2 comments about Ski Bums.

1. I first saw it in its premier in Sundance. Regardless of how much I love skiing, this documentary should be taught in all film schools. It was not like medicine that you HAVE to take. It was fantastic. Purely artistic, and completely entertaining. Breathtaking cinematography (I'm a musician, so a film connaisseur would love it even more). I highly recommend it for all sports lovers, young people, sociologists, you name it. Everyone will learn something. A truly entertaining piece.



2. This is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. I don't even like to ski, but this movie can make you cry. It is not just a ski movie; the personalities are fascinating. All it does is follow a bunch of people who spend their time skiing and living in Whistler and living to ski, but the personalities are fascinating. This has been running on the Documentary Channel, but it can't be found on DVD anywhere!

5 comments about Extreme Sports Bloopers - Sports Gone Wrong.

1. Not very funny. No narration, not much in Major sports. NOT WORTH THE MONEY



2. I really enjoyed this video. The music jams and it's definatly entertaining. If what you're looking is ESPN2 glossed over and "made for TV", then this isn't for you. If you like your action raw with some great new music, then you can't lose with this one. Especially for the price! Pansies; move along.... Music from: Cigar, War Called Peace, Unleaded, Out of Order, Astro-Sounds & Custom Made Scare.



3. I was so disappointed in this dvd. When I ordered it, I expected some great bloopers, instead, it was some amateur compilation of crap. I bought it as a gift for someone and
   was actually embarrassed when we began watching it. DO NOT BUY THIS!



4. Personally, I don't get why people would want to buy a bloopers DVD for home viewing, there is plenty of this going around the internet for free.
   This DVD is great for playing on a tv as part of atmosphere (in a sports bar or example), well, a small problem with copyright there. Oh yes, the soundtrack of this DVD really shouldn't be the reason to buy it... Hope this helps for you to decide.



5. Basically, a poorly presented barrage of jumpy, stitched-together clips of young nitwits wiping out on skateboards, surfboards, snowboards, BMX bikes, bungee cords and other injury-producing contraptions, all while some of worst garage bands you've never heard of grunt out steaming piles of talentless noise. Unless you enjoy seeing these guys occasionally injure themselves (which, I admit, has a certain appeal), their "bloopers" are generally humorless and uneventful. On the plus side, this DVD might be useful as a coaster, a trapshooting target, or to wedge under a wobbly chair.

5 comments about Extreme Ops.

1. The movie "Extreme Ops" which opened to lukewarm reviews and even more lukewarm box office really should carry a government health warning with it. It is so mind numbingly incoherent and lackluster that one can feel your brain cells being depleted one by one after each comic strip moment.
   Let me take that back because to equate comic strips with this piece of drivel is a disservice to comic strips. This movie has no plot and no characterization. The point appears to be to display some "amazing" stunt work but the effect is spoiled by an over usage of truly obvious computer generated effect work that would not look out of place on your home play station.
   The plot, and I use the term loosely, concerns a group of commercial filmmakers who travel the world in attempts to catch stunts on film. They have been hired by a Japanese businessman to catch shots of a skier racing ahead of an avalanche (the reason why is never really given) so this ragtag group heads for Austria. Why they made the decision to film the shot in the Alps instead of the perfectly good Rocky Mountains is similarly never explained, except that it allows them to come into contact with a sneering Serbian war criminal fresh from faking his own death.
   Understandably the sneering villain is none to happy to be sharing his mountain hideaway with an obnoxious group of teenagers. He, like the theater audience, seems to find them just as annoying as we do, but whereas we have the liberty of tuning them out or, even more sensibly, walking out in the middle of the movie, he takes a more homicidal approach and decides to do away with them.
   I usually try to find some good points in a movie I review so it is somewhat balanced, however it is hard with this flick to find something positive to say, I guess one could point out that the girls are good looking and the scenery is equally pretty - does that count?
   Do yourself a favor and give this a miss. I would also recommend that you pass it by when you see it on DVD shelves. There is absolutely no redeeming feature to this dull, dumb movie.



2. Avoid this one. The bad reviews are not kidding. The plot is almost non-existent. The action scenes are not enough to make up for the poor editing. The writing has drawn the characters very thinly. Sadly, a reason to watch this movie is to be amused at how badly it is put together.



