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Reviews
No Highway in the Sky (1951)
Great little classic from 1951. It should be better known
I watched this to wile away an Easter Monday evening. And very glad I did too! I hadn't a clue what it was about, but the plot was clear and interesting, the acting top draw and the directing and editing excellent. The story rolls along at a good pace and the ending well concealed. Science is involved, but the bits you need to understand are well enough explained. James Stewart is excellent as the obsessive technician who is sure a new airliner is in danger of breaking up. His behaviour is suitably unpredictable, such as when he invites someone who has given him a lift home into his home, then promptly tries to get in to a neighbour's house by mistake! I really don't want to put much more because it's well worth watching and I wouldn't want to spoil it for you.
Power of the Air (2018)
GREAT IDEA, SHAME ABOUT THE EXECUTION
I'm very keen on sharing the Gospel through music and film. I love films like The Encounter and The Perfect Stranger. Unfortunately, The Power of the Air falls way short.
In terms of over all impression, everyone in the film seems so joyless! Our Lord's work should be done with great enthusiasm - en Theos, God within. In fact there's little passion, one way or another. The lighting and editing also seemed very uniform, little use of light and shade, fast cut/ slow cut to express mood or action.
In terms of detail, a number of things. I found station-head 'Charlie' unrealistic in her attitude. Supposed to be a hard-headed business woman, she wouldn't turn down business based on some personal dislike. There was also too much repetition of the basic message ('extract from the book').
Other little things such as, when the basketball players turned up at the movie showing, "Thank you for coming" is hardly an appropriate greeting. Perhaps something more like "So glad you could make it after all!" The actual content of the 60 sec. Ad. Seems to have been a last minute afterthought, not even thoroughly scripted, let alone any consideration of how to grab people's attention and deliver a Gospel message in 60 seconds. There could have been some great scenes of people putting together an ear-grabbing message full of impact - beating the devil at his own game! In buying the air time, being able to put a quality CD under their noses and saying "Just you listen to this!" could have made all the difference. In the call center, everyone should have been expectantly seated at the phones, not aimlessly standing around wondering what was going to happen. And at the end I would have liked to have seen a room full of exhausted people, amazed at how many calls they handled, showing the success of the project. There are other points, but I think these get the idea across.
I'm sorry to say a non-Christian watching this movie (IF they made it to the end!) would see it as why Christian media is generally regarded as poor. Even if there's a low budget, high standards can still be maintained.
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, Christian or non-Christian. I only write this in the hopes that if the Christiano's read any of this, it will help them do better in the future. They HAVE made some good films, it was surprising how disappointing this one was.
Clerical Errors (2015)
No Oscar winner, but a little gem nevertheless
The Hollywood scene and most film critics are so obsessed with the big blockbusters, that little gems usually get overlooked. Films with a Christian theme are usually overlooked too, or slammed just because they're Christian.
I would definitely call this a little gem! The script is OK, the acting, passable. The photography is quite good, and the special effects - of course, non-existent! The humour too is gentle. Don't expect roll on the floor guffaws.
But you'll soon start rooting for Vinny, the hapless crook that bumbles along from one situation into another, more by accident than design.
So if you feel like spending about 90 minutes with a gently-paced, gently humorous little film, you could do far worse than this.
Tenet (2020)
Interesting concept, !desilear yldab
Having just watched this film on Christmas Day after watching an amazingly well restored "The Wizard of Oz", I feel my brains are thoroughly scrambled! And those I was watching it with felt the same. ErehT era a tol fo xodarap problems with the concept of time travel/ lasrever, and from what I COULD make of the film, not fully addressed here.
The look of the film is excellent, but that doesn't make up for a complex and difficult-to-follow plot. By about half way through, gniyrt pu nevig d'I to understand the plot! Dne ot tuoba saw mlif eht gnileef tpek I, but them some other plot-twist was introduced... and again... and again...
I'd also got to the point erehw I t'ndid wonk ro erac ohw were 'baddies' or 'goodies'. Characters seemed to be doing a 'good' or 'noble' thing, detsiwt erew snoitavitom rieht neht to not look so clear. Gnikniht tsuj saw I that if the abused wife had just killed her abusive husband to start with, the whole thing would have been sorted! But of course that would have been too short for a film!
I don't mind having degnellahc nairb ym by a film, but this just left me wondering '?yhW'
I won't be in a hurry to watch siht mlif niaga. But if you can decypher this review, you're probably the one who this film was made for!
The Christmas Doodle (2021)
Just a Simple Story, Simply Told
Don't expect brilliant cinema. The Wright family do their best with meagre resources to make faith-enhancing films. The acting is very basic, the photography passable, the editing... well sometimes they have to make scenes last longer than they need to!
But like the theme of this film, God has a plan for them, and films like this are just the result of them trying to do His will. So don't knock it!
At 50 mins, it won't exactly take a chunk out of your day. Accept it for what it is. Merry Christmas!
Opus of an Angel (2017)
A wonderful film, not to be rushed
I've only ever written two or three reviews on IMDB, over years of fact checking on the site. This film is one of the few that stirred me enough to say something.
I hadn't a clue what the film might be about. But there were several threads that soon drew me in: 1) from the start, the pace is in musical terms, andante - it kept moving but with no sense of rush 2) the photography, while not being terribly original, was to a high standard 3) then she came on the scene! I defy anyone to watch this film without warming to Maria (Kaylynn Kubeldis). I believe it's quite obvious from the start that she is naturally blind, and probably born so (later research confirms this). But as with so many blind people, what they lack in physical vision, they make up for in other ways, in this case Kaylynn's warm and infectious personality. It seemed like she wasn't really acting a character (an interview with her confirmed this).
