Tag: Kurt Hierholzer
Skydog {Lifestone Velocity} (Movie Review)
Josh never knew that his father was killed in the line of duty as a CIA agent nor that his mom and her boyfriend are also CIA agents. However, these secrets are revealed to Josh, along with his real name, Colt Lifestone, when his mother goes missing in action. The CIA is trying to track down biochemical weapons that a rogue terrorist group has seized with the help of a corrupt CIA agent. Thankfully, however, the CIA is in need of a few willing teenagers to help them find the turncoat before the bio weapon is released on the whole city!
Production Quality (.5 point)
In 2020, Crystal Creek Media still hasn't improved their production quality. Skydog (formerly known as Lifestone Velocity), sports weird video quality and poor lighting in some scenes. In keeping with previous trends from this production team, the audio of this film is all over the map, including a generic soundtrack that sometimes cover up other sounds, background noises that distract the viewers, ridiculous sound effects that are added on top of the video, and overdubbing that's extremely obvious. Elsewhere, special effects are horrible, and camera work is wild. Sets, locations, and props are cheap and limited; all of the aforementioned production elements don't adequately portray what they're supposed to represent. To cap things off, the editing is terrible…some scenes prematurely cut off with no warning while others drag on for no reason. In the end, despite some slightly improvement as the movie goes on, this section is just another failed effort from this team.
During the screenplay's opening twenty minutes, so many things happen that the audience becomes very lost on what the narrative is actually about. The plot needs to pick a lane and stay in it as it's trying to do tons of things at once, such as vague government agency stuff that's hard to follow and is likely not very accurate to real life. With many characters to keep up with, it's hard to relate to any of them, especially since some of them do odd things without legitimate reasons. Bland and vanilla dialogue depersonalizes them, and a convenient lack of communication between some characters allow certain things to occur that wouldn't otherwise. On this note, the story often decides what needs to happen and forces it to take place without logical reasons. Lacking focus or purpose whatsoever, Skydog is full of the most ridiculous action scenes and outcomes, including outrageous things that the extremely cheesy villains get away with in broad daylight. Also, it's unclear why the CIA would ever trust teenagers with government secrets, which demonstrates a lack of understanding of how things actually work in the real world. Therefore, due to many unforced errors and absurd elements, no points can be awarded in this category.
Acting Quality (1 point)
Like other acting performances from this team, many of the cast members in Skydog are trying too hard. This produces robotic and cardboard emotions as well as stiff and stilted line delivery. A lot of the scenes seem overly practiced with certain performances coming off as really strange. However, despite poor injury acting, this section isn't all bad. There are some acceptable elements, but they aren't enough to save this film from itself.
Much like previously unsuccessful offerings from this company (Creed of Gold, Unexpected Places, Courageous Love, The King's Messengers, A Horse Called Bear), Skydog is just more of the same from Crystal Creek. They've never significantly improved throughout their tenure in Christian entertainment, which is unacceptable from a group that consistently puts out content. At this point, it's unfortunately unclear where this team is headed, but we don't have high hopes for their future.
October 20, 2020 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Drama, Inspirational, International, Movie Reviews, SuspenseTags: 1.5 points, 2020, Callie Heyer, Christopher Veldhuizen, Crystal Creek Media, Damion Stevenson, Daniel Knudsen, David Cade, Dawn Ray, Dean Cain, Demaris Harvey, Dennis Doyle Jr., Destiny Gin, Drama, Duku Musaraj, Eric Moyer, Garrett Thierry, Geoff Curtis, Greg Tull, Gwendelynn Martindale, Heather Fairbanks, Heidi Scribner, Inspirational, International, Jacob Bellanti, James Pilachowski, Jared Allen, Jared Withrow, Jeannine Thompson, Jerry Daniels, Jerry Hayes, Jessica Koloian, John Risner, Jonas Risner, Jonathan DeRoos, Josh Allen, Kristina Kaylen, Kurt Hierholzer, Kyle Ray, Mark A. Knudsen, Michael Anthony, Michelle Knudsen, Mike T. Tremblay, Mimi Sagadin, Mo El-Zaatari, Niki Cipriano, Ralph H. Meyer, Renae Anderson, Richard Swingle, Rocco Guirlanda, Rod Myers, Rose Anne Nepa, Rosie Berryer, Samuel Joshua, Schalet Jackson, Suspense, Tiffany Burns, Tim Kaiser, Vickie Lynn Smith, Vision Films, Wayne E. Brown 1 Comment
Courageous Love {Rather to Be Chosen} (Movie Review)
When Alex Shelby inherits his father's real estate investment company, he feels like he is in over his head because he does not know how to lead. But he decides to trust in the experienced people who assisted his father all of his career. However, when he is faced with an impossible situation involving accusations against an employee of his that he is falling in love with, Alex will have to make hard decisions as he tries to discover who is really trying to sabotage his company. Will love win out in the end?
