Movie Review - Revelation Road - The Beginning of the End

Today's film review is not one I would put in a family friendly slot.  It is however faith based.

Movie Review - Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End
Pure Flix Entertainment
Starring - David A. R. White, Brian Bosworth, Eric  Roberts, Andrea Logan White, Jen Lilley, and Steve "Sting" Borden
About the film (from Amazon) - Where were you when the world ended? Josh McManus, a traveling salesman with a history of violence, was passing through a dusty West Texas town. The right man at the wrong time, Josh foiled a robbery perpetrated by The Barbarians, an outlaw biker gang led by a vicious man named Hawg.
Then it happened. An unnatural flash in the sky, followed by a crippling series of earthquakes, throws the entire world into chaos. Is it the long-awaited event called The Rapture? Josh doesn’t care. His only goal is to get home to his family, but he’ll have to fight his way through the Barbarians to do so. It will be a dangerous journey to the very center of his soul.

My Review - Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End is just that a beginning of at the very least a two-part movie series from Pure Flix Entertainment.  The viewer gets the opportunity to meet Josh, a traveling salesman with a secret but obviously destructive past.  You can see early on that Josh has the capability to go a little unhinged when necessary but you can also see that this is not a side of himself that he entertains.  We also meet a pretty rough biker gang who have a charismatic leader named Hawg.  The gang has no problem with messing with people, stealing and eliminating witnesses, but they do have a problem with Joshua when he gets in their way.  

You can tell Joshua has a past, but it changed dramatically when he met his wife.  Or at least that is what Josh thought until he sees how easy it really is to slip back into his old skill set.  Can a person really change?  If tackling that question isn't enough for Josh, it seems there are a lot of energy spikes, thunder storms and other natural phenomenon taking place to keep him on his toes and at the very least distracted.  As the description implies, there is an end coming.  

Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End is a great start.  I found myself wishing for more which is a good thing since there is a sequel on the way.  I have found myself enjoying most of the films that Pure Flix Entertainment has put out, and look forward to seeing where this will go.  I hope I don't have to wait too long.  The sequel is titled Revelation Road 2: The Sea of Glass and Fire.

Since I typically share family friendly film reviews, I do want to give the age range I would be comfortable with as far as seeing this film.  Because of some violence I would suggest going no younger than 13 to 14 years old.  It isn't chock full of violence, but there are some moments.  I would suggest watching it first and then deciding.  

Out of my smile rating, I'd give this 4 out of 5 smiles.  All in all, I think it was executed really well.  I watched this film via Netflix instant streaming.  Talk about an awesome score!  I hope that Netflix continues to show Christian focused films.  If they do, I will keep watching.

Revelation Road 2: The Sea of Glass and Fire has been released to several theaters and is available through Amazon for instant watching. I haven't seen it yet, but I hope too. Here's the trailer:


UPDATE: I watched Revelation Road 2 - The Sea of Glass and Fire here is a link to my review.

30 Days of Christmas Movies - The Heart of Christmas

I have been enjoying a plethora of Christmas movies with the goal of seeing 30 before Christmas.  I am going to probably have a blogging extravaganza to cover what I have seen, but today it is all bout movie number six "The Heart of Christmas."

Movie 6
The Heart of Christmas

Starring: Candace Cameron Bure, George Newbern, Jeanne Neilson, Eric Beck, Karl T. Wright, Dendrie Taylor, Burgess Jenkins, Anita Renfroe, Erin Bethea, and Matthew West.





"The Heart of Christmas" is a movie inspired by the story of the Locke family, and how their community in Illinois all supported young Dax and his family, by decorating the whole neighborhood for Christmas in October to bless this sweet boy who had been battling cancer.  In fact people all over the world decorated in the Christmas spirit for Dax that year. 



My review:  Whoa!  First of all, I totally have wanted to see this movie since it was released last November 2011.  One of my favorite singer-songwriters Matthew West wrote this song called "One Last Christmas" inspired by the family and Dax's story.  It is a song that tugs right at your heart.  When I found out that a movie would be made, I knew I had to watch it, yet...I couldn't bring myself to do it until this month.  In the end, I am soooo glad that I did.  "The Heart of Christmas" is a touching story of a family's love and of joining together to support one another in anyway we can.  It is also a story of living life now, enjoying each moment and cherishing every experience and person around you.

"The Heart of Christmas" shares the story of the Locke family through memories captured in the mom's blog as she and her family deals with their son's cancer treatment.  Another mom, reads the blog and we see how the Locke's story can impact other's lives.  It is a story that should impact lives.  We are all blessed, no matter what the circumstances, with the time we have.  Dax's family learns this, the community learns this, and we as viewers catch on too.  Will you cry?  I can't imagine you not.  I cried, and my husband cried.  There was certainly a sadness felt, but also inspiration.  :)

I'd rate "The Heart of Christmas" four candy canes out of five.

I watched "The Heart of Christmas" via Netflix streaming, but I also own it.  I picked up my copy at  Family  Christian Stores.  :) 

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30 Days of Christmas Movies - One Magic Christmas

I am loving all the Christmas movies that I have had the chance to enjoy.  I have found quite a few that I have never seen before.  This is one.  "One Magic Christmas" is a Disney film and I am actually surprised I have never seen it before.  

Movie number 5:  One Magic Christmas
Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Mary Steenburgen, Gary Basaraba, Arthur Hill, Sarah Polley, and Michelle Meyrink (plus Elias Koteas - had to mention that...I'm a big fan)

It is Christmas season and Christmas angels are getting their assignments to help others.   Gideon has been assigned to help Ginny Grainger discover the true meaning of Christmas and the joy that she had lost along the way which is likely to happen when life gets you down.  The Grainger family has had it rough.  Jack lost his job at the factory six months ago, and Ginny has been doing her best to make ends meet with her job as a cashier in a grocery store.  Needless to say, things are not working out well.  The Grainger kids have the Christmas spirit as does Jack who spends time working on a bike for a gift for a poor neighbor and doing a little dreaming of a shop of his own.  Ginny just doesn't have room in her busy schedule for more than taking care of business which also involves the family moving out of their home (that is owned by the company her husband no longer works for).  Gideon has his work cut out for him.

My review:  One Magic Christmas is a gem.  With an angel, children, parents, a struggling town and Santa, it has everything a movie needs to have in order to give a lift to the spirit during the holiday season.  There is a life change and a little magic sprinkled in the story.  It is sweet without being over the top.  It came out in 1985, and somehow I never saw it.  By the way, I'm glad I didn't because it was lovely coming across it this week.  It is available via streaming on Netflix.  Catch it, you'll like it.  I'd rate it 4 candy canes on a scale of 1 - 5.