The Visitation [2006] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

When a stranger comes to a small town begins performing miracles, he gains an immediate following.  However, a Baptist pastor and his friends are skeptical of the man, especially as his work grows more and more sinister.  As the town descends into spiritual chaos and demons take over people’s minds, will the Christians be able to stand against the growing evil that threatens the very soul of their town—or they be sucked into evil themselves?

 

Production Quality (-1 points)

As an early 2000s Fox Faith production, this team had the resources to make this film at least somewhat professional.  However, the production is neither respectable nor presentable.  It’s an absolute wreck full of cheesy special effects, constant jumps, and epilepsy-inducing flashes.  Camera work is extremely shaky and video quality is very blurry.  The lighting is very inconsistent and the sets, locations, and props are very cheap-looking.  Finally, as previously mentioned, the editing is atrocious, which makes for an unpleasant experience.  In short, there is nothing good whatsoever to say here.

Plot and Storyline Quality (-1 points)

Frank Peretti was known in his time as a ground-breaking author who wasn’t afraid to breach different genres, but that doesn’t mean he always wrote good stories.  The Visitation is extremely thin on plot and character development in general.  It is beyond cheesy and includes tons of ridiculous horror elements that make for an extremely confusing and dizzying experience.  It’s really unfair to make someone watch this train wreck of a movie, as it jumps from one thing to the next, leaving the audience in a dazed wake.  It doesn’t even seem like this plot is trying to present a real story but is instead checking the box of having a Christian horror film for the sake of having it.  Needless to say, it doesn’t work—not in the least bit.

Acting Quality (0 points)

It’s probably safe to say that any cast that involves Randy Travis already has something wrong with it.  Otherwise, this cast is extremely dramatic, with lots of yelling and extreme emotions.  If they were going for a C-grade horror movie, they reached their goal on every single level.

Conclusion

It’s one thing to breach a new genre in Christian film, and it’s entirely another to butcher a film so badly that it creates a laughingstock.  Non-Christians might watch this film because it’s a horror flick, but they will find a total disaster with the name ‘Christian’ stamped on it.  To date, Christian horror is a genre that greatly suffers, but perhaps someone will turn it around one day…soon…

 

Final Rating: -2 out of 10 points

 

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July 20, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Horror, Movie Reviews, Psychological, SuspenseTags: 2006, 20th Century Fox, Bobby Downes, Bobby Neutz, Brian Godawa, Brian W. Foster, Clement Blake, David A. R. White, David Bergeaud, Debi Kalman, Don Swayze, Edward Furlong, Elizabeth Hatcher-Travis, Ellen Geer, Fox Faith, Frank Clem, Frank Peretti, Geoff Ludlow, Hillary Tuck, Horror, James Horan, Jerry Rose, Jhey Castles, Joe Goodman, Joe Unger, Joshua Popke, Justin W. Hill, Kelly Lynch, Kelly Neutz, Kevin Downes, Leikos, Lew Temple, Lin Ciangio, Martin Donovan, Michael Webber, Mike Hamilton, Namesake Entertainment, negative points, Noah Segan, Priscilla Barnes, Psychological, Ralph Winter, Randy Travis, Richard Tyson, Robby Henson, Ron Hughart, Ruben Moreno, Scott Derrickson, Signal Hill Pictures, Suspense, The Total Living Network 1 Comment

Boonville Redemption (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Melinda was always told that she was an illegitimate child.  Her mother is superstitious and has a secret she is trying to hide as she is under the thumb of the ruthless Maddox, Melinda’s stepfather.  When Maddox sends Melinda away to Melinda’s grandmother, Melinda sees a whole new outlook on life, including insights into who her father really is.  She discovers that everyone in the small western town of Boonville is hiding a secret, and only courage and faith will help them to disclose what they need to disclose.

 

Production Quality (2 point)

Since there is a lot of mainstream experience on the production team, the production of Boonville Redemption is understandably professional.  Video quality, camera work, and audio quality are all what they should be.  The soundtrack is pedestrian, but the sets and locations are historically realistic.  The biggest errors to highlight here pertain to editing, as there are a lot of abrupt transitions and choppy sequences.  There is too much content that has been crammed into the 100-minute runtime of this film.  Basically, this film is professional on the surface, yet it lacks the necessary substance to be any better than it is.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Though Boonville Redemption attempts to explore a unique plot style and genre, it does so in all the wrong ways.  Constant narration from the unnecessarily omniscient Pat Boone doesn’t leave anything to chance and makes sure the ending is obvious in the beginning.  Pretty much every character is a cheesy stereotype, especially the ridiculously monologuing villain.  The characters that have potential to be good are barely given any screen time, probably due to the large number of characters in general.  Though there is a lot of content, as previously mentioned, time is frivolously wasted on very unnecessary sequences.  Any good parts are very rushed and are drowned out by too many quirky elements.  Everything culminates in a gag-inducing “it’s my diary” climax sequence that really just puts the icing on this rotten cake.  Unfortunately, while this could have been a creative and interesting story, it falls very much short of expectations.

