Is Modern Collective the surf video for a new generation?
Reviewed by Nick Braithwaite of Daily Surf Videos.

Five Summer Stories, showed Gerry Lopez’s dominance on the North Shore in 1972.
Shaun Tomson, Rabbit Bartholomew, Peter Towend and Mark Richards had Free Ride in 1977.
Machado, Hobgoods, Slater, Dorian et al had the Momentum Series from 1992.

Each generation of surfers has a surfing video that stands out and helps define it.

The opening scene of Modern Collective with The Castaways – Liar Liar blaring in the background and some ridiculously high punts captured by Kai Neville (director) marks the beginning of a slightly different surf movie.

One of the first things you realize about Modern Collective is that the waves Jordy, Dane, Dion, Yadin, Mitch and Dusty are surfing in are not that perfect. Yes, there are a few sections where the surf is firing, but for a large part the waves are onshore and disorganized. Some like being transported to that perfect day in a surf video, however, there is something jaw-dropping about seeing what the worlds most progressive surfers can do in wedging onshore conditions.

Those of you that have have been lucky enough to watch Sipping Jetstreams will be familiar with the way the  movie is shot, it has a very atmospheric feel to it, but the surfing is more progressive and there is less focus on the locations. For some, this maybe a blessing, for others it may mean that this surfing video lacks that something extra to make it a classic surf movie.

Jordy Smith in Australia has to be one of the highlights of the movie, whether it be from boosting higher than you would have thought possible or making a rodeo flip look like something he pulls off everyday. Surely it’s only a matter of time before he starts nailing these regularly on the WCT.

The session the guys have in heavy onshore conditions 27 minutes in has to contain some of the highest airs ever caught on film. In what can be best described as 4-5 ft wedging conditions Dion, Jordy, Dane, Mitch, Yadin and Dusty (in no particular order) fly down the line in pursuit of either a cheeky barrel or hunt down the perfect ramp from which to launch their next air from.  This movie is quite focused on the Modern Collective getting sky high and not so much linking every turn together (when they do it’s from one air to another or something equally progressive).

Modern Collective has a very raw yet artsy feel to it. The locations are as varied with classics such as France, Morocco, Indo and rural Australia mixed with lesser seen places like Cabo and Reunion Island adding a unique flavor to the locales.  As for the soundtrack, it’s a mix of electro inter spliced with some old school classics and it sounds pretty good. Modern Collective will be a surfing video for this generation as it signals a move away from perfect waves and a move towards exploring different conditions and just what can be done with them.

Nick Braithwaite is chief video picker at Daily Surf Videos, for new surfing videos everyday.

Where to buy: Support your local surf shop!
Kooks buy it here (We’ll still love you): Modern Collective (DVD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLyd_v3y2gM

Still Filthy

Length: 48 minutes

Coming a little late off the heels of Filthy Habits, the 1988 classic, Still Filthy is hyped up to be the answer to everything we’ve been missing in a classic action filled surf film.

Winning best movie of the year before it was even released (judges got a private screening), watching the epic teaser trailer (see below), and seeing all the behind the scenes coverage, I had my hopes up. Did it live up to the hype? Kinda. My hopes had ultimately been set too high. The movie wasn’t everything I was looking for, but yet I keep coming back to watch it again and again. It’s growing on me for sure.

Best sections:

Joel & Andy playing with the heaving right hand Australia closeout slab. Great opening to the movie.

Laurie Towner. The mellow music of his section works so well, combined with his mellow style in the the sickest chopes and shipsterns barrels. Has some sweet jetski POV filming as well.

Shane Dorian on perfect Cloudbreak and Restaurants at Tavarua.

And section of the movie goes to Andy Irons. I first wanted to give it to Laurie but Andy’s section is just unreal. I don’t care if Andy quits the tour forever as long as he keeps putting together video sections like this.

Runner ups: Rasta, Wade, Taj, and Joel’s sections. Also the credits section.

Let-downs:

Donavon’s section was way too short.

Occy was relegated to the credits.

