A Heart That Forgives (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Two foster brothers have taken very different paths in life—one has become a successful pastor after leaving his criminal lifestyle behind, while the other one remains in the criminal lifestyle.  Yet they remain in contact with each other as the pastor prays for his brother.  However, not all is as it seems as the pastor engages in some questionable means to keep his ministries alive.  With so many people affected, will those involved be able to find redemption and purpose in all of the confusion?

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

In keeping with their recent increase in production quality, Poorchild Films crafts a mostly average production in A Heart That Forgives.  Video quality is fine, but there are some head-scratching sequences of randomly poor lighting.  Audio quality also has some odd moments, where background noise covers up lines, which is a throwback to Hiding in Plain Sight.  However, the soundtrack is adequate, as are sets, locations, and props.  Yet the editing is somewhat disorienting and confusing.  All in all, this production is a mixed bag, thus turning out an average score.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

Though there are a lot of interesting and creative ideas somewhere in here, as is the case for a myriad of Christian films, the subplots are all over the place and are quite disorganized.  The characters have realistic tendencies, but they need deepening.  The dialogue is okay, but it could use some more development, which in turn would help the characters.  There is too much message-pushing, especially through the use of sermons, and not enough natural messaging.  The storyline overall is too predictable and uncreative, thus warranting a low score.

Acting Quality (1 point)

The cast of this film returns to the level of Hiding in Plain Sight, with awkwardness and a lot of unsureness.  Lines are often too forceful, while emotions are overly dramatic.  There are also come cases of extreme fidgetiness, as well as too many sequences of cast members talking over each other.  However, there are some good points here that keep this section from being all bad.

Conclusion

Poorchild Films always seems to be hovering just on the edge of relevance.  Their movies are neither bad enough nor good enough to draw much attention, but they also can’t be counted out completely due to their efforts at production, plot writing, and casting.  But there is always a handful of things that keeps them from being relevant.  But they will likely keep churning out movies, and perhaps they will show slow improvement over time and will finally hit the mark one day.

 

Final Rating: 3 out of 10 points

 

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September 25, 2017January 5, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2016, 3 points, AHTF Films, Carl Anthony Payne II, Charles Malik Whitfield, Dennis O'Neill, Gail Cronauer, Grover Coulson, Inspirational, Irma P. Hall, Kelly Gray, Kelly O'Neil Jackson, Ken Jenkins, Kenneisha Thompson, Kerry McCormick, Lorey Hayes, M. Legend Brown, Mario Mims, Mila McCoy, Nikki Dixon, Pilar Sanders, Poorchild Films, Raymund C. King, Sharon Clinton, T.K. Henderson, Tammy Thomas, Zach Rose Leave a comment

Hiding in Plain Sight [2012] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Almost overnight, the Blackmon family finds themselves unemployed, homeless, and running out of funds.  As they try to make their way on the streets, they discover that the world is hostile towards the homeless and that they will need to figure out how to fend for themselves.  As the going gets tough, will they reach out for help where they know they can find it or will they continue to hide in plain sight?

 

Production Quality (.5 point)

Possibly in an attempt to be overly realistic, this film looks like it was literally filmed on the sides of busy roads with cars constantly driving by either in front of the camera or behind the set.  There are also many other artistic angles, such as filming through fences and from behind other barriers and objects.  But randomly, the video quality and lighting of the scenes are professional, which seem out of place in this production.  Most, if not all, of the audio is either severely muffled or obviously overdubbed in post-production.  The soundtrack is also very loud, probably to cover up outside sounds.  Furthermore, editing is atrocious as scenes jump all over the place and transitions are very choppy and disorienting.  In the end, this production is unfortunately a train wreck.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

While the writers appear to mean well, this storyline is next to impossible to follow.  There are some interesting points in here somewhere, but they are hard to decipher amidst this story’s general lack of focus.  It’s mostly just a collection of random scenes about people wandering around and sitting around outside, with some montages thrown here and there.  There is no plot continuity whatsoever and no depth to these characters.  Whatever dialogue is even discernable does nothing to help the plot or the characters.  There are too many off-the-wall elements and goofs to take this movie seriously.  Unfortunately, this was a swing and a miss.

Acting Quality (.5 point)

Though there are some cast members that appear to mean well and it is likely that this cast had no coaching or assistance, this is still a mess.  There are too many mumbled lines that are completely indecipherable.  Emotions are also forced and extreme, with either too much yelling or too little expression.  It really seems like in many ways that this film was thrown together on the fly.

Conclusion

Though there were some well-meaning intentions here and there is certainly potential to be found in Hiding in Plain Sight, as it is, this is nothing but a disaster.  The team clearly tried to patch up some of the glaring problems in post-production, but the problems were too great.  This film needed to be totally scrapped and started over.  Yet it is highly possible that this was not financially feasible.  Thus, this further shows the importance of doing things right the first time and making sure you don’t take on more than you can handle.  Sometimes it’s better to start out small before moving to bigger things.

 

Final Rating: 1 out of 10 points

 

May 31, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 1 point, 2012, Aaliyah Muhammad, Brandi Price, Campbell Williams, Charlie Schafer, Denise Lee, Devion Camp, Drew Waters, Edgar Arreola, Electric Light and Power-Dallas, Eric King, Fear Not Productions, Federico Chávez Blanco, Gwendolynn Murphy, Higher Heights Film Works, Inspirational, Irma P. Hall, Jodie Moore, Juan Requena, Kelly Gray, Kelly O'Neil Jackson, Lisa Pierce, M. Legend Brown, Mahogany Films, Martin Ezelle, Michael Ciancio, Micheal D. Brown, Mikaela Brooks, Pj Putnam, Poorchild Films, Rachael Webb, Reed Williams, Robert Michael Szot, Sharice Henry Chasi, Suzette Schafer, We Got Boots 2 Comments