While Courageous Love is an improved production effort compared to the track record of Crystal Creek Media, it is still just average. For example, video quality and camera work are fine, but inconsistent audio issues still plague this film, which is an error Crystal Creek has yet to rectify in their films. Also, the soundtrack is very stock. In this film are many of the same limited sets from Unexpected Places, especially the office sets. Finally, the editing of Courageous Love is very sloppy, with very confusing and abrupt transitions and cuts. Overall, while this production looks better than the past ones, there are still commonly recurring issues that plague it.
Unlike past plots from this studio, Courageous Love has an interesting and slightly complex idea behind it, even though it gets severely covered up by incompetent writing. There is really no way to follow what's happening as the audience is presented with a dizzying amount of unconnected and underdeveloped subplots. From one scene to the next, there is little continuity or understanding of what is happening. Many sequences and scenes are empty and wasted, doing nothing to deepen the story. This story's characters are one-dimensional, act disingenuous, and demonstrate no real purpose or personality as they are driven by mindless dialogue. Finally, the plot rests on unrealistic yet extremely convenient occurrences in order to make the story go where it 'needs' to go. In short, while we believe the Knudsens and company have good intentions, their messaging is all wrong.
Acting Quality (.5 point)
While this is another film filled with the same old under-coached Crystal Creek cast members, there is still some potential here. Tim Kaiser seems to be improving with time. However, there are still many errors that plague this section, including useless fake accents and overdubs and the usual emotion and line delivery problems. This group may mean well, but they are in severe need of coaching.
After a handful of movies under their belt, has the Crystal Creek team really made it anywhere? Following such poor productions like Unexpected Places, Indescribable, Christmas Grace, and Creed of Gold, they are just now getting the hang of a proper production, even though they still have a ways to go. But what of their writing? We sincerely implore the Knudsens to reach out for help in this area, because whatever good ideas they have are being wasted as they are lost in translation. Furthermore, please find some new cast members or at least try to coach the ones you have. Movies like Courageous Love are easily forgotten for all of the previously listed reasons. If you want to make an impact, aim for quality over quantity.
February 27, 2017 January 11, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 2.5 points, 2017, Bryan Atkinson, Charlotte Ambrose, Crystal Creek Media, Damion Stevenson, Daniel Knudsen, Garrett Thierry, Greg J. Wolfe, Heidi Scribner, Holly Houk, Inspirational, Jack Gross, Jared Withrow, Jessica Koloian, Joseph DeGennaro, Joyce Swingle, Kristina Kaylen, Kurt Hierholzer, Margaret Poulos, Mark A. Knudsen, Michael Anthony, Michelle Knudsen, Mike Tremblay, Nathan Jacobson, Patricia Mauceri, Paul Venditti, Penny Carlisi, Regina Benjamin Steiger, Richard Swingle, Ryan-Iver Klann, Samuel Crowe, Theodore Poulos, Tiffany Burns, Tim Kaiser, Vickie Lynn Smith, Wayne E. Brown 2 Comments
Christmas Grace [2013] (Movie Review)
Gary is a local toy shop owner, but when a rude rival toy shop owner comes to town and tries to sabotage Gary's business, Gary suddenly has to close down and look for work elsewhere. He knows that he shouldn't be angry so he trusts God for the next step in his life. As his wife has their first child, Gary suddenly has an idea for a business venture and decides to pursue it. But little does he know that the rival toy shop owner is still miserable inside…
There's not much to get excited about with this production. The only positive thing to mention is the clear video quality. The camera work is poor and some scenes have bad lighting. The audio quality is quite inconsistent, including an annoying Christmas soundtrack and sound effects. The sets and locations are limited and seem amateurish. Furthermore, the editing is quite choppy—some scenes are too long while others are too short. In short, there is really nothing much good to say here.
In an attempt to include more plot content, the writers had to also include large time jumps, spanning from one Christmas to the next (since everything has to happen at Christmas time). While there are slight attempts to be spiritually meaningful, there is too much heavy-handed messaging. There are also some slightly interesting flashbacks that attempt to build characters, but a majority of the characters are still cheesy stereotypes. This is mainly because the dialogue is very pedestrian and stock. This is not to mention the fact that the entire premise of the film, which is warring toy shops, is absurd and unrealistic. There are other happenings that are equally unrealistic, created for the sole purpose of the plot. In the end, this plot is quite predictable and needs to be reworked.