A lot of sections flow poorly and had unmemorable surfing & waves.

Footage not de-interlaced for digital consumption (iTunes).

Surfers:

Mark Occhilupo, Laurie Towner, Kolohe Andino, Dave Rastovich, Dylan Longbottom, Donavon Frankenreiter, Lee Wilson, Tamaroa McComb, Heath Joske, Nick Vasicek, Damien Fahrenfort, Dean Bowen, Mikey Brennan, Shaun Joubert, Reubyn Ash, Cody Thompson, Peterson Crisanto, Alejandro Moreda, Keanu Asing, Creed McTaggart, Dane Ward, TJ Barron, Granger Larsen, Sterling Spencer, Shane Dorian, Torrey Meister, Andy Irons, Wade Goodall, Taj Burrow, Joel Parkinson, Luke Egan, Tiago Pires, Peter Mendia, Greg Long, Grant Baker.

Music:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Viva Voce, The Thermals, The Stooges, Black Math Horsemen, Whiskey Go Gos, Turbonegro, Band of Horses, The Black Angels, Mickey Avalon, The Faint, The Datsuns, Willy Mason.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Bottom line: Doesn’t quite live up to the hype, but still a pretty decent flick. Music and editing leans more to the mellow side of things, not your typical death metal high energy flick.

Where to buy: Support your local surf shop!
Kooks buy it here (We’ll still love you): Still Filthy (DVD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxN-c-1OlSU

Aaron Lieber’s first film, The Pursuit, was the sickest movie I saw last year, and he’s hard at work on The Pursuit II. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the footage, Torrey Meister going big.

The Pursuit

An Aaron Lieber Production with support from VAS Entertainment, Transworld Surf, Hurley, Boost Mobile, Etnies, Oakley, Surf Prescriptions Surfboards, Shaka Laka, Surfline, FUBAR, and Toyota.

Length: 1 hour 10 minutes

An hour and ten minutes of non stop surf, all the best up and coming WSQ surfers, no weak contest footage, Kelly Slater delivering the intro words, wipeout section in the credits, and all in 1080p HD? Am I dreaming?

If you own a blu-ray player, get this movie. If you’re stoked on insane surfing, get this movie. I don’t know what else I can say. The movie features the current WSQ generation, with each section starting with a short interview, a nice glimpse into the personalities of the surfers. No section disappoints, the first few were blowing my mind and I didn’t think they could be topped, but each new section was better than the last.

As far as the insane surfing, we’re talking huge superman airs, rodeos, one footed tom curren tail slides, deep heavy barrels, you name it, and this movie has it, multiple times over.

Best sections:

This is going to be a tough one but I’m giving it to the Gudauskas brothers. Both Tanner and Patrick Gudauskas have insane sections. Pat busts rodeos every other wave and Tanner goes big on everything he does with a super clean style.

Notable performances:

Sebastian Zietz and Tanner Gudauskas’ dance off.

Torrey Meister’s barrels.

Jordy Smith’s tail slides.

Brett Simpson in Mexico.

Alright who am I kidding, everyone’s section was insane in this movie. Other favorites were Dusty Payne, Dede Suryana, Cheyne Cottrell, Mitch Coleborn, Sebastian Zietz, and Ricky Basnett.

Classic quote:

“After a while you start to lose a lot of heats and you’re like, am I a loser? I feel cool sometimes but I think I might be a loser. And girls aren’t talking to you; you start to become really self conscious. Seriously. True story. It happened.” – Tanner Gudauskas

Surfers:

Brett Simpson, Jordy Smith, Ricky Basnett, Pat Gudauskas, Dusty Payne, Dede Suryana, Torrey Meister, Hank Gaskell, Dane Reynolds, Yadin Nicol, Stuart Kennedy, Dane Gudauskas, Tanner Gudauskas, Brad Ettinger, Travis Mellem, Cheyne Cottrell, Sebastian Zietz, Nathanial Curran, Mitch Coleborn, Eric Geiselman, Sterling Spencer, Shaun Ward, and more…

Music:

The Matches, Ignite, Chiodos, Kamikaze, Castaneda, Incubus, Under the Influence of Giants, Goose, Silversun Pickups, Warner Drive, It Dies Today, Greeley Estates, War Stories, Plastick, The Bronx, The Aggrolites

Rating: 5/5 stars

Bottom line: Insane. If you have any doubts, watch the trailer.

