Christmas With a Capital C (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Dan Reed is just a nice Christian mayor of a small Alaskan town, but when his old high school rival\friend, Mitch Bright, comes to town, Mitch just wants to mess up Christmas for everybody.  Mitch is mad that Dan took his girl in high school, so Mitch decides to take it out on Dan by suing the town for having a manger scene on public property.  Will the war on Christmas never end?

 

Production Quality (2 points)

In keeping with most PureFlix films, Christmas With a Capital C is mostly fine, including good video quality, audio quality, and camera work.  The soundtrack is what one can expect from a Christmas film.  Some sets are limited, but there are some good outdoor locations that redeem this.  The prop choices are mostly fine, but there is a slight over-abundance of Christmas décor.  Furthermore, there is one too many montages in this film, yet the editing is mostly standard.  In the end, this production is just one of those assembly line PureFlix deals.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

With so many cooks in the crowded PureFlix plot kitchen, Christmas With a Capital C has a little bit of everything in it.  For the most part, it contains every cheesy war-on-Christmas and fake persecution cliché you can possibly shove into one movie.  The film mostly takes up arms in the religion freedom battle in a small town by using propaganda about the opposing side, but there are some surprising moments of sanity when some characters wisely suggest that maybe fighting for manger scenes on public property isn’t going to save people.  However, this is quickly derailed again by cheesy and formulaic subplots, including juvenile romances, that are driven by obnoxious characters and manufactured dialogue.  Unfortunately, any good that was meant in this film is covered up with madness.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

This film has another one of those crazy PureFlix casts that is memorable for the wrong reasons, even though it doesn’t contain the usual suspects.  Ted McGinley is his usual fake self, while Brad Stine takes the opportunity to adlib in over the top and unhinged ways.  For some reason, Nancy Stafford allowed herself to be dragged into this nonsense, yet she is always a standout.  Other cast members are also fine and make up for the loony moments that dominate the performances.

Conclusion

Why do we need to constantly roll out movies that ‘fight’ against ‘political correctness’ and try to ‘win back’ religious freedom?  Since when does not being able to display a manger scene on government property persecution?  What if a Muslim ideal was displayed on government property?  One character points out the futility of fighting this fight in light of trying to spread the gospel to people who are hurting, and this contribution is no doubt the sanity of Andrea Nasfell.  However, any good she wanted to accomplish in this movie is drowned out by the militant agenda of PureFlix.  As long as Christian leaders continue to prioritize fighting for political power and influence over doing the real work of Christ, culture will continue to go in the opposite direction.

 

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points

 

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November 28, 2017January 3, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Comedy, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2011, 3.5 points, Andrea Gyertson Nasfell, Barbara Hopkins-Cox, Brad Stine, Christmas, Comedy, Cooper Peltz, Daniel Baldwin, David Cuddy, Edwin Wendler, Francesca Derosa, Frank Delaney, Helmut Schleppi, Inspirational, James Chankin, Jerry MacDonnell, Jessica Busbee, Karen Lauer, Linné Bardarson, Lisa Dawnell James, Michael Scott, Nancy Stafford, Paloma Peterson, Peter Yoder, PureFlix, Ranch Studios, Ron Holmstrom, Ted McGinley Leave a comment

The Mark 2: Redemption (Movie Review)

Eric Roberts as himself

Plot Summary

After jumping out of that plane to save their lives, Chad and Dao find themselves on the run for their lives in Thailand as they try to remove the secret chip from Chad’s arm while being pursued by agents of an all-powerful rising world leader.  The Rapture has occurred, leaving the world mired in chaos.  As they try to grapple with the God of the Bible, Chad and Dao find themselves involved in multiple international conspiracies, including a human trafficking scheme that involves Dao’s sister and Chad’s former employers.  As they fight for survival, who will prevail in this brave new world?