3. Extreme Ops was totally Extreme and off the hook I love this movie. Action Packed and not to mention funny.
   
   Overall this is an A+++++ movie



4. Some folks need only a paper-thin plot to string together a bunch of action sequences, without character or theme or language or logic getting in the way. If that's you, this may be your movie. Xtreme sports, xtreme ops. Get it? If that doesn't strike you as xtremely clever, you may find this movie painful to watch. I'm thinking of telling The Agony Booth about it.
   
   The humor doesn't work, to the extent that I think I want a laugh track after all. Or a drummer doing rim shots. Ba-DUM-bum! Characters are distinguishable by such things as fake national accent and stereotyped mannerisms, hair style and/or color, or shouting all his dialogue. I didn't watch it all. I didn't even watch enough to tell you what it's about. Amazon or Imdb can tell you what it's about. Just something else we found in the flat. Someone's losing credibility as a selector of DVDs.



5. Everything you ever wanted to do.
   Extreme sports meets james bond stuff.
   wish it went for longer.

5 comments about Frostbite.

1. What can I say about this gem? A diamond in the rough? Nah. But amusing.
   
   This is the kind of film any hungover, stoned or just plain out of it viewer will probably have an easy time digesting.
   
   There are moments of inspired genius in this film, but......
   
   I would highly recommend anyone who found this even mildly entertaining to seek out the director's cut - it's lightyears better. Maybe Fox will put that out eventually. At least I hope they do. It's two very different movies. This version was not approved by the creative forces behind the film, and apparently there were some very very very creative forces behind the scenes.
   
   Anyway, worth a look.



2. I have seldom seen a film of this genre done so well. The comedic writing in FROSTBITE is first rate. I noticed that the writers are big name ( read EMMY winners ). The casting is very creative. Traci Lords, what a great idea, and Phil Morris from Seinfeld is brilliant. How the director could control these insanely creative people is beyond me.
   
   THIS IS A MUST SEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



3. This is another of the endless type of Hollywood movie that is lame, puerile, and stupid. I won't go into detail with examples of the lame attempts at humor, since other reviews here cover that well. And sure, as the the cover suggests, it's got a bunch of sexy babes in it, but don't watch it for them either, because there's very little to see of them. The only decent sexy scene is a hot tub one with several topless girls that runs maybe 2 minutes. Further, the cover advertises "4 UNRATED deleted scenes" as though those are sexy scenes, but they're NOT at all. So, if you're looking for very corny, adolescent humor, this film may be for you, but otherwise avoid it like the plague.



4. The acting is great! Everything is sooooo great! And I really loved when Billy was put in a trash can and thrown down the mountain! I laughed out loud when I heard J.P! The way he speaks.... AWESOME!



5. I bought this title primarily to see Traci Lords in yet another kinda mainstream movie, 18 years after her earlier "career" came to an end.
   Traci's role was particularly captivating and humorous---and dare I say that she stole the movie, with wit and sexiness - yes, she still has it !
   
   Thanks for the opportunity to buy Frostbite.
   STEVE HEYWOOD
   MELBOURNE
   AUSTRALIA

5 comments about The Burton Snowboards: For Right or Wrong.

1. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R123SFTB9LPM0N Short review of a great documentary!



2. This was a very interesting DVD as it shows what it is like behind the scenes for these professional snowboarders. It gives you a personality to put with each of the riders. If you are expecting a more tradional snowboard video then this might not be what you're looking for. While it shows a good amount of riding it is not tradional in the sense of stock snowboarding clips set to a soundtrack. Overall a good DVD though.



3. Very fun... excellent shots... great music and you get to know more about a snowboarder life.



4. If you want to to be unmotivated and not go snowboarding, this is the video for you! Half of the movie is the snowboarders of the Burton team complaing how snowboarding is a chore and how life is hard. The other half is stock footage from the olympics in incredibly boring slow motion. Yes, Shaun White can rip with the best. Yes, Jeremy Jones can shred things that probably aren't supposed to be ridden. The riders in this video are amazing. Unfortunately, this video is about as fun to watch as atrip to the dentist office. They didn't even have DCP in there. If they did, it was bare minimum. I would Suggest any Mack Dawg video or better yet the Think Thank videos (ie; Thanks, Brain). Overall, the Burton movie was un-motivating, whiny and is more of a soap opera than a snowboarding video.



