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Dial a Prayer

Dial a Prayer (2015)

April. 07,2015
|
5.3
|
PG-13
| Drama Comedy

A troubled young woman working at a prayer call center makes a difference in other people's lives, forcing her to reconcile with her troubled past with the faith she brings out in others.

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Reviews

Stellead
2015/04/07

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

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CommentsXp
2015/04/08

Best movie ever!

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BallWubba
2015/04/09

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

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Invaderbank
2015/04/10

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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masonnett
2015/04/11

I liked this little film. A good and decent little film. The story, the script, the directing , the acting and the cinematography. A well packaged little project. I liked the idea that just when you thought that William Macey's character was evil, you end up realizing that he is not. Also, I liked the idea that believing and disbelieving in anything could change in any minute when your perception changes .

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kierancomyn
2015/04/12

This is a movie with an obviously cynical view of prayer from the outset. The church show. In occasional take-backs appears to be Catholic, but the towns people who went to it do not. All of the "Christian" characters are played as if they were paste board mock-up of real people. All of the "Christian" characters show their ignorance at everything from relationships to Biblical facts, and lack genuineness in their prayer life and home life.The only person presented with genuineness is the the faithless and miserable Cora, in search of truth and riddled with guilt. But her language, sexual behaviour, drinking and drug taking reinforces that this film is aimed at a general audience in a cynical time, to the exclusion of a Christian audience. It presents a clichéd atheistic view of poor, misguided believers.The pace of the movie is very slow. Half way through my wife said that if it was any slower we should just turn it off. The only reason we watched it through was because we paid for the viewing. Generally an unsatisfying waste of money.

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dansview
2015/04/13

Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I always beg for more character development and back stories. I loved this movie, but I needed to know a bit more about the supporting characters.William Macy plays a wonderfully animated boss of a Dial-A-Prayer business. But we never hear how he got into the field or why. Also, no one ever identifies what church the girl's family, the call center, and the town identify with. Is it Catholic? Interestingly, there is practically no mention of Jesus, except when the funny boss says that he parted the Red Sea.Therefore, I think a non-Christian could feel comfortable watching this without feeling bombarded by J.C.The film is not really about religion. It is about second chances and turning one's life around. There is good usage of the Fall and Winter Midwest landscape. One could see it as either bleak, or starkly beautiful, depending on attitude. There are some clever references to that. The final scene shows a couple quietly beholding the glory of a blank snowy setting.Do prayers make a difference? Our protagonist keeps asking this question. Of course they do, but the film focuses only on the aspect of making people feel better. It doesn't mention any metaphysical effect on the world at large, or the idea of praying for world peace and messianic redemption. People are only praying for themselves and their family to deal with domestic and health issues.Casting is so essential to a character-driven film. This one aced the test. I don't know who Brittany Snow is, but her no-makeup sadness came through the screen with genuine sincerity. Macy phoned it in, no pun intended, but in his case, he phones it in beautifully. Glen Headly, the mom, fit the profile to perfection. No one here is great looking or flashy. They are ordinary people in a working class Midwestern town trying to make it through life the best way they can.What I loved the most was the way they structured dialogue scenes. The characters would say just the right amount of words to each other, without overdoing it or milking the scenes for manipulative effect. I could have done without the few dream sequences and the schmaltzy music toward the end, but the photography was first rate.

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crvierra
2015/04/14

This movie came very close to being an excellent offering. It has effective character development, good use of setting/scenes, a few well-thought out plot twists, and mostly effective dialogue. It was obviously not a glitzy production done on a huge budget, but that just adds to the charm of the film. So why not a higher rating? Too Cora-centric.Of course, she is the main character, so it's no surprise that she's in the middle of just about everything that happens in the movie. But that's not the problem. Everything is portrayed from Cora's viewpoint. The other workers at the Dial-A-Prayer center where she must perform community service after vandalizing a church are not really shown as people, but as the caricatures Cora sees. The only one that seems to approach actual personhood is the woman in the next cubical who soon begins to commiserate with Cora's discomfort over the center's purpose and structure, let's her go for a secret smoke, and uses profanity.Cora's father is shown as distant and her mother initially as repulsive(because she is living in denial about the marriage while tossing out platitudes whenever necessary to make it seem like everything is just fine) then as a pitiable woman. Even Chase (who tracks Cora down after speaking with her on the Dial-A-Prayer service) is portrayed at first as a creepy stalker-type, next as an insensitive creep, and finally as the guy that she's gonna be alright with because she believes in herself and him and somehow, someway, they're going to make it work! Sadly, many people will find this message inspiring without recognizing it's insidious nature. Truth is, we CAN NEVER learn enough, know enough, become skilled enough, or whatever to make our lives anything but a shambles. It's only when we get the focus off ourselves and onto the One who IS wise enough, powerful enough and compassionate enough that there exists any hope for any of us. So while Cora became a bit less self-absorbed toward the end of the movie, the hope that it tries to imply of a better tomorrow due to the burgeoning relationship with Chase is a cruel mirage. It's just another result of living a me-centric life

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