• From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-05-08
  • Posts: 2,451
  • User Karma: 317

Topic: Chronicle

Holy fucking shit, you guys. This movie blew me out of the water. It's better than anything I've seen in months. It's a great example of storytelling that more movies should use. Every story beat feels right. Not a single scene (that I can remember) rings false.

There's a point in this movie where I thought to myself, "This movie could go anywhere. Anything could happen. I have no idea what will happen next." There is a tiny group of movies out there that made me feel that way, and Chronicle easily goes on that list.

My mind is still settling down (the climax is mind-boggling), so I can't get all my thoughts out, but you should really see this movie. And don't look up anything about it beforehand, if you can. Don't read the Wikipedia page or anything. Trust me, you don't want to get spoiled on anything.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • Trey
  • Trey
  • A Grizzled Old Dick With Stories To Tell
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2009-11-25
  • Posts: 1,756
  • User Karma: 720

Re: Chronicle

Challenge accepted.  I have never heard of this movie, but apparently it's playing down the street.  I will  attend the 10:00 showing this very evening.

THIS BETTER BE GOOD, HERR SUBMARINE.

Trey's Website

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-05-08
  • Posts: 2,451
  • User Karma: 317

Re: Chronicle

If there's an argument to be made against this movie, I'd sincerely like to hear it.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Annapolis, MD
  • Registered: 2010-07-08
  • Posts: 483
  • User Karma: 93

Re: Chronicle

Is this a Meteor Man remake?

Ewing's Website

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-05-08
  • Posts: 2,451
  • User Karma: 317

Re: Chronicle

No, but it does feel like someone watched the Prequels and said, "Yeah, I could do that better." It's exactly what everyone wanted out of the Prequels. We see someone fall to the Dark Side, and his reasons are understandable and relatable.

If you've seen the film, imagine this. What if all three Star Wars prequels followed the structure of this film? I think it would have made for a much more engaging series.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • Trey
  • Trey
  • A Grizzled Old Dick With Stories To Tell
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2009-11-25
  • Posts: 1,756
  • User Karma: 720

Re: Chronicle

Aaaand I'm back.  Yep, that's a fun little ride of a movie, very well made and acted.

I've avoided the whole "found footage" genre until tonight, so I dunno how other movies have done it - but I thought this one justified its camera angles nicely.  A few shots were a bit of a stretch, but not ridiculous enough to break the mood for me.

The biggest surprise for ME was when they cut to a picture of one of the characters when he was a kid and I suddenly realized, "Wait - he was Wallace in The Wire!   Awesome!"

Anyway - I second your opinion, Doctor.  Well worth a watch.

Trey's Website

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Annapolis, MD
  • Registered: 2010-07-08
  • Posts: 483
  • User Karma: 93

Re: Chronicle

Trey wrote:

The biggest surprise for ME was when they cut to a picture of one of the characters when he was a kid and I suddenly realized, "Wait - he was Wallace in The Wire!   Awesome!"

There the fuck was Wallace.

Ewing's Website

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • Registered: 2010-05-01
  • Posts: 1,519
  • User Karma: 194

Re: Chronicle

I'll be seeing this either monday or tuesday. This is one of the films I've been most excited about going to see, and it's really good reviews. Can't wait.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: NY
  • Registered: 2009-11-23
  • Posts: 236

Re: Chronicle

Oh wow, seriously guys? This movie was awful to the core. Review to come soon.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: NY
  • Registered: 2009-11-23
  • Posts: 236

Re: Chronicle

And the climax being mind boggling, excuse my rudeness but BAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA "jingle all the way" had a more mind-boggling ending.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-05-08
  • Posts: 2,451
  • User Karma: 317

Re: Chronicle

I'm intrigued. Please, explain.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: NY
  • Registered: 2009-11-23
  • Posts: 236

Re: Chronicle

Baaaaaaaaaaa I cannot type this all on my phone will driving but I want to so bad, but I will try and stick in some points real quick before I am trashed watching my Giants win the Super Bowl.

Ill just talk about the ending, SPOILOERS


Ok, did you really not see that coming? That was a mind-boggling ending, watching andrew fly around like a neanderthal and scream and throw things all angry while Matt just follows him around, moans, crys, and yells ANDREW ANDREW all over again while they just fly around and fall and fly and fall throw cops. The part with the statue would have been 1000x more awesome (still was the best part in the movie), if he didn't look at the statute like twice letting every 4 year old and their mother know what was about to happen (not like you couldn't tell from the TV spot the exact thing that was going to happen anyway...). Then seriously wtF is with the 4 minutes of him talking to the camera..... serisouly? for nothing to happen?

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-05-08
  • Posts: 2,451
  • User Karma: 317

Re: Chronicle

I'm trying to see it from that point of view. I'm trying real hard here. But I can't. I can't see someone not enjoying the climax of this film.

  Show
I thought that it was totally plausible that Andrew would kill Matt instead. The movie didn't point you in any one particular direction, it didn't spoon-feed you what was going to happen next. If you saw it coming, congratulations. You're super-perceptive. I was too invested the movie itself to try and figure out the ending before it happened.

