#Chronicle (2012)

    Before i saw this movie i couldn't get the title out of my head. Would they say chronicle a lot in the movie? Would that fact that it's a hash tag play some weird part in the characters becoming an internet sensation? Would the movie just suck? Luckily all my questions are now answered and I'm here to set the record straight. Chronicle is a damn good movie, and to my recollection no one makes a big deal about saying chronicle (which was a huge plus for me). I'm very pleased that someone saw the potential in this idea and put some serious money behind it becuase everyone should see it. 

    The basic plot is that three archetypal high school seniors who sort of know each other wander off from a party one night and find something mysterious that for whatever reason gives them telekinetic powers. The three characters ; a depressed loner with an abusive father and no social standing, an arrogant philosophical kind of a guy who's also kind of a loner becuase he feels he's above the system, and an incredibly popular but also genuinely good kid who's spent his whole high school career climbing the social ladder. As they discover just how powerful they are and what they can do they try to turn it down and only use it in private. But no such luck as the plot goes each of the three has their own reason to use or not use their gifts and slowly but surely their team begins to drift apart and you as the audience come to realize that this can't end well. 

    But enough about the plot, what makes the movie so great? Well lets start at a technical level. In the past found footage movies such as the Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield have often had the gimmick for one of two reasons. With Blair Witch it worked well in the story, and since it really didn't have a budget for any fancy effects it had to use the perspective to set up most of the tension and creepiness. In Cloverfield it was becuase they though it'd be cheaper to not show the big scary monster  very much. And i guess they thought it'd be cool to have a robot hold the camera as well but whatever. Chronicle falls somewhere in between, the biggest problem the movie suffers from is the effects, and while they don't ruin it they aren't up to the standards of big budget block busters. Truth be told it never really matters becuase what they're doing on screen is so crazy or creative or intense it's often hard to notice that some stuff doesn't track perfectly but you get over it. The found footage perspective allows the perspective to shift at key moments, and to the films credit they use it in spectacular-gold-star-for-creativity ways throughout the second half. 

    The movie also mixes its substance well with its action, since the story is focused on these three kids as they come into power they spend a lot of time discussing just what they gonna do with all of this, where are they gonna go, and how could they change the world? You've probably never seen any of the actors in this movie before (and if you have you can't name them) but everyone from the abusive father to the crazed loner to the typical high school chumps pull their weight well and i would hope all three of the leads get offered big time roles in the future. I did mention some action however, and while i don't want to spoil it i must again once turn to my new favorite word creative to describe the action. It's intense and thrilling and will having you swaying in your seat as if your the one holding the camera. A lot of what they do in this movie will  probably never be replicated by other big budget super hero movies, and it would be a shame if they tried.

    I could go deeper and deeper into how the subtleties of the score add to the atmosphere, or how affecting some of the early scenes with the lonely kid are but i don't need to. Go see this movie. I hope it tops the box office this weekend becuase it deserves to. I'm sure Women in Black is great and all that but this is really something special and i hope you don't miss it. 

    Definitely an A.