Where to buy: Support your local surf shop!
Kooks buy it here (We’ll still love you): The Pursuit (DVD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-edbC9gGjk

CENTRO NICARAGUA

Produced, directed and edited by Tyler Bliss

Length: 36 minutes

This film is good. I’ve watched is several times and it grows on me each time. Tyler Bliss has done a very thorough job of capturing the influence that surfing has had in Nicaragua during its relatively short 15 years of existence there.

The film has the fascinating story of the rise of surfing after the Nicaraguan civil war – and the hopefulness that the sport brings to the community. The locals show their appreciation for surfing and what it has to offer to (or take from) the country as its popularity increases.

When it comes to waves, Nicaragua has it all — beach breaks, right and left points, and “32 foot” reef passes, all of which are beautifully documented in this movie. Tyler has done a great job filming the waves from all angles, but the final production is slightly disconnected as the music choice poorly fits the personalities and message of the movie.

Favorite quote: “Surfing has changed my life”

Surfers: Luis Chamorro, Gerardo Miranda, Oliver Solis, Roque Calderon, Kervin Lopez, Jimmy Rotherham.

Best section: Oliver Solis (this guy charges!)

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLbdGpMVug4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA56WqAmiVM

A Fly in the Champagne

Irons Brothers Productions, Directed by Matt Beauchesne .
With support from Transworld Surf, Billabong, Quiksilver, and ESPN.

Length: 50 minutes

I’m sure you’ve all seen the hype around this movie, it’s been talked about in every magazine, message board, and blog. It’s obvious why, throwing Kelly Slater and Andy Irons together on a surf trip, who wouldn’t get hard over “a 10 day purging of feelings, dispelling of rumors, and burying the hatchet once and for all” between the two greatest competitive surfers to have ever lived.

Does the movie live up to the hype? It does for sure. I only had a couple minor issues with it. The background narration is a little corny, but the majority of the talking comes from Kelly and Andy, and there’s plenty of laughs and trash talk. They’re both kind of big dorks but you gotta love them for it.

The first half hour of the movie is done documentary style, following the rivaly throughout the years, including all the contest footage and interviews from friends and industry heavyweights. The end of the movie returns to your standard surf movie you can amp on, Kelly, Andy, and friends tearing apart perfect reef pass waves with some wrapping up of the interviews. It feels a little weird switching between these two formats, but both sections are well done.

Best surfing:

Yeah, what a silly question to ask. They’re both on top of their game this trip, they both surf insane.

Surfers on the trip: Kelly Slater, Andy Irons, Martin Potter, Ross Williams, Shane Dorian.

Music: U.N.K.L.E., Hybrid, Air, Sea Wolf, Dusty Brown, Placebo, Rogue Wave, KI Theory, The Heartaches, Years Around the Sun, Sacha, Destroy the Runner, Sparta, Interpol, Silversun Pickups, Modest Mouse, Califone, People in Planes.

Rating: 5 Stars

Bottom line: Overall a great movie.

Where to buy: Support your local surf shop!
Kooks buy it here (We’ll still love you): A Fly In The Champagne

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXSRSS62OgY

Archy
Produced by Bill Ballard at Billygoat Productions

Length: 1 hour 25 minutes

I’ll just go ahead and say it. Archy is the best action sports documentary I’ve had the pleasure of watching. I’ll compare it to Dogtown and Z-Boys, but it’s better. There’s not much else to say, this is a movie that needs to sit on the shelf right next to the Endless Summer.

