A Box of Faith - Christian Film Done Well

 

Beautiful, kindly film, a really lovely piece, A Box of Faith stands out. 

A lot of well-meaning Christian film-makers give it their best shot, but turn out weak when it comes to story. Ham-fisted miracles, trite dialogue, predictable plots and wooden acting tends to be more common than not. Don't get me wrong there are some indie Christian film-makers that are doing some remarkable work, but the genre is about half a century behind modern film-making's level of sophistication. 

This movie isn't sophisticated. It's good! What makes it a standout piece is the beauty of the story. It made me cry. This story proves that writing can carry a film that doesn't have a big budget. The actors aren't Meryl Streep or Tom Hanks, but they do a good job of portraying real people. 

The story follows a teenage girl and her father through the kind of hopeless hard time that we all pray we never have to go through. The prayers are simple and heartfelt and not stilted. The film is not preachy, but genuine. Dior's father, Tim, is arrested for a crime he didn't commit and Dior dodges a social worker in order to stay out of foster care. The girl manages to survive out on her own. Her bag is stolen. She lives by day in a park and sleeps in her dad's storage unit.

You really root for this kid as she hangs on hoping for some kind of miracle. The movie ends on a positive note as all my favorite movies do. Bill Wetherill who plays the girl's father Tim is wonderful. He's a big sweetheart of a guy and you really feel for him. Dior is played by Savannah D. McMahon is perfect as a teenage girl living by her wits on her own. Julie Van Lith is terrific as the social worker charged with Dior's case.

Right now, the film is on Amazon Prime and possibly some other faith friendly streaming services. It's a wonderful movie for a quiet Sabbath afternoon. This one gets three pineapples for a happy ending, for reminding me of Swiss Family Robinson and Castaway type survival stories and for the clever use of the Box of Faith which ties the story together so cleverly.

© 2022 by Tom King

Shadow Warriors by Bob Mayer

Section 8 is the lead-off novel in another one of Bob Mayer's action-thriller series - The Shadow Warriors. The book moves along at a brisk clip with all the military strategy, hardware and technology you expect from the genre. Section 8 is a good introduction to the Shadow Warriors series and I WILL be looking for sequels.

Mayer always makes me want to read more without doing that cheap trick where the story is left unfinished. All of Bob's novels are complete in and of themselves, but he draws his characters so well that you want to come back later and see how they are doing in the new sequel. 

Mayer knows his military hardware and tactics. He's a worthy successor to Tom Clancy against whom all action-adventure thriller writers will continue to be measured. Really nice work, Bob.

Two pineapples

© 2017 by Tom King

Operation Hail Storm by Brett Arquette

Brett Arquette's first outing in the Hail series makes me happy. I've been trying to find someone else to get my Tom Clancy fix from. Arquette may just be it. There are a couple of things that are a little awkward with the book. He does this thing where he backs up a scene and repeats the same scene from someone else's viewpoint. I get what he's trying to do, but it interrupts the flow of the story. It's the only flaw I could find.

That said, it's a thumping good story and unlike a lot of action-thrillers out there, Arquette doesn't lean on hard profanity and sex to advance the plot. At least if any of that is in there I missed it. The story was compelling. It had all the military and techno-stuff of a Clancy novel and kept me glued to the page all the way to the end. I suspect Arquette is going to get better and better with each new novel. I'm really looking forward to his next one.

Congratulations on a great debut, Brett. I'm going to give it three pineapples for being a good story and for not using the f-wordand other such hard profanity and sex as punctuation! Operation Hail Storm is just a good old action story like I like 'em.

© 2017 by Tom King