Chronicle

With great power comes great trouble
Perhaps no other phrase in the comic book genre applies to daily life as much as Spider-Man's famous, "With great power comes great responsibility." Such a phrase has guided Spider-Man throughout his career, but occasionally the thought comes up: what if he didn't follow this famous mantra, and instead used his powers for selfish reasons? While "Chronicle" may not be related to Spider-man, it perfectly explores what would happen if the famous saying was ignored.

"Chronicle" follows three high school kids who have pretty ordinary lives: one is running for class president, one is the shy type whom nobody likes, and the last is the outgoing, energetic type. One night, while at a rave, the three come across something mysterious, and find themselves in possession of powers that allow them to manipulate things with their minds. As expected, they start off doing pranks (like using a leaf blower on skirts, for example), but as time goes on, being in possession of so much power...

Pleasantly Surprised and Wanted More
4.5 stars

Reading some of the other reviews of "Chronicle," I was a little reluctant to bother watching it. Yet another "found footage" film--maaannn, when are they going to realize that this technique has been done to death?--and there's not even any logical reason to use it here. Nevertheless, I was very impressed with what this film's creators were able to do. Really fine acting and storyline: The way the three very different protagonists interact is quite convincing. "Chronicle" also aptly portrays adolescent/high school existence, an age so many films screw up with clichés and stereotypes. Very true-to-life dialogue: Whoever wrote the script did an outstanding job. All the Greek morality play elements, the theme of hubris, etc, add a great deal. Special effects are good but not too Hollywood-slick, which makes them all-the-more convincing. Humankind's common desire, unaided flying, is portrayed without strings attached: The flight scenes are, well, awesome,...

3 1/2 stars for a new wrinkle in the "found footage" style of filmmaking
I'm pretty sure that I've seen most if not all of the genre now called "found footage" films, going back the grandmother of them all "The Blair Witch Project." I've liked some and not others pretty much like any other film. One common thread is a theme of dread, relatively unknown actors and filmmakers, and low budget. Fine, no problem. Director Josh Trank throws a few wrinkles into the camera footage by not limiting the filming to just one camera. This iteration incorporates a friend's use of a camera (school reporter doncha know), hospital security cameras, helicopter cameras, etc. and then shows it edited together to get the movie.

Our 3 teenage "heroes" being a little tipsy coming from a party find a big hole in the ground and decide to slip into it and see what's what. Some alien remnants (I guess) are discovered that put out some intergalactic emission that gives the 3 boys supernatural powers. As they discover their powers, they begin to innocently play tricks...

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