The Borrowed Christmas (Movie Review)

More delicious cookies!

Plot Summary

John Dale is all alone this holiday season, so he wants to manufacture his Christmas by going to a random store and ordering them to buy all kinds of things that are necessary for him to enjoy an artificial holiday experience, including paying off people from the local ‘actors guild’ to play along with his games.  Will they be able to put together his borrowed Christmas before it gets too late?

 

Production Quality (1 point)

From the ridiculous opening sequence to the end, this production is very cheap-looking.  While camera work and video quality are fine, the audio quality has a lot of issues, including dead portions and unnecessary background noises.  The soundtrack is also a cheesy Christmas one.  The sets, props, and locations are also very limited and underwhelming.  Finally, there is really no editing to speak of as all of the content is just presented at face value.  In short, there is really not much good to say about this movie as a whole because it seems like most of the time that it is trying its best to not be interesting.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Besides the absurd Christmas premise, The Borrowed Christmas is probably the most anti-conflict film we have ever seen, Christmas or not.  The story is very boring, childish, and extremely contrived.  Even so, there are strange attempts to be overly dramatic for no reason at all.  Also, the characters come off as extremely cheesy and plastic due to bubbly and overly happy dialogue.  It’s really hard to understand how this idea even came to be, especially due to the fact that there is basically no conflict to drive this plot.  Thus, the story really has no clear purpose and only comes off as a silly church play.  Even though there may be some good ideas here, they are not presented properly at all.

Acting Quality (1 point)

For the most part, this cast is dry and generic, as well as too theatrical at times.  While they are fine at times, there are also some laughably random outbursts throughout.  Another unfortunate negative to note is some poorly done makeup.  However, not all is bad here, even though this movie still lacks overall purpose.

Conclusion

The Borrowed Christmas is basically a lesson in how to make a movie that completely lacks conflict.  Even most Hallmark movies have more conflict than this one—it’s kind of a requirement for plot writing.  Alas, especially in holiday films, story writing continues to suffer as it is substituted for silly and trite holiday ideas.  The time has come to move past these sorts of conventions and truly make a difference in the film world.  At least Chip Rossetti and his team showed improvement after the creation of this film.

 

Final Rating: 2 out of 10 points

 

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November 25, 2017January 3, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2014, Bailey Rossetti, Chance Caeden, Charlotte Rose Evans, Chip Rossetti, Christmas, Craig Bryant Belwood, Diana Schmitt, Donna Botts, Doris Collier, Jacqueline Josey, Jeff Rose, Jimmy DeTalente, John Paul Josey, Karrington Horvath, Kathy A. Johnson, LillyBea Ireland, Matthew Ulm, Maxi Taylor McDaniel, Mountain Top Entertainment, Rebecca Eaves, Riley Horvath, Rosanna Federico, Rossetti Productions, Scott McDonald, Sherry Morris, Sydney Horvath, Tess Smith, Timothy Paul Taylor, TPTFILMS Entertainment, Virgil Franklin, Zachary Scott 4 Comments

Out of the Darkness [2016] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

Eli is a troubled man with a strained relationship with his father.  The only person who shows him love, his ailing grandmother, is dying, thus leaving him seemingly alone in the world.  He continually has conflicts with his wife and threatens to leave her because of their financial struggles.  One night, he storms off into the woods and quickly finds himself lost—however, not all is at it seems.  He is about to undergo a psychological experience he will never forget as he will have to decide who he is and where he stands with God.

 

Production Quality (1 point)

Unfortunately, as a rookie production, Out of the Darkness starts out very raw, with inconsistent audio quality that emphasizes background noises and odd lighting that gives the film an odd feel.  There are also some strange special effects that make the move seem cheap.  Camera work is random and inconsistent, although the video quality is okay.  Moreover, some production elements improve as the movie goes on, but the editing is always poor, as the strangest scenes are included in the final cut.  This is overall a disjointed effort that needs a lot of rework.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)

Though Out of the Darkness portrays some unfortunately realistic circumstances and characters, it does in a very disorganized and confusing manner.  As previously mentioned, the oddest elements and sequences are included that have no bearing on the ultimate point and only serve to waste time.  Once the plot gets more interesting, it presents some creative psychological elements that need way more explanation and exploration.  It feels like as it is, this plot is a rough draft of an idea that needs more development, yet somehow this was approved as the final draft.  It needs more content, more coherency, and more complexity for it to be any better, because, though it’s a good idea, it’s still an unfinished idea.  To top things off, the ending suggests way too many quick fixes for problems.  In the end, there is potential here, but it needs to be skillfully mined.