The casting work, unfortunately, brings out the amateurism of the creators. The acting is extremely wooden and stiff and line delivery is quite forced. There are really no emotions to speak of. Perhaps the worst part is the makeup, especially the eye makeup, which makes some people look like they have black eyes. Basically, there's nothing good to say here.
The creators of Christmas Grace seemed like they meant well, but they needed to choose a more realistic premise for their plot. Honestly, in the advent of online ordering, nobody shops at toy stores anymore. Yet the provision of God during hard times could be communicated in a different way that is less cheesy and more realistic. At least there was some slight justification for this being a Christmas movie, and it definitely could have been better. This creative team has some potential in them, and it will be interesting to see what they do next.
December 6, 2016 January 13, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Christmas, Inspirational, Movie ReviewsTags: 1 point, 2013, Ann Filippis, Barbara Hierholzer, Bright Horizon Pictures, Christmas, Christy Storey, Crystal Creek Media, Daniel Knudsen, Heather Fairbanks, Inspirational, Jared Withrow, Keith Perna, Kurt Hierholzer, Michael Brennan, Rachel Sparks, Rebekah Cook, Richard Swingle, Rose Anne Nepa, Ryan-Iver Klann, Terri Partyka, Tim Kaiser, Yo-Yo Network Leave a comment
Unexpected Places [2012] (Movie Review)
Is that another Christian film group calling?
Pam likes to control her life. She likes to persuade her boss to give her more power in the workplace and she likes to control the lives of her sons, even though she doesn't agree with all their choices. One son, a delinquent druggie, is sent to live with her and her husband so that he can begin to turn his life around. The other son is living with his girlfriend and their child, with another on the way. Pam wants her life to look nice and neat on the outside, so she takes steps in her own strength to make this a reality. However, she quickly discovers that she cannot do everything and that she needs to look to God for her strength.
Unfortunately, there is nothing positive to point out in this film. From low quality video to terrible audio quality to shaky camera work, this one is a doozy. Lighting is bad in a majority of the scenes, and the sets are very cheap-looking. An annoying Hallmark soundtrack clanks the entire time, sometimes louder than the dialogue. Transitions between scenes are very abrupt and some scenes appear to be missing. This horrid editing job is basically just cut and paste—even if it means key information is cut off or left out. It really seems like this crew had no idea what they were doing.
We're at a loss as to what this movie is even about. With confusing dialogue filled with abstract figures and workplace lingo, it's like the characters are malfunctioning robots. The protagonist herself comes off a very dense and not connected to reality, even though she's very serious about what she does. The subplots are disjointed and appear pasted together from multiple different movie ideas. The conflict therein is mindless and isolating; audiences are not able to connect with the struggles of the characters. With no focus or main point, the storyline comes down to an empty ending that teaches a dangerous half-truth, which will be discussed at the end of this review. Essentially, there was little reason for this idea to be approved for filming, let alone release.
Crystal Creek Media has a penchant for casting very wooden actors and actresses. There is nothing wrong with using amateurs and they can certainly be coached, but coaching does not exist in Crystal Creek Media's budget. Cast members are emotionless throughout the film, delivering uninspiring monotone lines, like they're reading from cue cards. I'm sure they meant well, but it doesn't show.
When it comes down to it, Unexpected Places simply does not properly deliver whatever message it is trying to convey. What's worse, the ending preaches a very dangerous idea: that when someone becomes a Christian, their life is automatically turned around in every aspect. There is no question that when someone is saved by surrendering to Jesus, their life is totally transformed. Yet this film appears to suggest that salvation takes away all of a person's sin struggles; this is something that may confuse and frustrate those new to the faith. In the end, few will find this film even fully watchable, which is just another testament to the sad state of Christian film.
November 7, 2016 January 14, 2019 by Box Office Revolutionary Categories: Announcements and Opinion Pieces, Drama, Inspirational, Movie Reviews, Opinion PiecesTags: 2012, abstract figures, Aidan Baker, Amy Susan Heard, Angel Matheson, Angela Schneider, Benjamin Walls Sr., Chad Gibbons, Crystal Creek Media, Crystal Gibbons, Daniel Knudsen, Dawn Kent, Dawn Storey, Gerry Wiatr, Inspirational, Jeffrey Reseigh, Joey Santana, Jordan Miller, Kurt Hierholzer, Michael Brennan, Penny Carlisi, Reveal Film Group, Robin McCoy, Ryan-Iver Klann, squirrel watching, Tamatha Lee Egner, Terri Partyka, Tim Kaiser, Tim Torok, Wayne E. Brown 6 Comments