The film is non-linear, but the story easy to follow, and the back story becomes obvious as you need it to. I would say the script and screen play were top draw! The film left me in a warm and thoughtful mood.
If you only like shallow, action-packed candyfloss where it doesn't really matter what the plot is, this film is not for you. But if you can set aside 90 minutes to focus without interruptions on a drama, you will not regret watching this. Congratulations all around to the cast and crew. May you go on to produce more of this quality.
Laughing at the Moon (2016)
A touching 'comedy' based around a memorable character
Being in my 60s I usually find comedies based around young 'modern' people far from appealing! But I thought I'd give this one a go, and I'm very glad I did. As a whole Christian themed films have improved by leaps and bounds over the last decade or so. The bar has been set much higher than it was (by the likes of Jefferson Moore et al), and this film certainly reaches. Although it's a Christian film, just watch it with a mind to identifying with the characters in it. You won't be diappointed.
Left Behind (2014)
A bad film with deservedly low user rating
The first attempt to make a film of Tim Lahaye's book was made in 2000, with 1/4 of this film's budget. It has quite a low user rating (4.6) mainly because non-believers didn't like the Christian fundamentalist aspects of the story. But compared to this film, it tells A LOT more story, is A LOT more dramatic and generally works as a reasonable piece of story telling, regardless of whether you can believe the main scenario or not. By comparison, this film tells virtually nothing of the main theme of the book (and the earlier film), explains nothing about the views of the 'crazy' Christians, and even has to be politically correct by showing a Muslim being all nicey-nicey to other passengers. There is little or poor character development, no-one I felt any real sympathy for - Cage's character seems a weak-willed mushy non- entity; the stewardess (Hattie) that he supposedly has been having an affair with is unattractive and incompetent; a spoiled daughter; an illiterate wife... the list could go on! It's low rating (3.1 at time of writing) is more than it deserves! Millions of people are supposed to have vanished at the same time - this would result in chaotic catastrophe on a vast scale, but we see next-to-nothing of this! Surely some CGI could have produced massive vehicle pile-ups, maybe a few downed aircraft, or the odd Then the daughter supposedly in heroine mode, lights a signal for her father to land the plane, by setting light to a few fuel barrels - in the middle of chaos which would have had hundreds of fires burning, that you get just a glimpse of right near the end! There are so many faults in the film due I presume to poor or non- existent research, that it doesn't even make a half- decent air- disaster movie. Look at the 'Goofs' section, you'll see what I mean. What a rubbish waste of $16,000,000 !!!
Impact (2009)
Sorry waste of $14,000,000
This would appear to be the 44th review. I'm amazed to find a few of the previous 43 actually LIKED the movie! Good science fiction usually at least has good science in it - not this film! Good films usually have good pacing - not this film! Entertaining movies usually have great editing and special effects - not this film! HOW DID IT E V E R win a 'Leo' special effects award??!? Some weren't bad, but hardly stunning. And I lost count of the scenes of mystified scientists staring at meaningless screens. IF A FILM MAKER CAN SECURE A $14,000,000 BUDGET, why not try making a GREAT $14,000,000 movie, instead of an utterly shoddy attempt at a $100,000,000 movie? Granted, this script would never have justified any more budget, but then - throw the script away and make something worth making! Oh well - I guess that's Hollywood (or where-ever it was made!)
1 Message (2011)
This is how excellent film making should be
Breast cancer, quadriplegia, awful mothers, betraying boyfriends, hardly an ideal list of themes for an endearing romantic film is it? Yet if ever there was a film to put the lie to the sorry reputation Christian film-making has (rightly or wrongly) earned, this is it. A moving and thought-provoking film for those of any faith or no faith to be touched by. The scripting is awesome, the acting is under-played yet deep and convincing, there isn't too much music - what there is, is well-chosen and well timed. And don't try to guess the conclusion, you'll be wrong! Several times I was trying to think the plot ahead, and it surprised me each time with something better! The Kelly's Filmwork team deserve all the recognition they can get for such a brilliant production (the 'Stranger' series is great too). May this film grow and grow, deservedly so. Several times I wanted to leap through the screen to be part of the action.
Time Warp (1981)
You WILL be disappointed
I've just caught this movie on Movies4men2 (Feb 2009). I only watched it all the way through because a) there was nothing else I fancied watching and b) I always hope that before the end even a bad film will have some redeeming feature. It didn't. So where do I start with why? Well, all films start with 1)the script. This one a) fails to develop any of the characters convincingly, they are all pastiches of stereotypes that would have been around for decades, even when the film was made: an 'astronaut' who would have fitted better into a beach movie (astronauts are both intelligent and trained); grandma from 'The Beverley Hillbillies': and Adam West being - I'm really not sure what. b) It also contains many unresolved loose ends, plot ideas that later on were cut out. For example. at one stage there is lots of talk about a séance - the séance just never happens (meaning this isn't really a plot spoiler) 2) The sets and locations are an unbelievable confusion, and reveal that this film must have started out under-budgeted. 3) The timing/ editing is awful with many scenes either far longer than they needed to be to make the point, or too short to be able to follow what's supposed to be happening. 4) the music alternates between terrible hillbilly banjo and synthesiser 'stuff' done on a primitive Casio. 5) The special effects: they are neither special not effective.
Is it because Anne Spielberg is Steven's sister that no-one dared tell her it was rubbish? Did Eminegger make it worse, or was he forced to make the best of a bad job? Usually in UK we only see the better Hollywood product. This was an opportunity to see the worst! I would recommend all would-be film makers to do a detailed critique of this film to know what NOT to do when making a film.