I can’t remember what movie my husband and I went to see in the theater, but one of the previews that came on before the start of the movie blew my socks off. It was for a movie called Chasing Mavericks. I wasn’t sure what the story was about. I was more in awe of the gigantic ocean waves that appeared before me on the movie screen. They were so vivid that I felt like I was right there in the middle of all that action.
Chasing Mavericks, the preview I saw in the theater, is now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download.
Chasing Mavericks is based on the true inspirational story of Jay Moriarity.
As a young boy, Jay has always had a connection with the sea. He felt like he was some how a part of it.
One day while out with his childhood friend Kim, Jay accidentally gets caught up in waves that were crashing upon the beach. Luckily his neighbor, a surfer name Frosty Hesson was out surfing and saw Jay get caught up in the waves. He saved Jay’s life that day.
Even after almost becoming a victim of the sea, Jay was unfazed. In fact seeing Frosty surfing inspired Jay to want to learn to surf too.
As the years went buy Jay became an impressive surfer, even making some of the local teens jealous of him.
One day Jay sneaks a ride on Frosty’s van and follows Frosty to a beach not too far from where they lived in Santa Cruz (CA). There he discovers that Frosty and his surfing friends have found huge waves to surf. To the surfers they are known as Mavericks. Even the most skilled surfer might find Mavericks hard to surf.
Watching Frosty surf a Maverick inspired Jay to do the same. Frosty was dead set against it but his wife convinced him to at least teach the young boy how to SURVIVE a Maverick. They both knew that regardless of what Frosty said to him, Jay was determined to surf one. Instead of having his death on his conscience, Frosty agreed to train Jay how to survive one. They only had 12 weeks to train too because the biggest and best Mavericks were expected by then.
What transpires is a lot of hard work, dedication, romance, conflict and even death. Through it all Jay was determined to succeed, even if it meant he’d die trying.
Does Jay get to surf (and survive) a Maverick wave? Who passes away that deeply effects one of the main characters? In order to find out you’ll need to pick up a copy of Chasing Mavericks, now available where ever movies are sold.
I have an HD computer (HP ENVY). I am able to watch Blu-rays on it (thankfully). I started to watch the movie on my HD monitor. The ocean and the waves were so amazing. I just had to see what they would look like on our big screen TV. WOW! Let’s just say you feel lke you are surfing the waves yourself. If I was impressed by my HD monitor and my big screen TV I can only imagine how incredible this film must have been in a movie theater.
This was a wonderful story. It’s hard to believe that it was true. Sadly the real Jay Moriarity passed away at the age of 22 (just shy of his 23rd birthday) doing a Free Dive (diving without the aid of an air tank).
After watching the film I can’t tell you if surfers are the brave people, or insane people. LOL! As beautiful and majestic as the ocean and ocean waves are there is no way I could surf. I felt like gasping for air just watching the movie.
I’m not into surfing, but I have a new appreciation for the sport after watching this film. Not only was the story it’s self inspirational and sweet, but the cinematography blew me away.
In the movie Chasing Mavericks, Frosty gives Jay some lessons outside of the basic surfing protocol, including his ‘Four Pillars of Strength.’
Here are each of the pillars that you can apply to your own life including memory tricks, healthy eating, facing your fears and thinking big.
PHYSICAL
In Chasing Mavericks, Jay must demonstrate his physical strength by paddling 28.5 miles from Santa Cruz to Monterey Bay. This is a tough challenge, as it requires incredible strength to complete. This pillar is about taking care of your health and well-being.
- Walking three times a week for 30-minutes can improve your health.
- Balance your diet, try having vegetables as half of each meal and see the difference
- Sleep well, 7-9 hours of sleep is a must if you are serious about your physical strength
MENTAL
To prepare for Mavericks, Jay had to study the ocean current, tides and wave patterns, and how these different elements work together. Understanding when to paddle out, when to drop in on a wave, how to use an ocean current to save energy can be the difference between life and death when dealing with 40 to 60 foot waves. Mental strength is key and memory tricks are a great mental workout:
- Next time you’re on a bus or in the car, limber up your memory by thinking of as many words as possible that begin with the letter A, then work your way through the alphabet.
- Try to remember 15 details of your life at a particular time, such as Obama’s inauguration
- Try remembering a list of objects or people from one category in the space of one minute, for example: American presidents, capital cities, famous scientists or types of fruit.
EMOTIONAL
Jay learns that he must face his fears head on when he gets in a situation that causes anxiety such as seeing a Shark. When fear becomes too overwhelming it can drown a person. Jay is able to address his fear and let go of the pain of his father leaving his mother and this frees him.
- Address your emotions, know when your stressed and take steps rather than burying it
- Don’t fear change, the unknown can make us anxious but embrace change as it comes
- Know your weaknesses and when to ask for help, this will stop you getting overwhelmed
SPIRITUAL
While this pillar is not addressed extensively in the movie, Jay does mention that his life purpose is to surf Mavericks. His passion and drive to push his limits helps him achieve an iconic status in the surfing world. Having spiritual strength is not limited to people with religious affiliations.
- See the big picture, do not limit life to only your viewpoint
- Seek a higher purpose, this stops complacency and encourages us to achieve
- Have faith, trusting in something or someone other than yourself will help your spiritual strength
Be sure to catch Chasing Mavericks on Blu-ray, DVD, and Ultraviolet now!
Here is the movie’s trailer. You can also find it here, http://bit.ly/XHzET1.
In addition to the film there are A LOT of bonus features you should check out too. There are the usual commentary and deleted scenes. Some of the other features really stand out.
Surf City – This feature talks about Santa Cruz, CA and why they chose to shoot at that location. They also interview people who live and work there and find out why it’s a pefect place to live. One person said that once you live there you never want to leave. After watching this feature I wanted to pack my bags and move there too.
Shooting Waves – This is an amazing look behind how they were able to shoot all the wave action. I also learned that the surfing that was done by the actors was really done by professional surfers. Through movie magic they were able to put the actor’s heads on the surfer’s bodies. They did it so seamlessly that I was fully convinced that they actors were doing all the surfing. The only surfing they did was on a fake surf board in front of a blue screen.
Live Like Jay – This feature tells the life story of the real Jay Moriarity as told by the people who knew him best including his childhood sweetheart and wife Kim as well as the real Frosty. He was truly an incredible person. It’s such a shame that he lost his life at such a young age.
Surfer Zen – This feature interviews real life surfers who talk about how it feels to ride the waves and how you can’t really describe the feeling unless you have done it yourself.
This is an outstanding film that is great for the whole family.
For more information visit www.LiveLikeJay.com. You can also check out the film on Facebook and Twitter. You can also check out the hastag #ChasingMavs on Twitter too.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener in order to do this review. The opinions expressed are my own and were no influenced in any way.
Alison says
Oh wow! I hadn’t heard of this movie but it sounds like an awesome one. I’m going to put it on my list of movies I want to watch. Thank you so much for reviewing it and bringing it to my attention!
Vickie Couturier says
ive been wanting to see this movie,ive seen the previews on tv an it look good
sandy weinstein says
i really like gerard butler, there is something sexy abt him, even though i dont really think he is handsome…he usually does funny movies, saw him and k. heigl in a movie, was so funny.