5. i'm a gap jump guy and this has almost nothing as far as that goes. it attempts to tell a story rather than just be a montage of different people and different tricks at different locations. it could also have been titled shaun white goes to the olympics. plenty of pipe action.

5 comments about Warren Miller's Cold Fusion.

1. Blending music with ski/snowboard video and travel this is a must see. If you dont want to go to a mountain afterwards then you have no soul. My only complaint is that it is already geared towards people that already love to ski/snowboard. I would have liked more descriptions of the terrain and better shots showing just how steep some of those cliffs are. For people that have never skied this movie will be slow going at first but patient - it gets better. Again my only complaint is that it assumes people watching already know what powder and big mountains feel like. A little extra effort could have been made to portray that to the new skier.



2. I've never purchased a Warren Miller film before and didn't know what to expect. After watching Cold Fusion, I'm now shopping for my next purchase. This movie features great skiing and snowboarding segments as well as some cool base jumping scenes. And who would have thought you can ski in Kenya? I'm not a big fan of harder music, but thought the soundtrack complemented the movie wonderfully. I had no "ghosting" or other image problems as mentioned in one review (note that the user was talking about a VHS, not the DVD). I didn't give it a full five stars because of a couple slower segments that didn't have much "extreme" stuff in it. It was still interesting, but personally, I bought this for all the big mountain and backcountry shots. I also thought the Nissan sponsorship got a little ridiculous when they zoomed in on the hood ornament. What is this, a commercial? Other than those couple of issues (very minor), I thought this was a great take and would recommend it to any ski or snowboard fanatic.



3. I watch this video on some channel on T.V. one night and knew I had to own it!
   
   I don't even ski (or jump off buildings for that matter)but who doesn't want to watch guys doing amazing "oh my gosh! " EXTREME SPORT activities.
   
   I loved the music too.
   And the the way it was shot by Warren Miller.
   
   I would highly recommend this movie to anyone. In fact I've already bought it for some...



4. Great skiing, great music and a variety of locations. Warren Miller does it the best!



5. The best of the Warren Miller collection I believe. The music and cinematography go hand in hand. This documentary will get you up and skiing in no time.

5 comments about MXP - Most Extreme Primate.

1. This movie was hilarious. It is definitely a movie for teens. I am not joking when I say that this monkey walks, talks, and acts like a human. Plus he throws his balls at unsuspecting victims. You will fall over laughing, especially if you are under the influence. The jokes in this movie are not funny at all, but this monkey acts like he is constantly on crack, and he always jitters and shakes. Plus you can tell that everytime he is snowboarding that someone pushed him down the mountain and he is trying to stop, but he can't. In one scene you can see the guys hand pushing him off of a jump. It was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen. Go see this movie... no, wait, go buy this movie! It will be worth it!



2. everyone thinks snowboarding is easy - "wow hey look a chimp can do it!". yah a kid watching this movie will probably break his neck trying to do the tricks this chimp does. i would reccommend a more basic video like MVP first.



3. WOW! I was blown away by this movie. When I first saw MVP 2, I didn't even think that a better movie exist. Then I discovered this bad boy at a Wal-Mart in the cheap movie bin....for some reason? I immediately went home and popped it into my dvd player and sat down, popped a cold one (RC Cola), ate a skittle, and awaited for the laughter! Jack is back in this all out action extravaganza. The movie starts where MVP 2 left off. After Jack dominates Ted at the skateboard competition, Jack and Ted get into a fight, and Jack is kicked out of school for violent behavior and extreme acts of prejudice. But did that keep Jack down? Heck no! Jack says "later suckas, Im goin' to Colorado". At least thats what I think he said. Its actually just chimp jibberish. Just like MVP 2, Jack is joined by an all star cast featuring David Allen Grier, Sarah Jessica Parker, and that one guy from "Everybody Loves Raymond". It also shows Jack training with pro snow-boarder Lance Bettington. That scene was so awesome, I threw my bike into the street! So if you want to stay up all night laughing, then check this movie out. Because there's one thing for sure about this movie, "Jack is back, ready for the attack, and that ain't whack".



