Way UNDER-rated

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2005)

I'm giving this movie the highest rating in order to balance out the poor ones given here. Lords of Dogtown is fantastic. Easily the best movie I've seen all summer (year?). Heath Ledger gives an outstanding, award worthy performance. Example: I recognized him briefly in the beginning of the movie and then completely lost track of him until the movie was almost over. I kept thinking to myself, "When does his character come back into the movie?", not realizing I had been watching him the whole time. Totally unrecognizable.
Forget about the summer "blockbusters", which are nothing more than re-hashed car chases, explosions, and fancy special effects. Yawn. This film is about story, characters, and the thrill of doing something that no one else has done before. Go watch Lords of Dogtown! You'll love it.
Now my curiosity is sparked and I'm anxiously searching for a copy of "Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)", the documentary about how it all started.