Soul Surfer - Movie Review

While shark attacks remain rare, and even more rarely fatal, they still grab headlines and

SHARK ATTACK!!

garners attention like few other lines in print.  Whether you fear the ocean or thrive on it, those words will definitely get you reading. Where did it happen? What kind of shark? Tell me about the victim? Did they LIVE? Are all questions that have readers scouring the article until the answers are found.

Discovery's Shark Week is also just around the corner (begins August 12th) and most likely more sharks will appear in the news around the same time. People are thinking and talking about sharks, so ride the wave - right?

It is easy to find movies that involve sharks, and while my recommendation of Sharktopus (2010 film with Eric Roberts) is reserved for those who love "D" level movies (Bruce Campbell wouldn't be caught dead in this one) and revel in the unrealistic ridiculousness that is a badge of honor for such films, I went outside the box a bit and found Soul Surfer.  Of course I already knew the basic story of Bethany Hamilton - a young future professional surfer living in Hawaii; in 2003 she was attacked while surfing and lost an arm, but was driven by her passion to surf again anyway. SPOILER ALERT: In real life, Bethany rises above adversity that few people realize and fewer still conquer. So, duh, yeah - she surfs again.

I confess, while I loosely followed the young surfer's story from afar I did not read the book published in 2004.  I knew it became a movie (2011), but with a toddler don't make it to many films these days and missed it in the theaters altogether.  Take a very solid cast that includes an Oscar winner (Helen Hunt), proven actors that have experience in a variety of genres (Dennis Quaid, Craig T. Nelson), a promising starlet in AnnaSophia Robb (Bridge to Terabithia, and many more), toss in American Idol's Carrie Underwood and Kevin Sorbo (yeah, TVs Hercules, same one), and now you have experienced actors ready to work with a heartwarming story.

That's right - heartwarming and inspirational.  The Hamilton family, aside from being avid surfers, also home schooled their kids and were very involved in their local church.  This movie is not about sharks, or even really the ocean from a documentary or conservation stand point. It's not even about the shark.  This film is about one girl following her passion and overcoming all obstacles to reach one goal - to surf.

My favorite line of the entire movie was a simple statement Bethany makes to her father as he is carefully explaining how she must work her way down from an 8'+ long board to a ~5' short board in order to be ready for competitive surfing again.  The line:

"I don't need easy, just possible."

For non-surfers let me explain: I am terrible surfer. I love it and wish I didn't completely bomb, but I totally stink - and I can still manage my 8'6" long board. The shorter the surfboard, the more experienced the surfer.

The general consensus on the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) is that Soul Surfer rates about a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.  Mediocre at best.  This all depends on what you expect from the film. It is not Riding with Giants and all about big waves.  It is not a documentary or a horror story.  It is an inspirational feel-good movie with great actors and a beautiful backdrop. So don't expect epic breakthroughs or wild love scenes and you will not be disappointed.  This is a good movie to watch with young kids, knowing at the end everybody leaves feeling better than when they walked in.  If cynical is your general daily attitude, well, then don't expect that to change. No Oscars here, but it is a movie worth watching.

RATING: ~~~1/2 waves (out of 5)

After the movie, try to recall what your passion was as a kid/teen, and embrace it again.  Then ask the kids around you what their passion currently is, encourage it, and be sincere.

My passion was writing- and the ocean.

-Callie Sharkey

Professor Clark the Science Shark

Keep yourself busy and cool things will happen. 

A brilliant colleague, Brian LaPointe (a review on one of his lectures about artificial reefs posted on 5/9/2010, so now you have an excuse to scour the archives!), serves as the inspiration for a lovable character surfacing in the new children's book series Professor Clark the Science Shark.  I heard about a book signing but missed the opportunity to attend.  So, naturally I dropped a line to Brian asking how could I get an autographed copy.

Within a few days my phone rings and the series' author Scott is on the other end, bursting with passion and enthusiasm for his new project.  Working with children for a huge portion of my life, including conducting Story Time for a couple thousand people over the past 2 years alone, has shown me how quickly child like excitement transmits to the audience.  But it is also easy to burn out when constantly faced with the challenges of teaching children and trying to make the right choices everyday in order to "practice what.  So I took the phone call and the opportunity to meet a talented couple and learn about their creation, Clark the Shark, first hand.

