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).

Don't worry. I'll protect you. Who will protect you?

"Rockaway" is an uncomplicated low-budget coming-of-age story that focuses on child abuse and a plan to escape from it. In general, it's not such a bad movie. It doesn't pretend to be any better than an average television film. A kind of Goonies, but not with a treasure map of One-Eyed Willy, but a paper with an inventively worked out sketch that shows how they can eliminate the aggressive father. When Anthony (Keidrich Sellati) and his younger brother John (Maxwell Apple) accidentally meet up with a group of other young kids, a friendship bond develops and the two boys end up in a happier world than they had known until then. No, the film wasn't really bad. Only the performances of the gang of kids was sometimes a bit bumpy. And the end was a bit too corny and artificial. With the right bag of chips and a matching drink, this film is quite enjoyable on a Saturday night!

More reviews here: movie-freak.be

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!

I'm absolutely stunned by the different highs and lows I was brought to throughout, from the absolute freedom of cycling around the city in the summer to the, very literally, tear-jerking ending, which was so beautifully handled. The film truly was a beautiful experience and testament to the possibilities of independent film making, and I want to thank you for sharing this story to the world!