 

Production Quality (.5 point)

In keeping with the usual poor PureFlix production mode, clear video quality is all that can be found here that is remotely positive.  Anything else related to camera work is dizzying and annoying.  Much of the footage is recycled, both flashback footage and non-flashback footage, which demonstrates extreme laziness.  Other scenes of the film are extremely long and drawn out, trying to delay the inevitable to build up some kind of fake suspense.  Action sequences are over the top and poorly executed.  The use of special effects and sound effects is very amateurish and obnoxious.  For such a big plot, the sets and locations are quite limited and the surroundings are almost entirely confined to Thailand, PureFlix’s favorite international location.  There is little to no editing—I’m convinced that the production team just went with what they had from filming.  Basically, The Mark 2 is same song, different verse for PureFlix.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Picking up where The Mark left us hanging, The Mark 2 is the most slow to development suspense plot ever.  Inevitable confrontations between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters are painfully dragged out over a ninety-minute runtime full of coincidences, convenient plot devices, information dump dialogue, stupid action scenes, and scenes of characters sitting around or pacing around and talking.  There is basically no purpose to this plot as John Patus once again shoves his apocalyptic opinions down our throats in the most awkward fashion possible.  Multiple scenes appear to be directly copied from the original Left Behind series, which is no surprise with Patus involved.  Only this time, the antichrist character is borderline unbearable and sports the fakest European accent possible.  In the middle of the film, a cheesy Christian message is shoehorned in, along with a random human trafficking subplot that tries to improve the runtime.  The mark of the beast concept, though slightly interesting, is only toyed with in the film and never seems complete.  In the end, as the characters tell us through narration what we’re supposed to learn, it is unclear whether or not the story is to continue—obviously not, since there’s no Mark 3, but what were they really expecting?  Did they actually have any ideas beyond the Rapture?  Basically, we learned nothing from this plot, thus making it completely useless.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

This typical C-grade PureFlix cast is complete with fake accents, lame attempts at diversity, racial stereotypes, and Eric Roberts.  Multiple cast members appear to have no place in the film, opting to pace around and talk about important things.  Other cast members appear to take themselves too seriously and try to be as serious as you can be in a PureFlix action plot.  At least not all of the acting is bad, but across the board, line delivery and emotions are very poor.  But what else is new?

Conclusion

Why are so many PureFlix action plots at least partially set in Thailand?  Also, if we are to endure so many apocalyptic Christian films on the market, can’t we at least see one that doesn’t involve the alleged ‘Rapture’ in some fashion?  Haven’t we seen that enough from the original Left Behind series, that horrible new Left Behind, the first Mark film, The Remaining, Jerusalem Countdown, In the Blink of an Eye, the Revelation Road series (with the exception of The Black Rider), Six: The Mark Unleashed, etc.?  With the money spent on this film and every other wasted apocalyptic film, you would think that it could have been saved for a truly groundbreaking Christian action\adventure or suspense movie that would have made a difference in the culture.  But instead, we are left with a littered collection of could-haves and cut-rate productions.

 

Final Rating: 1 out of 10 points

August 22, 2016January 15, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Action Adventure, Apocalyptic, International, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 1 point, 2013, Action Adventure, Apocalyptic, Apocalyptic Plane Plots, Chankin Entertainment, cheesy action scenes, Craig Sheffer, David A. R. White, Eric Roberts, Gary Daniels, International, James Chankin, John Patus, Michael Scott, Mission Pictures International, PureFlix, Russell Wolfe, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Suspense, Terry Cunningham, Vision Scape Entertainment 2 Comments

Jerusalem Countdown: A Prelude to Armageddon (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Nuclear weapons have been smuggled into America, and FBI agent Shane Daughtry and his team have been ordered to find them before they are detonated.  They must reluctantly collaborate with an old weapons dealer, a corrupt CIA director, and an ex-Muslim spy in order to find the dangerous contraband before America and Israel are blown off the map.  Little do they know is that their true hope lies in a Jewish researcher who has come by valuable information about his mysterious next door neighbor.

 

Production Quality (.5 point)

The good video quality is the only positive element to mention.  Otherwise, this movie is barely watchable.  The cheap action scenes are unbearable and poorly executed.  The camera angles are below par and the musical score is what one can expect from such a film as this.  The editing is as maddening as the jumpy action sequences.  CGI and special effects are very C-grade.  Nothing can compare with the incessant John Hagee product placements as the audience is spoon-fed his controversial views on eschatology and international politics.  Unfortunately, the negativity doesn’t end here.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

It doesn’t really seem like David A. R. White and company really did any research on the inner workings of government organizations or the true nature of terrorists when they were planning this movie.  The way that the plot unfolds is so unrealistic that it feels like a comic book.  Leaps in logic and plot holes litter the landscape.  The ways that the characters proceed forward with ‘leads’ is absurd.  Searching the internet for ‘Iran Shipping Ltd’ and then snooping around in a house they own to see whether or not they have nuclear weapons probably takes the cake, but it’s not to be topped by a librarian assisting FBI agents in a confidential case.  Every character is a ridiculous caricature and not believable.  The only consolation is that this is an apocalyptic plot that doesn’t take place on an airplane, but that’s not saying much.