Acting Quality (1 point)

Though this cast has experience behind it, they don’t always show it.  They need way more coaching, as their emotions are very forced and amateurish.  Line delivery is okay, and both line and emotional delivery have some slight improvement throughout, which prevent this section from being hopeless.  But the bottom line is that not enough effort was put into this film to make the most out of what was provided.

Conclusion

The Justice Pictures team appears to be making attempts to have creative and different plot structures, but they need better characters to pull them off.  They also need to maximize their resources better and employ coaching for their cast members.  If they made just slight changes to their approach, they would find themselves getting better, which would lead to more investment, etc.  A lot of times, it’s the little problems that hold film makers back from being truly great.

 

Final Rating: 3 out of 10 points

 

August 6, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Movie Reviews, Psychological, SuspenseTags: 3 points, Adam Elliott Davis, AJ Perez, Chasing Butterflies, Chasing Butterflies Pictures, D.C. Rahe, Dan Kyle, Graham Greene, Greg Beber, Holden Goyette, Hydra Entertainment, John Lewis, Justice Pictures, Lawrence Anthony, Lindsay Lucas, Maeve Campbell, Michael Joiner, Niko Foster, Revolution Film Group, Rio Valentin, Samera Entertainment, Sarah Ahmor, Sean Skelding, Sharry Flaherty, Shawn Justice, Sherry Morris, Stephanie Landrum, Thomas J. Gulman, Vision Films Leave a comment

Unwanted Presence (Movie Review)

Deliver us from stupid Christian horror films

Plot Summary

When Lindsay Parker moves to a new area for a new job, she looks forward to living in her newly-purchased home.  However, the longer she lives there, the more she realizes that evil is afoot in her home.  Things are moved on their own and she encounters strange noises and presences.  There is an ancient evil there she has no idea how to handle, so she turns to so-called paranormal ‘experts’ for help.  However, little does she know that only faith in God can save her now.

 

Production Quality (0 points)

So you set out to make a Christian horror film and you make sure to use the worst production quality possible.  Like many other independent Christian horror flicks, Unwanted Presence is an unwanted production.  Video quality is blurry and camera work is randomly shaky.  Lighting is also quite inconsistent.  Audio quality is terrible as it’s sometimes too loud but other times too quiet.  The soundtrack is also very cheesy and there are some screeching noises and ‘sound effects’ throughout.  Other special effects relating to the horror genre are also very stupid and juvenile.  Sets and locations are limited to basically one or two houses and the props are pedestrian.  Finally, there is no editing here as all possible content is included.  Basically, there’s  just nothing good to say here.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

Is there such a thing as a good Christian horror film?  They are always either extremely cheesy and obvious or too vague.  The portrayal of spiritual elements and ‘quirky’ characters in this movie is so laughable that one has to wonder if this is another one of those parody films.  But in all seriousness, the spiritual circumstances portrayed in this story are downright unrealistic and actually suggest some dangerous practices.  Besides this, there is barely enough plot content to sustain a full-length film and the subplots are completely disjointed.  There are too many sequences depicting activities of daily living or some zany character’s antics.  None of the characters are believable or accessible.  Whether or not this film is to be taken seriously, it’s still awful.

Acting Quality (0 points)

This cast oscillates from being very robotic, practiced, and overly enunciated to downright mumbling their lines.  Facial expressions are not an issue dealt with very often, but the ones used by this cast are extreme and atrocious.  Emotions are flat and empty.  Need we say anything else about this mess?

