Dogville (2003)
"The beautiful fugitive, Grace (Nicole Kidman), arrives in the isolated township of Dogville on the run from a team of gangsters. With some encouragement from Tom (Paul Bettany), the self-appointed town spokesman, the little community agrees to hide her and in return, Grace agrees to work for them. However, when a search sets in, the people of Dogville demand a better deal in exchange for the risk of harbouring poor Grace and she learns the hard way that in this town, goodness is relative. But Grace has a secret and it is a dangerous one. Dogville may regret it ever began to bare its teeth." <= this was the basic idea of the back cover of the dvd at blockbuster when I rented the thing. looks interesting, no?
"Set in an American Town in the Rocky Mountains in the 1930s. Lars von Trier re-explores the concept of goodness, but this in an idiom very different from that of his Gold Heart Trilogy (Breaking the Waves, The idiots and Dancer in the Dark). DOGVILLE is shot exclusively in studio with a minimum of props once again allowing the actors' maximum freedom and full exposure inspired by televised theatre of the 70s. In DOGVILLE Trier works extensively with light, sound, score and music to obtain and heighten dramatic atmosphere." <= this is the gimmick, without which this is just a really bad, awkward movie.
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
"A fictionalized take on the group of brilliant young skateboarders raised in the mean streets of Dogtown in Santa Monica, California. The Z-Boys, as they come to be known, perfect their craft in the empty swimming pools of unsuspecting suburban homeowners, pioneering a thrilling new sport and eventually moving into legend."
Life ducks, and you sigh.