Absinthe's More: DVD Review

"More" was the film that I was most looking forward to watching this season. Mainly because I really liked Futureproof, but also because the trailer looked so good. So how did it stack up against last year's production from Absinthe?

Opening
The opening sequence with Gigi Ruf, Nico Muller and Travis Rice riding huge pillows really sets the precedent for the rest of the film: lots of powder, great shots and great riding. There isn't a park kicker in sight. If you like the powder scenes in Futureproof you're sure to like this opening. I do think it would have been cool to see some of those lines in normal speed, but you can't complain, the riding here is great.

Stand Out Sections
All of the riding in the film is good - but these are the parts that stood out to me:

Erik Christensen's section is full of great shots and for me it probably represents the best editting in the film. Add in some sick, varied riding and a cool beat and it's just so good to watch. One of the better sections I think. You've got to check out the extra in this part with Philip Damianakes, just after Eric 50-50s the gnarly kink both regular and switch...

Wolle Nyvelt has some excellent back country action: impressive powder terrain, pillows and big, natural jibbs. Sweet style in there and it really is hit after hit after hit - impressive. I'm just not sure about that black and white getup...

Mark Frank Montoya. Nice powder riding. His nollie cliff drop is beautiful and there are 3 box hits that I can easily put on rewind and watch again and again. If you like smooth lines and slashes in deep powder you're gonna love Kurt Wastell's part. I think they filmed this really well - some of the moving camera shots give you a perfect, smooth view of the sweet, floaty style on display.

Chris Coulter and JP Solberg have some awesome shots and locations, including some lovely back country follow-cam clips. Matt Beardmore is riding to the same tune in this part: his FS 5 off a back country hip is mint, and I also really like the tweaked, off-axis 7 to close this part.

Justin Bennee and his friends bring a real urban, jib-heavy feel to the film, with loads of street and concrete jibbs, varied and gnarly. There's two great displays of style from Justin hitting a park rail. Mikey LeBlanc continues the urban vibe with a lot of skate-like, aggressive hits in his section.

Any Bad Bits?
Of course it's not possible for each section to stand out as far as the next: different riding styles, shots and locations are going to appeal to different people. The super-urban jibbs aren't totally for me - but I do appreciate them. That said, there's no riding in the film that I don't like. However I do think the the song for Mikey LeBlanc's section represents a low point on the soundtrack.

Favourite Sections
Although the best riding may be elsewhere, there are two sections that really stand out to me.

Gigi Ruf. He brings a funky tune, awesome powder and such an easy, smooth, fun style to this movie. The reason I like his riding so much is that despite how big his tricks really are, it still manages to come across as just 'playing' around in the powder, filming with your friends, which we all love to do. Sick riding, sick angles and the way Gigi closes the film is pretty clever. That front flip looks wicked!

Jules Reymond's part, to me, brings so much to More. To begin with it's introduced really well with them all skating through the street. His frontside 180 from the piste over the barrier tape and shed is the type of shredding that I love to see in movies - a glimps of pro riders doing something a little more normal and making it look so good - great style.

There's some popup text that reads "Jules 1st AK Line" - things like that really help you relate with the rider. I swear it looks to me like he went to Alaska for the first time, was so happy to be there and decided to start jumping off everything. The editting flicks to show some of the other riders hitting the same lines and it really works. It just looks like they're having so much fun - which is what it's all about. I liked Jules' riding in Futureproof and I like it more here. It's all aided by what I think is the best tune in the movie - great section.

Best Riding?
I'm not sure how, but it took a second, maybe third viewing before I realised how good Nicolas Muller's section is - that's got to be an indication of how good all of the riding in this film is. I can't really say anymore than Muller's riding is insanely good, freestyle anywhere and everywhere, he never dissapoints. It's better to just watch it yourself.

So for me, it's between Muller and Travis Rice. Muller's ability and desire to use all the terrain around him puts him so close to the ideal of all-mountain freestlye. But Travis has similar qualities, and honestly, his part in More is full of hugely impressive riding. It seems like there's no end to it. There's a boned shifty that has so much style, followed by a sick double backflip. Check out the double corked frontside 10 - which has a funny-as-shit hidden extra to back it up. Travis goes huge, with sweet moves on big mountain steeps. His level of riding in More is pretty amazing!

Soundtrack and Filming
The soundtrack to More is pretty good. I'm not clinging to it the whole way through, but there are some good sounds there and I like the way Absinthe match the music to the video.

The filming is again, top notch. Absinthe really push the production side of things and the results are good. Not every shot from a hanging wire stands out, but the majority do and there are some truly great clips that enhance the whole experience.

Extras
There's a lot and they're pretty much all good, but for me the best two are:

• The Making of Futureproof. An excellent addition. Lots of documentary style footage from the making of Futureproof. It's a must-watch. Romain De Marchi trying to blag a free flight for his girlfriend - excellent!
• The Scott Sullivan music compilation. That's right, you get a free music CD, and it's really good. I first heard Scott Sullivan's music on Robot Food's Afterbang, so I was well pleased when my favourite tune, Seatown, appeared on this CD. Sweet.

Conclusion
Great riding on varied terrain. You've got big mountain stuff, back country kickers, natural back country, pillows, trees, rails and urban jibbs. Lots of powder.

The film is excellently put together, a good soundtrack, maybe with one or two exceptions, and progressive filming. There's also lots of it. Lots of riders, a long film, good extras, even a free music CD. It's what I'm coming to expect from Absinthe - a top class snowboard movie.

More Soundtrack
If you're after some of the music from More, here's a list of the tracks, with links to iTunes:

• "Gangsters" - by The Specials
• "Code of the Streets" - by Gang Starr
• "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" - by Arcade Fire
• "Mutual Slump" - by DJ Shadow
• "Don't Need It" - by Bad Brains
• "Random" - by Lady Sovereign
• "Sugar Pill" - by Ambulance Ltd
• "Hard Times" - by Baby Huey
• "Retreat" - by The Rakes
• "Dirty & Stinkin" - by Ol' Dirty Bastard feat. Method Man
• "Aerodynamic" - by Daft Punk
• "Remote Control" - by The Spits
• "Map of the Problematique" - by Muse
• "The Killing Moon" - by Echo and the Bunnymen

More Teaser
Here's Absinthe's teaser for More.