emswife Reviews

Lords of Dogtown (2005)

I think it was great except...

[8/10 · 8 June 2005]

The movie "Lords of Dogtown" was a create depiction of an era when surf met cement and egos abounded in a world where slackers ruled and having a job wasn't what anyone in their right mind wanted to do. It was the mid to late 70's and SoCal hip was in along with a bunch of scraggly no name kids who set the skateboarding world on it's ear.

Without Alva, Adams, Peralta, the rest of the Zephyr team and their mentors, Ho, Engblom and company, the world wouldn't even care about who Tony Hawk is... in fact, if it weren't for Stacy Peralta, Tony Hawk might have been a never was.

My only problem with this film is the character of Sid. Why was it necessary to make up this character from thin air? Yes, there was a rich kid with cancer who's dad drained to pool and turned it into the DogBowl but his name was Gino and he wasn't a member of the Z-boys. He was just a rich kid with a pool and a place for the crew to hang. With so much in the way of reality, I just don't get it. Why make up Sid? There weren't enough stories? I would like to have seen a little more about the rest of the team and a little less about a person who never existed.

Other than that, having watched and now owing the first Stacy Peralta effort that documents the scene called "Dog Town and Z Boys", I think this is a perfect companion piece. It is what it was then... when hangin' was really cool, music was honest and chicks were... well they could skate and look good and not be on a disco roller rink floor.

Bravo to this flick... but next time, stick with reality. It is always better than fiction!

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

I had forgotten how good this was!

[1 January 2003]

What a great way to start the New Year! I just watched this flick for the first time in ages and remember now why I agree that it is a "cult classic"!

Made in 1984 way before most of the actors achieved real star status, this movie has so many "inside" references and jokes, it's a wonder that more isn't made of it! And if you are a real Star Trek fan, you will know that Yoyodyne Propulsion is on the commissioning plaque for the Enterprise as well as other Star Fleet vessels. The references to Grover's Mill and Orson Wells along with the whole deadpan tone of the film makes this an unbelievably funny experience. I only wish that "Buckaroo Banzai versus The World Crime League" had been produced.

Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Dan Hedaya, the entire cast must have had a great time making this movie. It is full of technojargon, double speak and just plain funny stuff that pokes fun at every bad B-movie scifi thriller/comic book/Saturday serial ever made. There is no bad language and no skin and lots to hear and see in this great movie!

It has one redeeming quality above all else for me... it makes the effects on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and all of those other poor excuses for Saturday kid's entertainment look ridiculous. If the producers of this crap on TV that passes for action need some pointers on how to take useless stuff and make a cool, funny scifi flick, they need look no further that "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eight Dimension"!