Film

Momentum Generation

Momentum Generation chronicles a tight-knit group of 1990s Hawaiian surfers who elevated the sport to mainstream prominence, then grappled with fame, rivalry, and growing apart. It's a warm, funny, occasionally melancholy document of friendship tested by success. For anyone who's ever been part of a crew that changed, or anyone who loves watching young people at the top of their game.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love a group portrait where friendship and ambition pull against each other, and the sea footage and off-camera candour of a tight-knit crew will hook you.

Skip it if you have no interest in surfing itself, since the sport and its culture sit at the centre and the talking-head interviews carry much of the weight.

What it asks of you: It runs under two hours and moves briskly between archive footage, interviews and sea shots, asking you to track a web of personal history.

If you liked this

The Endless Summer1966

The foundational surf documentary that defined how the world sees surfing. Bruce Brown's film captures the sport's wanderlust and camaraderie with genuine poetry and infectious joy.

But Shot in 1966, the pacing and colour grading feel distant. Some may find the romantic voiceover dated rather than charming.

The Endless Summer poster

Senna2010

A masterwork about rivalry, obsession, and two drivers at the absolute peak of their powers. Uses archive footage to create something that feels more intimate than a traditional biography.

But If you don't care about Formula One, the technical details may feel impenetrable. The ending is historically fixed—no surprises there.

Senna poster

Free Solo2018

Documents a climber preparing to ascend El Capitan without ropes. Unbearably tense, gorgeously shot, and asks piercing questions about ambition and what we're willing to risk.

But The repetitive structure—training, doubt, more training—can feel thin. Some find the documentary crew's presence ethically troubling.

Free Solo poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Momentum Generation

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Boyhood2014

Both follow a cohort through their peak years and beyond, using time itself as a character. Both ask what happens to a tight group when the world demands they scatter.

Richard Linklater filmed the same actors over twelve years, capturing the passage of time with no manipulation. It's a meditation on friendship, loss, and how we change without noticing. Structurally unique and quietly devastating.

But Three hours of deliberate pacing with no plot in the traditional sense. Requires patience and a tolerance for boredom as an artistic tool.

Boyhood poster
More like this (7)

Hoop Dreams1994

Follows two basketball players from childhood through college recruitment. Epic in scope, deeply human, and a devastating portrait of systemic inequality dressed up as opportunity.

But At three hours, it demands genuine commitment. The ending will not satisfy anyone looking for a triumphant arc.

Hoop Dreams poster

The Last Dance2020

Ten-part series on Michael Jordan's final season with the Bulls. Combines archive footage with present-day interviews to explore perfectionism, ego, and what it costs to be the best.

But Heavy on Jordan's vindictiveness. Some of the player interviews feel obligatory rather than revelatory.

The Last Dance poster

Mad Max: Fury Road2015

A two-hour chase film that's actually about obsession, loyalty, and finding meaning in motion. Visually rapturous and structurally flawless. Proof that action can be art.

But Minimal plot or character development. If you need dialogue and introspection, this will feel hollow.

Mad Max: Fury Road poster

City Lights1931

Chaplin's silent masterpiece about friendship between a vagrant and a blind woman. The emotional crescendo is one of cinema's greatest moments. It proves sentiment and comedy can coexist.

But Silent film from 1931. If you need contemporary pacing and dialogue, this will test your patience severely.

City Lights poster

The Battered Bastards of Baseball2014

A ragtag group of men form an independent baseball team to prove the system wrong. Underdog energy, real affection among the players, genuinely rousing without being saccharine.

But Scrappy filmmaking means rough edges in pacing. The baseball sequences assume some fan knowledge.

The Battered Bastards of Baseball poster

Léon: The Professional1994

At its heart, it's about a small group—just two people—whose loyalty to each other matters more than survival. Like Momentum Generation, it's about family you choose, not birth.

A contract killer and a orphaned girl form an unlikely bond. It's violent and tender simultaneously, visually stunning, and explores what it means to belong to something.

But Heavy subject matter involving a child. Some find the violence gratuitous rather than purposeful, and the sentimentality can feel manipulative.

Léon: The Professional poster

Chaos Walking2021

Explores the bonds forged in adversity and the devastation of watching those bonds tested. It's science fiction doing what Momentum Generation does as memoir—showing how external pressure fractures internal loyalty.

An experimental science fiction miniseries adaptation that captures what it feels like to grow up in a hostile world with one true friend. Visually inventive, emotionally raw, and structurally unlike anything else.

But Deliberately strange and challenging. The young male lead's voice in his head is relentless. Some find the aesthetic more interesting than the story.

Chaos Walking poster

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