IT IS A RITE OF PASSAGE FOR MANY, whether they want to go or not. One goes because it is their son or daughter, niece or nephew, cousin or a friend’s child; there is no getting around it. I do not want to make this sound torturous even though there have been times where it has been painful. The school recital or production is hard to refuse when you are connected to someone who is a participant. It is one of those things you do to support the child; one is not going to see or hear a top notch performance necessarily. I have sat through band recitals where if the program did not list the names of the songs I would have had no idea what the kids were playing. It is just the way the dice fall I guess because I was at a high school talent show that had some wonderful performances. Let me admit however the toughest times for me are when the school is putting on a musical production. I sit in those uncomfortable assembly hall seats at the school, watching the miscues and the forgotten lines, waiting for the one line my relative gets to say in the 2^nd half of the play. It is a challenge for me.     WATCHING STUDENTS PUT ON A play that I have seen before is harder for me to watch than when they do something I have never seen before. Not knowing what to expect makes the evening at the school performance easier because I am curious about the story. For the productions I have seen more than likely I have seen a professional theater production straight from Broadway. Now granted I will still enjoy the music, even if the school orchestra is not as polished as hired musicians; but that only goes so far before I get antsy in my seat. Not that I would ever make a negative comment to family or friends about the school performance. This is why I refer to it as a rite of passage; it is just one of those things you do because it is polite, supportive and the right thing to do. And it is important to be there for the child to commend and praise them. Regarding everything I just said please disregard it when it comes to the retelling of the biblical story in this action drama.     HAVING BEEN TOLD HIS WHOLE life that he was a savior for the Hebrews; Samson, played by Taylor James (Christmas Eve, Justice League), did not want any part of it. All he was interested in was to antagonize the Philistines and be with women. This movie’s cast had Jackson Rathbone (Twilight franchise, The Last Airbender) as Rallah, Billy Zane (Titanic, The Phantom) as King Balek, Caitlin Leahy (Queen of the South-TV, Black-ish-TV) as Delilah and Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, The Hitcher) as Manoah. Being familiar with the story of Samson and Delilah I have to tell you I was not looking forward to this film. I am aware of this movie studio and they did exactly what I expected them to do. They put no thought into the script, the production values or the cast. This picture was so poorly done that I would have preferred sitting through an elementary school production of the story. The acting was atrocious; granted the script was part of the cause. I sat in my seat and as I watched these actors I had to wonder if each one of them was carrying a heavy debt load, causing them to accept their role in this poorly made production. All I can say is I would rather have watched a friend’s daughter cry on stage during their ballet recital than sit through this picture.

1 ½ stars