‘Billabong Odyssey’ a must see

JIM ERWIN

We all go to movies to experience things that we’ll never get to do

ourselves. “Billabong Odyssey” is a new surf documentary that puts

you inside the world of tow-in surfing with imagery so vivid that

you’ll feel the water shooting up your nose. It puts you in the ocean

with the world’s best surfers while they ride waves so huge that no

one in their right mind would go near them. This is a movie you need

to see on a big screen to fully appreciate. And is a must-see for

hard-core fans of the sport.

The movie’s title, “Billabong Odyssey,” is also the name of the

team of surfers who appear in the movie. The goal of the team is to

locate and ride the world’s biggest waves. The team exploits

technological advances in weather forecasting to locate storms and

ocean swells. This strategy allows them to know when to hit the

world’s surfing hot spots and also helps them discover new locations

that have never been surfed. I realize “high-tech surfer dude” seems

like an oxymoron, but it’s new technology that makes “Billabong

Odyssey” possible.

The result of all of this is scenes of guys riding waves bigger

than houses. Off the shores of Surf City we’re lucky if waves reach

10 feet. Watching Bill Parsons surf a 66-foot monster is just

phenomenal. It looks like he’s slicing open the ocean. On a level of

just pure cinematic excitement, I’ll take this over the CGI effects

of “Matrix Revolutions” any day of the week.

This movie also does a nice job of educating the audience on all

safety issues within the sport. There’s no disclaimer that says,

“Kids, don’t try this at home,” but anyone who wants to surf a

40-foot wave would ignore that kind of message anyway. Being the

nerdy guy that I am, I was also fascinated by the way the team was

taught to use their jet skis as water rescue vehicles. The team plans

to surf locations where no one has ever been, and so they need to be

prepared to save each other from the inevitable little disasters.

Some of “Billabong Odyssey” is stuff that’s been seen before in

other surf movies. But who cares? Vicariously riding inside a tunnel

of water with an expert surfer is always fun. The thickness of this

water makes you want to reach out and touch the wave. My only

complaint is that the pacing of the movie is a little off. There are

patches when it gets pretty slow. The movie probably could have been

about 15 minutes shorter than it is, but this is a case where I’m

glad they chose to err on the side of including too much information

rather than too little.

“Billabong Odyssey” is a limited release movie. It’s supposed to

be out on DVD some time next year, but you really want to see this on

a big screen. If you’re even curious about this movie, my advice is

to see it in a theater while you can. You’ll kick yourself later for

missing it.

* JIM ERWIN, 40, is a technical writer and computer trainer.

‘Elf’ offers some early holiday cheer

A reliable constant in Christmas movies is the sugar coated

indulgence of glad tidings and good cheer. Such films rely on the

power of Christmas spirit to solve everyone’s problems. “Elf”

delivers the goods through its character, Buddy, an adult who refuses

to grow up.

Adopted and raised by Santa’s elves since he was a baby, Buddy’s

only reality is Christmas. Everyone at the North Pole, including

Buddy, is consumed with making toys and Christmas decorations.

Perhaps that’s why he’s so gosh darn happy all the time. Now that

Buddy is grown up, Santa and the elves send him off to meet his birth

father, who doesn’t know Buddy is his son.

Unlike Buddy, Walter (James Caan) has a bah humbug outlook on

life. Walter’s role model in life mimics Scrooge. He’s stingy with

his time and emotions for the people he works and lives with.

Walter’s days are spent cheating his employees and customers out of

their money to make a profit for the company. Walter takes one look

at the 30-year-old man dressed like an elf and kicks him by the seat

of his yellow tights.

Director Jon Favreau is a newcomer to the Christmas genre. His

previous efforts were independent films like “Swingers,” male driven

talkies exploring the sharp and contrasting personality differences

between people. Favreau centers his films around conflicting

characters that have difficulty resolving the situation they find

themselves in simply because they don’t see the world from the same

point of view.

Will Ferrell, known for playing child-like characters before in

films such as “Night at the Roxy” and “Old School,” makes Buddy come

alive. Ferrell walks a fine line between portraying a character

overdosing on Christmas spirit vs. an adult who needs to 24/7

supervision. Watching a character like Buddy enjoy life and land on

his feet regardless of the circumstances works its charm on viewers.

Even Scrooge couldn’t resist Buddy’s charm.

“Elf” puts viewers into the Christmas spirit with an overdose of

slap-stick comedy and feel-good times that’s both sappy and

inescapable at the same time. Indulge yourself on Elf’s glad tidings

and good cheer.

* PEGGY J. ROGERS, 40, produces commercial videos and

documentaries.