Not a lot of phrases these days have the ability to produce extreme reactions in people like "Christian movie".
Think about it: when you read it just now, you either cringed at the memory of past experiences watching lame stories with terrible dialog, or perhaps the phrase filled your heart with warm fuzzies. The former reaction is likely if you saw atrocities like "The Omega Code", and the latter is true for you if you forgave the substandard acting in "Fireproof" or "Facing the Giants" because you agreed with the message.
The good news is, the quality of the post-"Facing the Giants" movies aimed for a primarily Christian audience has been steadily, though slowly, improving. It's not quite up to Hollywood standards yet, but it's getting better.
A recent entry into this field, The Way Home, was recently provided to me for review purposes. The only "stars" are Dean Cain, formerly Superman on ABC's Lois and Clark series, and, in a small but significant role, the guy who played Cletus from "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Despite the lack of A-list actors, and the predictable ending, The Way Home turned out to be pretty good. It won't be an Oscar contender, but it was worth my while.
The story, in a nutshell, is that a family is packing for a vacation, and the toddler takes advantage of his father's momentary inattention and disappears. The police are called, and a search team is formed to comb through the woods near the house.
Particularly uplifting are the various ways in which the community comes together and supports the family, prays for them, and helps in the search. Yes, the ending was a little too warm and fuzzy, but it is a true story, after all.
As much as anything else, The Way Home resembles one of the better episodes of "Touched By an Angel": emotional, heart-warming, and button-pushing. I give it a solid B.
Think about it: when you read it just now, you either cringed at the memory of past experiences watching lame stories with terrible dialog, or perhaps the phrase filled your heart with warm fuzzies. The former reaction is likely if you saw atrocities like "The Omega Code", and the latter is true for you if you forgave the substandard acting in "Fireproof" or "Facing the Giants" because you agreed with the message.
The good news is, the quality of the post-"Facing the Giants" movies aimed for a primarily Christian audience has been steadily, though slowly, improving. It's not quite up to Hollywood standards yet, but it's getting better.
A recent entry into this field, The Way Home, was recently provided to me for review purposes. The only "stars" are Dean Cain, formerly Superman on ABC's Lois and Clark series, and, in a small but significant role, the guy who played Cletus from "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Despite the lack of A-list actors, and the predictable ending, The Way Home turned out to be pretty good. It won't be an Oscar contender, but it was worth my while.
The story, in a nutshell, is that a family is packing for a vacation, and the toddler takes advantage of his father's momentary inattention and disappears. The police are called, and a search team is formed to comb through the woods near the house.
Particularly uplifting are the various ways in which the community comes together and supports the family, prays for them, and helps in the search. Yes, the ending was a little too warm and fuzzy, but it is a true story, after all.
As much as anything else, The Way Home resembles one of the better episodes of "Touched By an Angel": emotional, heart-warming, and button-pushing. I give it a solid B.
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