Acting Quality (2 points)

The good news is historical costuming is realistic, although there are some minor shades of Michael Landon Jr. frontier makeovers present.  The acting is mostly professional with only some minor errors, such as some overly dramatic moments.  If Edward Asner, Richard Tyson, and Pat Boone were removed from this cast, it would have been perfect.  But at least this casting job is somewhat palatable.

Conclusion

Boonville Redemption demonstrates mainstream professionalism in the production and acting departments, but the plot severely suffers from lack of creativity and forceful delivery.  Throwing a bunch of big name cast members into a well-funded production does not equal a good movie.  The story seems like it had too many writers in the story room, but that isn’t really the case.  Essentially, writers need to trust their audiences to figure things out rather than have Pat Boone tell them what to think about stuff.  Also, the last thing we needed was the Pat Boone credits number, but who really cares at this point?

 

Final Rating: 4 out of 10 points

 

July 2, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Historical, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, Mystery, Suspense, WesternTags: 2016, 4 points, Alexander Arzu, Angela McEwan, Bradley Gregg, Branton Box, Britt George, Caitlin Rebecca Cohn, Callder Griffith, David Carter, David Siebels, Diane Ladd, Don Schroeder, Edward Asner, Emily Hoffman, Gregory A. Thompson, Historical, Inspirational, J. LaRose, Jim Huggins, Josh Cruze, Judy Belshe-Toernblom, Karim Léon, Kassandra Voyagis, Larrs Jackson, Marisa Petroro, Michael Swan, Mystery, Nicholas Neve, Pamela Hamill, Pat Boone, Patrika Darbo, Peter Sherayko, Richard McGuire, Richard Tyson, Robert Axelrod, Robert Hays, Russ Langley, Sanford Hampton, Shari Rigby, Stephanie Linus, Suspense, Tom Metcalfe, Vera Taylor, Western Leave a comment

Love’s Christmas Journey (Movie Review)

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Plot Summary

After Ellie King loses her husband and daughter in a strange tornado, she decides the visit her brother, Aaron Davis, for Christmas.  When she arrives in the generic-looking Western small town that looks like all the others in this series, she meets all the stereotypical characters, including Sean Astin the sheriff.  Of course, what would this Love Comes Softly movie be without a replacement romance for the poor widow Ellie?  But even Christmas is threatened when Aaron hits his head on a rock (hmm, sounds familiar…) and is lost to the wilderness.  What will they ever do?

 

Note: This two-part film has been reviewed as one because we cannot differentiate the two parts

Production Quality (.5 point)

As the Love Comes Softly series endlessly drags on with more and more sequels, prequels, and specials that have long since departed from the original novels, we have to wonder at this point what Janette Oke thinks of Hallmark’s total dismantling of her work.  In keeping with usual Hallmark style, Love’s Christmas Journey has some good production qualities, such as clear video quality and good camera work.  The sets and locations are okay, but as previously mentioned, are clearly recycled from past films, but this time with Christmas decorations!  The soundtrack is as stock as it comes.  The editing is designed to drag this movie out into a nearly three-hour runtime, so there are plenty of wasted scenes.  In short, this is what you can expect from a Hallmark Christmas film—some money spent on production, but otherwise very empty.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Whoever is in charge of letting these movies get on television decided that since they needed to force a Christmas Love Comes Softly film to happen, then they needed to recycle the old standby plot of the saga: a young widow moves to a new place to start a new life and meets a new man.  Seriously, how many times are they going to do this one?  First it was Marty, then Missy, then Belinda, and now some sister of Missy’s named Ellie.  Besides this nonsense, the characters are extremely empty-headed and mindless, fueled by forced and awkward dialogue.  The first half of the movie (the original first part), is a huge waste of time, spent on preparing for the next half by introducing trite and petty conflicts that have no consequence whatsoever.  Throughout the movie, there are many factually unrealistic elements (what else is new?), such as the audacity of including Santa Clause in this plot.  No, seriously: Santa is a character.  And nothing can beat the cheesiest Christmas end in the world: snowing on Christmas Eve.  Essentially, Hallmark just phoned this one in because they can.

Acting Quality (0 points)

This is just more of the same garbage.  The cast members are extremely fake and plastic.  Natalie Hall in particular acts like she’s had a lobotomy most of the movie, taking forever to recite her lines, like she keeps forgetting what she’s supposed to do.  The emotions of the cast members are equally plastic.  In typical Love Comes Softly style, costuming and makeup are overdone and unrealistic for the time period.  But what else can we say without constantly repeating ourselves?

