Blue Crush 2

(2011) Blue Crush 2 DRAMA

Straight to rental which is completely unrelated to the first film other than the title and it is also a surfing movie, with a whole new cast which the only thing both films have in common is that they're about surfing. And if you can get pass the mediocre acting then this film is not bad and could've been better had it had a higher budget. It's also a very superficial film when everything works well or neat toward the end, and the approach is not like what one can find in a Disney film since theirs is an occasional swear word or two. Anyways, as I've said I'm able to appreciate it's 'original' story line over the second rate acting starring Sasha Jackson as Dana who happens to be the only daughter of a frequent surfer but had died while Dana was very young. As a result of a disagreement with her father, she then goes on an "odyssey" to surf through all the South African locations her mother had surfed from the pictures mimic her stances including the one she had never succeeded on surfing called "Jeffrey's Bay" or J-Bay for short. Upon her arrival she strikes up a great relationship with an African local calling herself Pushy played by Elizabeth Mathis, who Dana need as a guide to some of the more popular surfing locations throughout Africa. And she strikes up a deal with Dana to train Pushy to be a surfer herself, so that she can make it to the surfing team. This straight to rental is not better than the first one but it's good enough.

I'm not much into made up movies, it was a happy end one, but since Icame to watch it more than once I concider it great. It's oldschool and have a great plot and summer vibes. A human story told in a great way. Love it!

Dana (Sasha Jackson) is a rich California girl. Her father is pushing her to settle down but she is restless to follow her surfer mother's footsteps back to her home country of South Africa. She surfs the waves and takes the same Polaroids as her mother. She befriends a black surfer named Pushy (Elizabeth Mathis). She is confronted by alpha dog Tara. There is a community of surfers who is squatting on the beach. Tim is a nice photographer. Grant is the charming surfer but he could be bad news. While chasing down her mother's stuff that was stolen, Dana and Pushy discover something darker.

This is more or less a TV movie that is vastly inferior to the original. The original's cast has charisma and spunk. Sasha Jackson is a really pretty girl but she is mostly a Polaroid copy. Going to South Africa has some potential but mostly it is indistinguishable from countless other beach movies. There is plenty of pretty people on the beach and surfing. Then it tries to add some tough drama but it plays more like an after-school special. Even the surfing doesn't seem as exciting. The drama feels manufactured, the thrills are light and the actors don't stick.

This movie was fun for me. I saw adds for this on TV and the fact that is was straight to DVD made me doubt it's potential, but being a fan of the original I figured I give it a chance, so when I saw this on Netflix I thought it'd be something to watch to pass the time. I was impressed by it, granted it definitely wasn't the greatest acting and lines were cheesy here and there but I did enjoy it.

It was an entirely different story from the first and I enjoyed that fact, they weren't trying to continue off a story that people forgot about a decade ago. The story is about a California girl trying to find her own and the only way she knows how is to retrace her mother's surfing footsteps in South Africa, with only a picture album to go on she flies SA and starts her journey, but it's not as simple as she thought it be and immediately doubts herself and her journey. However she manages to make new friends that help her with her goal to walk in her mother's footsteps.

I find movies like this really entertaining, they know they won't be making the Oscar's or win awards but they do the best they can. It's a very chill and relaxing film, paying homage to most surf films which is basically a "chill or be chill" vibe which in it's own right is a very attractive scenario, at least for me.

I give this film 8 because the acting isn't the best and it get's cheesy in some parts but overall this is a great film it's worth a watch if you like surfer flicks and it's something relaxing enough to watch on a lazy day. Like I said in the title, not the best but I'm still going to watch it again.

'BLUE CRUSH 2': Two Stars (Out of Five)

I'm a big fan of the original 'BLUE CRUSH' (from 2002), it's kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. I'm not really into surfing or surf movies but I do highly enjoy that film and it's probably my favorite of the genre (other than maybe 'POINT BREAK'). Now, nine years later, comes another direct to video sequel. Another sequel in name only (merely cashing in on the brand name of the first movie) as the film has nothing to do with the original other than it's about surf girls trying to follow their dreams of being surfers. It was directed and produced by Mike Elliot, who's produced a slew of direct to video sequels ('DEATH RACE 2', 'SMOKIN ACES 2' and 'AMERICAN PIE: THE BOOK OF LOVE', just to name his most recent) and directed one ('BEETHOVEN'S BIG BREAK', his only other directing credit). The film was written by Randall McCormick who's made a name for himself writing 'B' movie sequels (like two 'SCORPION KING' films as well as 'SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL'). This time the film stars three lovely young ladies by the names of Sasha Jackson, Sharni Vinson and Elizabeth Mathis. The girls are beautiful eye candy (especially Vinson, who also recently starred in the excessive sequel 'STEP UP 3D') but they're not nearly as interesting or memorable as Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez and pro surfer Sanoe Lake from the original. Everything about the film just feels like a stale imitation 'wannabe'.

This chapter tells the story of a young rich girl named Dana (Jackson) grieving over the death of her mother and absence of her father's love. She knows that her mom always dreamt of surfing Jeffereys Bay in South Africa so she decides to leave the security of her Malibu home behind and venture to Africa in order to fulfill her mother's dreams. Once there she meets two other young female surfers by the names of Pushy (Mathis) and Tara (Vinson). One, Tara, is a successful 'Roxy' surfer and the other dreams of being one. So Dana and Pushy decide to conquer their surfing dreams together, while some bitter rivalry ensues with Tara.

The first 'BLUE CRUSH' made Kate Bosworth a star (before that she was pretty much unknown), it also made her one of my favorite actresses (along with her work that followed but 'CRUSH' definitely introduced me to her). I thought she not only obviously looked great but gave a good performance (as did the other two leads). That film definitely made you care about their characters. You don't have that with this film. The girls look cute and they might be able to act, if given a chance in another film, but here they're not relatable or interesting in the least. That's probably due in large part to weak directing and a poorly written screenplay (more so than the girls' acting). The story just isn't involving and the surf scenes aren't visually interesting or thrilling at all. Hardcore surf fans still might enjoy this movie (as well as obsessive fans of hot surf girls) but everyone else will mostly be bored.

Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8oXDJoapdc