Miracle Maker

Love the moral of the story! An act of kindness can go so far!

Unique plot. Great job with the circa 1870's props and sets. Cooper Johnson did an excellent job portraying Oliver. The cast and drew did an awesome job overcoming some of the biggest challenges in the film making business: working with children and animals and the movie being set over 100 years in the past. Having worked on films like this, I know how hard it is so kudos to all of you who worked on this film. I highly recommend this very family friendly Christmas themed movie. Even the dog "Shadow" did a fine job. I wonder if the dog was named in honor of Shadow from Homeward Bound? That Shadow from Homeward Bound was actually a miracle worker in real life having helped mute autistic children to speak for the first time.

This movie is one of the most stilted and awkward movies I have seen.

PROS

+ One quotation of Mat 9:27-29 which comes indeed from the Christian Bible.

+ The movie demonstrates some good values when it comes to family and community.

CONS

• Partly senseless dialogues and much gossip.

• Poor acting.

• Artificial and extremely rudimentary movie sets (mostly filmed in Utah on Mormon movie sets)

• Poor and incoherent script.

The pastor's mother is bedridden for at least months, then suddenly stands up when a chair comes as a present, with her not showing any sign of surprise that she is walking ...

The movie includes an unmarried pastor who is in love with the daughter of someone who owns all buildings and fires him as pastor (no information on which authority), before he finally allows his daughter to marry the pastor. The spontaneous wedding on Christmas evening is orchestrated by the beggar on the street. Less than 5 seconds later we see the mother of 5 giving birth to their daughter who is then presented to everyone at the town plaza during the same Christmas evening celebration ... This movie is a dulling of the mind.

• Although we thankfully do not find any Mormon doctrine, it is clear that this movie is a Mormon production. The director is a member of the Latter-Day-Saints and the endorsements include numerous references to Utah and Mormons.

This is a fantasy and Western video made for the Christmas season in 2015. The residents of a small, unnamed prairie town in the old West need to have a miracle worker come to town. The apparent reason is because they all seem to be short on money with which to pay the rent for their homes and businesses. While the film has a nice Christmas season outcome, the plot is quite odd. Does James Booth own the whole town? There have been a number of Western movies made over the years in which a cattle baron or mining company ruled over a town. But never before were the residents and shop owners all renters of those folks.

Beyond that, this film has some holes, problems with continuity, very stagey scenes and some not very professional acting. One scene from outside shows what would be a hamlet - little more than a collection of houses spread around. Then, there's a scene of a town center with shops and buildings all around it. And, it looks so manicured that it can't possible be a disguised stage setting.

It's a stretch to give this even five stars, but I do so in the spirit of the Christmas season just ended, when I watched the DVD of this film.

It all happens when there's advance word by letter and word of a lot of gossipy mouths that a Miracle Maker is coming to some small gaslight era town in the 19th century. Some miracles do happen when Jacob Stoenman comes to this unnamed middle America town of the era. Even the town's Mr. Potter played by Brian Krause gets a change of heart in the end.

Borrowing also a bit from Pollyanna, Miracle Maker is an interesting family film that's light on the overt preaching. In the end some real miracle does take place with those rocks which he uses for currency as he clears some worthless land he's settled on prove valuable. You have to watch the film for that one.

This is an easy to take holiday fantasy film.