The Golden Voices (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Terrell Christian College is in trouble, but if they can assemble a choir for the Golden Voices singing competition, which they are hosting this year, they might have a chance to stay alive. That’s why Georgia, the head of the music department, enlists her granddaughter, Sidney, to help her when Georgia has a back injury. Sidney only takes the temporary job since she’s in need of some extra cash, but little does she know that this experience, along with an unexpected run-in with a local celebrity, will change her life forever.

Production Quality (1.5 points)

As a whole, the production for The Golden Voices is average with some positives and some negatives. While the video quality is clear and the camera work is fine, there are one too many outside scenes that have noticeable background sounds and some that are filmed on the side of busy streets. The indoor sets are better, however, and the props are acceptable. Audio quality is a mixed bag due to some background echoes at times and a generic soundtrack that sometimes interferes with spoken lines. There are also some cheesy special effects and some unnecessary aspect ratio changes at random moments. Further, the editing is okay although it has some very quick cuts and transitions. Thus, in the end, this is a run-of-the-mill effort.

Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)

It’s clear, however, that there were a lot of honest efforts made in the writing of this plot. The dialogue therein is not all that bad and is even sometimes funny; the characters are also on the right track as they are non-typical and feel more authentic than not. Even though the narrative basically boils down to being a save-the-school-by-winning-a-singing-competition-plot, the conversations among characters are actually pretty well-constructed. Nonetheless, it’s a shame that a lot of time is spent on musical montages rather than deeper character development that could have kept this storyline from being as basic as it is. This would have also helped to soften the basically predictable ending, but as a whole, the messaging in this film is quite good, and the movie in general avoids stereotypes that come with musical productions. It would have been good, however, to see a little more effort put forth to keep this plot from being too basic.

Acting Quality (2 points)

Despite some very obviously poor makeup work, most of the cast members assume their roles quite well. Some tend to overplay their performances, but most of them come off as quite genuine, and many of them improve as the film progress. Throughout the movie, emotions are believable, and this collective effort is enough to warrant an above-average score.

Conclusion

Over the years, Poorchild Films has tried several different ideas (Hiding in Plain Sight, Steps of Faith, A Man Called Jon), but The Golden Voices seems like their most honest creation yet. They keep trying and are getting closer to the mark with each effort. However, most of the time, collaboration is the only way forward, so it may be time for this creative team to reach out and work with someone else both for financial and productive reasons. When this begins happening on a more regular basis on Christian entertainment, we will finally be putting the older days behind us.

Final Rating: 4 out of 10 points

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January 29, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, MusicalTags: 2018, 4 points, Ashley Burks, Brian J. Hubbard, Drama, Eric King, Greg Ellis, Inspirational, Irma P. Hall, John Wayne Owens, Kelly Gray, M. Legend Brown, Mario Mims, Mathew Greer, Micheal D. Brown, Musical, Nadine Marissa, Nikki Dixon, Poorchild Films, Rachael Webb, Reda Jo Films, Rodney Louis Dean, Sauna Kelsaw Parker, Tonea Stewart, Vanessa Givands, William Brown 1 Comment

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

 

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

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