Acting Quality (0 points)

We are convinced that PureFlix believes that if you have enough action scenes in a movie, you don’t need to coach the actors.  Such is the case in Jerusalem Countdown.  The delivery of lines is lackadaisical and emotions are lackluster.  So-called interrogation scenes are forced and awkward.  In short, there is little to nothing good to say about this film.

Conclusion

Is this movie supposed to have a sequel?  We certainly hope not, but ending the movie the way it does suggests that this film was only created to push John Hagee’s unusual worldview.  Movies in the action adventure, suspense, and apocalyptic genres can be used to reach audiences outside of the church, but when films like Jerusalem Countdown crowd out the field and water it down.  The next time an unbeliever hears about a Christian action film, they may only think of movies like this one and roll their eyes, as we do.  We implore Christian film-makers everywhere to learn from the mistakes of movies such as this one and not repeat them.

 

Final Rating: 1 out of 10 points

 

February 22, 2016January 18, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Action Adventure, Apocalyptic, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 1/2 point, 10 West Studios, 2011, Action Adventure, Alex Safi, Anna Zielinski, Apocalyptic, Bradley Dorsey, Brittany Lefebvre, Carey Scott, David A. R. White, David Harris, Geneva Somers, God & Country Entertainment, Harold Cronk, Iran Shipping Ltd., Jaci Velasquez, James Chankin, Jamie Nieto, Jeehun Hwang, John Gilbert, John Hagee, Lee Majors, Liam Matthews, Marco Khan, Michael Scott, Michelle Peltz, Nick Jameson, PureFlix, Randy Travis, Stacy Keach, Steven Dutton, Suspense 15 Comments

The Mark [2012] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Chad Turner, a former criminal, has been chosen to be a human prototype for a biometric computer chip some call the Mark of the Beast.  After the chip is inserted into his skin, Chad becomes a different person, more powerful than before.  But he soon finds himself on the run from a powerful world leader, Joseph Pike, who seeks to take the chip and use it for his own means: world domination.  Chad takes a businessman, Cooper, hostage and convinces him to assist him in keeping the chip away from Pike.  But they suddenly find themselves trapped on a place in the middle of a global catastrophic some refer to as the Rapture.  With multiple assailants after them, Turner and Cooper must navigate the uncertain waters and avoid death at all costs.

 

Production Quality (.5 point)

Beyond a clear video quality, there is little to be excited about in The Mark when it comes to production.  The movie is filled with poorly constructed action scenes, wild explosions, and maddening gun-wielding chases.  Not much effort was put into sets and locations, as a majority of the film takes place on a plane, which brings to mind many other apocalyptic movies.  The editing is passable, but there is little true content to deal with.  The musical score is a stock action soundtrack.  Basically, this type of movie is been there, done that.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

In this possible sequel to In the Blink of an Eye, several potentially interesting characters are thrown together on a transatlantic flight to discuss the world’s political scene and to escape from the antichrist’s henchman.  John Patus has used this plot before and used it again after this movie.  With the chip in his skin, Turner is basically an invincible character, not that plot devices like this have stopped action protagonists from being invincible before.  With mind-numbing action sequences, there is little to no actual plot in The Mark.  Character development and meaningful dialogue are traded for firing guns and yes—crawling around inside of a plane’s engine area while it’s in flight.  While Turner and Cooper could have been interesting flawed ‘heroes’ with agendas of their own, they were not.  The antichrist character is unbearably cheesy.  The bottom line is that the apocalyptic stuck-on-a-place plot has been done before and needs to be put to rest once and for all.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

This particular PureFlix cast is not extremely cheesy, but they are just not that great.  In the wake of cheap action, emotions are discarded and line delivery is reduced to monologuing and pontificating.  Where there was potential in the actors and actresses, it is not harnessed.

Conclusion

Centering a plot around a character that has been forcibly given an artist’s conception of the Mark of the Beast is not entirely a bad idea.  Such an idea has the possibility to breach new genres and reach different audiences than usual.  However, movies like The Mark only cause the apocalyptic genre to become further viewed as cheesy and not worth anyone’s time.  As it stands, Christian apocalyptic movies mostly are not worth your time.  No matter where you land on eschatology, movies like The Mark are pointless and empty.