I have reviewed books in the past, and had originally planned to do the same thing here after snagging my autographed copy... but plans always change, right?  I did meet Scott and Karen Lamberson with my 3 year old son in tow.  While he traumatized the office with dancing and race cars, they just smiled and shared the love behind their new endeavor into the world of children's books and ocean conservation.  Perhaps what I like most is that the Lambersons are not trained in marine biology or have spent years doing research - they are normal people who simply have a love for the ocean and all its creatures.  Sound familiar?  Why does anyone get involved in a cause these days?  Knowing this is also why so much care was taken by the authors to ensure that the "Fin Facts" in each Professor Clark book are completely accurate.  Personally, this last fact is super important to me as an environmental educator.  Plus, authors who take the time to research their facts write better stories regardless of the genre or demographic.

The creators are working with a variety of non-profit organizations as part of the mission to make a difference by inspiring the newest generation.  Both COAST Ecology and Shark Savers are already involved, but expect to see more of Professor Clark in the future (I hear from authors Scott and Karen that great things are on the horizon!).

Basically, yeah, I bought the book for myself.  I am looking forward to the next 2 books in the series (which I have already seen - how cool is THAT?!)  I highly recommend the series, particularly for kids ages 6 & up.  Toddlers will not likely sit and allow you to read each word on every page, but the illustrations are fun for them anyway. I am constantly finding my 3 year old pulling out his copy to flip through the pages and tell me what he sees.  Over the next few books, look for unique character development and the chance to meet new creatures with great interactions and an even better message.
Support the local authors in your community - you will find some real treasures I guarantee it!
-Callie Sharkey

For more information:
http://coastecology.org/
http://www.sharksavers.org/
The book is available at Barnes & Noble, and online through Professor Clark's website http://professorclark.com/ and I have learned that special color-yourself t-shirts are soon to follow!

Jacques Cousteau: Reflection & Review

The 100th anniversary of Jacques Cousteau's birth was June 11, and I am reminded of how much individuals shape the universe by inspiring those around them. As a role model, yes, the man made mistakes, but we must also consider the era in which his career developed and find it in our hearts to forgive those transgressions. The adventures on Calypso impacted, and still are affecting, the attitudes regarding the sea and its wonders. He was a filmmaker who even won an Oscar for the short film "The Golden Fish" back in 1960. This man developed the aqua-lung into the true predecessor of modern SCUBA (nitrox, etc. is excluded, of course). While many of the early practices, for instance, the keeping of multiple sea lion pups on deck in cages to compensate for mortality while filming, would be unacceptable now, in the end Jacques Yves Cousteau was a remarkable individual who managed to bring the ocean to a land-locked world. He eventually became a champion for the message of protection and education about our oceans. He is still inspiring new generations with his work, and I will always be thankful for the motivation his example provided for me as well. I do have the DVD collection of his films, which I will happily share in the future.

As for the book review... I found an old hardback copy of The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea written by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Philippe Cousteau. It was published in 1970, and Jaws didn't come out until 1975, so I was really interested to check this book out... plus, the extensive alliteration used in the title was amusing as well. Essentially, it is a compilation of shark encounters experienced along with details of how they filmed sharks and other underwater challenges. Both Phillipe and Jacques give narratives, and I found Philippe to be the more scientific and less charismatic of the two authors. There are some cool anecdotal stories, but if you get hung up on factual details matching the descriptive language- well, I would stick to the Philippe narratives.
The photos are almost laughable considering both basic photoshop and the capabilities of digital photography these days. But, hey, for the time this was really amazing stuff. I did find it interesting to compare some of my own photos taken with disposable underwater cameras to the high-tech images found in this book. Made me feel pretty good as a photographer, actually. My favorite part of the book is the Appendix B. Yeah, I know, sounds corny... but it is "Drawings of Ships, Sharks, and Sea-Going Equipment" and I think that stuff is really neat from a historical perspective. I wouldn't be surprised to find the illustration of a shark's eye still in modern textbooks- as our knowledge of sharks has grown, but still remains far short of where it could be.

If you are a marine-history buff, or a big Cousteau fan, it is totally worth the effort to check out this book at a local library. I wouldn't use it for a scientific paper, but if writing a biography on either Cousteau, then it is an interesting and useful work. I found my copy at a garage sale, so really have no suggestions on where to find it... so I looked it up on Amazon.com for fun. At this time there are 4 new copies for $13 and 40 used ones starting for less than $1. I was disappointed to see the 7 reviews for the book gave it an average of 4.5 stars. As for me...

RATING: ~~1/2 (2.5 Waves out of 5) Just because I have mad respect for the authors doesn't mean I've fallen off my rocker when it comes to writing, research, and accuracy. If it's out of date, and this one IS, I can't in good conscience highly recommend it.

Remember your heroes, even when they let you down. Know that we are all human and therefore fallible, but we are also capable of amazing -and positive- actions.
Go inspire somebody!
-Callie Sharkey