Lords of Dogtown (2005)

That was an excellent one.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This was recommended to me by a friend, and it just happened to be on Crackle, so I decided to watch it. Skateboarding has always been interesting to me but not something I'd find myself doing, but this is still a good movie. It shows the rough times the boys go through as they try to figure out what's more important, friendship or fame.Heath Ledger was quite the charmer, and I was a big fan of Emile Hirsch. Since the other actors weren't in that much of the film, I don't have much to say about them. (Keep a look out for Mitch Hedberg though.) I did love the first competition scene a lot, and all the scenes with the pools.

Director Catherine Hardwicke, who helped a few teenagers discover the versatility of the tongue in "Thirteen" (2003), takes an impressive cast and crew back to the year 1975. The "Disco" storm was crashing airwaves, but not at Venice Beach, California. There, the pre-punk "Lords of Dogtown" ramped up skateboarding "to the extreme" and made it a sport.Opening with the familiar phrase, "Inspired by a true story," this is a fictionalized film version of the superior documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys" (2001) - which anyone interested in skateboarding as sport should see. Hardwicke's young "Lords" are Emile Hirsch (as Jay Adams), Victor Rasuk (as Tony Alva), and John Robinson (as Stacy Peralta). They are introduced in an excellent opening sequence, but the story doesn't get off the ground until about halfway through. We get a lot of documentary-styled scenes - which don't really do anything to improve upon "Dogtown and Z-Boys" - before getting to know the three leading men. It might be interesting to see Mr. Peralta's original story idea, because much of this story seems whitewashed.Crack a board, bro… The real drama herein arguably centers on Mr. Hirsch's character. The three actors are fine, but Hirsch is given the best material. As his sexy, sand-blasted mother, Rebecca De Mornay (as Philaine) helps. And, Hirsch gets to sing the "Slinky" theme song. Watch for a truly magical moment when, after losing a contest, Hirsch sails off the pier; photographed beautifully by Elliot Davis, it combines the thrills you experience surfing and skateboarding. Also on hand, in an stumbling and underwritten role, is wasted surfer Heath Ledger (as Skip Engblom). Better utilized is the role played by fellow traveler Michael Angarano (as Sid). He helps give the film an unexpected, uplifting ending by taking the three estranged "Lords" back to their roots.****** Lords of Dogtown (6/3/05) Catherine Hardwicke ~ Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Heath Ledger

Follows the skateboarding trend at it's rising!C.Hardwicke takes a great and romantic idea and does the best she can!The agonising constant camera tilting IS probably the best way to portray a movie about Skate and Surf at the 70's. Grunge feel and the beautiful weirdos of Venice beach as your background.It has the feeling('s),the looks and the ideas of that era so well displayed by its cast. It would be the first movie I would recommend to someone who has even the slightest idea about this culture. Not to necessarily if they care about the sport but to see how much this kids changed the way ''it was supposed to be''.My high rating is a sin I'll not regret. Also the music is superb.

While fast-paced, this film was nothing more than "Jack-Ass" with a Classic Rock soundtrack! LOL! Therein lies the problem with making a film about skateboarding (like golf - I never understood the fascination with it) - 90% of the film has an endless stream of skateboard stunts. While the filmmaker tried to shed some light on their personal lives, the characters still came across as one-dimensional hooligans. The documentary, "Dogtown & Z-boys" was far more interesting. The filmmaker should have built an inner story, as was done in the film, "Gleaming The Cube." All in all: great music, great skateboard stunts, mediocre film.