Rockaway

I saw a review of this film in the New Yorker last year, and it has been on my list to watch ever since. My only regret is that I waited so long to finally check it out. The talented young cast will make you laugh, make you cry, and remind you of your childhood. I hope more people come across this title and decide to hit the play button, it deserves to be seen. I also adored that the film was inspired by real events of first time feature film director John J. Budion's life. I look forward to checking out his future films and highly recommend Rockaway!

We set out to make a very powerful, personal film. I am humbled by the kind words, reactions, and feedback we have received from all over the world! This film is about a group of lifelong friends, completely produced, written, and executed by those same lifelong friends. Thank you for checking us out, and please continue to spread the word of our small, but powerful indie coming of age drama! Inspire, tell stories, do what you love! ROCKAWAY!

This is a real review, by a real person. You can check my other reviews to verify that.

I thought the movie was well-done. The acting was excellent. I was impressed by the talent and power of the these young actors and look forward to seeing more from them. The visual effects were quite good, and I really felt like I was watching something that was filmed in the past when this actually happened. The film moved well, and moved me also. It flowed well, and kept my interest throughout.

I won't go into the story line, as other reviewers have done a good job of that already. I will only say that it is a story that needs to be told, especially since it is based on actual events. The real-life characters are shown in the end credits next to their movie counterparts.

I recommend it without hesitation.

Sadly, most of the 9 and 10 reviews here appear to be fakes or "shills."

Here's the honest truth about Rockaway. It plays like a high school production. Of course we all love a good coming of age film, but this one has so many issues, you can't settle in and get lost in it. The acting is bumpy across all characters, particularly the boys who could have performed much better with skilled direction. Overacting and poor delivery are rampant throughout.

To compound the problem, the script itself is problematic, derivative, and often as awkward as the performances of the cast. There is an earnest attempt to infuse the film with the east coast Italian flavor of the locale, but it fails miserably.

Perhaps much of this could be forgiven, but the plot itself is terminally flawed, especially at the end. It just feels forced and lacks the very honesty the movie wants its viewers to connect with.

Lastly, not enough care was taken to ensure 90s scenes contained believable 90s backgrounds and artifacts (sloppy movie making).

I thought i would watch this on a Sunday afternoon. It was a really good wee film. Great acting from the younger crew here, they just stole the show. Very much similar to Stand by me, regarding the friendships. Sad too. Watch it you wont regret it.