A Look Back #12:
'A Look Back' is a place where 'Movie Freak 77' reviews old movies, that considers them one of best or successful movies.
*Mild Spoilers Alert
Do NOT forget to rate and comment on this post when you finish.
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| Official 'Chasing Mavericks' Poster. |
In what could have been easily a generic movie about teen surfing turns out actually to have true heart and emotions that elevates the entire film and respects surfing as a sport.
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| "Jonny Weston". |
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| "Gerard Butler". |
'Jay Moriarty'(Johnny Weston) is a 15-year old boy, whose passion towards
surfing was ignited when he was an 8-year old boy when he was saved by surfer
'Forsty Hesson'(Gerard Butler). One day, 'Jay' decides to jump unnoticed into
'Frosty''s van. When 'Frosty' arrives to his location, 'Jay' stands there
watching 'Frosty' and three of his surfer buddies riding enormous waves known
as 'Mavericks'. When caught by 'Frosty', 'Jay''s interest in 'Mavericks'
peaks,wanting 'Frosty' to teach him how to ride the wave, an offer which the
veteran surfer declines. After 'Frosty' is convinced by his wife 'Brenda
Hesson'(Abigail Spencer), 'Frosty' decides to mentor 'Jay' for three months so he
can ride 'Mavericks' when it reaches its peak high when a storm called 'El
Nino' arrives. With training to perform what will become his passion, 'Jay'
must balance his normal life, which includes going to school, taking care of
his mother 'Kristy Moriarty'(Elisabeth Shue), and going to work. Training will
be harder than what he might have expected and what him learning from this
experience will exceed his expectation. Other major characters include
'Kim'(Leven Rambin) 'Jay''s childhood friend and crush, 'Blond'(Devin
Crittenden) 'Jay''s best friend, and 'Sonny'(Taylor Handley) 'Jay''s rival.
And "Cooper Timberline" and "Harley Graham" played
young 'Jay' and 'Kim' respectively. We also have
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| "Leven Lambin" and "Abigail Spencer". |
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| "Elisabeth Shue". |
Usually when any production studio green lights a true story, that falls
into the sports-family genre, many expects that the movie will follow a certain
cliché path where the events of the story outweigh the emotional essence of the
story. However, true stories about surfing tend to fall in between this fine
line of being over-cliché and being filled with a meaningful moral. With 'Chasing
Mavericks', this is exactly where this movie falls tending to be a bit more
emotional and full of inspiration, when it comes to the main characters
story-line. This was shocking seeing that in the middle of shooting; the
director had to be substituted due to health reasons. Still, the movie really
comes to life when its natural setting (the ocean) is presented. This makes for
an exhilarating experience for the audiences. This mostly must be given credit
to the production team behind the movie, which does well to execute these
scenes, which are essential for a movie about surfing to work out. Still, the
movie does include certain shortcoming, especially when it comes to the way the
script deals with other matters that are not related to the main plot, which it
tended to be the beating heart of the movie and what made it tilt towards
success.
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| "Jonny Weston" and "Devin Crittenden". |
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| "Greg Lomg", "Zach Wormhoudt", "Peter Mel" and "Gerard Butler". |
Director "Curt Hanson"('In Her Shoes') is given primary
position in the directing seat, even if he was later substituted by director
"Michael Apted"('The World is Not Enough' and 'The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'). Both were a very
big part of why the movie worked. Their directorial style was utilized to the
maximum when it came to showing off the breathtaking ocean scenery and its
surrounding. This was further enhanced thanks to second-unit director
"Philip Boston", who has previous work in shooting surfing scene in
the documentary 'Billabong Odyssey'. "Jim Meenaghan"('The
Passion of the Christ') and "Brandon Hooper"('Last Flight to
Raven'), who wrote the story and screenplay writer "Kario
Salem"('The Score') provided a mixed result. As mentioned before,
while all elements regarding the main story about surfing did work well, the
other sub-plots provided a range of results, from being under-utilized to being
forgotten. And it must be re-highlighted that the story takes inspiration from
the real-life story of soul surfer legend "Jay Moriarty". Composer
"Chad Fischer"('Scandal' TV series) provides an engaging and
interesting score that mixes between the thrilling tunes to the pop culture
relevant ones of that era.
