Monthly Archives: January 2016

“The Masked Saint” sets the bar for Christian filmmakers

20 Wednesday Jan 2016

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TheMaskedSaint_27x40_FINALWhen Pastor Chris Samuels, the main character in The Masked Saint (portrayed by Brett Granstaff), is at his lowest, his wife Michelle (Lara Jean Chorostecki) makes as statement that sums up the whole movie:

“You’ve always been that little boy who’s afraid of the bully. Don’t be the bully. You’ve always been a son who’s looking for his father. Now you have to look after the church. You’ve always been a man looking for a second chance. Now you have one.”

The Masked Saint, which opens in Canadian theatres this coming weekend, is based on the novel by pastor Chris Whaley and is based on Whaley’s own career as a professional wrestler in the 1980s. In the movie, after being called to a small church in Michigan, Samuels faces a shrinking congregation, dwindling finances and a hostile neighbourhood. Thinking he’s left the ring for good, Samuels ends up using his wrestling skills as a masked vigilante and then as a way to prop up the congregation’s finances.

Having been disappointed by previous Christian films, I previewed The Masked Saint with some skepticism. But I was disappointed again. The film exceeded my expectations and, in my opinion has reset the bar for other Christian filmmakers.

The Masked Saint presents a solid story with well-developed and believable characters

Unlike other movies in this genre, The Masked Saint presents a solid story with well-developed and believable characters. Chris Samuels isn’t a perfect pastor who has it all together. In much the same way that Eric Liddell found God’s pleasure in running in Chariots of Fire, it isn’t until the saintly Ms Edna (veteran actor Diahann Carroll) encourages Chris to get back into the wrestling ring and use his God-given talents.

Still, The Masked Saint had a few weaknesses. One is in the character of Judd Lumpkin (Patrick McKenna), which comes across as more of a caricature of a controlling church board chair, than a believable character. This makes Lumpkin’s own repentance scene seem slightly contrived. Another weakness would be how some police procedures (the line-up scene) are sacrificed for the sake of increasing tension and conflict. In the end, though, the story and characters overcome any weaknesses.

From producer Cliff McDowell’s home-town of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario substituting for Michigan to the wrestling sequences, The Masked Saint is beautifully shot. And the use of wrestlers-turned-actors Roddy Piper (as the less-than-honest wrestling promoter Nicky Stone) and James Preston Rogers (as the Reaper) add authenticity to the movie.

As Chris Samuels struggles with his calling and the consequences from following that calling, The Masked Saint builds to an inevitable conclusion. That’s not to say it’s a cliched conclusion – there’s still lots of room for doubt and a surprise ending right up until the final scene. And that’s what makes The Masked Saint stand head and shoulders above its peers.

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For information on the Canadian release of The Masked Saint check http://www.p23ent.com/

 

New year a time of promise, wonder, excitement

14 Thursday Jan 2016

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january-calendarA new page. A clean slate. A blank computer screen. An unpainted canvas. An unfilled calendar

For those of us in the arts, these phrases – new page, blank computer screen or unpainted canvas – take on a different meaning. Instead of representing a metaphorical new start, these phrases literally depict the start of our creative process.

Last year I began setting goals instead of making resolutions, some of which were vocationally related. Some I accomplished (finish The Fall of Niagara, begin the outline/treatment for The Fall of Tecumseh and continue work on the Stone Churches Project). Others weren’t (start a Love Inspired historical romance, start the outline for a book on the intersection of faith, arts and Canadian culture and find funding for the Arts Connection broadcasts on 94.3 Faith FM). One vocational project I hadn’t planned, but completed, was co-writing and seeing the Audience of One Christian Theatre Company production of the musical Meet You at the Manger.

I’ve continued this practice and created a list of vocational goals for 2016: find a publisher for The Fall of Niagara, continue the first draft of The Fall of Tecumseh, complete the photography and research for the Stone Churches Project, work on an other play for the Audience of One and look at the start-up of an event photography business.

