ross, Vickie Washington, William Brown, Zoey Bruce 3 Comments

A Man Called Jon (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Jon is a pastor who likes to express himself by dancing and running around, but this practice is condemned by his employers since they run a stiff white church.  Thus, they reassign him to new duties: to be the pastor of an African-American church who is begging for a new pastor.  All seems well at first, yet the former pastor of the African-American church is jealous and Jon and seeks to have him removed.  Will they all be able to find a compromise for the sake of the people?

 

Production Quality (2 points)

Unlike their previous production disaster Hiding in Plain Sight, Poorchild Films has discovered a better production formula in A Man Called Jon.  Video quality is good, as is camera work.  Audio quality is also professional, even though the soundtrack is a bit generic.  Sets, locations, and props are appropriate and well-used.  The main issue to point out here is, of course, the editing as there are too many lagging and dead sequences as well as some scenes that are confusing and seem unscripted.  But overall, this is a decent production that shows a lot of good effort.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Unfortunately, this plot is an extremely limited idea and is completely uncreative as it has been done before in movies like The Rev and Brother White.  The awkward white guy is kicked out of the stiff white church and is reassigned to a struggling African-American church in a supposedly comedic fish-out-of-water plot—we’ve seen it all before.  Besides this, there is truly barely any plot content to speak of here as a lot of scenes appear to just be filling time.  Dialogue is fairly empty and does nothing to improve the already cheesy characters.  The scope of this story is severely limited and really doesn’t have anything going for it.  Any attempts at comedy fall awkwardly flat.  Thus, due to lack of character and story development, this plot can’t muster any points.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

This cast demonstrates some potential as at least some of them appear to know what they are doing.  Some cast members appear to be phoning in their lines, while others are cheesy, but there is enough good here to make this section average.  Emotions and line delivery are not quite what they should be, but they are adequate.

Conclusion

It’s possible that the Poorchild team means well and just doesn’t know what they are doing.  They obviously learned how to improve their production quality, so perhaps they have more improvements in store down the road.  They need to write some more creative plot ideas and coach their cast members to be more engaging and realistic.  Also, their characters need to be more accessible and down to earth without being caricatures.  In the end, they have plenty of potential if they will make some improvements.

 

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

 

September 8, 2017January 6, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Comedy, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2015, 3.5 points, Angela Randolph, Campbell Williams, Christian Heep, Comedy, Elizabeth McGrath, Eric King, Federico Chávez Blanco, Gracie Wakefield, Higher Heights Film Works, Higher Heights Filmworks, Inspirational, Irma P. Hall, Jalen Love, Joey Morris, Juli Erickson, Kelly Gray, Kimberly Gail Williams, King and Brown Enterprises, Larry Jack Dotson, Liz Franke, M. Legend Brown, Mario Mims, Martin Ezelle, Mathew Greer, Matt Bailey, Micheal D. Brown, Nene Nwoko, Poorchild Films, Rebekah Turner, Reda Jo Films, Ron E. Harris, Sean Stone, Selase Botchway, Sharice Henry Chasi, Vernee Watson, William Brown, Zach Rose 5 Comments