Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Ploydsge just watch it!

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Evan Wessman (CinematicInceptions) I'm not going to discuss the plot of this movie since probably most people interested in seeing it know the whole story and have heard it a couple hundred times. Instead, I'll talk about what I think it did well and poorly in. The strongest point in this film in my opinion was how the characters were humanized. We get to see a lot of the emotional struggles that Joseph and Mary and Mary's family went through during this time in their lives, which is good because that's something that I feel isn't addressed enough. Mary is still the spiritually flawless person that the Church reveres her as, but she is still definitely human in this film as well and clearly experiences a wide range of emotions that the audience can relate to. The same is true for Joseph, and his character is developed throughout as he learns how to become a father and husband. The wise men are touched upon throughout and provide a small amount of comic relief. King Herod and his son are also included and have a side story of sorts.Another big factor is the scripting. Most of the behind the scenes sequences that are kind of synthesized by the filmmakers are well scripted, but problems arise when the screenwriters have to include iconic lines straight from the Bible. It's kind of necessary for the movie since, well it's a Bible story, but I wish they didn't have to use the lines from scripture because almost all of them seemed really forced and out of place.The biggest detracting point that I see in the film is the dramatic sequences. Some of them were just fine and well executed like the slaughtering of the the infants and the scene where Mary goes into labor. However, the scenes where the Roman soldiers rush into Nazareth and are all intimidating could probably have been left out. They didn't contribute at all to the story and even resulted in some bad acting from a few nameless characters. This also ties in a bit with Herod's side story since most of the times he is seen before being visited by the wise men don't contribute to his character or the story. I think showing the end at the beginning with him and his son was good, but they could have cut down on the number and or length of his other appearances. In terms of technical specs, I felt like the casting was good with the accents that are evident but not so strong that you can't understand them. The lighting was good throughout, though I'm not really sure why I noticed that. You could make a case against the quality of the acting, but it should be satisfactory for anyone that isn't scrutinizing it too much.It's not a bad family film. The infant slaughterings and two childbirth scenes are relatively intense, but all are fairly brief and are minimally graphic. If you hate Christian films, this is better than most of them, though it still might be irritating to watch. It doesn't have the same quality that The Passion of the Christ does, but neither is it made poorly like some Christian movies (e.g. Courageos, Facing the Giants, and Letters to God) all of which have terrible stories and let the religiousness of their films limit them to an unholy degree. Since I'm not going to review any of these movies, I may as well put this out there now: If you're making a fictional inspirational film, make sure that it's a good movie before putting any inspiration into it and don't be religiously affiliated. The two reasons to not being religiously affiliated are 1. Religious plots are usually not good unless religion is a minor factor like in Angels and Demons or The Last Crusade and 2. By being religiously affiliated you won't be able to include any kind of profanity or anything controversial beyond a PG level, which severely limits your credibility, plot, and characters. Sorry if that last bit was too off topic. Overall Rating 8/10.

Desertman84 The Nativity Story is Biblical feature in which Keisha Castle-Hughes stars opposite Oscar Isaac in director Catherine Hardwicke's dramatic account of the Annunciation, and the arduous journey of Mary and Joseph to give birth to baby Jesus. This feature is a remarkable, if frustratingly restrained, act of imagining the tale of Christ's birth as a flesh-and-blood drama actually set in Israel two millenia ago.It makes very strong impressions in a scene-by-scene way beginning with the slaughter of Bethlehem's innocents under orders from a paranoid King Herod,it then jumps back a year to the prophecy that informs Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth, will bear a child. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's cousin, the adolescent Mary, struggles with her family to make ends meet and is promised to the carpenter Joseph. Soon comes word to Mary, via an angel, that she will carry, while still a virgin, the long-awaited Messiah who will liberate the Jews from Herod and his Roman benefactors. Thus begins a detailed account of Joseph and Mary's hard travel to Bethlehem, while three Magi spend months crossing the desert trying to rendezvous with some point below the convergence of three heavenly bodies in the night sky. Hardwicke and Rich anchor all this in period detail, though what proves most moving are relationship nuances, especially the friendship and trust that emerge between Mary and Joseph after he is told in a dream that she speaks truthfully about her miraculous pregnancy.This is a beautiful depiction of the account of Jesus' birth.It should appeal to anyone as a straightforward narrative.It is far from a secular version of the familiar Biblical tale, and thus feels a bit repressed. It might have been nice if it could have breathed a little more with imagination, but it makes up for it by ingeniously weaving hints of things to come, later in Christ's life, into the action.Also worth noting is the director's strives for authenticity in telling the Gospel's most treasured tale.

dbdumonteil The nativity story ,told by a woman with taste and sensitivity.Faithful to the gospels,while avoiding most of the Hollywood traps (except for the light that comes down from the sky,in the "Ben Hur" tradition) Much time is given over to the Magi ,but they were scientists after all,and their huge knowledge of astronomy makes sense.All the well-known episodes are featured: the angel telling Mary she would conceive the son of God,the way the Jews used to treat their supposedly unfaithful women,the visit to Mary's cousin Elizabeth who's expecting a baby too (Jesus ' cousin,John The Baptist ;Herode Antipas,featured in the movie ,will have him behead),and the crib.Traditionnaly,however, the Magi did not arrive before the Twelfth Night.It could be the first movie dealing with just the birth of Christ,the many others telling the whole story.You do not have to be a believer to appreciate it.

cyclone259 I'm a Christian, but typically don't watch Christian-themed movies because on the whole, they're cheesy and not well produced.From a strictly critical viewpoint (not of the biblical story it's based on, but how it was done) this movie was above par. That being said, it reminded me of 30 minutes of material stretched to 90 minutes, with lots of filler.I'm sure there are some out there who feel you can't be critical of material based on the bible. To me it's like basing my beliefs after watching the epic 'The Ten Commandments' with Edward G. Robinson as an Egytian overseer an accurate historical depiction.Overall, it was a decent film, not great, but OK. It had some touching scenes and good cinematography, but as good as it was, it was like drinking soda, just before all the fizz runs out.