 

Final Rating: 1 out of 10 points

 

February 21, 2016January 18, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Action Adventure, Apocalyptic, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 1 point, 2012, Action Adventure, Apocalyptic, Apocalyptic Plane Plots, Bruce Blain, Byron Gibson, Carey Scott, Celicia Arnold, Chankin Entertainment, Charlie Ruedpokanon, Craig Sheffer, Crawling Around Inside of a Plane, David A. R. White, David Cuddy, Edwin Wendler, Eric Roberts, Gary Daniels, Gigi Velicitat, Iván Kamarás, James Chankin, John Marengo, John Patus, Jolene Andersen, Leland Jourdan, Michael Scott, Paul Duran, PureFlix, Ron Smoorenburg, Russell Wolfe, Sarah Deakins, Shane Alexander, Sonia Couling, Suspense, Vision Scape Entertainment 6 Comments

Escape [2012] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Following a tragedy in their lives, doctors Paul and Kim Jordan decide that it’s time for a change of scenery.  Therefore, they accept an opportunity to leave their American comfort behind in order to serve a struggling medical clinic on the streets of Thailand.  All seems well until Paul follows a mysterious local boy in order to help a patient unable to come to clinic, only to find himself captured by local traffickers in need of his medical expertise.  Separated from his wife, who begins to beg the local authorities for help, Paul seeks moral from his fellow captor, who brings him face to face with the God he has been running from all his life.  Together, they must not only plan to escape with their lives, but they must contend with the problem of suffering and how God works in the world.

 

Production Quality (2.5 points)

For a modest budget, Escape boasts plenty of positive qualities.  The camera work is above average, as is the video and sound quality.  Though the sets are slightly limited, they are authentic and the crew did good with what they had.  The action scenes are well-produced and do not give the appearance of a cheap production.  The only caveat here is some indie-ish elements that are very minor and easy to pass over.  In short, there is nothing flashy here, but the production quality is solid.

Plot and Storyline Quality (2 points)

Escape explores a genre that is unfortunately often unique to Christian films: suspense adventure.  It would have been easy for the plot to come off as shallow and cheesy due to reliance on action sequences, but this did not happen.  The plot is simple yet profound; the plot twists are straightforward and while it does not necessarily make waves, it does not crash and burn.  The dialogue is solid, which leads to good character development.  With the small amount of characters in a limited area, their success is key.  They pass the test.  The only issues to bring up here are the small scope of the plot and the overall simple feel of the movie.  Some parts at the beginning could have been better explored.  In the end, the plot is refreshing and the end somewhat unexpected.  The crew delivered with limited resources, which is a win.

Acting Quality (2.5 points)

The acting quality is overall professional, with only some minor errors.  The cast is small, but they do not commit errors that completely derail the movie.  They carry the movie well as they have obviously been coached well.  Some of them seem slightly inexperienced, but it is not a big deal.  The good thing is that real Asian actors are used rather than forcing white people to seem Asian, as some low cost productions do.  Overall, Escape is well-acted.

Conclusion

Escape receives half an x-factor point for dealing with the problem of pain in a very appropriate and poignant manner.  This philosophical issue is explored through dialogue and is not shoved down the viewers’ throats.  The bottom line is that while Escape is a very simple movie, it is also very deep.  Rather than exploring a broad scope, the writers chose quality over quantity.  The action elements make for a unique Christian movie and do not detract.  In short, Escape is an underrated Christian film that deserves applause.

 

Final Rating: 7.5 out of 10 points

February 7, 2016January 18, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Action Adventure, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 2012, 7.5 points, Action Adventure, Andrea Gyertson Nasfell, Anora Lyn, C. Thomas Howell, Celicia Arnold, Chad Hawkins, Chanicha Shindejanichakul, Chankin Entertainment, Chayut Buanar, Edwin Wendler, Inspirational, James Chankin, John Rhys-Davies, Ken Streutker, Khanchit Chompoos, Marker Entertainment, Paul Emami, Peter Yoder, Prinya Intachai, PureFlix, Puttaya Chaimongkolepetc, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Sixty40 Productions, Suspense, Tanapol Chuksrida, Wathana Suksongroh 4 Comments