World-building over plot.
Atmosphere over storytelling.

THE WIRE before THE WIRE, including many of the cast who would go on to feature in the seminal tv series. It’s a great film, sure it’s clunky in places and it doesn’t have the chops or weight of something like Do The Right Thing, but it’s pretty great nonetheless.
The Mark Gonzales section of this wonderful skate movie, soundtracked by John Coltrane's 'Traneing In' is worth a hundred Michael Bay movies in of sheer spectacle.
Released by Blind in 1991 and directed by Spike Jonze, it is my favourite skate film. I love the saturated griminess and choppy purple haloed quality that the VHS tape captures.
Even watching this with my 3 year old son, he sat transfixed throughout the Gonzales segment which kicks off with a snippet…