Excellent, smart action film.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The first must-see film of the year.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Lords of Dogtown (2005): Dir: Catherine Hardwicke / Cast: Emile Hirsch, Heath Ledger, Rebecca De Mornay, Johnny Knoxville, Nikki Reed: Set in the mid 1970's about a small group surfers and skaters. The film chronicles their true story rise to fame, those who refused, and those who were robbed of the success they deserved. It is realistically portrayed by director Catherine Hardwicke despite it being sometimes distracted or unfocused. The cast bring realism to characters who struggle with fame, upbringing and death. Emile Hirsch plays a skater who was rejected by locals yet gains success before being turned in the wrong direction. Heath Ledger steals scenes as a skateboard manufacturer who produces the team but despite all efforts he ends up watching them all depart to disappointments elsewhere. Interesting that Ledger is intelligent enough to remain true to himself and his work. Rebecca De Mornay plays a hippie mother on dope. Perhaps more screen time would have benefited. Johnny Knoxville is featured as someone out to steal a team promising fame and fortune. The role is straight forward but different for Knoxville. Nikki Reed is featured as a female romantic interest but thankfully the characters are written in a realistic manner in terms of their enthusiasm. Great skateboarding action and strong conviction of fame, success, betrayal, friendship, and the passion behind it all. Score: 9 / 10

Prior to the Z Boys skateboarding team in the Dogtown part of Santa Monica it wasn't even considered a sport with most of the tricks being more related towards gymnastics. The Z Boys one of the first teams to use polyurethane wheels which allowed them to take their skateboarding to a whole other level then anyone else. They were able to make skateboarding into more of a fast paced and daredevil artform that it's today. Being able to stay on their boards on more types of terrain then ever before. They invented skating empty swimming pools which eventually lead to vert skating being invented. All of the skateboarders of the 1980's like Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain and s on wouldn't have been able to do what they did if it wasn't for Stacy Peralta, Jay Adams and Tony Alva. They were truly the forefathers of modern skateboarding.

I am not a fan of surfing or skateboarding (although learning to surf is on my bucket list), but I decided to watch this film due to some of the names on the cast list such as Emile Hirsch, Heath Ledger, and a small appearance by Jeremy Renner. (Heath Ledger... what talent!)The film begins as a surfing movie, then transitions into skateboarding, but the execution is amazing. I hardly watch movies without checking the time left, due to my incessant need to know everything, yet I didn't feel inclined to do so during this film. What that means is that the film has a perfect flow, it will keep you interested throughout the entire film.It's a fictionalized film of "The Z-Boys" and how they revolutionized the sport of skateboarding. The film has much to do with skateboarding, but the main scenes are coming-of-age related and it really shows the simplicity of life that we take advantage of. There's many things you can take from this film: from fame, fortune, and success to humbleness, health, and friendship.I thought this film would be a somewhat decent, but I was so wrong, it is an inspirational and interesting piece of art. I highly recommend this film if you have an open mind. If you aren't moved by the end, then you aren't human.

I will start out by saying that I really do love this movie, but I'm not here to rant and rave about it. This movie is fascinating to me because I do love the skate culture and seeing a movie about characters who started modern skating was, as I said, fascinating. However, I realize that most of the world doesn't think that. With that in mind, I will continue. This movie is not a documentary about skating!!! If you want a documentary then check out Dogtown and Z-Boys directed by a Z-boy himself. It is full of stories about how the Zephyr team came to be and the way life was in Venice Beach at the time. I personally love the documentary as well, but Lords of Dogtown is not meant to be a Hollywood representation of the documentary. If you are looking for that, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! Lords of Dogtown is meant to be a story about the characters that fills in the gaps the documentary leaves about how these people felt, mainly Jay Adams, Stacy Peralta, and Tony Alva. The camera angles are not straightforward, the cinematography is rough, and its not a cookie cutter film. But that, in my opinion, is why it works so well. A lot of the Z-Boys themselves were on staff for this movie and helped to make it as authentic as it could be while still holding the attention of movie-goers. These guys were very impressed with the way the film was produced and, for the most part, were very pleased with how it represented the time. If you love skate culture then chances are you will fall in love with this movie like I did. Even my parents, who are definitely not into the skate culture or the 70's, still enjoyed this movie and were interested about the documentary afterwards. This movie definitely made me more interested in what skating was all about and I can't get enough about these guys now. I highly recommend this movie as well as Dogtown and Z-Boys.