I'm not going to lie, the only reason I am watching this is because Ashley Greene is in it. Pathetic and shallow, sure, but considering how common things like this are for most people the fact I do it so rarely should hopefully mean you'll stick with me through the review. Enjoy!
Skateland is a 2010 Indie Movie dedicated to the memory of John Hughes and it shows, the film plays out a lot like how I'd imagine Adventureland would if it was directed by John Hughes. It is also proud to show off its 'young talent' but I'm going to be honest, despite calling myself a film buff aside from Ashley Greene and Haley Ramm I really didn't know who most of these guys were.
So the story goes like this, there is this twentysomething called Ritchie who is forced to do some serious growing up when Skateland, his favourite place ever, is closing down which in turn means he loses his job, just to make everything worse his parents also decide to get a divorce and his friends around him are all going off to college and such. Then as tragedy strikes he finds out what really matters to him and sets a plan to get out of this deadbeat town! You know, the usual coming of age story with hints of a typical romance movie thrown in for good measure.
Skateland is really a nostalgia movie for rollerdiscos of the late 70's and early 80's and also a wider nostalgic movie of the late 70's and early 80's America in general. I wasn't alive then, nor have I ever been to a rollerdisco or lived in America so how well these aspects hold up I really can't comment. And this is one of the biggest issues of the film for me, the film spends so long trying to paint the 70's/80's as this magic time through party scene after party scene that really nothing else happens in the mean time and since I can't share a knowing sigh with the movie for our lost teenhood back in dem glory days I was left bored waiting for something to happen. About the only thing I can appreciate is the music, the soundtrack is absolutely kick ass.
Okay so aside from the soundtrack we at least get Ashley Greene to look at while we wait for the film to start. And my God she looks amazing in this film, almost to the point of hilarity, some scenes the camera just fixes on her to the point where we have conversations where the camera just statically holds on Greene and the person she is talking with is reduced to a voice off screen. But she really isn't a particularly good actress... She seems to spend most of the film looking awkward like she doesn't know quite where she is or what she is doing. Luckily the rest of the cast are actually pretty damn good I must say. Maybe they were right when they labelled them as young talent. The older cast give great performances too, it was nice to see the beautiful face of Melinda McGraw pop up and Supernatural fans, recognise a name on that cast list? The first picture of the review should be a give away...
Okay maybe I'm not being entirely fair, the abstract way this film is constructed creates a really surreal like experience that is a treat for the eyes and the weirdness leads to some rather amusing scenes. The film in general is well written and the chemistry between the cast is strong so you'll still crack a smile and maybe have a few laughs while you're waiting for the film to actually start.
The film does start around an hour in, where a rather intense car chase sequence leads into a rather crucial and artistic carcrash/death sequence which dramatically changes the tone of the film. It's beautifully put together, perfectly paced, incredibly powerful and a twist I really didn't see coming.
Skateland is Anthony Burns directorial début and I'm hoping he is given another chance because I honestly think he is destined for great things. Skateland is incredibly well put together, incredibly well edited - it's just such a cool, stylish film.
So do I recommend this? For the first hour Skateland is well made but is clearly made for people passionate about the seventies/eighties or people who grew up then. For me, there really wasn't much there for me, it was so slow that it became boring. But then around an hour in the film finally started and when the film started I mean it really fucking started and it ends on a real feel good note. But no matter how good those last forty minutes are, it still took a long, boring hour to get there which means I still can't really recommend it. Which is honestly a shame because those last forty minutes show Burns has a real talent for film making. I can only really recommend this to aficionados of the 70's/80's or anyone hoping to relive their younger lives through a nostalgic lens despite the small glimpses here and there that this film could have been so very brilliant for everyone.
Think About It!
-Locke
So the story goes like this, there is this twentysomething called Ritchie who is forced to do some serious growing up when Skateland, his favourite place ever, is closing down which in turn means he loses his job, just to make everything worse his parents also decide to get a divorce and his friends around him are all going off to college and such. Then as tragedy strikes he finds out what really matters to him and sets a plan to get out of this deadbeat town! You know, the usual coming of age story with hints of a typical romance movie thrown in for good measure.
Skateland is really a nostalgia movie for rollerdiscos of the late 70's and early 80's and also a wider nostalgic movie of the late 70's and early 80's America in general. I wasn't alive then, nor have I ever been to a rollerdisco or lived in America so how well these aspects hold up I really can't comment. And this is one of the biggest issues of the film for me, the film spends so long trying to paint the 70's/80's as this magic time through party scene after party scene that really nothing else happens in the mean time and since I can't share a knowing sigh with the movie for our lost teenhood back in dem glory days I was left bored waiting for something to happen. About the only thing I can appreciate is the music, the soundtrack is absolutely kick ass.Okay so aside from the soundtrack we at least get Ashley Greene to look at while we wait for the film to start. And my God she looks amazing in this film, almost to the point of hilarity, some scenes the camera just fixes on her to the point where we have conversations where the camera just statically holds on Greene and the person she is talking with is reduced to a voice off screen. But she really isn't a particularly good actress... She seems to spend most of the film looking awkward like she doesn't know quite where she is or what she is doing. Luckily the rest of the cast are actually pretty damn good I must say. Maybe they were right when they labelled them as young talent. The older cast give great performances too, it was nice to see the beautiful face of Melinda McGraw pop up and Supernatural fans, recognise a name on that cast list? The first picture of the review should be a give away...
Okay maybe I'm not being entirely fair, the abstract way this film is constructed creates a really surreal like experience that is a treat for the eyes and the weirdness leads to some rather amusing scenes. The film in general is well written and the chemistry between the cast is strong so you'll still crack a smile and maybe have a few laughs while you're waiting for the film to actually start.The film does start around an hour in, where a rather intense car chase sequence leads into a rather crucial and artistic carcrash/death sequence which dramatically changes the tone of the film. It's beautifully put together, perfectly paced, incredibly powerful and a twist I really didn't see coming.
Skateland is Anthony Burns directorial début and I'm hoping he is given another chance because I honestly think he is destined for great things. Skateland is incredibly well put together, incredibly well edited - it's just such a cool, stylish film.So do I recommend this? For the first hour Skateland is well made but is clearly made for people passionate about the seventies/eighties or people who grew up then. For me, there really wasn't much there for me, it was so slow that it became boring. But then around an hour in the film finally started and when the film started I mean it really fucking started and it ends on a real feel good note. But no matter how good those last forty minutes are, it still took a long, boring hour to get there which means I still can't really recommend it. Which is honestly a shame because those last forty minutes show Burns has a real talent for film making. I can only really recommend this to aficionados of the 70's/80's or anyone hoping to relive their younger lives through a nostalgic lens despite the small glimpses here and there that this film could have been so very brilliant for everyone.
Think About It!
-Locke
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