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CHASING MAVERICKS

This movie is based on a true story that will inspire the audience. Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston) is raised by a single mom (Elizabeth Shue) who is never around. He almost died of drowning when he was younger and Frosty Hesson (the local surfing legend) saved him. Since that day, Jay follows Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) and notices that Frosty often goes out very early in the morning. One day, Jay follow Frosty to see what he's doing out so early in the morning. On this trip Jay discovers the secret place where some of the local surfer legends surf. Frosty tells him that the biggest wave will come to this spot one day. He asks Frosty to help him train to ride the biggest waves. During the training process many life events happen and it turns out that Jay is helping Frosty as much as Frosty is helping him. They build a father and son bond. This movie has so many different emotions. There are the relationships between a Jay and his mom, Jay and his first crush, Jay and his best friend and Jay and his father-figure neighbor. There is so much awesome footage of the waves and the surfing culture that the audience can really enjoy watching while learning. The music is so perfect for all the scenes, especially with the skateboarders and surfers. The sceneries of the 80's and the small town lifestyle is awesome to see. The special effects in this movie are above average. The big wipe out captured in this movie is like no other picture I've seen. The message in this movie is never give up. Sometimes it is so much work to achieve your goals, but if you practice everyday, you will be better than yesterday. My favorite characters are Jay and Frosty. Jay is so friendly and never hold grudges; he always forgives. Frosty is a great surfer with a big heart. I rank this movie 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend this for ages 7 and up. Cheyenne Nguyen, age 9, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic.

I recently watched Chasing Mavericks and really enjoyed it. I saw it with my mom and she even cried in some parts; everyone needs a good movie to cry in sometimes. Throughout this entire movie, I obsessed over the main character, Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston.) He is just so adorable in the whole movie. I did a little research on the story; and it is pretty accurate. I have never really watched movies primarily filmed in water, but I think it makes the acting and storyline more intense, which I liked. This movie is about a fifteen-year-old boy named: Jay Moriarity who, since he was eight, has been passionate about waves and surfing. It all starts when he was timing the swell of the waves to determine how large they were and fell in. His later mentor, Frosty (Gerard Butler) saved him and ever since he is always in the water. One day Jay hops off Frosty's truck and follows him to a place where he sees the biggest waves existing - known to be a myth, the Mavericks. Jay begs Frosty to train him to surf the Mavericks. Frosty agrees and they spend everyday intensely training. Jay has had a hard life; his dad left him, and he acts as a mother to his struggling mother. But, he is very optimistic - which is inspiring. This movie portrays Jay as a good role model, showing how to find happiness in spite of everything. I have now seen this movie twice because it was so good! I probably will soon watch it again. All of the acting is great, and from researching the cast I found out that the main character Jonny Weston (Jay Moriarity) is a new actor. He was amazing in this movie. Even though this movie is based on a true story, it feels unreal because the life of Jay is inspiring, and hard to believe that someone could be that positive. Also there is a good soundtrack. It is the first movie where I actually noticed the sound track. Usually it does not jump out at me, but this time it does. I give this movie five out of five stars because it held my attention the entire time. I recommend it for ages six and up because smaller children might get bored by a long movie Victoria Burns, age 14, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

The surf is up and we are heading to the ocean for this amazing movie. The movie, based on the real life experience of Jay Morierty, played by new-comer Jonny Weston. Jay moves to Santa Cruz, California when he is 9 and learns to surf from a boy he befriends. He is drawn to the waves and the ocean. He counts the seconds between the breakers for fun. Once he learns to surf and has made a name for himself as a good local surfer he meets a legendary big wave surfer named Frosty Henderson, played by Gerrard Butler. The cinematography is hypnotizing. Some of the shots of the ocean and surfing are more then incredible. Your eyes are glued to the screen from the beginning to the end and you can make a really strong connection to surfers and surfing as a lifestyle. Some people call it sour surfing and Jay Morierty was the youngest and the best. In the movie they show the relationship between Jay and Frosty as having only being a few weeks of training seasons but in real life Frosty trained Jay for years before his first attempt at riding a Maverick. These waves can be 50 feet high and are very dangerous. There are so many things that can go wrong. Having us believe that all the training happened in one small stretch of weeks would be impossible but that's just Hollywood telling the story. Go watch this touching story and bring a friend but leave the boards outside. You don't have to surf to enjoy the movie but it could open your eyes to a glimpse of what some of these amazing athletes will do for the sport. Once you see it, you will know why once you start, the ocean is always calling you to back to play again. I think I would love to learn to surf but I will stick with the small waves. The age range is 9 and up but really the photography in the movie will keep anybody entertained. I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 twinkling stars. Morgan Bertsch, age 7, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic.

This is a fabulous film that tells the real life story of Jay Moriarty and Frosty Hesson - superstars in the surfing world. It touches on the bond between a boy and a surrogate dad - a guy who takes him in and shows him the ropes. There are fabulous scenes of the ocean, the big waves, and the surfers who conquer them - or ride them to be more accurate since no one really conquers them. It's a feel good movie all around with great role models, great surfing scenes and cool guys.

When young Jay Moriarty discovers that the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, exists just miles from his Santa Cruz home, he enlists the help of local legend Frosty Hesson to train him to survive it.