Perhaps it’s the laid back spirit of skateboarding itself that makes most of films about the sub-culture enjoyable viewing. Or perhaps because many of the fictional tales feature actual skateboarders in the lead roles and not professional actors, the films feel raw and real while other sports movies fall short. Like rock stars, skaters are used to putting on a show. Look no further than the below documentaries on Mark Rogowski and Christian Hosoi for proof that professional skaters burn with charisma.

We tried to keep our roundup contained to films with some sort of narrative structure, which immediately excluded a pair of excellent films – “Fruit of the Vine” and “Northwest” — both of which perfectly capture the spirit of skating but which don’t have a whole lot of story arc. We also didn’t include any of the skating videos produced by the skateboarding companies themselves. The old Powell-Peralta films are seminal documents, but are more of a talent showcase than an actual narrative. But read on for the best and worst of the skateboarding flicks, and leave any of your faves that we left out in the comments.

DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS
Plot: This documentary, narrated by Sean Penn and directed by Stacey Peralta, traces the origins of skateboarding from its 1970s Southern California roots.
Trivia: The Vans shoe company footed the $400,000 production budget of the film.
NY Times says: “As this taut, viscerally propulsive insider’s history of the sport in its early years skids and leaps forward with a jaunty visual panache, it is impossible not to be seduced by its hard-edged vision of an endless teenage summer.”

GLEAMING THE CUBE
Plot: Campy classic wherein Christian Slater’s adopted Vietnamese brother turns up dead forcing him to hop on his board to dig up clues and solve the mystery.
Trivia: Tommy Guerrero taught Slater how to skateboard for the film.
NY Times says: “Miraculously, the film’s skateboard showmanship comes off without a hitch.”

GRIND
Plot: A group of friends chase their favorite skater across the country in hopes of securing an endorsement deal from him.
Trivia: A 12-year-old Ryan Sheckler appears in the film at a skate demo.
NY Times says: “Far too much of the movie’s energy is devoted to rampaging hormones and irritable bowels.”

JACKASS: THE MOVIE
Plot: Not necessarily about skateboarding, the film is an outgrowth of the MTV series sprung from the minds of skaters, and includes a series of ridiculous and mostly hilarious stunts performed by and on a group of friends.
Trivia: BMX badass Mat Hoffman broke his wrist filming a segment for the film.
NY Times says: “The pain that is mimicked in silent two-reelers or ”Tom and Jerry” cartoons is here played in earnest, provoking a spasm of revulsion that mutates into shocked, involuntary laughter.”

LORDS OF DOGTOWN
Plot: A sort of fictional version of Stacey Peralta’s “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” starring Emile Hirsh and Heath Ledger.
Trivia: The band playing during the film’s fight scene is Rise Against.
NY Times says: “Not having been there, I can hardly vouch for the movie’s accuracy, but there is something about it that feels right – the looseness of its construction, the eclectic welter of its soundtrack, the faces of its cast.”

PARANOID PARK
Plot: Gus Van Sant directs this story of a Portland skateboarder who is implicated in the murder of a security guard.
Trivia: Legendary Burnside skatepark, which was built by skaters without permission and later approved by the city, features prominently in the film.
NY Times says: “”Paranoid Park” is about bodies at rest and in motion, and about longing, beauty, youth and death, and as such as much about the artist as his subject. It is a modestly scaled triumph without a false or wasted moment.”

RISING SON: THE LEGEND OF SKATEBOARDER CHRISTIAN HOSOI
Plot: Documentary about the rise and fall of the legendary 1980’s skater who gets hooked on crystal meth and eventually ends up behind bars.
Trivia: Dennis Hopper narrates the film.
All Movie Guide says: “A gritty documentary that explores the compelling career of vertical air-grabber Christian Hosoi”

STOKED
Plot: Before Mark Rogowski was sentenced to 31 years in federal prison for killing his girlfriend, he was a world famous 1980’s skateboarding legend. His life and downfall are detailed in this documentary.
Trivia: Director Helen Stickler also made a film about artist Shepard Fairey called “Andre the Giant Has a Posse.”
NY Times says: “These cookie-cutter narratives, which usually end with a partial redemption, all issue the same warning: stardom can be toxic, and the younger the celebrity, the greater the risk. This variation, which culminates in murder and imprisonment, is sadder than most because there is no redemption, only regret and confusion.”

WASSUP ROCKERS
Plot: Larry Clark turns his lens on the shirtless torsos of a group of Hispanic teens who skate around South Central L.A. in this mostly-fictional tale about these real-life friends.
Trivia: None of the film’s skateboarding stars had previous acting experience.
NY Times says: “Completely alive, unlike any number of teenage Hollywood movies with their stale formulas and second-hand puerility”

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