4. Well what more can I say. I used to be dying of AIDS until I watched this movie. It made me feel better instantly, and when I got my next CD4+ T cell count it was back to normal. My AIDS was gone. The doctors in my hospital are using the power of MXP to cure all sorts of things.



5. I don't know how to explain it, but Chimpanzee movies amaze me!
   He really did some awesome snow skiing... Just like he did awesome hockey playing in the other great movies that he was in!!!!

5 comments about Warren Miller's Storm.

1. I cant believe anybody would ever watch this for instructional value, because thats not what its for. It is purely for entertainment purposes (which is exactly what this movie is). This movie has a kick butt soundtrack and awesome footage of sweet skiiers ripping up the slopes. This is by far the best Warren Miller film yet and I recommend it to all skiers.



2. I bought this movie off of the reviews given. In truth, this was not that great of a warren miller film. The soundtracks weren't that great, and the filming and angle was just average. Journey is a great movie, and really can't be beat. Journey is my favorite ski movie ever, and It would be a much better buy than Storm.



3. I'm a non-skier, and I found the photography beautiful. The skier in the family loved seeing the different mountains around the world and loved the element of danger.



4. WM did a real good job, and its been over 5 years since the release, so don't freak out about the HD issue as the bulk of the video is very clear and the iris/focal/angle concerns are darn good.
   
   I noticed a sound track complaint - very personal - ALL of the audio, editing, frame angles, lighting, etc. is typical high grade work of WM, and a few tracks of audio are not for hospice folks.
   
   Bring this DVD or cloan it to drive during your next adventure trip. - Or, watch it before you leave your home - It just plain ROCKS!
   
   PS - I'm 50 years old per the clock - the movie works from young of body and ....young of mind.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Who is this for? Adventure types, students of video art, and the women that want us. :-)



5. 
   You can't help but feel humbled by the tricks these riders seem to nail with ease in Warren Miller's Storm. You will be really blown away if you have ever tried to ski or snowboard, and will still be amazed if you haven't. In some scenes just staying up is a feat considering the steep runs and vertical drops. And if you've ever worked a film crew or a camera, you have to be humbled by how difficult it is to capture shots like these. Even one of these tricks can require hours to set up, and here you have hundreds or thousands of runs and tricks strung between interviews, story-lines and amazing backdrops. The result is simply breath-taking.
   
   Warren Miller's narration gives the transitions from place to place continuity and credibility. There can't be too many serious skiers and snowboarders who aren't already familiar with his signature voice and lasting legacy.
   
   From Steamboat in Colorado, Whistler in BC, the Marines training facility in California, to the Alps of Europe, this footage takes you everywhere. We even get to retrace Shackelton's journey from the Faulklands to South Georgia just before Antarctica.
   
   One thing applies to all these locations: don't try any of this. That includes at home or away from home. Even accomplished riders have to bow down before these 100 foot drops and vertical runs of hard-packed snow.
   
   There's a mix of stuff here. From watching the Marine's train in ice water, to seeing snowboarders and skateboarders try to nail their tricks, this is not a pure skiing video. There's even cross country, hiking, and bike tricks thrown in. But no matter what you are watching, this is amazing to watch. The slow motion shots of snow shooting up on a landing, the shots with the sun fading into the background, this is just beautiful filming.
   
   Not to beat a dead horse, but there is no instruction here. There's only one way to learn to ski, snowboard, or almost anything else. That's by doing it. Even if there was a way to learn by watching a DVD, you can be sure that DVD would be much longer than a few hours. :) And to repeat what I said before, chances are unless you are one of the people who was profiled here you won't be doing any of this in your lifetime. That' makes watching this all the more enjoyable.
   
   The soundtrack is good, and definitely well mixed for the shots and transitions. But the beauty here is the eye-candy. Here we get to watch some of the world's best riders do things in open terrain that most of us can only dream of.
   
   As for me, watching this has me wondering how long the season goes on in other parts of the world. Get this DVD or download the video if you love the beauty of excellent skiing and snowboarding.
   
   Enjoy!

5 comments about Winter Break (Widescreen).

1. I am not kidding. This matt kid spends the entire time
   saying all the philosophy stuff that doesn't apply.
   the hot chick is actaully not as hot as the side kick.
   the jokes were lame and I thought they filmed it on the first shot everytime. it was very predictable and maybe worth watching
   just because it is terrible.



