Kirk Ward Movies

The true story of the kids who created modern skateboard culture is recreated in this drama. In the early '70s, skateboards were seen as a fad of the 1960s that had all but died out, but in a rough-and-tumble Venice, CA, community known as "Dogtown," that was about to change. Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk), Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) were three guys who liked to surf the rugged beaches around Venice and hung out at the Zephyr Surf Shop, a store run by Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger) that stocked gear for adventurous surfers and skateboarders. With the advent of new urethane wheels that connected with concrete in a way old metal and rubber wheels could not, Tony, Stacy, and Jay began exploring ways to translate radical surf style to skateboarding, and the guys invented a new way to skate inside the smooth, round surfaces of empty pools, employing vertical moves and edge flips that added a new and dramatic spin to skating. It didn't take long for word to spread about the wild new style of the Z-Boys, and they quickly became local celebrities, and later nationwide skating stars, though sudden fame took its toll on these young men. The true story of Lords of Dogtown was previously the basis of the acclaimed documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, directed by former Z-Boy Stacy Peralta, who like Tony Alva served as a consultant on this project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As anyone with even a nodding acquaintance with Star Trek can tell you, the (future) birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk is Riverside, Iowa. But how many of those people could tell that there really is a Riverside, Iowa, population 928? It is this cozy little farming community that serves as the locale of the four-part Spike TV reality series, Invasion Iowa. Imagine the surprise and delight of the Riverside citizenry when William Shatner himself shows up in town, ostensibly to film a big-budget sci-fi epic titled "Invasion Iowa," in which he is to star as "Colonel Shane Yeager." And not only Shatner, but a veritable army of filmmakers likewise descend upon Riverside, including Shatner's personal "spiritual advisor" Steve, short-tempered female studio executive Max, vainglorious leading lady Gryffyn, clumsy production assistant Herb, and Shatner's body double (and favorite nephew), Tiny. As the people of Riverside open their hearts, their homes and their businesses to the visitors from Hollywood, not a single one of them suspects that the entire affair is a hoax: there is no film in production called "Invasion Iowa" -- and except for Shatner, the movie personnel are all phonies! Of course, this being Spike TV, the cruel deception is played for all it is worth (and the worth is considerable!), climaxing with the episode in which we get to savor the reactions of the locals when they find out they've been hoodwinked. Debuting March 29, 2005, Invasion Iowa ended its brief run, appropriately enough, on the first of April. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An artist thrown into the violent world of police work is torn between his creative sensibility and his pragmatic need to earn a living in this offbeat police thriller. Jimmy (Adam Trese) is a gifted photographer who, despite the quality of his work, is having a hard time making ends meet. Eager to be able to support himself and his wife, Maria (Ariadna Gil), a classical dancer, Jimmy takes a job as a crime scene photographer with the L.A.P.D. The constant parade of violence and brutality Jimmy sees through his camera's lens proves hard to take, and soon Jimmy begins rearranging the scenes of violent death to give them a more creative and lifelike dimension, as he begins to imagine he can give the victims a new life through his art. Russo (V.J. Foster) and Flowers (Cully Fredricksen), the detectives Jimmy works with, are amused by his thin skin and creative sensibilities; they sense Jimmy's desire to leave his job behind, and persuade him to join them in a drug deal which could make them a fast and lucrative payday. Maria is also aware of Jimmy's discomfort with his new job, and in hopes of making enough money to support them both, she signs on as an exotic dancer at a strip joint, where she witnesses a crime that leads her into the same sort of danger Jimmy has been struggling to escape. Camera Obscura was the first feature film from writer and director Hamlet Sarkissian. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Charmed Ones come to the aid of Tyler (Alex Black), a ten-year-old runaway orphan with pyrokinetic powers. Unless the girls can act quickly, Tyler will be forced to enroll in an academy controlled by The Source of All Evil, which will channel the boy's talents for evil rather than good. Meanwhile, Cole (Julian McMahon) gives Gram's wedding ring to Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) -- who is immediately transformed into a 1950s-era "June Cleaver" housewife. (Oh, the horror!) ~ All Movie Guide