{"id":1981,"date":"2006-10-11T14:36:00","date_gmt":"2006-10-11T14:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/10\/variety-reviews-three-new-christian-films\/"},"modified":"2006-10-11T14:36:00","modified_gmt":"2006-10-11T14:36:00","slug":"variety-reviews-three-new-christian-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/10\/variety-reviews-three-new-christian-films.html","title":{"rendered":"Variety reviews three new Christian films"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Today, Terry Mattingly<\/a> at GetReligion.org<\/a> asked the terrifying question of \u201cwhether we are about to witness the birth of what can only be called the Contemporary Christian Movie industry.\u201d And right on cue, Variety<\/i> critic Joe Leydon posted reviews of three new films \u2014 and, perhaps surprisingly, the news isn\u2019t all<\/i> bad.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, the inaugural FoxFaith<\/a> movie Love\u2019s Abiding Joy<\/a><\/i>:<\/p>\n

The debut theatrical release from FoxFaith, Fox\u2019s newly formed subsidiary dedicated to Christian-themed pics, is a repurposed made-for-TV drama likely to play better on the home screen. Originally intended for cablecasting \u2014 the telltale credits reference a \u201cteleplay\u201d based on a \u201ctelevision story\u201d \u2014 \u201cLove\u2019s Abiding Joy\u201d intends to be uplifting, but more often is enervating, as it slowly catalogues triumphs over adversity on the frontier plains circa 1885. Blandly sincere pic may appeal to auds seeking family-friendly entertainment with religious underpinnings, or movie buffs desperate for anything that even remotely resembles an old-fashioned Western. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Second, the UFOs-and-Rapture thriller Unidentified<\/a><\/i>:<\/p>\n

\u201cUnidentified\u201d suggests the sort of no-budget sci-fier Ed Wood might have made if he\u2019d become a born-again Christian and started proselytizing in film. It\u2019s not quite awful enough to qualify as camp, which may work against its finding any audience. Indeed, it\u2019s doubtful even the most undiscriminating devotees of religious-themed fare will flock to this ham-handed, lead-footed opus during its limited theatrical rollout. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And third, the star-studded and much-delayed adaptation<\/a> of the Book of Esther, One Night with the King<\/a><\/i>:<\/p>\n

Blessed with abundant production values and a minimum of campy excess, \u201cOne Night With the King\u201d is a surprisingly satisfying attempt to revive the Old Hollywood tradition of lavishly appointed Biblical epics aimed at mainstream auds. This second release by Fox\u2019s new FoxFaith label has a much broader appeal than earlier product produced by Gener8Xion Entertainment (\u201cThe Omega Code<\/a>,\u201d \u201cCarman: The Champion\u201d), and conceivably could attract ticketbuyers who have ignored other recent pics aimed primarily at devout churchgoers. Indeed, even a few diehard non-believers may be won over by the considerable charisma of top-billed newcomer Tiffany Dupont. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well that\u2019s a relief. Can\u2019t wait to see this last film for myself.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, Terry Mattingly at GetReligion.org asked the terrifying question of \u201cwhether we are about to witness the birth of what can only be called the Contemporary Christian Movie industry.\u201d And right on cue, Variety critic Joe Leydon posted reviews of three new films \u2014 and, perhaps surprisingly, the news isn\u2019t all bad. First, the inaugural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nVariety reviews three new Christian films<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today, Terry Mattingly at GetReligion.org asked the terrifying question of "whether we are about to witness the birth of what can only be called the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/10\/variety-reviews-three-new-christian-films.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Variety reviews three new Christian films\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today, Terry Mattingly at GetReligion.org asked the terrifying question of "whether we are about to witness the birth of what can only be called the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/10\/variety-reviews-three-new-christian-films.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-10-11T14:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter T. 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