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Alongside Night (2014)
Hard to follow, sometimes fun.
First, let me point out the recognizable actors: Kevin Sorbo (from Hercules), Tim Russ and Garrett Wang (Tuvoc and Harry Kim from Star Trek: Voyager). Sam Sorbo (wife of Kevin Sorbo) has a small part as the wife of an economist. Christian Kramme wanders through his role as the 16-year old. And Reid Cox plays Kramme's love interest/fellow fugitive. The movie goes downhill from there.
Spoilers follow. Much of the movie's problems arise from an attempt to make an economic and political statement assuming that all viewers will understand the jargon thrown around. Supposedly, a 16-year old who deals in black market ticket sales is smarter than everyone but his dad. Apparently, criminal activity is winked at because the US government has become so corrupt. The plot is hard to follow and contrived.
With a little more exposition, a little higher level of acting and a few better twists in the plot, this could have been a much better movie.
Pollyanna (1960)
The Power That One Person Has to Change Those Around Them
This is one of the movies I can watch again and again. There may be spoilers ahead, so if you have not seen the film, you may wish to watch it first--you won't be disappointed.
This is the first of a number of films Hayley Mills did for Walt Disney, and probably the best of the lot. A powerful story, from the Eleanor Porter novel of the same name (which, by the was is a hoot to read), well acted with beautiful cinematography, sets and costuming.
Pollyanna (Miss Mills), is the orphaned niece of Miss Polly Harrington (Jane Wyman), an old maid, who is the Grand Dame of the town bearing her family name. Pollyanna comes to live with Aunt Polly after the death of her missionary parents.
Pollyanna's positive and hopeful attitude in each and every circumstance she meets confronts all the adults in town with an alternative that grates at their normal approach to life. One by one, each person begins to see that there is more to life than just their day-to-day existence and they begin to reach out to each other because of their genuine respect for each other than because of a feeling of duty or responsibility. The grand turn-around is best embodied in the character of Reverend Ford (Karl Malden), the pastor of the town's Community Church, when he literally has a "come to Jesus" moment when Pollyanna brings him a note from her Aunt. The change in the town is shown in their response to a great tragedy that occurs and how they come together to meet the need brought about by the tragedy.
Many other faces you will see in the film are Kevin Corcoran as Jimmy Bean (another orphan), Adolphe Menjou as Mr. Pendergast (the town hermit), Edward Platt as Ben Tarbell (a prominent citizen), Agnes Moorehead as Mrs. Snow (a bed-ridden hypochondriac), Nancy Olsen, Reta Shaw and Mary Grace Canfield as household servants, James Drury and Richard Egan as a couple of heartthrobs, and the list could go on forever. It appears that the cast had a great time putting this one together.
From the rope swing into the swimmin' hole to the sign change at the railroad station on the way out of town, this movie is a delight!
Do You Believe? (2015)
Not Too Sweet, Not Too Salty
When reviewing a movie, the basic intention of the movie must be weighed heavily. In presenting the premise and positing a point of action, the writers, director, cast and crew sent this one out of the park.
The premise of the film as posed in the first 5 minutes of the movie, is "Do you believe in the Cross of Christ and what it stands for? If so, what are you going to do about it?" In posing this scenario, the film then proceeds to present how a dozen people (by the film's count) are affected by the way they answer this question. This same question is covered in depth by Charles M Sheldon in his book "In His Steps." Each Christian needs to review this from time to time from many different angles in order to ensure that he is "walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which (he has) been called." (Ephesians 4:1) In chronicling a number of responses to this question, the film is outstanding.
I have actually witnessed most (but not all) of the different personalities and situations presented. This brings a feeling of believability to the film. The characters are not presented as perfect or overtly courageous. In fact, when confronted with the uncomfortableness of each situation, the characters display an amount of tenacity and lack of complete security that would be present in all the situations presented.
There is a lot of "coincidence" involved, but if you look at any work of fiction that takes place in a short period of time, you will find coincidence to be a handy tool. However, if you look into real life, you will determine, if you look back over a period of time surrounding any event, you will find a good bit of coincidence--even to the point of finding "small world" examples among people you meet.
The building of the story brings with it a rush of emotion towards the climactic scene on the bridge which brings together a number of the stories in an exhilarating manner. You will certainly need a box of tissues to help overcome the swelling emotional current...and if you don't come away with a fire started to make a statement for yourself about your belief, then your wood must be wet.