2. You would think that this movie is a really cheesy teen flick with gratuitous nude scenes and absolutely no story. Just look at the horrible box cover . . . it does no justice to what the movie really tries to cover: growing up, friendship, and love.
   
   I just saw this movie for the first time the other day. I was expecting it to be a horrid piece of junk, but the movie completely surprised me. At best, critics will give it a B-/C+ (which is good considering that it's intended audience is the same people who love the American Pie movies).
   
   The story? It's about a group of friends from Aspen who are moving on with their lives after college. Honestly, it's everything American Pie 2 wasn't but SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
   
   Another good thing is that most teen-flick or WB watchers will recognize most of the cast. Although their acting isn't memorable, they do a fine job representing a typical group of guys and gals after college.
   
   Overall, I was quite pleased with the movie. I didn't see it on DVD, so I can't comment on any special features or anything. But strictly about the movie, you'll have a good time watching this with your buddies or gals. Although it's far from being a really great film, it does stand out among the newer (2000-2005) teenage or young adult releases.



3. there is no actualy snowboarding or skiing, its a boring chick flick with a ranting sissy main character



4. Although "deleted scenes" are promised on the back cover of the box, there are no deleted scenes on the DVD. Instead there's a perfunctory "documentary" which interviews the cast and other creators, who recite a common litany of how much fun it was to make the film. In this short segment there are a very few informal shots of the players that aren't in the film, but there are no deleted scenes in the normal usage of the term. Rather disappointing since the cast in audio commentary talks about seemingly dozens of neat scenes that "hopefully will be in the DVD deleted scenes section."
   Also, although the box promises "2.35 wide screen," the film is pan-and-scan and only slightly letterboxed at about a 1.85 to 1 ratio. Some of the scenes are annoying because of the missing portion of the image.
   Also, it's not a gross teen comedy as the box copy suggests, more of a puppy-love romance with the "four buddies" comedy stuff as a sidebar. Which makes it potentially better, I guess, but it suffers from a lack of talent, especially in Ventimiglia's acting and in the writing. Very anemic; not much here. In the key scenes the players just hem and haw, since they're not given much to say. Kevin Kirkpatrick, in a small part, is way beyond the rest of the cast in acting sophistication. He draws a very perceptive portrait; extremely funny, but not a typical caricature, the most real character in the movie.



5. The characters are so dull. The acting is mediocre and the theme is so predictable that I would prefer to watch HOmer Simpson.

5 comments about First Descent (Widescreen Edition).

1. This is a great movie if you like hearing smug little brats like sean white talk about how cool they are. The snowboarding footage in this is a joke. I cannot believe that reviewers have compared this to riding giants, which I found to be an amazing documentary. This movie is simply a forum for snowboarders to talk about how cool and "edgy" they are. I love watching winter sports flix, and I thought that this was a ridiculous waste of my time. If I had actually bought it I would be pissed.



2. Seeing such legends of snowboarding ride free in Alaska, jumping off 100 feet (and fall sometimes) ride down 60 degree chutes escaping avalanches is just what I was looking for.
   I saw part of this movie on YouTube, I had to have it.
   
   Mostly about the history of snowboarding, from the first Burton Boards to Terje Hackonen, to Shaun White, the movie takes you for a carve trough the history and the dreams of the pioneers of snowboarding.
   Probably has less riding footage than other movie, but what you see here you won't forget ever.
   Good also for the general public, is just a well done documentary on the sport of snowboarding.
   Interesting footage on avalanche control on the DVD.



3. I loved the parts about the history of snowboarding and the last run of Terje in the end. You won't find many runs on big mountains as Standard Films movies, but overall it is very entertaining.



4. This movie is a nice change from the standard snowboard movie. It takes you to Alaska with a well-varied group of riders, from multiple eras of the sports evolution. Along the way, they give you an interesting history of the sport in a way that supports the overall story. A key part of what made the film interesting is feeling like it was a special and meaningful experience for each of the riders involved. Everyone had a different reason for being there, and something different to get out of it.
   
   I wish there were more films made like this, that capture a special moment in time.



5. A great in depth look into the history of snowboarding from it's backwoods roots to the megapipes of today. Beautiful cinematography with a good story to wrap around the documentary. A must see for any Soul Snowboarder.