A Horse for Summer (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

The Walsh family is struggling financially because of their overly expensive horse boarding farm. Matters are complicated when a troublemaking cousin is forced to live with them due to her mother’s criminal activity. Together, the must all learn to trust God no matter what and to not take matters into their own hands.

Production Quality (1.5 points)

As a whole, this film has an average production. Despite fine video quality and acceptable camera work and lighting, the audio quality leaves something to be desired. This is due to loud background sounds and a generic soundtrack. Also, editing is somewhat choppy although sets, locations, and props are good. This mixed bag of elements leads to the run-of-the-mill rating.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

This narrative is unfortunately filled with expository dialogue as each scene is overly staged. Every conversation is robotically engineered to spoon-feed the audience and leave nothing to chance. A major component of this is forceful Christian messaging and convenient sermonizing about how going to church will fix all your problems as well as other cheesy platitudes. Some sequences make absolutely no sense, and tons of wasted time drowns out whatever small prospects there are in potentially realistic character backstories. The writers expect the viewers to care about the characters, who could have been good, without properly developing them. In the end, issues are fixed way too easily, and with nothing significantly positive to note here, no points can be awarded in this section.

Acting Quality (1 point)

Most of the time, the acting in A Horse for Summer is quite bad. The performances are very mechanical and lack conviction. Emotions are empty, and line delivery is procedural. Many cast members seem unsure in their acting, but not all of them are unconvincing. There are some moments of good performing, especially from some actors and actresses. Thus, a small score can be given here.

Conclusion

In the end, this screenplay was extremely formulaic in its creation. This idea has been done time and again, and although this movie had some potential to be different, it didn’t live up to this. Thus, A Horse for Summer becomes just another throwaway film that will be forgotten.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points

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August 24, 2021 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2.5 points, 2015, Alec Michaelides, Bobbi Jeen Olson, Bryan Kruleski, Carly Cairns, Cazi Greene, Chalet Lizette Brannan, Christopher Atkins, Dean Cain, Dennis Carone, Di Carone, Dimity Telfer, Drama, Frank Kam Lee, Gary Champagne, Inspirational, Jack Matasek, Jane L. Fitzpatrick, Jámie Gilbert, Jenny Pond, Joel Paul Reisig, Joshua Ray Bell, Kenneth Lemm, Lee Meriwether, Mackenzie Lemm, Maggie Aschmeyer, Mandalynn Carlson, Mark Raven, Mark S. Weller, Mona Bakhoum, Nancy Criss, Pat Payne, Paul Stewart, Pete Brown, Priscilla Leona Horne, Robert Cox, Ruth Crenshaw, Sherri Ettore, Taylor Cleghorn, Teri Lee, Terri Minton, Terry Silverthorne, Tracy Wright, Tre Mosby, Virginia Olivieri, William Barrantes Jr. Leave a comment

Trafficked: A Parent’s Worst Nightmare (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

When Allison goes missing on her birthday and doesn’t turn back up, her parents become very worried. The police won’t do anything for 48 hours, so Allison’s parents do the only thing that any reasonable person would do: contact an old friend from college who deals drugs and happens to know a shady private investigation group that has questionable ethics, such as impersonating police officers and breaking into people’s houses without permission. Allison’s grandmother uses a good portion of her retirement to fund this dubious operation, and time is running out to find Allison, who has been taken by human traffickers.

Production Quality (1 point)

After a long opening sequence wastes time, this film’s remaining production doesn’t get much better. Video quality is acceptable, but camera work and lighting are quite inconsistent. The audio leaves a lot to be desired, such as a very loud and distracting soundtrack as well as awful special effects. Sets, locations, and props are fine, but the editing is quite poor. Some scenes awkwardly cut off while other sequences are very disorienting. In the end, despite slight improvement with time, this section is still below average, which is unacceptable for 2021.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

This plot’s main strategy is the shove one thing after the next onto the audience without any continuity. Most events happen because the writers want them to, and some occurrences are quite unrealistic, such as the questionable legitimacy of the narrative’s shady investigative force and their possibly illegal actions. Many scenes come off as overly staged, and the many confusing subplots easily become discombobulated. There are a lot of moving parts in this story, and characters have no chance to be developed due to musical montages and mindless conversations. The villains are stereotypical and over-the-top, often using unnecessary expletives. The Christian message in this movie is fairly vague, and there seems to be an unnecessary political tilt. Overall, with unforced errors and basically no potential, zero points can be awarded here.

Acting Quality (1 point)

Most of the time, the acting in Trafficked is trying way too hard. Line delivery and emotions are much too forceful. Performances come off as overly practiced and unnatural. Despite slight improvement with time, only a small score is warranted in this section.

Conclusion

This screenplay is a true embarrassment for 2021. How much longer must we endure such drivel? Besides a juvenile portrayal of the otherwise serious issue that this human trafficking, this film chooses to give credence to shady and questionable operations wherein people take the law into their own hands. This should have been a major red flag for anyone who thought about investing in this movie. It’s still unbelievable how projects like Trafficked even get funded and make it to the public release, but it’s high time that we see fewer of them.

Final Rating: 2 out of 10 points

January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 2 points, 2021, Allison Rowe, Andrew Kaufman, Angela McCulley, Angelina Danielle Cama, Be Your Own Hollywood, Ben Blaesing, Bill K. Kenney, Brian Heintz, Brian Papandrea, Collide Distribution, Courtney Mathews, David Jerome, David Voshel, Dean Cain, Deon Hunt, Diana C. Salinas, Don Klenk, Drama, Eileen Hayes, Garrett Thierry, George P. Saunders, Grover McCants, Janet Caine, Jeffrey T. Morgan, Jeremiah Pauling, Jeremy Evitts, Joel Paul Reisig, Karina Martinez, Keilah Jude, Kelly Trammell, Ken Alter, Kevin Tates, Kristy Swanson, Laura Henderson, Manzur Moidunny, Maria Wasikowski, Mark Boyd, Maryellen Voshel, Nancy Wagner, Niko Scherer, Rick Rosanova, Ryan Gardner, Scott Voshel, Shane Carson, Sophie Bolen, Suspense, Tevis R. Marcum, Tommy Wolf Leave a comment