movies

Genesee County is a long way from Vietnam, both as a matter of time and geography, but for GCC graduate Philip Sacco, it was just the right location to shoot some of his first feature film, "When Soldiers Cry," which will be released on DVD in two weeks.

Sacco, who works professionally as Joe Black, has spent three years on the self-funded project. He said he fell in love with film making after taking a multimedia class at Genesee Community College.

Before that class, he was working on a degree in physical therapy.

"I loved photography and film so I wanted to give that a try," Black said. "Five minutes into the program I was hooked."

"Mr. Chow showed me the tools and how to use them, from there it was up to me to bring the tools to life," Black noted. "I think we both sat down one day and said something like, 'don't just take a picture, make one.' To me, that's all you need to start with. Mr. Chow pushed me in media by critiquing my work and projects. He's a tough teacher but also a good friend. He has been my mentor throughout this entire endeavor."

Black wrote the screenplay for "When Soldiers Cry." He also planned the filming, hired the cast, and did the primary shooting and editing.

The movie is based in1965 South Vietnam. Private David M. Church awakes from being rendered unconscious to find all of his squad killed by the Vietcong. During his lonesome journey to the Landing Zone for extraction, Church mistakenly shoots an American Tunnel Rat who is disguising himself as a Vietcong. Mentally broken, Church starts carrying the Tunnel Rat to save his life, fully knowing it may end his own. Trapped in the jungle surrounded by war, the only thing keeping them alive is the promise they made to their families to return home at any cost.

"Creating this film has been a tedious process," Black said. "I've learned so much. I've learned that nothing happens overnight, to be cautious each step of the way and that some people make films to make money and some make films to tell their story. I want to tell my story and hopefully the money will follow."

WBTA's Geoff Redick spoke with Black (mp3) who said his biggest goal was securing a good distribution deal.

"You need to go into Best Buy or Walmart so everybody can see it and say, 'this is a piece of crap,' or 'it's pretty good.'"

(Portions of this post rely on a press release from GCC)

Another week or so has gone by and more movies have been watched.  This entry will include selections from the "Red Box" as suggested by Tasia in the last review.  Although the first review is a movie that can be found at either Blockbuster, or our own local and friendly Movies in Motion, located next to Wilson Farms on East Main Street.

Battle In Seattle - a movie that actually released in May of 2007.   Directed by Stuart Townsend, and rated R by the MPAA for language and some violence.  Starring Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Andre Benjamin, Ray Liotta and Channing Tatum.  I am sometimes hesitant to watch movies with such a stacked cast, as I've often been disappointed when the movie fails to pull through.  I suppose with a huge cast of superior actors, I tend to expect it should be a great movie!  But this cast of actors was an excellent choice and I was very pleased with the film.  

The film is set in November of 1999, based on true events as thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of Seattle in protest of the World Trade Organization (WTO).  It brings together the lives of six different people, who are all united in their common desire to want to make a difference in the world.  The movie goes on to potray the characters lives as their peaceful demonstration to stop the WTO quickly escalates into a violent and horrific riot.  Townsend did an excellent job or merging footage of the real events that took place in Seattle riots with his own story, which I found was one of the great aspects of the film.

I went into this movie not knowing much if anything at all about the WTO, but believe that this is a movie that was well put togeher, and highly recommended.  Its a heart-warming movie that portrays the power of the "human spirit to overcome, to work together and to forgive."

IMDB users rated this movie 7*'s out of 10. 

Now on to the "Red Box"... for those of you who find yourselves on the go!

Batavia has two Red Box locations you can find in either our local Tops, or Walmart. 

You can always go the "Academy nominations" route, and watch the films such as Milk starring Sean Penn.  Rated 8*'s of 10 by IMDB users.  The movie is based on Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official.  MPAA rated this movie R for language, some sexual content and brief violence.  Or Australia starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.  Rated 7*'s of 10 by IMBD users.  Australia takes place before World War II and has been describe as a film that "works on multiple levels; thrilling action adventure, detailed period piece, moving romance, stirring war movie, and it also continues the resurrection of the western." 
 

If are you an action/thriller person;  Transporter 3 starring Jason Statham.  Rated 5.9*'s out of 10 by IMDB users. Stathams character, Frank Martin is to deliver Valentina, played by Natalya Rudakova, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukranian government official.  Its the third in the series of the Transporter movies, and I'd have to say it wasn't as entertaining in my opinion as the first 2.  MPAA rated thie film PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, some sexual content and drug material.  Righteous Kill starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.  Rated 6.1*'s of 10 by IMDB users, I'd have to say I'd rate it 5/10.  It was not the best script for two truly great actors.  I found the film to be somewhat predictable, but all in all found it a mediocre movie.  MPAA rated Righteous Kill, R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use.   Wanted starring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy.  IMDB users rated this movie 6.9*'s out of 10.  James McAvoy plays a character who discovers he is the son of a professional assassin and shares his fathers superhuman abilities.  I personally enjoyed this movie, and found it entertaining and creative.  I recommend it to those of you who are the "superhero movie" watchers.  MPAA rated the film R for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality.  

Also at some Red Box locations, for those who like to read, and enjoy the compare and contrast to a books debut film; I suggest Twilight and Marley and Me.  For families with children, you may find of interest, Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa, Bedtime Stories, or Beverly Hills Chihuahua (none of which I have seen, so I cannot give any personal reference to. 

Stay tuned for more reviews...

As the weekend quickly approaches us, and rainy or cold days serve as some of the best movie days, I thought what better time than to leave my movie tracks.

For those of you with an open shedule this weekend, wondering what to see or not to see, I suppose it all leans on what kind of mood you will find yourself in.  So I have broken it down for you piece by piece, movie by movie with hopes you find a direction to travel.

