Do You Believe?

I took my wife to see this on or little getaway this week. It was a pretty well made movie. In my opinion it was much better than God's Not Dead. The characters, the plot lines, and the acting were all more relatable in this film. So I wouldn't tell people who didn't like God's Not Dead to write this one off.

Don't get me wrong, the film had it's faults. Some of the character's story lines were kind of silly. However, the acting made up for the bad writing in some parts, especially in the case of Brian Bosworth (Joe) and Makenzie Moss (Lily). These two stole every scene they were in. Kudos to them.

While I went in expecting the film to be a Crash-like film, I didn't expect the climax to be pretty much exactly the same. It still worked, and it was well made. But the fact that it was basically a remake of that climax kind of stole a little of the thunder for me.

I've seen 3 or 4 Pureflix films now, and I've noticed two things:

1. They have a knack for finding amazing child actors. The children they cast in this film and Christmas Angel all pretty much stole the show.

2. The other films are all better than God's Not Dead. It's puzzles me to know that film has been their biggest financial success when watching some of their other films.

At the end of the day, I don't think this film will convert anyone or change any lives, but it's a good film to watch with the family (it might be a little too much for the younger kids). If you're not Christian, watch it as a curiosity and be aware of that it's a Christian film going in. It's not as preposterous as God's Not Dead, and it's a pretty impressive film for it's low budget.

It is unfortunate that this movie is currently getting such a low rating on IMDb because it is a quite a good movie and it isn't a fair representative of the quality. There are many Christian movies out there, some of them very low quality and low budget, often not very well made that I am fairly critical of. This is not one of those movies.

I am a youth director and took 8 youth (both junior high and high school) and 3 adults to go watch the movie and every one LOVED it. There wasn't a dry eye in the place - it is touching and inspiring.

Look here is the deal: there are some cheesy moments in the movie. But it is a powerful story, over all VERY well told, and has a needed message: faith without works is dead.

I am giving this movie an 8/10. I thought about bumping it up because of the low rating it had been given, but as a movie critic I think this is the fair and actual rating it deserves. It is a GREAT movie (and very few movies will I give a 9 or 10).

If you do not like Christianity then you will probably not like this movie.

If you are a Christian, I highly recommend it!!

It's not easy pulling off an anthology movie, Christian-themed or not. The task of writing multiple stories, giving time for each character to grow, then bringing them all together for a believable climax seems to fail more often than not. Do You Believe? does an excellent job of creating multiple characters/story lines I cared about!

The acting is solid throughout, with my biggest compliment (and surprise) going to Brian Bosworth. His character's innate warmth resonates in every scene he's in. It's not a big, flashy part but it suits his talents well and he nails it. Ted McGinley also scores high marks as a pastor who just wants to do the right thing.

As I mentioned earlier, pulling off an anthology film is not an easy task and yes, there will be some who'll say the ending is clichéd, having all these characters intersect. But that's the point! God wants a personal relationship with all of us and He can use our lives however He sees fit. If you're a Christian, you'll get it. If not, give the movie a chance and see where it leads your heart.

After suffering through "Saving Christmas" and reading that this movie had received bad reviews on many sites, I really was not expecting much. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. For me, It was gripping and thought provoking. The acting was a lot better than the reviews, and the story line was well put together for a 120 minute movie. This is definitely worth watching and once again proves that you should never take some "critics" review of a movie too seriously. What I loved about it is how it ties together 12 different peoples journey to Christ and tackles that age old question, "why does God let bad things happen to good people?". It shows how we only see a little part of his plan and his understanding is far greater than ours.

This film is exceptionally emotional at times. It delivers strong characters with compelling dramatic arcs. The movie challenges Christians to live better lives and take stock of how they live and what they truly believe.

It certainly isn't a subtle movie in any way. It's a sledgehammer of a Christian film and, sometimes, a sledgehammer is the right tool for the job. The movie is pure Christian faith and what it means to the characters depicted. That may not be the level of faith all Christians are able to achieve but it should be the goal. Films like this are a reminder as well as a message to live life at the highest level possible. Yes, there is a certain level of cheese on display in a few plot lines but it's wonderful and satisfying cheese.

I do love the fact that, unlike other Christian films that I've seen, they brought out top tier acting talent. These performances were amazing top to bottom. Obviously everyone knows Mira Sorvino, Cybill Shepherd and Sean Astin can bring it but journeymen actors like Ted McGinley and Lee Majors give what may be the best performances of their career. I'm stunned to say that even The Boz was very very good. Who knew Brian Bosworth had that type of performance in him?

Overall, for those of Faith this movie is a must see. For those who are lacking Faith, it just may be an eye opener.