This is almost as awesome as the movie itself!
My totally unprofessional, Still Filthy-based prediction is that REUBYN ASH is going to be huge. His SF section is nonsensical. I don’t know, like I said, I have absolutely no authority to make these kinds of wild conjectures, but I just have this hunch that he’s gonna blow up.
I discovered, via one of Taylor Steele’s “tweets,” that The Drifter is now available on iTunes. Paying $10 seemed like a much better idea than paying $30, or whatever exorbitant amount it costs to purchase the actual DVD, so I impatiently pretended to read while waiting for it to download. Then I settled in for the long haul (yeah, 57 minutes) with a bowl of soup and clicked play.
Halfway through, despite the phenomenal cinematography, I found myself getting antsy. I wondered if Rob, who shirks all responsibilities and severs ties in the name of cutting loose, as they say, will ever begin to enjoy his trip, which most surfers will only ever dream of taking.
“High expectations make poor travel companions,” he says at one point, and while it may be a clever one-liner, it also seems to say, pretty clearly, that he’s miserable in paradise.
Rob Machado is undoubtedly a beautiful surfer, but a few too many melodramatic shots of him not smiling is enough to bring anyone down. I thought this was going to be carefree?
The end becomes a little bit more upbeat, thankfully, when Machado befriends local villagers and the jungle heat finally melts his intense exterior so that his inner human (-itarian) can come out and play with the kids.
I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it; The Drifter is a well-crafted glimpse into the life of our most beloved afro-endowed barreller (no, that’s not a real word). I’m just letting you know that it is weirdly intense (read: depressing) at times. Does a happy ending conquer all?
There are certain situational phrases we have come to expect that my dad will unfailingly utter. For example, every single one of his sneezes is immediately followed by an expletory exclamation. Whenever he spies a warning sign, he says, “Danger, danger, when you taste brown sugar!” (Ridiculous, I know.) And every time we go skiing, he reminds us, in a theatrically ominous tone, that the mountain is “as cold and lonely tonight…” as it was 300 years ago, or whatever.
Yesterday, it was this very admonition that prompted my brother to say that there’s a movie coming out about being stuck on a mountain- cold and lonely. Frozen is, apparently, this movie. I’m not sure if it looks like Oscar material but it looks interesting, and it inspired a debate over the proper course of action one should take if stranded on a chair lift for (potentially) 5 arctic days:
1. Jump: either land with broken limbs and wait for cougars and wolves, or land successfully and ski on down the mountain
OR
2. Wait out the cold: possibly become a skicicle
It’s a tough choice… I think I would jump, but who can be sure? What would you do?
I got the much-grappled-over ski helmet for Christmas (I love it) and now I’m in the mood for wild and crazy skiing so…
Speaking of surfing in the snow, the trailers for Alex DePhillipo’s new movie, Dark Fall, look BOSS (ha, who says that?).
Kyle Pahlow and Nick Zegel are not only two awesome guys who happen to have a knack for finding the most delicious, underground fried noodles in New York’s Chinatown at 3 a.m. They are also superbly talented filmmakers who have put together a beautiful homage to surfing the mixed conditions and sometimes frigid waters of Jersey.
I saw A Pleasant Surprise back in September at the New York Surf Film Festival and fell completely in love with it. Being from New Jersey, I know that our surf culture is unique, and it’s so nice to see that captured in this finely visualized tribute to the most scoffed-at state in the nation.
My favorite part is when the guys are talking about their high-tech winter gear.
The DVD is available today (Dec. 16th) – do yourself a favor and buy it.
Water, Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Drink 