Chasing Mavericks

Stunning, nostalgic ocean/beach/surf/coastside visuals, and a watery-emotional story combine to pique any Half Moon Bay romantic to smile, point, shake their head...and gasp with awe. It's, of course, a five-star Flic for me (I am from Half Moon Bay); I'm sure anyone not from Half Moon Bay will have to give it at least a four. In the end, even though it is a love story, it's a surf movie--and a good one. From what I know of surfing, I don't think this tells the whole story, but I think it's a good start. I pray that it opens the door for more stories of this subculture to be told. Bravo to all those that took great risks developing this saga, both before and during.

I do have a complaint: Jeff Clark of Half Moon Bay discovered Mavricks; has the name patented. He noticed the break from behind our High School, and in spite of warnings and skepticism by others, initially took incredible risk in developing Mavricks. He's this surf spot's pioneer, and though this story is really not about Mavricks, but about Jay Moriarty, Jeff Clark deserves his name prominently marqueed .... or maybe that's the sequel!

If you want to watch a movie with a fresh point of view on the world and enjoy every minute of it, I highly recommend watching Chasing Mavericks. Chasing Mavericks is the type of movie that will make you feel alive. Not only me, but many of the other people watching it in the theater were so moved that you would actually they would move with the waves in the movie. The movie approaches the theme of love, family and freedom in a very natural way; something that we rarely see in any other movies of this decade. It's very inspirational and motivating, yet it's very real and natural, so you get inspired without being lectured. My hat's off to the person who first came up with the idea of having Gerard Butler play the role of Frosty, because no other actor could pull it off so perfectly. Butler's character is a mentor, father figure and yet, he does seem larger than life, a character that I can call Poseidon, the god of the seas. Aside from that, this is one of those rare movies that resonates father and son relationship, which is really good to see for a change. Grown men, including me, were actually crying when they watched some emotional scenes and this rarely happens. I highly recommend this movie to everyone who wants to reconnect with their emotions and thoughts.

This movie was great - The filming of of the huge waves, surfers, and conditions was fantastic. I found it a beautiful story of people, the challenge of relationships, mixed with the thrill of surfing, and the athletic abilities required for the champions.

From the heart, this is a true story of a young man, Jay (Jonny Weston), who in spite of many things against him, manages to make his dream come true based on hard work. It is also the story of another man, Frosty (Gerard Butler,) who has his own personal challenges, comes to terms with some of those, and builds a relationship with a young man who needs a father. I was particularly impressed by Brenda (Abigail Spencer), Frosty's wife, who simply loved him. Maybe a strange statement, but when you see the film, you will understand.

Definitely worth seeing!

OK, yeah, I rated it excellent because Chasing Mavericks was a 10 for its genre, IMO. Better than I thought it would be - this story of Jay Moriarty was heart-felt and well-acted. Gerard Butler was spot on for guys like that in Santa Cruz at that time. Jonny Weston was surprisingly good, too, portraying Jay Moriarty.

I loved this movie, the surfing scenes were photographed well. And the scenes around Santa Cruz brought back good memories. It was a throw-back to those movies that were not CG'd out, action flicks, super-heros, etc. (all of which I love BTW). It has a home-grown feeling with interesting colors and nice photography. I lived in the Santa Cruz surfing scene, although not a surfer myself, and really enjoyed the memories of hearing about Mavericks.

Very cool movie about a good and amazingly talented young surfer and his mentor. Surfing is a tight community, esp. back then. I think reviewers who may use the term "sappy" just don't realize how sappy/cool they were! Awesome film that I think young and old will really enjoy.

As a passionate surfer I always look forward to surf films as they are few and far between.The past few takes on surfing by Hollywood have been hit and miss and I think Chasing Mavericks was right on target. The story of Jay is such an inspiring one and it is done quite well as far as surf films go. Similar to the story of Stacy Peralta in Lords of Dogtown, he is an outcast who wants to turn a blind eye to the dark side of those teenage years that many are captured by. Bullies, drugs, violence all play their part in the film, but what is touching is the father son relationship that is developed with Frosty and Jay. Overall it is a great film with lots of heart and few unexpected twists and as in many surf films its fun for us surfers to pick out the cameos of pro surfers and Chasing Mavericks did not disappoint. Peter Mel, Greg Long and tonnes more mentioned in the closing credits. I think this film got surfing right with the escapist attitude and how surfing is more of a love affair with the ocean as opposed to a simple sport. It will leave you inspired and wanting to jump right into the water to Live Like Jay.

P.S. Only bad thing is no mention of Jeff Clark. A little bummed at first but I got over it :)