Lords of Dogtown

I loved Dogtown and Z-Boys but this one kinda sucked. Stacy Peralta didn't cast too much good people. Heath Ledger sucked and well this was lame with a bunch of slopped up remaked crap. Wasn't the good real thing this was the knock off strange horrible thing.I was especially disappointed in Peralta he sponsors Hawk but then makes this. Stacy some words of advice please stick with Hawk and Margera and some video games don't ever try to direct a remake ever again. Sorry Stacy but this one was the bad one. Strange and I bet Ebert gave this a thumbs up or not but I thought it basically sucked. Like I keep repeating myself because that comment won't change. It's an opinion but save the money and go see "Fever Pitch" starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon I saw it 8 times!!

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.

Lords of Dogtown - following the swell documentary Dogtown & The Z-Boys this flick follows 3 of the legendary sidewalk surfers from their early days as grommits keeping the pier locals only to the dogbowl sessions.The movie does a good job of capturing the exuberance of youth - the ability to create your own fun with limited resources- and like a typical "rise and fall " of rock star movie- we get treated to the rise and fall of the Zephyr team.A good vintage soundtrack(including "Super Stupid" by Funkadelic) and tons of cameos from skaters flesh out an entertaining look @ skating years before it was part of the extreme sports thing. The DVD is chock full of extras including 2 different commentaries- including one by 2 of the original Z-Boys.Starring Emile Hirsch,Heath Ledger,Johnny Knoxville and others. B+

I grew up in California and this movie REALLY brought me back to the 70's and what was happening in the skateboard world. The actors were totally on mark with their portrayals of these guys and how things were back then in California at that time. I'm a girl and I was into skateboarding at that time. I saved my own money to buy my own boards. I even remember my mom came home one day and gave me an article from a magazine about Alva. I met him later in the 80's and he's a very down to earth guy. If you grew up in Cali at this time, you will LOVE this movie and if you didn't you will get the true idea of what it was like then. Awesome job guys on this film! A definite classic!

This was a great movie on friendship in the '70's, and a look at how the sport of skateboarding took off. I'd wanted to see it for awhile, so with Heath Ledger's death, didn't hesitate anymore. I didn't recognize him as the surf shop owner Skip, for the first several scenes. I think he added poignancy to his role, as did others who, in the film, fought their way to who they are. Interesting to know this is based on lives of people still in the skateboarding business, including the man who started off Tony Hawks career. It's good to have work out there yet to see Heath Ledger's talent shine. I'd recommend this movie to people who like to observe people, even if you're neither a skateboarding fan or a Ledger fan.