Film

"ATL" is a coming-of-age movie that takes place in Atlanta, hence the name ATL. I came to this movie with a lot of preconceived notions that it wasn't going to be very good. Surprisingly, my mind was changed. "ATL" has decent acting with witty dialogue. The sets are also very well done. I really feel as if I see what the 'hood in Atlanta would be like. The aspect I like the best was the artistic way the director, Chris Robinson, uses creative camera work to show the different settings of the movie.

The students and teacher involved in the making of a short video about the Civil War were recognized during Tuesday's meeting of the Washington County Board of Education. The documentary about the Civil War that was written, acted, produced and edited by North Hagerstown High School students was shown to the School Board. After the video was played, the following students were recognized as World Class Students: Natalia Allen, Julie Bayer, Erika Ernst, Derick Flohr, Brenan Gelwicks, Jessica Hanlin, Whitney Hollins, Trevor Hullinger, Nick Jamison, Kathleen Kennedy, Patrick Malloy, Josh Nelson, Chuck Obsborne, Tyler Pangborn, Stephen Schutte, Matthew Shank, John Todd and Andrew Widmeyer.

The audience sat in the darkness, eyes glued to the film showing on the big screen. Instead of neon exit signs flanking the screen, there was a large cross. And where one might have expected a nondescript blanket of blackness above, a balcony rimmed the looming cathedral ceilings with dangling circular chandeliers. A crowd of more than 160 people graced the seats of Grace United Methodist Church in Hagerstown Saturday evening to see "The Wager," a major motion picture release from Pure Flix Entertainment starring Randy Travis.

The Gettysburg, Pa., audience for the latest movie by John Putch will really only need to look out the window to see the film's sets in person. Putch brought friends to southcentral Pennsylvania last fall for 18 days of filming for "Route 30. " Among the cast were Dana Delany and Kevin Rahm of "Desperate Housewives" as well as Ed Gotwalt of more local fame - the namesake of Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum in Orrtanna, Pa. Putch called the...

HAGERSTOWN -- There have been many events this year commemorating the 150th anniversary of abolitionist John Brown's raid on a federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. But Tom Riford, president of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), wanted something people could "take away" to remember Brown. As a result, the CVB sponsored the production of a film examining Brown's actions and thoughts. A premiere of the 35-minute film, "Echoes of John Brown," was shown Wednesday night at the Bridge of Life Center on Potomac Street.

FREDERICK, Md. - When artist Deborah Winram noticed a business liquidation sign in the window of her Frederick neighborhood hardware store, it struck a nerve. Signs announcing the closing of a business have became a part of the current economic decline, but Winram had been a regular customer of Mays Trustworthy Hardware. She says she enjoyed running to the store to pick up supplies and chat with people. Mays' closing hit home. "It really upset me," she says in a telephone interview from her Frederick home.

Jon Recher is feeling competitive this week. He hopes his newest movie, "Crazy, Stupid, Love," rules the box office when it opens on Friday. Recher, a 1998 Smithsburg High School graduate, was a "second-second assistant director" on the film, which stars Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon. Recher's growing résumé also includes "I Love You Phillip Morris," "Waitress" and "Memoirs of a Geisha. " As second-second assistant director, Recher, 30, said he works on planning and scheduling.

The film, "Food Matters," will be shown from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, July 25, at Unity Church in Frederick, 1 W. Ninth St. The film is free. The focus of the film is to help individuals rethink the belief systems fed to them by modern medical and health care establishments. For information, call 301-846-9250, e-mail unityfrederick@verizon.net, or go to www.unityfrederick.org.

"Fallen," the latest episode of "The X-Files," er, I mean the new supernatural thriller starring Denzel Washington, is not so much a film as a symptom of MTV cinematic culture. As symptoms go, it will not require immediate medical attention, but when seen with the likes of, say, "Spice World" rash or "Hard Rain" simplex II, it could be a sign of the disease known to film critics as Januaria. This obscure phenomenon results when a discerning, discriminating viewer goes to the multiplex in January - also known as the dumping ground for Hollywood tripe.

Those interested in Hagerstown's aviation history can get glimpses into the past through a film that is showing tonight on Maryland Public Television. "Hagerstown: Remembering Our Aviation History" premieres at 10 p.m. on MPT, and will replay Friday at 11 p.m. The film is a documentary by Vintage Video Productions of Greencastle, Pa. Local viewers got a chance to see it last November at showings at Faith Chapel Theater on South Potomac Street. Since then, some footage and interviews have been added, said Tom Riford, Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau president and CEO. The film is 1 hour, 27 minutes long, according to MPT's Web site.