Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Josh 'Skreech' Sandoval is a longtime skateboarder in Fullerton, California. He tries to maintain his carefree alternative lifestyle but he has a new baby. He tries to tour but his skateboarding falters. He continues his search for abandoned swimming pools in the economically depressed neighborhood. He has his friends, and his slacker drug-induced haze life but responsibility is calling on him. I do not wish bad things to happen to Skreech but that's the only way that this movie could have had any drama. In the end, this movie meanders aimlessly which is fitting for his life. It shines a slice of an alternative life but it's not a full slice. Sometimes, he closes the door on the camera and sometimes, there is a sense of some selective editing. His frustration during the competition is palpable but that's a rare moment of intensity. This movie does have its moments but it needs more.

Hmm. This won't take long.He is dull - who is he anyway? Bums around all day, trying to say epic & meaningful things, only to conclude another bong is the way to go.There is no substance here - all I learn is that he is a right waster with limited potential. May be it is me? maybe I missed something that would open my eyes to it? No, wait - sorry, it is just plain bad.There's nothing here, but a day in the life of a dreamer with no dreams and who avoids washing. I finished it still waiting for something to happen - but then I never got the point so maybe that is understandable. Even the skating is poor.O and what is with the puking on the skate ramp! Dirty.

There seems to be two extremes among viewers of this movie: you either love it or you don't. I found myself torn between being incredibly bored and incredibly turned off by Sandoval and his aimless friends who seem to fill the day with bongs, booze, and absolute drivel. It's even more aggravating to learn that Sandoval is a dead beat dad who chooses all this over caring for his young son. If you hate these types of people in the real world, there's no chance they're going to win your respect here.And they shouldn't. The movie was almost over when the point of all this finally starts to become clear. About the time when Sandoval and his equally braindead girlfriend run out of money and pack up with the expectations that they'll just hit the road and do whatever, only to return to where they started. These kids are naive to the point of being pathetic. Though the tagline says that the future is dependent upon it's youth, I'm not sure this was the best example of the critical flaws. This is more like worst case scenario.Whether it was worthy of the accolades received at the SXSW screening, I think this probably won the hearts of pretentious hipsters that pack the festival.

Dragonslayer, a slice-of-life documentary about the life of Josh "Screech" Sandoval, is a really uninteresting film. I believe that director Tristan Patterson invested a lot of time and effort, but what he produced was not very enlightening or particularly constructive as a documentary. There are so many more interesting people that he could have spent his time and energy profiling. That this film won the best documentary feature award from the Grand Jury here at Austin's SXSW is truly inexplicable.The film is simply the chronicle of the life of someone who isn't very interesting, inspiring or likable. The only mildly interesting part of the film is the skateboarding scenes which are somewhat enjoyable, but the character is not. He seems like a guy who hangs out all day, skateboards in people's pools, drinks, and smokes. He does nothing to contribute to society, mostly ignores his own kid, and has nothing very interesting to say. Frankly, Screech is kind of dull and rather unlikeable. Off of the skateboard, he seems to be mostly dysfunctional and kind of pathetic. Some seem to find this film artistic, but I found it like its subject to be pretty much a waste of time.