Stranger than Fiction

[Brocktoon]

Went and saw Taylor Steele's new flick on Thursday night at La Paloma Theater in Encinitas. It was packed. It features a lot of young guys and is the closest thing to a quantum leap in performance in a whole group of guys since Momementum. That's probably because Steele finally stopped focusing on the exact same crew. Jordy Smith, Dane Reynolds, Dion Agus, Clay Marzo, and Ian Walsh make the Momentum crew look about as dated as they made Damian Hardman look in 1991. Slater is not featured in this one (though Benji Weatherly, Shane Dorian, Rob Machado and a few other "old timers" still get at least partial segments).

That said, the theme of the movie is that it is exposing a massive fraud that the surfing in Steele's movies has been faked with digital editing. It's kind of a lame premise to begin with, but after he flogs the dead horse, Steele proceeds to shoot it with a howitzer, run over it with a bulldozer, douse it in diesel fuel and scortch it with an acetelene torch. The thing must have been longer than an hour. I have what was previously thought to be an unlimited capacity to watch good surfing, but two-thirds of the way through I was checking my watch.

I was also disappointed by the lack of audience stoke. The first surf movie I ever saw in the theater was "Surfers: The Movie." It came out in about 1988 or 1989. At the time, the selection of surf flicks for home view was pretty scant and not available at the local video vault; my Dad was not about to shell out for something as stupid as a surf movie. So, going to see the movie was an event. The opening sequence was of Martin Potter, I think, getting barreled on a sick right, shooting out and ripping the top off. The place went nuts and stayed that way. The theater pulsated with energy as the screen alternated between state of the art surfing and interviews with the top guys. It all blew my little fucking mind.

The crowd at La Paloma was dead. Taylor Steele and Mike Losness threw out some stickers and other low-grade schwag. Even though the place was packed, it just wasn't an event. No doubt, every zit-faced grom in the room had seen both Campaign 2 and Freakside in the previous 24 hours and were numb to what was happening on the screen.

So, to sum up: in runs long but is high-high quality. The skits reach new levels of boring gayness. Youth in America is spoiled, apathetic and fucked up. I have become a crotchety old man.

[robnow]

As much as I love surfing, surf flicks just don't do it for me. Ski, snowboard, mountain bike, hell I don't even skateboard anymore and some of the movies absolutely kill it("Yeah Right!", AMAZING), all yes. Surfing flicks, meh!

[Long duc dong]

Interesting. I own lots of ski vids, but have never been to a ski flick or a surf flick in the theater. Taylor Steele's movies were the first surf vids I thought were insane. Focus was the first one I was exposed to.

[SuperGaper]

Only the ....Lost movies do it for me, because they focus on cool, though not necessarily awesome waves and have a great punk sound track. More of a DIY vibe.

In "Decline of Surfing Civilization I & II" you get cool stuff like Supertubes, Sandspit, Outer Banks, the Lopez brothers surfing this tiny perfect wave on the Gulf Coast, Salsipuedes, along with T street and Lowers.


Plus lighting stuff on fire, cardboard surfing hilsides, boogie boarding an aquaduct.


Of course Biolas and crew haven't put out anything recently that I am aware of.

I like the old Runman videos from the eighties, Malibu version of the same thing, Dry sand barrels at Malibu Colony, shitting on some kooks car-hood, the ensuing fight etc.

Otherwise there is only so much Super bank, j bay, Tavarua, Mentawais you can watch untill you go numb. I just wish they would shoot Indo etc from above so you can see the reef magnafied through the crystal clear water.. that was a wake up call for me!

[Hugh Conway]

As much as I love surfing, surf flicks just don't do it for me. Ski, snowboard, mountain bike, hell I don't even skateboard anymore and some of the movies absolutely kill it("Yeah Right!", AMAZING), all yes. Surfing flicks, meh!

the only movies I enjoy anymore are surfing ones. Better cinematography, better direction, better score, fewer stoned out morons.

[CascadeCrudSkier]

I also attended the show in Encinitas and was pretty disappointed w/ the movie. Not enough stuff happening to keep me entertained for 70 minutes. It didn't help that it started a half hour late.

I did really enjoy Sipping Jetstreams and like the direction that Taylor is going w/ those films. Looking forward to Castles in the Sky when that comes out.

[Blanton]

Does anyone happen to have a list of the soundtrack? I caught the premier at the Hurley warehouse and there were no music credits to be seen... perhaps it was a rough cut.


There was an electronic cover of Death or Glory that was pretty cool.

Kalani Robb was Punk Rocker by Iggy and the Stooges