Conclusion

Spiritual activity in a house is not something to play around with.  If this were actually happening to someone (it’s not likely to happen in the fashion this movie suggests), then I would advise them to move out because a haunted location is not something you can just pray away, unless for some reason God has given you special authority over an area.  For this movie to suggest this is childish and dangerous.  Regardless, Christian horror is a lost and confused genre that should probably be put on hiatus until someone can come up with a real story that is actually funded.

 

Final Rating: 0 out of 10 points

 

August 4, 2017January 8, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Horror, Movie Reviews, Psychological, SuspenseTags: 0 points, 2014, Angela Brown, Claire Hollis, Danielle Moceri, Dennis Wilson, Fay Stephenson, Hollis Productions, Horror, Jason Moceri, Lee Carson, Linda Friedt, Michael G. Barrett, Psychological, Sherry Morris, Suspense, Wanda Thomas, zero points Leave a comment

Rachel (status unknown)

Status currently unknown

Writer(s): Kerry Chestnut

Director(s): Juan Pablo Reinoso

Producer(s): Ray Nikolaison, DJ Perry

Starring: Ray Nikolaison, DJ Perry, Sherry Morris, Carman, James Van Patten, Lana Wood

Plot Synopsis:

Basically the same cast from The Book of Ruth makes The Book of Rachel because they needed to make another Bible film.

May 23, 2017January 27, 2021 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Upcoming Movies and SeriesTags: Carman, DJ Perry, James Van Patten, Juan Pablo Reinoso, Kerry Chestnut, Lana Wood, PureFlix, Ray Nikolaison, Reel Frog Entertainment, Sherry Morris, Upcoming Movies and Series 7 Comments

The Reconciler (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

According to local authorities and media figures, a mysterious man who has become known as The Reconciler has been mysteriously choosing random people to force to stay together in an enclosed area until they reconcile the differences they have with one another.  No one knows how or why he does what he does, or why he chooses the people he does, but multiple people have been positively affected by The Reconciler’s work.  Will his identity ever be discovered or will it always he shrouded in mystery?

 

Production Quality (1.5 points)

With a somewhat limited budget, it’s clear that this production team did the best they could do with what they had.  Camera work is fine, as it video quality.  Audio quality is mostly on par, but there are some lapses.  The soundtrack also needs a boost.  Sets, locations, and props are presented fairly well, even if they are slightly limited.  The biggest issue to point out here is the extremely choppy editing that creates a lot of confusion for the audience.  This is likely due to the large amount of content that is forced into this runtime.  Overall, the production of The Reconciler is average, and it’s likely it could have been better with more substantial funding.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)

The idea behind The Reconciler is very interesting and creative, but it also leaves the audience somewhat scratching their heads.  As previously mentioned, there is a lot of information crammed into less than two hours, and thus, the use of information dump dialogue is employed to fill in the viewer.  There are also a lot of interesting flashbacks that would be better if the characters therein were developed better.  However, due to the sheer amount of content here, there simply is not enough time, especially when some sequences are just wasted.  There are so many subplots that need further exploring here that The Reconciler would have been far better served as a miniseries.  The series format would have allowed the characters to develop better, would have given more credence to the idea behind this story, and would have allowed for more complexity and creativity.  But as it is, The Reconciler makes the mistake of biting off more than it can chew—by including everything, it spreads it all too thin.  For this reason, it’s difficult to appreciate what’s going on here.  In the end, though there is a huge amount of potential here, and the creativity of the writers should definitely be commended, this is unfortunately not the way to present this type of idea.

Acting Quality (1 point)

As a little-known cast, these cast members show amateurishness too much.  Some lines are forced and half-yelled, while others are perfectly normal.  Emotions are all over the place and are too often overplayed.  This cast would have definitely benefitted from better coaching.

Conclusion

This film receives half of an x-factor point for creativity.  We absolutely need different and unique films like The Reconciler, but they need to be well-developed.  Creative and complex plots are awesome when they are executed properly.  The Reconciler would have made an amazing series if done properly.  But once again, creativity is limited by funding.  We long for the day when useless movies are no longer wasting funding opportunities and damaging the reputation of Christian film so that creativity seen in movies like The Reconciler can fully thrive and flourish to be all that they need to be.  Christian film makers have the potential to change the world, but will they be given the opportunity?