The Top 10 Box Office hits for this past week hold a variety of movies for any interest and pleasure, some being...

Watchmen, starring Malin Ackerman, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, and Carla Gugino.  Directed by Zach Snyder and written by David Hayter and Alex Tse.  MPAA rated this movie R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language. 

Watchmen can be considered another "superhero" movie full of complexities, mysteries and adventure.  IMDb describes Watchmen's plot set in "an alternate vision of the year 1985, the murder of an ex-superhero causes a vigilante to look into the matter, an investigation that reuinted him with his surviving old colleages -- all of them former superheroes themselves -- and gradually unveils a conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future." 

Sounds like it has great potential to be one of this years top superhero movies to compete with, but at a running time of 2 hours and 43 minutes, I can't help but think that may be too much time for a dark, mysterious movie.  I enjoyed "The Dark Knight", but many people felt that it was about a half hour too long.  So maybe its just a trend of superhero movies to run over the 2 hour mark.

User rating on IMDb - 8.2*'s out of 10. 

Although, while on the track of lengthy movies.  I did just recently see, "He's Just Not That Into You" - starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connely, Ben Affleck and Scarlett Johansson.  Directed by Ken Kwapis and written by Abby Kohn and Mark Silverstein.  MPAA rated this movie PG-13 for sexual content and brief strong language. 

I'd say this movie is a decent film.  Its a romantic comedy based on an interconnected group of Baltimore singles and one married couple.  I found the film to be full of some very true and some far fetched comparisions to the male and female interactions we all so commonly deal with in real life. But for the most part, although slow at parts, found it witty and true in many regards.  This enabled the audience at the theatre to laugh out loud at many parts and look at their partners in simple awe that, "whatever happened in the movie at that point was quite possible to have happened once or twice in their own relationships."  I find that movies that an audience can relate to on a personal level, whether rated good or bad by critics, are movies that a lot of people favor. 

User rating on IMDb - 6.5*'s out of 10. 

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this movie for children, as there is no common interest to a younger generation.  But for a children's movie, I do recommend checking out -  Coraline (animated) - A story based on a young girl's journey through a very unique and unusual parallel world that she finds in the new house her and her family just moved into.  Starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman.  Directed by Henry Selick.  MPAA rated this movie PG for thematic elements, scary images, and some language and suggestive humor. 

User rating on IMDb - 8.2*'s out of 10.

If those movies don't interest you, there are many others to choose from that are out or opening in theatres this weekend.  Some featured movies opening this weekend are: (To read more details, please click on the movies listed below.)

Race To Witch Mountain: Starring Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino and Anna Sophia Robb.

Sunshine Cleaning: Starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin.

The Last House On The Left: Starring Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn. 

For local theatres and showtimes, check out the following cities. Rochester.  Buffalo.  Batavia. 
 

As an avid movie watcher, I find people are constantly asking me if I've seen this, or that, and how was that and are you going to see this.  So I've decided to start a weekly blog for personal reference of movies "To see, or not to see!"  And I may even throw in a recommended watch list from my dvd collection or movies I have seen.

TO SEE: 

Taken - Directed by Pierre Morel, Written by Luc Besson.  MPAA rated this movie PG-13  for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.

User rating on IMDb - 8*'s out of 10.

Roger Ebert gives it 3*'s of 5.  He states, "If CIA agents in general were as skilled as Bryan Mills in particular, Osama bin Laden would have been an American prisoner since late September 2001."  And I'd have to agree, this is an action filled movie that keeps the "I need to see action, action, action!" movie watchers satisfied as it is non-stop throughout the duration of the movie. 

Liam Neeson who plays Bryan Mills in the movie, is a retired CIA agent, who is struggling to have a good relationship with his daughter.  His wife (played by Famke Janssen) had left him because of his job in the CIA and married another man.  When his daughter (played by Maggie Grace)came to him wanting to go to Paris, he was hesitant to let her go, but he felt that was his one way to hang on to his daughter so allowed her to go. Shortly into their trip, his daughter and her travelling partner end up getting kidnapped.  The movie continues as Neeson uses his CIA skills and goes on a mission to find his daughter in a time period determined by her kidnappers of 96 hours.  There are some real and not so real moments in the movie, but all in all, I believe the movie was satisfying. 

Similar To - The Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum, with Matt Damon.

Recommended for Children - I wouldn't suggest this movie for children under the age of 13.  There is a lot of drug reference and portrayl of prostitution and violence. 

__________

RECOMMENDED TO WATCH:

Little Miss Sunshine - Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.  Written by Michael Arndt.  The MPAA rated this movie R for language, some sex and drug content. 

User rating on IDMb is 8.1*'s out of 10. 

Little Miss Sunshine came out in 2006, but I do suggest it for my "Recommend to Watch" list.  It is a movie filled with laughter and simple moments. 

In this movie we follow a very dysfunctional family consisting of a housewife, Sheryl (played by Toni Collette), her husband Richard Hoover (played by Greg Kinnear) who is trying to become successful as some sort of motivational speaker, the suicidal brother Frank (Steve Carell), the heroin addicted grandpa (Alan Arkin) who serves as Olive's coach, the son Dwayne (Paul Dano) who wants to become a jet pilot and who also has taken a vow of silence as a follower of some group, and of course, little Olive (Abigail Breslin).  Who is a girl with one simple dream.  She wants to become "Little Miss Sunshine."

It is a journey following along the lives of the Hoover family and their determination to get Olive to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.  We get to see and experience with them all of their quirks and mishaps along the way.  It is a journey of a family coming together and learning from each other.  I found this movie funny and heart warming.  Although, I do not recommend this movie for children.