The concept of goal-setting can seem to fly in the face of the creative spirit.

To some, the concept of goal-setting can fly in the face of the creative spirit. Until a year ago, I was more like the boy who shot an arrow at the side of the barn and painted the target around the arrow. Some targets were missed, but others were hit. And that encourages me. My experience last year showed that goals can be as motivating as an editor’s deadline.

As artists who are Christian, spiritual growth may not be among the list of vocational goals, but I hope it’s a life goal. Topping my list of goals in 2015 was the desire to maintain a consistent devotional life with daily prayer and Bible reading. The one-year chronological plan through the YouVersion smart phone app was key to meeting the last part of that goal.

Working on my 2016 goals, topping the list, again, was a desire to grow spiritually through prayer and study. As the calendar turns a page and I’m reminded of God’s faithfulness to me, I pledge my faithfulness to God. I don’t know what this year will bring—happiness or pain, loss or gain, health or illness—but I know that God will be in the midst of it all, carrying me through whatever happens.

My new year’s wish is that your blank slate, unwritten page, unpainted canvas, empty computer screen will be filled as God breathes His creative spirit into your life.

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Portions of this column appeared in the January 2, 2016 edition of the Guelph Mercury column “Make the spiritual a priority in your new year.”

Author’s patience, efforts make “Bomb Girls” a fascinating read

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

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Bomb Girls coverMost of the buildings on the 346 acres of land in Scarboro have disappeared. But from 1941 to 1945 the area running south from Eglinton Avenue to Hymus Road and west from Warden Avenue to Birchmount Road in the modern-day Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Canada’s largest munitions factory employed more than 21,000 people (most of them women) who produced more than 256 million pieces of munitions.

After stumbling onto this little-known episode of Canadian history in her own back yard, Scarborough, Ontario author Barbara Dickson spent a decade researching and writing Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo which was released last year.

Once Dickson found out about some mysterious tunnels under some of Scarborough’s businesses, her writer’s curiosity led her down a path where she discovered the General Engineering Company (GECO, pronounced gee-ko) munitions plant. It took a decade to uncover the story because much of the historically-vital information has been lost. As a government-sponsored munitions factory, most of GECO’s paperwork was destroyed or deem classified when the factory was decommissioned in 1945.

Dickson’s patience and efforts make Bomb Girls a fascinating read.

Through painstaking research, Dickson was able to track down what remained of memos, letters and photos that are part of private collections. She was also able to connect with former employees, some of whom refused to share their story, feeling the oath of secrecy they took while working at GECO was just as valid today as it was during World War II.

Dickson’s patience and efforts have resulted in a fascinating read. I’ve been a Canadian history buff as long as I can remember, but I’d never heard of the GECO plant before seeing some of the promotional material for the book. Dickson’s experience as a writer (she’s also a novelist and journalist – which is where I connected with her) shines through. She deftly weaves the factual aspects of a military munitions factory with the personal stories of those whose daily lives revolved around making, what they thought, was a small contribution to the war effort.

Two aspects of the book disappointed me. The first was some repetition of facts, figures and quotes. While this was done to maintain the narrative and remind the reader of the importance of GECO’s work, I found it somewhat irritating

The other, which most people wouldn’t miss, was the lack of footnotes in the hard copy of the book. Dickson explains, in the book, that including the copious notes (the sign of a well-researched book) would have increased the book’s size and cost. Both she and the publisher (Dundurn) decided to post the notes online for those who wanted to reference them.

But those are minor points that shouldn’t detract from this wonderful look at a little-known episode in Canadian history. It’s well worth picking up and reading.

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For more information on Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo check http://www.barbaradickson.ca/

To listen to an interview with author Barb Dickson, tune in to Arts Connection Monday, January 11 at 9:30 p.m. ET on 94.3 Faith FM or listen to the simultaneous webcast at http://faithfm.org