Whats Happen'in, Everybody?

First and foremost, THANK YOU FOR 33K VIEWS ON MY DA PAGE  I really appreaciate having friends, fans, and supporters like you coming back to my page to enjoy my artwork. All of your feedback and comments inspire me to submit more work.

Sorry I haven't been updating the journal for a while. I was too busy adjusting to my last semester as an undergrad and recovering from my crazy (yet fun) Winter Break. Soo many holiday parties, birthday parties, and deadmau5 live. It was awesome. Now I'm taking my last semester of college and will be getting a Bachelors in New Media this May. I have a large amount of free time, all the more reason to have fun with my friends and fellow graduates. I also can't wait to show off Senior Project material here, its going to be my first full length movie.

Speaking of movies, I figured I would kick off my first journal of the New Year with a D91 Movie Review. This time, I will do a review of </b>CHRONICLE</b>. So here's my detailed written review of the film.

(DISCLAIMER: The thoughts and opinions expressed in his review are my own. Some minor/semi-spoilers maybe in this review to help support said opinions. All the images/screenshots used in this review belong to its respective owners.)



PLOT
When I first saw the trailer to "Chronicle", it seemed to be very self explanatory in terms of story and background. It seemed like "Cloverfield" with some aspects of X-Men, Kick Ass, and Super. You can call it a super hero movie with all the cliche found footage genre gimmicks. At first glance, this was not a bad thing since I am a fan of all of the above (although, the found footage era is getting rather stale). However, once I sat through the entire movie, all of my plot expectations were simply blown away.

The movie tells the story of a teenage boy named Andrew who lives a very troubled life with an abusive father, cancer ridden mother, and happens to have very low esteem due to his social awkwardness. He's like "Peter Parker" but with way more realistic issues and darker background. He decides to document his life with a video camera, supposedly as a why to deal with life. He spends time with his cousin, Matt, who tends to give him moral support from time to time. One night during a rave, they are joined by fellow classmate and friend Steve who asks them to investigate this hole in the woods. Once there, the three discover an artifact/alien looking rock or object. Once they came into close contact with it, they all black out with bleeding noses.

It turns out that the object granted the three telekinetic powers that grows stronger the more they use it. However, Andrew seems to develop his abilities at a more rapid rate. They start using their powers to cause some harmless mischief and gain some popularity points in their high school. Once Andrew goes overboard on using his powers by nearly killing a driver, Matt and Steve start to realize that their powers have the potential to be more dangerous than fun. Matt then starts to question his own significance and moral value now that he continues to grow stronger.After a chain of certain unfortunate events, Andrew takes a more darker approach towards using his powers and puts his friends, family, and innocent at risk because of it. This leads to a personal conflict that goes beyond good and evil.

Now Chronicle does many things great in terms of character development and the overall theme of using powers beyond human control. Every individual that has gained super powers in fiction usually goes through the cliche of automatically trying to use it for good after a journey of self realization. I bet you, in reality, like 80% of the time people will do nothing but use such overwhelming powers for their own personal gain. Chronicle does this perfectly, especially when it combines the issues and attitudes shared within today's youth. Being a teenager is the most influential period of anyone's life as you begin to discover who you are and deal with issues/changes that are both physical and emotional. Throwing super powers in the mix just enhances the personal development dramatically. All the characters do is uses their powers for fun and to boost their popularity amongst the student body. Not once do they ever shed light on fighting crime or contributing twoards mankind, and I love that sense of thinking as its a more realistic approach on normal people being granted super powers.

The character Andrew demonstrates this growth theme well and in a more dynamic fashion compared to any super human character throughout the history of media. Once he learns the true potential of his powers, he goes through a life changing phase that challenges his sense of morality, fairness, and his significance in the world. After a lifetime of torment, abuse, and sadness, Andrew decides to take his place as the "superior" being and use his powers however he pleases. His motives are driven by the twisted emotions every teenager feels from time to time based on the influence of their friends and situations. This all comes full circle in the films climax which is the best one I have seen in movie yet (especially for a found footage film since they tend to be anticlimactic.) This movie is not a hero, anti hero, or villain origin story by any means. It's more of a "chronicle" of events driven by moral values, teen angst, and the use of exceptional gifts that would make one question their own significance. Its a very engaging set of themes that many can relate to in their own way to an extent, especially with the teenage audience.

PRODUCTION VALUE
Being a found footage film, "Chronicle" does have almost everything you'd expect such as the shakey camera, pixelation/static, and quick time cuts. However, this film uses the perspective of multiple cameras used by supporting cast, security cameras, android phones, etc. This is a nice approach, but I feel like the writers could have expanded upon this form of storytelling. For example, why not have this movie in the point of view of a certain viewer who stumbles upon the footage on the internet or news story. It touches on the current "Youtube culture", but I just wish the flow of the movie could have been more dynamic with this cultrure in mind.

The special effects are not the greatest, but with a movie with such a low budget its somewhat forgivable at times. The acting makes up for the effects as the reactions towards certain scenes of using superpowers are very believable. For many no-name actors, this is a beneficial aspect to the overall movie. The special effects definitely kick in during the third act of the film (kind of gives bigger budget films a run for their money especially for a film thats based on found footage).

The writing as a whole does have a good blend of realism and science fiction. There are times when I had a good laugh here and there. The film does have a very effective shift in tone as the characters get somewhat darker as they develop. There is maybe one or two plot holes, but they are not too distracting.

FINAL THOUGHTS
"Chronicle" is a breath of fresh air in the world of superhero movies. It's unique take on individuals gaining god like abilities and the reality how they decide to use it provides a very engaging plot and character development. It reminds me of the movie "Unbreakable" as it breaks many of the comic book cliches we all know and love. It challenges viewers to relate towards an individual based on moral values and the emotional drive that would make you want to stand out in the world (whether it be for negative or positive towards others). I highly recommend seeing this film if you are a fan of the superhero/science fiction genre or just want to experience an approach to film making (plot and character development) that is both new and effective.

Rating
I give it 88 out of 100


So thats my review of "Chronicle". Hopefully my next review will be on STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN. Stay tuned for this years D91 Valentines Day special and more drawings on the way.

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Until next time folks!
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