My Review of "Turbo"

Ok, I may be a bit biased because a lot of our guys shoot with Level 1, but I will still write a review for Turbo because I have seen it a few times. The only other movie I have seen thus far was Massive (which I liked) so it will be tough for me to compare it to anything else yet. 

Turbo - It is a skiing themed intro (different than in LSS or SH6 where they did entirely non-skiing intros) with some really dope eye-candy shots of various snow related imagery and a few action shots.  It definitely gets you stoked for the movie. 

Opening segment is Rainville and he flat out kills it.  It is one of the most well rounded skiing segments I have seen in a long time.  From massive BC booters, to mini golf and pillow lines, to spring park shoots, Tanner puts together a pretty mind blowing segment with a great vibe.  His enormous 5 tail into pow is the highlight for me but there are so many dope shots.  The opening 3 is also enormous and really smooth.  The Reggae works perfectly here...gotta love Sizzla.

Then comes Mt. Hood section and Rainville continues his segment into some hits on the giant Windells booter.  Henrik Harlaut follows and his style is borderline flawless, his tricks include one of the dopest switch 3s ever put on film and a switch 14 mute that looks like a steezed out switch 10, stomping the crap out of everything. I cannot wait for him to shoot a full segment with Level 1 next year.  Then comes Wallisch, and what can you say....you can flip on the autopilot function on your brain for the next 5 minutes because you still will not comprehend what he accomplished the first time watching.  He has 7-8 shots on the Windells booter that would have you recalling Chrichton in Forward.  One trick after another, all with textbook Wallisch effortless style and.  It is hard to pick out the best trick from his Mt. Hood segment, but I will say that his zero spin might have you fall off a chair laughing (at least that is what happened to me the first time I saw it).  The music builds really nicely and finishes with just as your are sitting on the edge of your chair.  This Hood segment was shot during some really nice light and the sunsets explode with color.

Then comes Wallisch's actual segment.  Uber dope track (Crystal Castles) and he just slays everything in the segment.  270 right and left to switch on a double kink, 270 on pretzel 450 urban,  270 on pretzel 270 out double kink, a multitude of switch ups to pretzel, right and left 9s on the keystone park shoot that appear as though he never left the ground when he lands, 360 switchups on double kinks.  It is somewhat numbing in that you really get so used to seeing him crush it with such ease that you have to watch the segment again to really comprehend what is going on here.

Then comes Wiley Miller's segment and, just like in Realtime, Wiley stomps everything.  His entire segment is in the BC.  It is littered with cliffs, mini golf, and BC Booters.  Freedle did a sick job editing this one and it really made me want to ski.  Highlights are a real big switch 9, a double stager where he throws back to back 3's off sizable cliffs to stompage, and a really nice switch cork 5 off a cornice.  The track a Cut Chemist song as is best described as mellow house music (Thievery Corporation-esque) and it is a perfect fit for the skiing, plus it gives off a really isolated/surreal/magestical mood which I like.

Then comes Ahmet and Will Wesson with a little hip hop instrumental urban section that left me thinking 2 things... Will is the most creative kid on urbans I have ever seen, and Ahmet accomplished an insane amount of stuff in a very short period of time (due to injury).  It is easy to see why Level 1 always has the dopest urban because they keep bringing kids like this onboard.  There are too many things to call out here but a few need mention.  Ahmet's switch up mid-way on that big red multi kink (I think 6 kink) and Wesson's rail transfers to 270 outs (I am not going to ruin the coolest trick he does, but you will know when you see it).

Liam and Bibby are next with some hip hop reggae.  Dope use of cable cams here and they provide a really different look for this section.  Liam has still got it and has a number of sick BC shots, a little pow, and some urban.  He has a really nice rodeo 7 in the backcounty and a 360 shifty off a cornice.  Vanular has 2 shots, 1 on a rail and one on a booter (he is on a mission to come back real strong so don't worry).  Bibby has a dope cork 7 windup-shifty and some other nice spins off natural features. 

Next is the Monashee Powder Cat segment with Bibby, Stefan, and Rainville.  80's electro/Techno-ie Pet Shop Boys track.  Rainville again slays more pow.  The snow is real deep and there is some sick stuff off natural features and more mini golf.  All 3 have good stuff in this segment.  The anlges the shots come from make it stand out to me because you can see more than just a few turns so you get a better scope of what they are skiing.  At this point I am really sick of warm weather and want to ski really badly.

Hornbeck really surprised me here with a full segment of urban, park booters, and some solid BC booters complete with multiple switch pow landings.  He has a switch rodeo 7 tail, a forward 9 high mute/nose, and a forward 5 high mute/nose all in pow.  He also, in typical hornbeck fashion, crushes some urban with a smattering of switchups, pretzels, 270s on and off.  More good use of cable cams here.  Best hip hop track in a Level 1 Movie in my opinion since Vanular's LSS. 

Next is a spring park shoot with some half pipe, a big step over, a half pipe gap feature, a burly gap flat down, and another big jump by Dorey, Riddle, and Duncan Adams, Delorme, and Brogan.  Dorey is so sick and I can't believe that I did not know how good he was until now.  Riddle boosts very large on these booters, Delorme switch 270 tail tap disaster is absurd, and so is his open jacket switch 5s high safety.  Kid makes everything look dope.

Next is Quebec with JF Houle, Phil Casabon, and JD Zicat.  All urban and all really good.  Love seeing rails from back in the day being redone with new tricks.  Such a cool perspective on progression.  Too many dope rail tricks to name but JF is really good...haha.  I love the architecture and scenery when they shoot in Quebec.  It makes for a dope backdrop.

Then comes Clarke and Steele.  Another great song...almost RJD2/James Brown-esque.   This includes a pillow field that you have to see to believe, a huge 3 off a cliff by Clarke and a cork 7 on/near a deserted mine.  Steele shows that he still has in on urban after so many years and how good he is on his mini golf and big mountain lines.  Travis Redd has some urban and more pow.  They shoot in some blower stuff, and again I really want to ski badly.  Sick double stagers in this segment.

Then Level 1 goes to Alaska.  And Berman finally used a song I have been begging him to use for 4 years... "Saeglopur" by "Sigur Ros".  This segment is really cool for a number of reasons.  First, the scenery is sick.  Second, there is good use of voiceover to convey the significance of what they were doing.  But unlike some movies that become overly dramatic and try too hard to explain how scary it is with their voiceover,  Level 1 keeps the mood balanced between awe and fun.  But the main reason I think this segment is great is because I have watched these movies get better and better each year and Level 1 has gone from "Balance" to what he has done today and I think that is something to be proud of.  The progression of these films has been extrordinary and I am stoked for them and how far they have come.  

The closing segment is Stefan's.  It starts off with acoustic guitar and cream-in-your-pants blower pow shots and then goes into a heavy guitar rock/speed metal thingy.  At first I was not stoked on the music for it because it was different from what they use in the past.  But after watching it a few times, I really like it and I am glad they went a different direction with it.  The skiing is really really good (as expected from Stefan) but the music works very well with it and I have totally changed my mind.  I think it closes out the movie perfectly.

Overall this is Level 1's best flick.  It is their most balanced movie in terms of skiing.  The cinematography is exceptional, the music is very diverse, and the shots are just eye candy to watch.  I also think it is a movie that gets better and better each time you watch which I think is really important given how many times I watch ski/skate/snowboard movies. 

That is my 2 1/2 cents.

-Pete