Python Hyena Grind (2003): Dir: Casey La Scala / Cast: Mike Vogel, Vince Vieluf, Adam Brody, Jennifer Morrison, Joey Kern: The title is a suppose skateboarding term but it feels like a play on our patience. How many times have we seen some moron leave their keys in their car only to have it stolen by some innocent looking chap? Is it too much for a person to just remove the keys and put them in their pocket? Four skateboarders leave their small town life and follow a skateboard champion in hopes of gaining a sponsor. The story is about as exciting as careening down a flight of stairs and landing on a bed of nails. Casey La Scala does a fine job directing the skateboard action but the characters are hardly interesting nor sympathetic for that matter. Some characters have promise such as ladies man Sweet Lou who seems to have a date for every night of the week. Another character comes from a family of clowns. Alas, they are merely seen as props. Other roles are flat including the hero with big dreams and his best friend who blew his college money so that he could appear in this mess. Cast includes Mike Vogel, Vince Vieluf, Adam Brody, and Jennifer Morrison whom hopefully won't suffer too much because of this charade. Joey Kern plays the idiotic Sweet Lou but he is stuck in a screenplay that is none too sweet. Celebration of skateboarding given a story that grinds into our patience. Score: 3 / 10

dea327 I have to admit, I didn't even finish watching this movie it was so Shitty. I guess it was supposed to be an attempt at comedy? A prostate exam would be more pleasant than being forced to watch this. I did give it one star for all the honeys. Without a doubt the best part if the movie. I am a little surprised at how many positive reviews users gave this movie. All I can imagine is they are probably written by some kiddies. The humor is really that weak. I am trying to think of something that was supposed to be a joke in the movie, but I have already forgotten any of the "jokes" and I just watched this movie less than ten minutes ago.

moviewizguy Four skaters follow their idol on his summer tour in an attempt to get noticed, get sponsored, and become stars themselves.Before watching this film, I was expecting to have some fun and be entertained with the skateboard sequences. Well, I was entertained...during the last act of the film.Let me begin with this: 2/3 of the film is downright bad. There were annoying characters (Vince Vieluf) and characters who think they are "all of that" (Mike Vogel). The only one who seems normal was Adam Brody, who gives a good performance, while the others were okay, except Vince Vieluf, which was horrible.Aside from that, I didn't like the skateboard dialogs. Maybe I'm not the right person to watch this film. Maybe if I'm a skateboarder, I might love this film. Who knows? There weren't even any good laughs (except for some three or four jokes).But now the good: I liked the third act, which the people who made the film seem to notice their mistakes that they have made from the first two acts of the film. There were some really great skateboard sequences, which was an obvious showdown.For one thing, this film was entertaining by the last act, so you'll be satisfied at the end. You just won't like the first two acts. This film, what I call, is just harmless fun. Just don't mind some elements of the film.

jpschapira Movies like "Grind" can achieve a lot of great things without necessarily being great. I'm not going to give out or write other movies' names to explain what I said, but it's true and I'll try to cover it. After witnessing this film's horribly edited trailer, I knew something terrible was coming my way; but I also knew I had to see the thing.Was it worth watching? Yes; but not technically speaking, if you get me. Apparently a producer called Casey La Scala decided to direct a picture and a music producer called Ralph Sall decided to write one. Both of them (also apparently) took that decision knowing that they didn't have experience for the job and that they would come out with something mediocre (I'm sure they knew).The result is, expectedly, an unfocusedly directed and plainly written feature; which proudly welcomes all the clichés used in the underdog movies and the conventionalism of any movie that doesn't want to fail. It is about skates and skateboarders, and about the million who want to make it and the fifty that actually do.It puts into the table real professional skateboarders (Bam Margera), a fictional skateboarder that the main characters admire (Jimmy Wilson, played by Jason London), a girl (Jennifer Morrison)…The scenes go from skateboarding demonstrations with punk music where the stunts are stupidly shown and clearly seen by anyone who pays attention, to moments that make the best of the film… The finest example is one of the first scenes, in which the main character, a looser, walks into a skate shop; he wants some boards: "I'm your most loyal costumer", he tells the vender. "Yes, but you never spend", the man answers. Suddenly, Bam Margera walks in and asks for three boards. Without hesitating it, the vender gives the merchandise to him. That scene is later paralleled, and it is done smartly.Besides that, writer Sall 'tries' to score the film (remember he was a music producer?), that contains anything but original music, and his script is just covered with ideas about "following your dream", giving importance to the family and acknowledging the friendship as it is. That last thing is the constant sustaining factor of Sall's weak screenplay.Eric Rivers (Mike Vogel) is the main character, the dreamer. Matt Jensen (Vince Vieluf) his dumb friend; the sexist looser bastard when it comes to women. Dustin Knight (Adam Brody) is the centered geek who wants to go to college but can't bail on his friends. Sweet Lou (Joey Kern) is the ladies man and the over the top guy who gives a damn.The young actors who play these characters are a great thing about this not great piece. Mike Vogel got his first gig with this picture, and as the main character. Around the other experienced youngsters, he managed to dominate the role with determination. Vieluf, able to make anyone laugh by just looking at his face, creates an adorable being as he is disgusting. Adam Brody from "The O.C", has a lot going on for him. Finally is Joey Kern the one who steals the show. Kern is a graduated actor I've seen before and a talented one who can do better and more than what he has until today.Maybe it's the fact that friendship in all of these films is managed with such a disinterest that ends up being the most realistic element of each movie. It's incredible the way the group gets along, the four of them; the dialogues, the situations, what they live, how they evolve. Believe it or not; it happens. Forget about everything else; the friendship in this movie happens: you can't miss that.