Let’s go surfing now, some films want to show you how

And then there is the first-night film itself, a surfing movie titled “Riding Giants,” which would be impressive if I hadn’t just seen “Step Into Liquid,” a surfing film directed by Dana Brown that features basically the same ideas, and all of the same guys, that “Riding Giants” does. There are some awesome shots of big BIG waves , but the only thing more outrageous than the audacity of the guys who surf big water is this film’s self-importance. To hear these guys talk, you’d think that they had pioneered cancer research or lunar exploration instead of just spending long days riding a fiberglass board down waves the size of four-story buildings. And once again I wonder: Just who the hell is it who chooses these opening-night movies? Wasn’t there anything better than this? I only hope that tomorrow is better. As for me, I’m going to pop open a beer and watch the final half hour of “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.” Now that’s an opening-night movie.