Blue Crush

Cast: Kate Bosworth, Sanoe Lake, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Mika Boorem and Chris Taloa.

Director: John Stockwell

Release Date: 2002

Running Time: 1hr 40 minutes

Genre: Drama

Rating: PG-13

Format: DVD

Synopsis:

Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) lives to surf! She wakes up every morning before dawn to practice for the local competition Pipe Masters! However when she meets Football Quarterback Matt (Matthew Davis) she becomes distracted, will Matt come between her and her surfboard?

Anne Marie Chadwick, eats, sleeps and breathes surfing, she lives in a little beach shack in O'hau with her two best friends Eden and Lena and her little sister Penny. Anne Marie has been training for months for pipe masters a surfing competition with some of the biggest waves in the world. Although it's not all fun and games, it's not long before Anne Marie bumps into football quarterback Matt (Matthew Davis) and falls head over heels for him, she must find balance between her surfboard and spending time with Matt but will it be too late? It becomes apparent pretty early on that Anne Marie and Penny have come from a broken home, neither see their parents, with Penny still at college, Anne Marie, Eden and Lena must act as breadwinners by working in a local hotel as maids. Bosworth is absolutely fantastic as main lead Anne Marie, she's clearly put a lot of work into making herself look like a professional surfer, the relationship she has with her friends Lena and Eden is pretty convincing, they are clearly all very close to one another and there is plenty of tension between Penny and Annie Marie, emphasizing that Anne Marie is struggling to act as mum to her sister Penny.

Directed by John Stockwell of "Top Gun" fame, he directs a very nice looking movie. I love that John has done some research on Hawaii and has based his movie on the surf girls of Maui. Blue Crush is a stunning looking movie, chances are you aren't going to find a surf movie that looks quite as good as this one does. This movie is 110% all about surfing and the culture that comes with it. Believe me when I tell you, you don't have to be into the sport to enjoy this film. The film flows very nicely balancing scenes between Anne Marie and Matt and the surfing perfectly. I love that John chose to use a little bit of conflict too between Anne Marie and Eden, it's never certain whether Eden is jealous of Anne Marie or simply wants the best for her, but there is a great deal of tension between the two of them, mostly in the second chapter of the film.

Cinematographer David Hennings has truly made this movie look absolutely incredible. Underwater scenes that have been captured look absolutely amazing and very authentic, one can only imagine the time in which it took to get some scenes to look as good as they do. Stockwell has chosen to use a mix of aerial shots, mostly of the surf competition capturing everyone on the beach and the surfers from above, close ups of the actors surfing, you might even notice a few stunt doubles in there and low angle shots for the underwater scenes, with the use of clever lighting and photography they've made this film look absolutely amazing. The lighting in this movie really effects the tone of the film, the colours are vibrant, I love that there is a blue rinse over the whole film, really giving it a summer feeling. Blue Crush looks very authentic, right down to the beach shack that the girls live in, it's obvious they don't have a lot of money, they are rarely seen in designer clothes, shoes and parts of their shack is falling apart as you will see in one scene involving Anne Marie getting ready for a night out with Matt. The hotel where the girls are maids is real hotel JW Marriott Ihalani Resort and Spa at Ko Olina in Hawaii.

The soundtrack really sets the tone for this film perfectly with big names like Lenny Kravitz, POD, Zero 7, N.E.R.D, Damian Marley and Doves. Each song works beautifully with the scene in which they are used, really setting the mood for the film, it's a very catchy soundtrack with a lovely summer vibe to it. Blue Crush is really entertaining and very inspiring. It's about courage, friendship,  love and working hard to make your dreams come true. A very stunning looking film, perfect for anyone that is really into surfing or wants to give it a go.

Bonus DVD Features:

Directors Commentary:

A very interesting commentary by Director John Stockwell. He goes into great detail about how they got beautiful shots of Hawaii and the surfers.

Feature Commentary:

This time with Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez and Sanoe Lake, very interesting if you want to see it from the directors perspective and the actors. Most movies very rarely have both..worth a watch.

The making of Blue Crush:

A small behind the scenes segment on how the movie was shot with a few moments from the actors and producers. It's not amazing, but it is quite interesting.

Deleted Scenes:

Commentary by Director John Stockwell, you can choose to have it on or off. Personally the deleted scenes didn't work, they would have dragged the film down.

Filming Blue Crush:

A three minute segment set to music of them shooting the movie.

The Female Surfing Revolution:

Sanoe Lake, Michelle Rodriguez and professional female surfers discuss woman competing in a man's world!

Wipeout:

Clips of professional surfers wiping out.

Riding the waves:

Clips of the girls and the boys surfing in Hawaii. Personally some of the special features are a bit pointless and could have been put in with the behind the scenes segments etc, they may be more interesting for those who are very passionate about surfing.

Surf Fashion:

Sanoe Lake and Jessica from Billabong take you into the fashion world of surfing! Fashion that was used in the movie and how to get the look.

Lenny Kravitz: 

Music video for his song "If I could fall in love" featured in the movie.

5/5 stars