wusmmik
10-25-2005, 01:56 AM
Lords of Dogtown, w.Stacy Peralta dir.Catherine Hardwicke
If you saw the documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys" more than 5 times, you might enjoy this dramatic reprise of that story. I have seen the aforementioned film 10 times, and just couldn't get into the story of this film.
The end of the movie says that Stacy Peralta "is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker"..but sadly, he is no screenwriter. This movie's script is its worst enemy, there is almost no character development and those that Peralta chooses to develop wind up cliched.
Still, the acting is great, these complete unknowns at least inhabit the original kings of skateboarding. The photography (by Elliott Davis who also shot the beautiful "A Love Song For Bobby Long") is stunning, it follows the bleached out look of 70's home-movie photography and gives everything a great edge.
I'm not going to call it vibrant, but it is most enjoyable in the skating sequences. The director, Catherine Hardwicke is fresh off of the indy film hit "Thirteen"-a film that I thought was overrated. This Oscar-winning production designer is fast becoming a hack director (see also Joel Schumacher who made this same leap). In "Lords of Dogtown", she tries valiantly to make it work like "Boogie Nights". She captures the chaos well, especially in the beginning. But, since there's no plot development or character development it quickly veers into Afterschool Special territory.
I say ollie over the plot sequences and enjoy some of the skating and photography after watching the far superior "Dogtown and Z-Boys".
If you saw the documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys" more than 5 times, you might enjoy this dramatic reprise of that story. I have seen the aforementioned film 10 times, and just couldn't get into the story of this film.
The end of the movie says that Stacy Peralta "is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker"..but sadly, he is no screenwriter. This movie's script is its worst enemy, there is almost no character development and those that Peralta chooses to develop wind up cliched.
Still, the acting is great, these complete unknowns at least inhabit the original kings of skateboarding. The photography (by Elliott Davis who also shot the beautiful "A Love Song For Bobby Long") is stunning, it follows the bleached out look of 70's home-movie photography and gives everything a great edge.
I'm not going to call it vibrant, but it is most enjoyable in the skating sequences. The director, Catherine Hardwicke is fresh off of the indy film hit "Thirteen"-a film that I thought was overrated. This Oscar-winning production designer is fast becoming a hack director (see also Joel Schumacher who made this same leap). In "Lords of Dogtown", she tries valiantly to make it work like "Boogie Nights". She captures the chaos well, especially in the beginning. But, since there's no plot development or character development it quickly veers into Afterschool Special territory.
I say ollie over the plot sequences and enjoy some of the skating and photography after watching the far superior "Dogtown and Z-Boys".