Caught the Nike SB video earlier today. Cory Kennedy skates to a song that shoulda been banished because of its association with Blurred Lines, but the dude comes through. Remix? Trevor Colden is the Millennial skater's everyman. 51-year-old Lance Mountain has this shit dialed. He skated street too! I'd forgotten how entertaining Omar Salazar is and BA in Miami-white linen was dope. Kevin Bradley is who we thought he was. His frontside 360s are quite good, perhaps second place. Koston slappied A LOT and seeing Mariano -- as guest skater/Swoosh teamrider -- was a bit strange. Can't fade EK's ender though, which is one hell of a feat of angular momentum and other physics, and his trick in that spiny-ditch spot was reminiscent of the middle sequence here. Karsten Kleppan is unfairly well-rounded.
-Benson turned 40 on Tuesday and still finds new lines, here and there.
-Shitheads Vol. 8 turned 14 on Tuesday. This is probably the best section outta there.
-Who killed The Hesh?
-The good folk at Wiskate got a shout in the Quartersnacks book, as did TC OG Hardflip.com. Old skate Internet, rep.
-Element is in town this weekend for two things, tonight at Familia HQ (if the Fam IG imbed goes dead know HQ is @ 7:30 p.m.) and Sunday at 3rd Lair:
4 comments:
oh sick greyson is gonna be there
What follows is my review of Kevin Horn's video, because I'm always on the grind, though lately I've been away:
(Part 1)
“Thrashin’: Chapter XIII”: Your December Stimulus
By Wylie Tueting
There is no best way to prepare yourself for Kevin Horn’s “Thrashin’: Chapter XIII.” It’s an independent, high-quality remake of the low-quality, mainstream film “Thrashin’.” But it’s not a full remake – thank God – but a partial remake, of some scenes that constitute a rising-action. Altogether it lasts three minutes and forty-one seconds. So Horn’s remake is brief, and thus it can beg questions, like: Was the remake meant as homage to the original? And if so, how is that even possible, given how embarrassing the original was? Or is the remake a satire, meant to expose skater bullshit and bravado? But wasn’t the original a satire, which would make Horn’s remake, then, a satire of a satire? . . . Yes? Which would mean what? Exactly nothing!? . . .
You may have some questions and concerns about Horn’s remake, safe to say. Yet all those questions and concerns aside, you’ll probably appreciate “Thrashin’: Chapter XIII” a lot more if you just drink a 5-hour energy beforehand, with some coffee and ibuprofen, then let go as Horn’s videography washes over you however it does.
If you’re anything like me and you do that, I think we’ll concur that such things as the following were the sweetest bits of appreciation to be found in “Thrashin’: Chapter XIII”:
(Part 2)
***
In the opening scene, The Ramp Locals roll lustily down an alley that you can sense is in contemporary St. Paul, MN. But with the auburn leaves of autumn sliding over the pavement, rolled-up pant-cuffs becoming visible, and skaters you know vivified in retro-dress – the present seems to slip easily out the frame, then out your mind.
The Daggers’ emergence on screen is the happiest moment for the viewer, for from the moment we see a trashy backyard, a bored blond and brunette, a few guys of varied body-type (not as bored but surely more trashy), and then “Big-Bad-Tommy-Blazes” (with the apple-in-hand and head-so-cocked) – we know we’re watching a carefully hilarious scene. (Nate Cameron’s moment of backtalk may be a contributing factor to that, too.)
There are a lot of close-ups on Oskar Barrett in the film, as well as a lot of close-ups on other males (Horn must have a thing about that); but one must admit, the close-ups on Oskar never feel excessive, insofar that they capture the live embodiment of “frustrated youth.” Oskar’s glassy expressions; his moppy, curlicue, vaguely blond hair; his average height; his facial imperfections (he has a pockmark or two); and his gulping Adam’s apple – that is what you call “frustrated youth.” Horn casted Oskar perfectly, by casting Oskar as no one but himself.
Speaking of notable males, whoever it is that plays “Big-Bad-Tommy-Blaze,” he shall forever be who I think of when I hear that name. He bears the best acting in the film! His clothes and hair are dark, though his frame is so lean, while he carries himself jauntily, yet he can seem threatening, until you notice he’s gifted at fiddling with an apple – which sounds luscious as his teeth crack into it. That’s a complex actor. Indeed that’s the best actor.
Returning to the basics, though, you may be blind if you don’t notice how Horn captures this film with a delicate awareness of light – its varied hues, abilities, realities. (Next to close-ups of males, light is another thing Horn must have a thing about.) Noteworthy examples of light are laced throughout the film, some easier to spot than others. I’d say the first nice example surrounds the colors of Chris Burt’s clothing, a swirl of turquoise, pink, red, and white, calming you behind Oskar’s face-off. But there are finer examples, like when the camera rotates around the windshield of The Ramp Locals’ car as they cruise nocturnally, and a dance of shadow, brown, and gold highlight the angles in Oskar’s anticipatory look (his hair especially included). There is even a finest example, occurring when The Daggers slither out of the darkness and onto an abandoned sidewalk, bordered by a giant grey wall emblazoned with words you can’t read but colors you can see: a mysterious blend of shadow, fog, dew, and Mediterranean blue. Ooh! Horn isn’t dabbling in light here; he’s mastering it.
(Part 3)
***
So, having detailed those five sweetest bits of appreciation, I hope that Kevin Horn’s “Thrashin’: Chapter XIII” appeals to you as much as it does to me. My reasons for its appeal are certainly not the only reasons. There are many more, and I’m sure you’ll find your own. Just lower your guard and don’t attempt to find enormous significances. Find little ones, then expand upon them; that’s the way I do it.
Because ultimately, the most significant thing about this film is that it serves as a delightful demonstration of Horn’s film craft: localized, professionalized, and distilled for you. And to think how Horn could’ve quit skating, long ago – for all the childish vanities of the film industry – but to think instead how Horn continues to work skateboarding into his life and career.
Yeah, now that is the most significant thing!
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