The film traces Archy’s history starting in San Clemente, where as a punk grom he was skipping school, trashing house parties, and becoming a local standout within months of picking up a surfboard. His brief attempt at a NSSA run was followed by dropping out of highschool his freshman year and going pro, but ultimately finding his place as the first paid free surfer / aerialist. The movie follows him through his ups and downs to present day where he’s living a more mellow life on the north shore.

Alcohol and drug abuse have been central themes in Archy’s life, but he’s clean and sober these days, with a very level headed outlook on his life. I’m so stoked on his claim to Off-The-Wall as his own, surfing it as big as it’ll get when everyone else wants nothing to do with it. You can tell Archy is super happy living in Hawaii with a wife and kids, the eldest of which (Ford) is turning into quite the young ripper himself.

The movie is put together superbly, with a supporting cast of about 50 friends, family, and fellow surfers all giving interviews and telling stories. Everyone from Moses Paskowitz, Jeff Booth, Sunny Garcia, Andy and Bruce Irons, Mike Parsons, Herbie Fletcher, Shawn Briley… just to name a few. And of course, there’s plenty of great surfing footage.

Classic stuff:

20 minutes of extra footage, friend telling their favorite Archy stories. The best is Sunny Garcia complaining about how he was staying with Archy when he was 13 and Archy went to see a Billy Idol concert without him. Sunny still holds a grudge and claims it’s the reason Archy stays away from Backdoor.

More bonus footage, a day to day profile of 17 year old Ford Archbold’s life, and traveling with his dad and scoring epic surf.

Rating: 5 Stars

Bottom line: Required viewing, no question about it.

Where to buy: Support your local surf shop!
Kooks buy it here (We’ll still love you): Archy (DVD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7CAsSyycuY

A Brokedown Melody

Length: 55 minutes

In brief, a Broke Down Melody is a powerful experience. Directed by Dan Malloy, this Woodshed Film production follows some of the best surfers ever to live while the play and charge uncrowded sessions in Indonesia, Jamaica, South America, Hawaii, Mexico, and Tahiti. Whether it is seeing what surfing offers to the youth of Jamaica or chasing a dream wave in Mexico, this film reminds one of the fun and freedom that surfing offers. All in all, this film, shot in 16mm, keeps the fire stoked!

Notable Sections:

Kelly Slater being towed into an undisclosed wave in Tahiti… he is so stoked!!!!!!

The whole damn movie is wonderful. Be sure to check out the bonus footage (45 minutes long)… there is a lot of great stuff there too.

Classic Quotes:

“There are so many sketch waves that will still give you a loft of fun.”

“Operating in the present (is) the foundation of what surfing is all about.”

“The future of surfing is going to come from places you least expect it.”

“Life is to short to have shitty friends.”

Surfers: Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, CJ Hobgood, Mark Cunningham, Tom Curren, Gerry Lopez, Jack Johnson, The Malloys, and others.

Soundtrack: Jack Johnson, Doug Martsch, Matt Costa, Eddie Vedder, Beta Band, and others

Rating: At the top of any rating scale!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpzIXCHzc-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o32tGEjGQPI

Clay Marzo’s Just Add Water

Produced and Directed by Strider Wasilewski and Jamie Tierney.
With support from Quiksilver.

Length: 48 minutes

I’ve been sitting on this movie for a while, not really sure what to say about it.

This movie attempts to be three different things:

1. Your typical surf video with insane surfing. Clay is a machine.
2. An aspergers documentary. Interviews with the doctors are well done.
3. A documentary on Clay’s life.

The movie does all 3 successfully… but it suffers from trying to do too many things at once and you’re left with the feeling that each part could have been much better had it had been done separately.

Obviously, Clay’s surfing is insane, I love watching him, and the movie is amazingly well produced and edited, everything about it is top notch… I just feel like clay needs 3 hours worth of movie to do him justice.

Best sections:

Clay meets Kelly on Tavarua and they both score perfect Cloudbreak. There’s also some footage of Clay ripping 2 foot, onshore Cloudbreak and it makes you realize that Clay is the kind of surfer that is fun to watch no matter what wave he’s riding. Next up is a pumping Maui lefthander, Clay’s local spot. It’s such a fun looking, heavy wave, I think we’ll be seeing more of it for sure. The Teahupoo section near the end is also great, Clay tows into one of the deepest longest barrels I’ve seen there, and then there’s plenty of good paddle footage of him and the boys.

