outofseason Reviews

Bonanza: The Hopefuls (1960) Season 2, Episode 5

Atrociously Bad Elizabeth Script Writing

[5/10 · 2 March 2024]

I love Bonanza. But this was the worst episode up to this point in the series. I blame it on the script writers. The Quaker sect's use of "thee" and almost total inability to use "thou" and "thine" when appropriate was just maddening.

Those who don't read the King James Bible and are not familiar with Shakespearean-ear literature and other such classic works may not know any better. But those who are familiar... you'll pull your hair out if you listen too closely.

As I tried not to just bust out laughing, my wife spoke up and said, "This is horrible. The writers totally screwed up the dialogue from the religious people." At that point, I said, "MERCY. I was wondering if you were noticiing because it's KILLING me."

We got a good laugh out of it but it took a lot of eye-rolling to get through this episode. Dennis Patrick was great as Sam Brodi. Patricia Donohue is always great (in spite of the bad script).

And you'll get an extra bonus seeing Hank Patterson as the blacksmith. (FYI, he's Fred Ziffel on Green Acres. And, sadly, Arnold doesn't make a cameo with him.) But I could barely give it 5 stars after all was said and done.

The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story (2019)

Well Worth Watching

[7/10 · 28 January 2023]

My wife and I watched this together. It's not an easy film to watch but is factually-based and well-told. It will not suit the microwave generation that needs constant explosions, jokes and car chases. But the story moves along well.

One of the best Stephen Baldwin performances to date. The Indian actors were very authentic which is funny because in real life our Indian friends can be a bit wooden and strange (to us) as we are to them, but I believe some interpret the authentic Indian on screen to be bad acting!

Regardless, every Christian and all people who wish to understand the realities of anti-Christian persecution around the world (which goes underreported and unreported by American news media) should watch this. Like all people groups, Indians have good and bad. Many are wonderful people. But the extreme elements of the Hindu religions can be as dangerous as any death cult on the planet.

Natalie's Rose (1998)

Not Good

[2/10 · 24 September 2022]

That was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Heidi Creel was the only real actor. The script was terrible. The background music was horrendous.

The "lesson" poor Natalie learns about why her mother died is one of the dumbest things you will ever hear people say: "God couldn't wait any longer to have her in Heaven with Him." Lord have mercy, folks. That is NOT why people die. They died because sin entered the world and brought death upon all men and it is appointed unto men to die and then face judgment. God's not lonely and killing your mother for companionship.

The acting was bad but the script was worse. No only the aforementioned thing about God killing mom because He's lonely, but just one other example to give you an idea is when Morgan goes for a ride and Natalie (who has fallen asleep when she is supposed to be decorating in broad daylight in preparation for the Christmas Eve wingding) gets a cool breeze that tells her that Morgan is in trouble, so she rides around yelling for him and finds him in the middle of nowhere and begins yelling for help. My wife and I just laughed as how horrible the script was.

I am not overly critical of low-budget movies but at least give us a decent script with more than one decent actor and don't drown out the dialogue with droning music in the background.

Watch this for laughs at how bad these things get and when the band (they found with less than a day's notice before the clog and line dancing party) sings, "I've Fallen For You and I Can't Get Up," (No, I am NOT making that up)... you HAVE to laugh. It's not a comedy but it's downright hilarious.

I was say it, again. Heidi Creel is the movie. She and the white horse, Rose, are the two professionals.

And the fact that this was made in 1998 is no excuse for such shortcomings.

Mission Pluto (2015 TV Movie)

I Totally Agree With The Previous 2 Reviewers

[2/10 · 20 November 2017]

I normally find the 1 star reviews to be an exaggeration but in this case, I wholeheartedly agree. There was very little of substance provided in this repetitive "documentary". I had already seen nearly everything, of what little information was provided, in this film about the Pluto mission of New Horizon. And the fact that I talked my wife into sitting down and watching it with me only to see her yawn and nod off for a nap at the end, didn't help matters. I had assured her this would be interesting. It wasn't.

I did give an additional star, though. Just because I hadn't seen some of the photo-documentation. To be fair, I had to give it a 2.

Mercy Rule (2014 Video)

A Nice Family Film

[7/10 · 4 October 2014]

Realistic people come to a film like this with sane expectations. It's low budget and it was made with the stated purpose of simply being an enjoyable film for families to watch together. In that, it succeeded.

This is, to keep it real, a movie made for Christian families, or at least for families with some sense of faith and God. It's not an evangelistic movie but is certainly one written from the Biblical world view.

The music was a bit much at times. It reminded me of Ron Howard's 1991 movie, "Backdraft" where a very good soundtrack by Hans Zimmer was overused and left me a bit worn out mentally.

And there are other things that I would have "tweeked" if Kirk Cameron would have had the decency to call and ask me before he wrapped up production. (Some of you reading this may need to be told that I am being sarcastic here.)

But compared to the incredibly immoral and filthy garbage that families have to weed through in order to find decent family viewing, this movie was a very nice piece of work. My wife doesn't like movies, but she found this to be more than just tolerable and we heard her LOL several times. That was worth the price of admission for me right there.

It's just a simple movie about persevering through trials. But I liked all of the low-paid actors (again, keeping things real) and I believe they made you love or hate the characters they played, accordingly.

One thing I was VERY happy NOT to see was some spoiled brat kid that needed smacked (it seems like nearly every "family movie" has that obnoxious teenager in it and this one did not, thankfully).

I would recommend this for family viewing. Absolutely. Other thoughts:

1. Not enough Tim Hawkins. That guy is just plain hilarious.

2. Another happy ending? I want to see a "family movie" where the family loses it's business, loses their home and still remains faithful.

3. One of the best overall casts in a low-budget Christian movie since the 2002 Rich Christiano film titled, "Time Changer".

4. Great video production. As mentioned, the music was a bit much at times (except the drastic change at the end when the little league title game is over, which was a nice change).

5. A lot of people simply hate Kirk Cameron for expressing his beliefs and convictions. But I like Kirk. And I think that will have a lot to do with whether a person likes or dislikes this film.

So, watch it and enjoy.