 

Final Rating: 4 out of 10 points

 

May 11, 2017January 9, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Movie Reviews, Mystery, Psychological, SuspenseTags: 2014, 4 points, Bill Ritchie, Black Wolf Media Group, Dan Davis, Frank Chiesurin, Hailey Hurley, Jeremy Steel, Jourdan Steel, Justice Pictures, Leo Lin, Levi Davis, Lindsay Lucas, Michaelle Roberts, Mystery, Psychological, Robert Shepherd, Roddy Piper, Sally Skelding, Scott Galbraith, Sean Skelding, Shawn Justice, Sherry Morris, Suspense, Xander Steel Leave a comment

The Book of Ruth: A Journey of Faith (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

A grieving widow at risk of losing more family members, Naomi is confused and disillusioned to her Jewish faith as she resides in a pagan country.  When her two sons die, Naomi makes up her mind to return to her homeland in disgrace.  One daughter-in-law, Orpah, turns away and goes back to her idols, but Naomi’s other daughter-in-law, Ruth, insists on going to the land of Israel with her mother-in-law to further adapt the Jewish faith and to take care of Naomi.  Together, they are uncertain of the path ahead of them but they forge forward, clinging to some hope that Yahweh will look upon them with favor.

 

Production Quality (.5 point)

Besides clear video quality, there is nothing positive to mention regarding The Book of Ruth’s production.  This film commits every cardinal sin of Bible movies: cheap sets and locations, ridiculous costuming and props, inconsistent sound quality, and choppy editing.  To top things off, a lot of scenes are overshadowed by annoying background music, making it hard to focus on what’s actually going on in the story.  Sometimes the music even covers up dialogue.  There is really little to make this movie worth watching.

Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)

The story of Ruth can and should be adapted to film, but this particular adaptation is just C-grade.  Beginning with Oded telling the story to a young David, this tale portrays Biblical characters in an unrealistic light.  It is usually difficult to understand what the characters are supposed to be doing in this movie, whether they are staring at flowers or rubbing random pieces of wood together.  It doesn’t even seem like this plot was meant to be a movie, more like a church play, as we have often mentioned in the past regarding PureFlix Scriptural storylines.  Any potentially good dialogue is eclipsed by odd monologues about Moabite gods and inventive cultural customs.  As previously mentioned, a lot of the dialogue and plot is covered up by loud background music.  In short, there is very little ability to comprehend the actual Biblical message here.

Acting Quality (0 points)

In this film, the actors and actresses stand awkwardly and recite overly practiced lines.  No believable emotion is exhibited and line delivery is amateurishly theatrical.  The casting was poorly executed, as they are too modern in look and not coached at all.  There is too much makeup and manicures, like middle class Americans wrapped in cheap church play costumes.  Once again, we could find nothing positive here.

Conclusion

The Book of Ruth is one of those movies we wish never existed.  When a Biblical adaptation is this bad, it makes us severely embarrassed for both Christians and unbelievers alike who thought this movie would be good, only to later find that it was a DVD that should have been quietly forgotten about and later donated to the local thrift store.  A word of advice to those who are contemplating a Bible movie: learn from the mistakes of movies like The Book of Ruth and never, ever repeat them.  The Christian movie world cannot afford any more movies like this one.

 

Final Rating: .5 out of 10 points

February 21, 2016January 18, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Biblical, Comedy, Historical, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, RomanceTags: 1/2 point, 2009, Bible, Biblical, Carman, Christopher Flores, Dan Haggerty, Dennis Therrian, DJ Perry, Eleese Lester, Fred Griffith, Gretchen Becker, Historical, Inspirational, Kera O'Bryon, Lana Wood, Moabite Makeup, Nicholas X. Parsons, PureFlix, Ray Nikolaison, Rebecca Holden, Reel Frog Entertainment, Richard Raucci, Rick Chess, Robert Shepherd, Romance, Roy D. Hunter Jr., Russ Stine, Salvatore DiSalvatore, Sherry Morris, Stephen Patrick Walker, walking montages 1 Comment