A Spine-Cracking Good Time

To the Maxxx Extreme Sports Film Sidebar

The main course of the Film Fest is joined this year by an
explosive side dish of movies dedicated to sports that may kill
you. Awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, and death-defying athletic antics
are par for the course in the To the Maxx category — which is sure
to have audience members chugging Mountain Dew and doing
upside-down inverted flaming headstands in their theater seats all
week long.

The adrenaline orgy gets its official kickoff Friday afternoon
at the Victoria Hall Theater with the gritty love song to
cyclocross PureSweetHell. But it’s later that night when the real
fun begins at the Center Stage with a skateboard film extravaganza
that includes the Jim Bates biopic Fun Pain, and Eric Hath and Beau
Lambert’s presentation of assorted other skate shorts like LA2NY
and Footy. The grinding, big air, and occasional debauchery take it
to the slopes later that same night with the world premiere of Mack
Dawg’s From _____ with Love at the Victoria Theater. This hour-long
celebration of snowboarding features many of the world’s top riders
getting stupid at home and abroad. From California to Russia, this
film — shot entirely in 16 mm — is packed with powdery
goodness.

From there, the week unfolds with an action-packed lineup that
includes the latest freestyle mountain-biking flick from the folks
at Freeride Entertainment, Unchained (besides nutter-butter action
these guys are claiming a big-time blowout bash to follow their
screening); kite-boarding action in the already popular film Soul
Fly; more snowboarding in the HD screening of The Craving; and
South Coast native Josh Landon’s salute to Al Merrick and the
Channel Islands surf team in Flow.

Though it probably depends on which spine-cracking medium you
prefer best, the pre-fest favorites have to be the motorcycle film
On the Pipe 2 and the skateboard documentary The Making of Animal
Chin. Pipe 2 is as high quality as any free-riding motorcycle film
ever made and the action inside isn’t so slouchy either. From world
record-breaking jumps and airs over flying helicopters, this movie
does everything but disappoint — not to mention, rumor has it that
the February 10 premiere at the Arlington will feature an
impressive live musical accompaniment. And that brings us to The
Making of Animal Chin. Not much to say about this one other than
Animal Chin is arguably the best and most influential skate film of
all time and this documentary offers a rare behind-the-scenes look
at the magic.