Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Larry Silverstein This documentary, set in Santa Clarita, Ca., and only 1 hr. and 10 min. in length, offers glimpses into the lives of several teens, as they try and navigate through friendships, relationships, religious beliefs, and just day to day living.Of all the teens, I related most to Skye, whose mother lost custody of her two days after her birth due to a heroin addiction, her father was in prison, and her grandfather who raised her now faced foreclosure with no place to go. Despite all this, somehow she manages to maintain an openness and wiseness about her, well beyond her years,, and even displays a most witty sense of humor. I really felt for her and hope things worked out OK for her in her future after the filming was over.Garrison and Kevin are the other two featured teens in the film. They're best friends but I felt their stories were incomplete and that the viewer only got disjointed snippets of their lives. They came across as flippant and, on camera, would at times bad-mouth even their closest of friends.Another theme was a Christian Ministry which kept popping up throughout the movie to which apparently all three teens belonged. However, it was never really spelled out what the relationship with the ministry was in their lives.In summary, the documentary, from filmmakers Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims, had its' moments but overall seemed too slow-paced and disjointed, and often only offered surfacy glimpses into the teen's lives that came across to me as staged at times.

Anscules A gorgeous doc full of real-life silences and texture. The other reviewers here missed the point of this thing... It's got no story to tell, and there should be no anticipation of story (or "point") just as there should be little hope for a plot from a short poem with the name of a flower for a title.The lack of direction, and therefore pointless nature of the conversations and situations is the focus here. Where do parties lead? Nowhere. Usually to an empty, lonely feeling once the tumult passes. Where do young romances lead? Nowhere, but usually to an empty, lonely feeling once the tumult passes.These are real kids. I'm 41, own a house and have kids, but I recall these ambling afternoons with clarity, the days when it seems like a car might really change your life and who your friend just kissed presents possible calamity.Hitchcock said "Drama is life with the dull bits cut out." This doc set out to put those dull bits in amber for these kids, in a mostly objective manner, therefore speaking to a much wider net about these weird, quietly raging times, completely forgotten by people who are now more interested in 401Ks and their new petty issues.My only real problem with the film is that it's too gorgeous to be immediate (I thought several times, "How'd they capture this without having staged the shot?" ...and one or two edits sniff of manipulation).

kykyske While the very-forgettable-blond young (sic) dude has simply nothing to offer in terms of charisma and story, and following the incredibly pointless vicissitudes of Garrison who falls in and out of love no more than two times in less than 1h10, yes an 1h10, we are simply gutted to miss the sole interesting story of (wait for that) Skies (don't ask).Yes she's quirky. But quite mature and so damn real! Her story is obviously the richest. Her resurrected heroine-addicted mother, her jailed dad, her house getting repossessed, her granddad too old and destitute, two boyfriends... and yes all that in less than 1h10... puff!Alright, so you have a pool scene that goes nowhere, a party scene that goes nowhere and then when you think it gets redundant, (listen to that) you are thrown into a pitiful forced love triangle introduced by that blond dude I still don't remember the name who so clearly seeks attention boasting about his scarification that It just shows blatant clumsiness from the filmmaker failing to (at least) skillfully forced down our throat un-eventul interesting stories. NO seriously This doc goes nowhere! and who the heck is Mr Conway? We will never know.But there is still a subtle angle, despite the incredible dullness. What was once the American dream reveals its cracks, filmed in remote California, emptied houses serve as the playground and background of those kids. Families ousted out by credit mortgages.Their genuine immaturity isn't enchanting but it has the merit to be authentic.

zetes A poetic documentary about Christian skateboard enthusiasts in small town California. Frankly, the subject matter isn't very interesting. These kids are no less vapid than any other kids, although some of their dramas, particularly the economic woes of Skye Elmore and her family, are touching. Still, the most common subject of the kids' conversations are who's going out with whom, who broke up with whom, blah blah blah. The one thing that makes this film at least somewhat worth watching (and at just over an hour, it's hardly a chore) is the cinematography. Mims and Tippet really capture some gorgeous images. I'd like to see more from them, whether they stick to documentaries or move to fictional material.