Chasing Mavericks

This one is based on a true story and released last week. Didn’t post the review earlier because most of you would have missed out on reading it on Sunday. Diwali typically assures me some solid hits :-P and more importantly, I thought you should not miss out on a good movie – at least a good concept.

Jay Moriarty lived for all of a little over 22 years. 1978 to 2001. But in those 22 years he set an example for people across all fields of work. A simple concept of being in love with something so much that you don’t need to be asked twice to do it. A concept of having a passion in life that supercedes everything else that you have. For Jay Moriarty it was surfing.

He grew up in Santa Cruz, California where there were myths of what were called Mavericks. Waves which could touch upto 80 ft – all rumoured with absolutely no confirmation whatsoever. As a child of nearly 9 years, he is saved from drowning by Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) who eventually goes on to become Jay’s father figure of sorts. Jay’s father leaves him and his deranged mother, Kristy (Elisabeth Shue) around the same time.

Jay grows upto be a champion surfer at the age of 16 and rules the roost in the Santa Cruz circuit. But there is something about Frosty that Jay intends to catch up on. Every once in a while Frosty leaves home @ the unearthly hour of 4 am. One such morning Jay jumps onto the van (the back side) and gets to where Frosty goes. Only to be introduced to – The Mavericks – they actually exist. This time around they were only about 30 ft or so but that itself is quite a bit right?

What follows is a rigorous training programme that Frosty puts Jay through so that Jay can ride the mavericks before the end of the season – something similar to what Miyagi does in Karate Kid. But a very effective programme focused on the 4 pillars of human strength – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

I liked Chasing Mavericks because of the inspirational story that it provides. Unfortunately that is where it ends. Gerard Butler is less than his usual intense self. Michael Apted (World is Not Enough) & Curtis Hanson (L A Confidential) are both Academy award nominated directors but don’t really come up with the goods this time.

There has been an effort put in to give a feel of the 80s / 90s visually. And the surf sequences are quite well done and keep you on the edge of the seats. But the overall finishing, the attention to detail, the finer nuances that one would expect from the likes of Apted and Hanson are sorely missing.

To end with, I quote, “We all come from the sea. But we are not of the sea. Those of us who are, we children of the tides, must return to it again and again”. Inspiring story. Average movie. But watch it. 6 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3341722905/

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Sometime back, I had written about what defines a successful movie franchise. The operative word I had used there was that it should be SCALEABLE. If anyone had told C S Lewis in the early part of the previous century that his serial fantasy would be converted to even one movie I am sure he would have laughed at the idea. But I am also quite sure that, secretly, Mr. Lewis would have been visualizing the same in his extremely fertile mind. Very few have come close to the term “fantasia” as CS. And very few movie makers can say that they have done justice to a book. The trio of Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely & Michael Petroni has done a super job of converting CS’s masterpiece to the silver screen. Add to that the class of director Michael Apted and you have the 3rd in this wonderful series of Fantasia.


This edition of the Chronicles starts with the younger Pevensie’s – Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) – who find themselves at their uncles home for a little while since their return from Narnia. Their cousin Eustace (Will Poulter) doesn’t quite like this arrangement and makes it quite obvious in the flesh and more so in his diary. He actually wishes that he could treat his 2 cousins like insects by putting them in a jar. Needless to say, he doesn’t believe a single word of their experiences at Narnia. But he is about to get a crash course in the terms “faith” and “belief” when an obscure painting on the wall actually comes to life and takes the 3 children back into the blue waters of Narnia where Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) rescues them. Eustace is obviously not pleased with this new development and makes his displeasure evident when Reepicheep (the voice of Simon Pegg) welcomes him on board. But he just cant take it anymore when he bumps into a talking minotaur.

Caspian informs the supreme heads of Narnia that all is well and Narnia is finally at peace. He is on a voyage on the Dawn Treader in search of his father’s 7 most trusted aides – The 7 Lords of Narnia. The journey would take him first to the Lone Islands where the Lords escaped to when Narnia fell into wrong hands. On their way they realize that the search for the Lords would also lead them on a mission to secure the seven swords – one for each lord – which have to be collected together and placed @ Aslan’s table. This would ensure that the forces of evil which are slowly getting stronger would be put to rest.

This edition of the Chronicles sees a slight change of guard. We move on to director Michael Apted – most well known for his direction of Gorillas in the Mist and The World is not enough. As mentioned earlier, Apted does a wonderful job of getting the book onto the screen. Like the previous 3 editions, this one continues to make full use of Computer Graphics with creations such as the transparent mermaids, Sea Serpents, Dragons and most importantly the Dawn Treader itself. Apted is ably supported by the cast who continue to get their charm and innocence on screen. All in all, this edition of the Chronicles clearly continues from where it left off and is a complete treat for the family as a whole. Kids are surely going to love this one. 7 on 10 in my books for sure. Maybe more for you Narnia fans.