SPOILERS AHEAD The best character story arc for me was the interaction between Joe (Brian Bosworth) and Samantha (Mira Sorvino) and Lily (Mackenzie Moss). Their story intertwines with JD (Lee Majors) and Teri (Cybil Shepherd). All of the adults in this story arc are dealing with differing levels of grief and loss which the child seems to bring into perspective.
Joe is extremely important in one of the other stories involving PB (Shwayze) and Kriminal (Senyo Amoaku) who, in their own rights, portray "gangsta" brothers sincerely and credibly. There is turmoil of right vs. wrong and a love/hate relationship which pulls this into the realm of true believability.
Pastor Matt (Ted McGinley) and wife (Tracy Melchior) show the angst of their past when dealing with Maggie (Maddison Pettis), a runaway pregnant teen.
Bobby (Liam Matthews) and Elena (Valerie Dominguez) have probably the hardest of all situations to present, but present a realistic interaction between husband and wife dealing with finances and the prospect of losing a job for sharing of his faith.
Elena's brother, Carlos (Joseph Soria) saves and is saved by Lacy (Alexa Penavega) on the bridge early in the film. This situation weighs heavily on Carlos due to his past history in the armed services.
Sean Astin brings a great deal of sarcasm and cynicism to the part of the humanistic doctor who wants to be given credit for his part in healing others. This is probably the character that I have not witnessed as much, because there is very little compassion in the character. Most doctors I have seen show much more kindness, compassion and feeling.
Andrea Logan White also is extremely over the top as a humanistic lawyer bent on attacking Christians who stand up for their faith. This character appears to soften towards the end.
This movie was made to encourage Christians to stand up for their faith in a world that is trying to push them into a dark corner. Critics that are panning this movie just do not seem to get it. They love it when evil prevails and darkness pushes out the light, but there needs to be true to life examples presented so we do not fall into the abyss of depression. Thank you, Pure Flix, for bringing this story to theaters.
Saving Christmas (2014)
Semi-documentary--Meant to Inform More Than Entertain
I like Kirk Cameron's stuff. Let me put that out there. I understand where he is coming from and tend to enjoy it. "Saving Christmas" was informative but draggy. The format--two guys speaking together in a parked car on a driveway--tends to make the movie narrative and leads to an extremely slow pace. With a little livelier pacing and some editing (to remove the pregnant pauses), the message could have been presented in 45 minutes. I did not go into this movie thinking it would be a comedy, so I wasn't disappointed. However, the comic relief presented was a little strained and contrived.
There is, actually, very little acting. The descriptive parts frame a number of vignettes that illustrate what is being discussed. In between different themes, a party is going on. Some of the party sequences made little sense. There is one sequence where two coworkers are talking behind coffee cups (presumably to keep from being seen on video discussing things at work) which has absolutely nothing to do with moving the story and, mercifully, is never addressed again until the out-takes.
That having been said, I came away with some information that I did not know or had never thought about before seeing the movie. I believe the message should be heard by Christians and, thankfully, it is aimed directly at Christians. I don't feel like I wasted my time in the movie, but I feel like it could have been presented more evenly. My suggestion is to support Mr. Cameron by seeing his other stuff and borrowing this movie from the Church Library.
A Little Romance (1979)
Terrible direction displayed in the acting
I was embarrassed for Sir Laurence Olivier who must have been in dire need of money to allow himself to be involved in this picture. The only two actors that actually seemed to know what they were doing in this film were Mr. Olivier who played Julius and Arthur Hill who played the father. Sally Kellerman was way over the top as the neurotic, hypocritical and overbearing mother (reminding of Hot Lips Houlihan in "M*A*S*H"). It appeared to me that the director was only interested in placing the children in adult situations and seeing how filthy he could get their language to be. The film might have been better if it had been completely subtitled or in English (with poor or unintelligible French and Italian accents). The only reason to actually view this film is because of Olivier. His character was believable. The story line was predictable and contrived. The direction looked like it may have been done by a film student who was unsure of how to direct...which is surprising, since George Roy Hill directed such watchable and enjoyable films as "The Sting," (which had a prominent placement in the film) "Thouroughly Modern Millie," and "The World According to Garp." If you have 2 hours to spend, it might be better to find something else to watch...maybe "Bridge to Terebithia," or "My Girl."