| |
|
|
 |
The Book of Cool
www.bookofcool.com
Ever wanted to do keep ups like a football pro,
skate like a skate pro, or use a gun like Wyatt
Erp? If so the Book of Cool is for you....it
teaches you everything you never knew how to
do. The format combines a book with a dvd, slick
slow-mo filming captures the skillful manouvres
perfectly, making it a pleasure to watch even
if you're not too bothered about learning the
techniques, and if you want to learn a particular
trick, the book explains it further. From card
tricks to skateboarding and even frisbee, this
dvd dipicts the way in which they are done creatively
and smoothly in superb high quality.
The Book of Cool is a great concept presented
in a great package. Whether it is practical
to try to learn to lassoo whilst stood in front
of your dvd player is questionable! The artistic
value remains, definitely one for the collection.
|
 |
From _____, with Love
Mack Dawg Productions
With the rise in recent seasons of European
snowboard crews producing their own movies to
a higher quality, we've almost forgotten our
friends in the US, but you better believe they're
still representing strong!
From ____ with Love is quality film making complimented
by stylish graphics. The snowboarding itself
combines street rails, park, and backcountry
riding of the highest standard. Although an
American movie, it features riders and locations
all over the world, stopping off in Russia,
Scandinavia, New Zealand, and South America.
This makes for a varied video which keeps you
interested all the way through.
The soundtrack is also rockin....
|
I Remember
Pirate Movie Production
This video crew come straight out of Austria,
hitting the screen for the first time last season
with the Pirate Radio DVD. Their second video,
I Remember, is just as raw as their first, but
slightly slicker. For starters the DVD comes
in the form of a book, with the dvd in the back,and
artwork, photos, and graphics done by the crew
make up the content of the book. You won't exactly
want to read it over and over, but there's some
cool stuff in there and it definitely makes
a nice change from a boring plastic case, and
it provides an insight into the lives and minds
of the crazy fools behind this movie....
With a balls out rock soundtrack and lots of
home-video style shooting, combined with some
of the film being shot on 8mm, the overall outcome
is quality, yet not too quality. This is not
a serious snowboard movie, it's just a fun one.
Plenty of sick riding on everything from street
rails to big mountain. Many of the riders on
this vid are not so well known but they can
damn well ride! |
|
Shrediquette
MDP
I have to say this is one of the best made snowboard
videos I have seen for a long time. During the
long wait for winter and with a ridiculous collection
of DVDs to review, watching spin after spin,
rail after rail, can get pretty tedious! But
this video hade my attention right from the
start to the end. The footage is pure quality,
the locations obviously amazing, but that goes
without saying. It is the way this video is
put together which really makes it truly inspiring...many
tricks are played in true speed and sound, which
is just what I like.
The soundtrack is really good (mainly modern
rock/electro) but the music doesn't drown out
the sound of boards clanging on rails or edges
chattering up kickers. The tricks are also not
edited too much so you get to see riders riding
away, or sometimes not riding so much as eating
snow! A definite must-have for this season. |
|
 |
December
Travis Parker and friends...
This is not so much a snowboard video, than
a home-made video diary, parker style...the
guys film their trip round Eastern Europe stopping
off at every ski resort they can along the way,
their plan: to ride like when they were kids,
first lift in the morning and staying on the
hill till the last lift closes.
There's no music, no special effects, and barely
any editing, just a couple of pro snowboarders
taking it easy and basically goofing around.
In fact the only piece of "good" snowboarding
is when the boys meet up with Marco Grilc in
the Crech republic and the kid kills it in the
local snowpark.
It's true to life and worth a watch for that
reason, but whether I'd actually pay money to
see this is definitely questionable.
|
 |
Futureproof
Absinthe Films
Out of all the snowboard movies that come out
every season, it seems the Absinthe movie is
the most awaited each time. The crew have a
reputation for doing crazy shit, only to do
it even more crazy the next season.
So, it would follow that Futureproof is one
of the most progressive snowboard videos to
date. Featuring some of the worlds most exotic
locations, Futureproof documents snowboarding
at its best.
Gigi Ruf's section is super sick, he takes the
biggest slam I've ever seen a person get up
from! Matt Beardmore proves his amazing section
in last years video was no flook, and Nico Muller
takes his technical garden tricks to the next
stage....the mountain.
A must-have for your 2006 season, the concept
behind Futureproof is that snowboarding has
gone through many trends, but which aspects
of it will stand the test of time? Big and Backcountry
seems to be the answer. Add to this a sweet
soundtrack of modern rock, hiphop, and instrumentals.
The only criticism of this movie from a snowboarders
point of view is one which applies to many modern
productions, which is that although the high
quality slow-mo captures the riding superbly,
it is so perfect it is almost too perfect and
lacks some of the rawness which makes snowboarding
appealing. Personally I would like to see more
full-speed action and I don't mind seeing a
sketchy landing every now and then...
|
1
| 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