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| "Leven Rambin" and "Jonny Weston". |
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| "Abigail Spencer" and "Gerard Butler". |
This movie was considered by many surfing fans, surfers and legends as one of
the most honest and real depiction of surfing in Hollywood history(despite some
factual glitches), where it depicted the training needed as well as the
dangers of this sport, bringing forward what the sport is all about. As
mentioned previously, what makes the movie works is when the story aligns with
the sport it is talking about. From the opening moment where we witness the
entire sea raging with waves, many were baffled by those scenes. The way they
were shot and the angles that renowned cinematographer "Billy Pope"('The
Matrix' trilogy) chose to take while shooting these breath-taking scenes
just gave the movie that sense of seriousness and heart-pounding moments,
especially in the third-half of the movie. The penultimate surfing scene, all
elements pertaining to providing this beautiful shot from the direction, to the
angle and even the music, felt perfect. The coming of age story alongside the father-son/mentor-student
story proved to be engaging while still having its shining moments as
well as its moments of wackiness. However, the story did underuse many subplots
that could have added emotional depth and complexity to the movie, such as
'Frosty' and 'Brenda''s relationship, 'Jay''s mother's story, 'Jay' and 'Blond' friendship, as well as 'Jay''s
love story with 'Kim'. The ending of the movie was touching and the morale(s)
of the movie did in my opinion shine forward.
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| "Greg Long" and "Gerard Butler". |
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| "Jonny Weston". |
Being a household name, "Gerard Butler" was able to carry the movie
on his shoulder. His performance in this movie showed many doubters and fans
that "Gerard" could ease in a role that doesn’t require him to be
this extroverted person. "Gerard" was able to show the vulnerability
and complexity of a normal human person, who has such passion for surfing but
puts his family in front of everything. Newcomer(at the time) "Jonny Weston"
manages to impress with his subtle and real performance. And according to many
who knew the real "Jay Moriarty", "Jonny" and the movie was
able to bring forward the true personality and real spirit of this iconic soul
surfer. The relationship between "Jonny" and "Gerard"'s
character was one of the better established elements of the movie that made the
movie work. Established actresses like "Elisabeth Shue" and
"Abigail Spencer" were accorded to little to work with, still their limited contribution proved to be a success and could have added value if
they were granted more to do. "Leven Rambin" managed to convince as
'Kim' and managed to work with what she was given. Same goes to "Devin
Crittenden" and "Taylor Handley", whom both supported the stories
and the job their characters were given."Cooper Timberline" and
"Harley Graham" impressed as young 'Jay' and 'Kim'. The inclusion of
real-life surfers "Peter Mel", "Greg Long" and "Zach
Wormhoudt" proves the caring of the production team for authenticity in
representing the sports.
Ultimately, a surfing movie based on the life of one of the most iconic soul
surfers ever did pass the cliché line to be a refreshingly enjoyable movie.
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| Official 'Chasing Mavericks' Poster. |
-Release Date: October 6, 2012.
-Based on: the real-life story of Jay Moriarty.
-Starring: Gerard Butler, Jonny Weston, Abigail Spencer, Leven Rambin, Devin Crittenden, Taylor Handley, Cooper Timberline, Harley Graham Peter Mel, Greg Long , Zach Wormhoudt and Elisabeth Shue.
-Studio(s): Walden Media and 20th Century Fox.
-Directed by: Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted.
-Story by: Jim Meenaghan and Brandon Hooper.
-Screenplay by: Kario Salem.
-Music by: Chad Fischer.
-Running Time: 116 minutes.
-Budget: $ 20,000,000.
-Box Office: -Domestic: $ 8,315,750.
-Foreign: N/A.
-Ratings: -IMdb: 7.1/10.
-Rotten Tomatoes: 31%.
-Metacritic: 45%.
-PERSONAL RATING: 7.6/10.
-'Chasing Mavericks' Trailer:
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