'Chronicle' worth the rental

Short review

Probably the best “found footage” movie ever. Decent acting, good plot and character development. If you missed it in the theaters, then you should pick it up on DVD.

Long review

The found-footage style didn’t start with "The Blair Witch Project," but it definitely was popularized by it. Then we had "Cloverfield," from director J.J. Abrams, which could have been really awesome, but wasn’t. The style was a perfect way to showcase goofy college students stumbling onto some creepy horror plot in the woods, but didn’t work so well with a big New York monster movie trying to capture what we loved about the Tokyo "Godzilla" movies.

So, the question is, will a found-footage style work for a movie about high school students with super powers? Yes. Yes, it will.

"Chronicle" features three high school friends who discover a cave with an extra-terrestrial object that gives them nose bleeds and the ability to move objects with their minds. This movie does go the superhero rout, but approaches the idea of people gaining superpowers in a more-realistic way in that the first thing they think of doing with it is playing pranks on each other, seeing if they can hurt each other, and really freaking out their classmates and enemies. This most likely is what actually would happen if your teenage kids gained telekinetic powers. Not using it for good and fighting crime, but stealing your keys from your pocket with their mind to use your car on their next date.

This movie isn’t all that innovative. It’s not the first movie to feature people with superpowers that aren’t being superhero’s (the 2008 film "Jumper," starring Hayden Christensen, was another one). And it’s not the first movie to ask, “What would happen if someone got a superpower and they weren’t exactly stable?” (1988's "Akira" was another movie that did this). However, it is a good watch and I fully recommend it. Especially if you enjoy films that stretch the boundaries of their budget in creative ways.

Read Nathan R. Carlsen's Areavoices blog, "Movie Reviews by Nate," for more movie reviews. Also, check out his website, TheRollerskate.com.

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