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Kaffeine Buzz
reviews independent and foreign films,
in addition to reporting the latest buzz behind
Colorado's film festivals.
Lords of Dogtown (2005,
Catherine Hardwicke)
"Lords of Dogtown" is the perfect summer
movie. The story is archetypal: three guys from
the wrong side of the tracks create a new style
of skateboarding and achieve fame and fortune,
and realize what's important. Sounds like a typical
summer flick, with the cute boys and the bikinis
that its California setting would imply.
But "Dogtown" was written by Stacy
Peralta, one of the three skateboarders
the film follows, and the filmmaker behind the
wildly successful documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys
on the same subject. It was directed by Catherine
Hardwicke, the woman behind the transporting
"Thirteen," and shot by the cameraman
responsible for "Thirteen's" gritty
realism. And it stars three guys who are practically
unknown--indie actors cast for their talent and
similarity to their characters rather than their
ability to pack a theater.
Jay Adams, Tony Alva,
and Stacy Peralta were the id, ego, and superego
of skateboarding. Peralta (John Robinson,
whom you should know from "Elephant"),
the thoughtful one, works hard on every trick
and was originally excluded from the Zephyr skate
team because, as mentor Skip Engblom
(Heath Ledger, the biggest marquee
name in the flick) says, "You're not a pirate!"
Adams (Emile Hirsch), the purest
talent of the bunch, and the live wire, is capable
of sudden violence and visceral reactions that
at times scare everyone around him, but is motivated
by a desire to take care of his loopy mom (Rebecca
De Mornay, nearly unrecognizable in a
leathery tan and a lined, makeup-free face). Alva
(Victor Rasuk, of "Raising
Victor Vargas") is the synthesis of skill
and hard work, master of his game and the first
one to realize the benefits of fame, and to be
changed by it.
Robinson plays a sweet, quiet Peralta with understated
emotion, much like his performance in "Elephant."
You can see the hurt and the happiness, but certainly
not to the extremes that show up in Rasuk's portrayal
of Tony Alva, all bravado and swagger and attitude,
but with enough anger channeled into drive to
get better and better to maintain at least some
sympathy for the character. Nikki Reed,
also of "Thirteen," shows up as Alva's
sister to create a fairly useless love triangle,
which does serve to show to what level the boys
will compete with each other. Heath Ledger
plays Engblom, founder of the
Zephyr shop and the skate team that bears its
name, as the personification of Dogtown itself,
wasted and aimless, but content and authentic--the
conscience of the picture, but a compelling character
as well. Michael Angarano is
winning as Sid, the token rich
kid slumming with the Dogtown boys, and Johnny
Knoxville appears as a sleazoid promoter
who's the only cartoonish note in the film.
But the film really belongs to Emile Hirsch as
Jay Adams. He's pure instinct on a skateboard,
constantly pushing the envelope and trying tricks
no one's ever seen before that sabotage his commercial
success because he's willing to wipe out. Emotionally,
he's an accident waiting to happen, but he becomes
the one everyone else is drawn to. He is truly
the one who didn't sell out, and the one who hurt
himself rather than anyone else, and Hirsch gives
a great performance in a part that could easily
become melodramatic. The best scene in the film
juxtaposes Jay Adams skating with a few friends
inside a giant section of cement pipe while Peralta
and Alva, in their brand-name uniforms, compete
with each other. The light is behind Adams as
he goes higher and higher, nearly upside-down
in his quest, not for the money, but simply for
the freedom, the exhilaration.
Hardwicke and cinematographer Elliot Davis have
an eye for the neighborhoods of Venice, particularly
the beach and rotting boardwalk. The film is shot
in the same rough-edged, surreal grey-tinged color
as "Thirteen," "Dogtown" is
both beautiful and decaying, and you both love
and want to escape it. The boys learned to skate
for the film, and did many of their own stunts,
and in fact the real Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta
stunt doubled as themselves in a few scenes. It's
nearly impossible to tell which moves were done
by the actors and which a double. Mark Mothersbaugh's
music and the classic rock soundtrack are note-perfect
as well.
Can I gush any more? Come on. Go see it. Hardwicke
and her crew have created a Hollywood film worthy
of the Dogtown documentary, retaining the feel
of an indie film, the punk attitude of the time
and the scene, but putting enough gloss on it
to make it a summer blockbuster.
www.sonypictures.com/movies/lordsofdogtown
www.myspace.com/lordsofdogtown
-Sarah Jaffe, June 10, 2005
Howl’s
Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazak)
Studio Ghibli and Walt Disney Pictures
Studio Ghibi is Japan’s premier animation
studio, having given the world such pictures as
Nausicaa, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited
Away, and the great feature Princess Mononoke.
Helmed by the always impressive and legendary
director/writer Hayao Miyazaki, Ghibli continues
their trend of visionary fantasy with the stylish,
though not excessively detailed, Howl’s
Moving Castle.
Adopted from the book of the same name by Diana
Wynne Jones, the story is a typical one for the
studio. An out of place, teenage girl ( Sophie;
voiced for American audiences by Jean Simmons)
is swept into a magical world fraught with peril
and wonderment, due entirely to forces beyond
her control (think Alice and the Looking Glass).
In this case, Sophie—a meek hat maker following
in her father’s footsteps—is transformed
into an old women by the Witch of the Waste and
thrown into the dizzying confusion that is the
life of Howl (the princely magician with a dark
secret, who is voiced by Christian Bale—no
doubt prepping for his upcoming duality as the
dark knight). The rumor about Sophie’s small
town is that Howl eats the hearts of young girls,
which, now that she’s an old lady, doesn’t
move Sophie too much.
However, the truth of the matter is a little
more interesting; having had a spell cast on him
as a young man—and being some what of a
coward—Howl remains on the run in his Dr.
Who styled castle powered by the extremely humorous
fire demon, Calcifer (voiced by Billy Crystal),
to whom he is inextricably tied. Along for the
ride is also Howl’s apprentice, a sweet
and crafty young boy, who could really use a woman’s
hand in his life.
The story boasts a grand imagination, more of
design than content, which encompasses a scarecrow
(The Wizard of Oz), a vast war of the kingdom
(Star Wars), and more action sequences than a
typical summer blockbuster. Through it all romance
blossoms between Sophie and Howl, Sophie blooms
into the strong woman she was meant to be, and
the other multiple storylines find a tidy finale.
Filled with humor and the scene stealing Billy
Crystal, this is a gem of a picture, and more
epic than previous Ghibli productions. See it
if you are a fan of Anime, curious about Asian
cinema, or just like cartoons. Don’t see
it if you are sick to death of sappy romance stuff
coming from Disney.
www.studioghibli.com
www.waltdisney.com
www.landmarktheaters.com
By D Tha Man, June 10, 2005
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