Conclusion

Love’s Christmas Journey is a textbook case from that all important manual from the executive offices of Hallmark: How to Make Another Hallmark Christmas Film.  First, find a plot to rip off; it can be a stock plot or it can be a loose idea stolen from an unsuspecting Christian author.  Second, find the most plastic cast members available and shower them with makeup and costuming.  Third, find a reusable set that fits the genre and inundate it with Christmas cheer.  Now just film the movie as fast as possible to get it ready for television!  Once again, with the resources and platform they have at their disposal, Hallmark squanders opportunity after opportunity to make a real difference in the film world.  But we doubt they will ever learn.

 

Final Rating: .5 out of 10 points

 

December 1, 2016January 13, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Historical, Movie Reviews, RomanceTags: 1/2 point, 2011, Amanda Foreman, Annika Noelle, Bobby Campo, Brian Thompson, Chad Michael Collins, Charles Shaughnessy, Christmas, Dannika Liddell, David S. Cass Sr., Dylan Bruce, Ernest Borgnine, George Tierney, Greg Vaughan, Hallmark, Historical, Jada Mae Facer, Janette Oke, JoBeth Williams, Larry Levinson Productions, Lincoln Lageson, Love Comes Softly series, Natalie Hall, Richard Tyson, Romance, Ryan Wynott, Sean Astin, Stephen W. Bridgewater, Teddy Vincent, Tom Virtue, Western 2 Comments

Last Flight Out [2004] (Movie Review)

 

Plot Summary

Dan, a repossession agent, has been billed by Tony Williams, the father of the man whose death Dan blames himself for, to find his daughter Anne, a missionary doctor who is now lost in the Columbian jungle.  What’s more is Dan used to be in love with Anne, and now she’s on the run, with a struggling Christian village, from ruthless drug lords.  Dan, an agnostic, must take on the impossible task of airlifting an entire village out of a remote jungle area in order to fulfill his mission.  In the end, Dan will have to decide what he really believes about God and life.

 

Production Quality (2 points)

Even in its last stages, Worldwide Pictures always set the tone for Christian movies in their era, the late 90s and early 2000s.  For an independent action film, the production of Last Flight Out is quite good.  The camera work is solid, including angles in action scenes, as well as video and sound quality.  The props are well utilized and realistic.  While the sets and locations are limited, they are used very well.  The only issues to bring up here are some poorly edited sequences that tend to isolate the audience and some slightly cheap special effects.  There are multiple very small issues here that keep this production from being all that it could be.  But overall, Last Flight Out continues its theme of top quality production.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)

Action adventure plots are hard to create without falling into typical plot clichés.  For the most part, Last Flight Out avoids textbooks errors.  The dialogue is realistic and to the point, yet it does not develop the characters to their fullest potential.  This is a shame, since there are few characters that carry the whole plot.  Realistic events occur throughout the film.  The overall story is also very linear with too many filler scenes.  There is nothing inherently wrong with the plot—it’s just very simplistic and straightforward.  Action adventure plots need to be dynamic, with twists and turns.  While Last Flight Out has an acceptable plot, it doesn’t breach the above average threshold.

Acting Quality (3 points)

For such a small cast, it is highly professional.  The actors and actresses are obviously well coached and know what they’re doing.  Emotional delivery is believable and spoken lines are authentic.  There are no negative points to raise here.

Conclusion

Last Flight Movie was so close to the Hall of Fame.  Had it a more dynamic plot and\or slightly better production, it would have been placed on it.  The unfortunate thing is that this was Worldwide Pictures’ last film to date.  They stopped just when they were getting good.  The flagship nonprofit, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, however, is still in existence, and it seems like a good time in Christian films to start back up again.  They really had something going in this early era of Christian movies, so we challenge them to use their perhaps now better resources to put out another evangelistic screenplay for all to see.  The Christian movie scene needs more quality voices, which was something Worldwide was back in its time.

 

Final Rating: 6.5 out of 10 points

 

March 23, 2016January 17, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Action Adventure, Drama, Inspirational, International, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 2004, 6.5 points, Action Adventure, Adriano González, Bettina Mercado, Bobbie Phillips, Bruce Broughton, Carlos Miranda, Cliff De Young, Dean River Productions, Inspirational, International, Jean P. Rubio, Jerry Jameson, Jesus H. Velez Perez, Melissa Gleason, Norberto Montes Figueroa, Rene L. Moreno, Richard Tyson, River Stone Productions, Skip Heitzig, Suspense, Toby Lynch, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Worldwide Pictures 1 Comment