Bonuses:

• Dane Reynolds explaining how he looks like an old man surfing with Clay.
• Clay Marzo’s water mic audio, talking to himself while getting shacked.
• Getting excited over two things in the world, sick lefts, and food. Minute long montaj in the credits of clay grinding food.
• Surfers Healing, Clay riding tandem with kids at Malibu.
• Laird Hamilton scrubbing Clay’s reef cuts with lime in Tahiti.
• In memory of Ron Cassidy, great clip of a barrel he gets.

Surfers: Clay Marzo, Kelly Slater, Dane Reynolds, Ry Craike, Dusty Payne, Wes Larsen, Kevin Sullivan, Alicia Yamada, Raimana Van Bastolaer, Danny Fuller, Jamie O’Brien, Gabriel Villaran, Strider Wasilewski

Interviews: Clay Marzo, Jill Marzo, Gino Marzo, Kelly Slater, Dane Reynolds, Ry Craike, Andy Irons, Jeremy Flores, Mark Occhilupo, Tom Curren, Jake Paterson, CJ Hobgood, Fred Matacchia, Dr. Tony Attwood, Dr. Chitra Bhakta, Granger Larsen, Adam Klevin, Alicia Yamada, Martin Potter, Chad Wells, Craig Nicholls, Hamish Rosser, Israel Paskowitz.

Music: The Album Leaf, Cornelius, Pinback, Chromeo, Girls in Hawaii, Red-Eyed Legends, The Beastie Boys, Sea Wolf, Jose Gonzalez, Cineplexx, Snowden, MGMT, The Accidental, The Vines, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Youth Group.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Bottom line: Treat this as a documentary about Clay and you’ll be stoked. The surf footage will be icing on the cake.

Where to buy: Support your local surf shop!
Kooks buy it here (We’ll still love you): Clay Marzo – Just Add Water

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvZbUuwM4_w

Fitty Fitty

Produced and Directed by Matt Gye and Simon “Shagga” Saggfina. 
With support from Tracks, Billabong, Volcom,and Ripcurl.

Take 3 surfers who grew up together (Mick, Parko, Deano), competed together, and pretty much joined the tour together. After hearing them complain about how they only get to hang out at contests, send them on a mellow surf trip, add a few more of their best friends, and let the party begin.

These guys are all best mates and all they want to do is surf insane and drink beers. Sounds like a good surf trip to me. And of course to top it all off, they score some sick waves.

Length: 35 minutes

Best sections:

Pumping lefthander, same wave as my favorite wave in Ripcurl’s Somewhere. Just one wave was shown in Somewhere, an 11 second barrel. I’m having trouble identifying the spot, but the guys score a couple epic sessions there, backside barrel riding at its finest.

The other is a super hollow, perfect little righthander. They park the boat up close, and a lot of the shots they don’t even zoom in, the guys pulling out right at the boat’s edge. It’s the wave on the DVD cover.

Best surfing:

Alright, they all surf crazy good, but I gotta give it up for Deano. His roundhouse cutbacks and reverse 360 airs are all time.

Surfers: Mick Fanning, Dean Morrison (Deano / Dingo), Joel Parkinson (Parko)

Friends: Paul Fisher “Sensitive Paul”, Matt Skene “Big Rocks”, and Dan Holt “The North Straddie’s #1 Lawnmower”

Music: Dave Cavanagh, Airbourne, No Park’in, Keison, Grinspoon, The Cubical, The Frankie Band, Bliss n Eso, Ash Grunwald

Rating: 5 Stars

Bottom line: Can’t go wrong with this one

Where to buy: Support your local surf shop!
Kooks buy it here (We’ll still love you): Fitty Fitty (DVD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeKrgq3ms3c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcSbbfgeTBE