Review of Body Glove’s “Live From the Moon,” Showing Tonight
“Is Cheyne going to Air Reverse over the moon, is Jamie O’Brien going to post up by something on dubs, is Alex Gray going to bust into a freestyle” and other thoughts came to my mind before sliding in Body Gloves “Live from the Moon” into my PC. After winning the former Transword Surf Magazine’s “Imaginarium” surf photography and short clip contest back-to-back with last years “The Disappearance” and 2011’s “8-Bit” (check them out on BodyGlove.com), Greg Browning and crew take the boys to picturesque locations on and off the grid in a full action surf movie. Jamie O’Brien, Alex Gray, Cheyne Magnusson, Anthony Walsh, Ezekiel Lau and others ride everything from Monster Death F-Me slabs to playful right hand reef breaks.
Once play is pushed a cartoon short begins giving homage to pop and surf culture of decades past in a semi-psychedelic modern take on a 70s intermission surf film ala Hal Jepson’s “Supersession.” With an influence of 1981’s “Heavy Metal” cartoon epic minus the generous amount of drawn boobage, “Live From the Moon” was on a good start.
When the cartoon short finished, the LFTM intro showcases the amount of effort put into the conceptual aspects. It reminded me of a modern take on James Bond’s “Moonraker” introduction except without the silhouettes of shapely women and actual shots of beautiful women that would serve as a vignette to the whole film. The overall cinematography and editing is flawless and is refreshing when today’s surf brands have over embraced “retro” film to the point of seeming too contrived. Purposely out of focus and raw seems to be the rage the last couple of years. LFTM stays away from that noise and embraces the digital age that’s caught up with the art of film.
I forgot how hard Jamie O’Brien ripped and was reminded during the Indo section. O’Brien was flipping these out of control frontside aerials off the top into the collapsing whitewash making it seem as the dude ate shit on a hail mary “for the video” rotation. Seconds later, his Eminem inspired bleached hairdo would reappear in the frothy soup.
After a smorgasbord of perfect tuberiding and performance turns, burns, and whirly bird aerials, LFTM treats the audience to a wipeout section. Thank God. Nothing is as classic as a surf film taking a few minutes to honor those “taking the gas.”
With the buzz of Alex Gray stepping into the big wave arena the last couple of years, his tow-in and paddle-in footage at Teahupoo made 70s surf legend Mike Purpus say “Oh shit.” LFTM has a solid section of “Oh shit” waves in Tahiti but then when the crew heads to Ireland, another “Oh Shit” slab is featured that’s gnarlier in a different way. In Head to toe 5 mil rubber, Gray, Magnusson, and Walsh tackle a ledging double overhead right that at some clips look almost rideable (it’s obviously ridable for the crew), but then the sets showed the tenacity of the super slab’s close-outs and f-ed sections.
Body Glove’s “Live From the Moon” premieres tonight at the Hermosa Beach Pier Playhouse at 7:30. Tickets $5. It’s a must go for surfers who appreciate hot surf action and non-surfers who appreciate a well put together piece. Film stars Jamie, Alex, Cheyne, and Anthony will be signing autographs before the movie showing.The Karaoke after party with the cast will be at Waterman’s on Pier Avenue from 9-12. DZ