As an action climax, of course it isn't as "epic" as audiences are accustomed to, but this isn't that movie. This is a pretty small flick, and the final battle is appropriate for this kind of movie. Also, the brief shot of Matt looking at the statue was necessary for pacing. If it had just been, "All of a sudden, there was a spear through his chest!" it would have happened too quickly and the impact wouldn't have been the same.

As for the final scene, it's called a denouement and I thought it worked well. You can't just have a big final battle and then immediately cut to black. Hell, even Ryan Vs. Dorkman 2, which is literally nothing but fighting, had a few moments of quiet at the end before they rolled credits. I thought the final scene was a very nice cap to the story.

So that's my rant. I guess I'm really invested in this movie. It's a smart exploration of teenage angst through a comic book lens.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Gardena, California
  • Registered: 2009-11-26
  • Posts: 1,598
  • User Karma: 484

Re: Chronicle

Just saw it. Really enjoyed it.

I don't think the climax is "mind boggling" either -- it didn't take any especially shocking turns IMO -- but it was entertaining and appropriate. As for the four minutes of talking at the end, yeah, it's a movie about characters, and wraps up with the surviving character.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-05-08
  • Posts: 2,451
  • User Karma: 317

Re: Chronicle

"Mind boggling" is probably the wrong phrase. My point is that I was really blown away by it. It didn't take any shocking turns, but I believed that it could have at any moment, which made the whole thing really tense.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • Dean
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: UK
  • Registered: 2012-01-05
  • Posts: 17
  • User Karma: 6

Re: Chronicle

the scripted ending was way better.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • Registered: 2010-03-29
  • Posts: 41
  • User Karma: 9

Re: Chronicle

I loved the movie. Every kid says, "If I had telekinesis, I would..." and this was one of the first movies to really payoff that conversation. The ending was over the top, but I wanted it to be and I'm glad it was.

Also, this really made me think just how awesome Anakin Skywalker's turn could have been.

Dean, what was the original ending?

Last edited by requiem1394 (2012-02-07 00:09:09)

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2010-01-19
  • Posts: 2,430
  • User Karma: 264

Re: Chronicle

I really want to see this film but I can only see one film when I'm out of town next Monday. And The Muppets will be released by then too, so that comes first. The problem is, it'll be half-term so The Muppets showings may be full of schoolkids, so, annoying.

Decisions decisions.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • Brian
  • Administrator
  • Offline
  • From: North Hollywood
  • Registered: 2009-11-21
  • Posts: 622
  • User Karma: 75

Re: Chronicle

I really enjoyed it as well. But at the end of it, I'm not sure what the point of the whole thing was, why (to once again borrow from Nicholas Meyer) the filmmakers bothered to tell me the story in the first place.

Brian's Website

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • paulou
  • paulou
  • Knows all the Feminine Forms
  • Offline
  • From: Los Angeles
  • Registered: 2010-06-01
  • Posts: 714
  • User Karma: 174

Re: Chronicle

SPOILEY, forewarned.


Liked it. Thought all the kids were well conceived. Could have used a little more emotional development with Andrew's arc from mousy abuse victim to god-complexed love child of Carrie and Magneto. The one soliloquy we get during his descent into madness is almost reading the wiki entry onthe food chain. Bummer. 

Speaking of, appreciated that it wasn't dripping with pop culture references – only one I noticed was Matt's Nostromo t-shirt.

Conceit of the found footage thing burnt too many mental cycles and was annoying. It's not a movie about how clever they can be with cameras, it's about the kids. Some of the best moments in the film were a couple of the cheated shots at the end. All I could think about during the final act was how many other, better places the camera could have been to more clearly tell the story of a shot. 

It would have been much stronger if it bounced back and forth from diagetic to non-diagetic camera work, and made the most out of the advantages of each.


What was the scripted ending?

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-05-08
  • Posts: 2,451
  • User Karma: 317

Re: Chronicle

I've been poking around for the script, but I can't find it anywhere. Does anyone have it?

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • switch
  • Karma Chameleon
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2010-07-11
  • Posts: 423
  • User Karma: 21

Re: Chronicle

I wasn't really interested in seeing this one, but you guys have convinced me.  If Trey, Michael, and Brian liked it; I'll probably dig it too.  Tell me what is wrong with that pervious sentence grammatically...

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Gardena, California
  • Registered: 2009-11-26
  • Posts: 1,598
  • User Karma: 484

Re: Chronicle

You mentioned my name second.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Chicago-ish
  • Registered: 2009-11-23
  • Posts: 741
  • User Karma: 149

Re: Chronicle

(Also, you misused the semicolon in the "If, then" construction.)

-drew [normally knows better than to fuck with an english major who knows kung-fu...]

(UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)

Thumbs up Thumbs down

  • From: Gardena, California
  • Registered: 2009-11-26
  • Posts: 1,598
  • User Karma: 484

Re: Chronicle

Drew's answer is of course the correct one, but I couldn't resist the joke.

Also you misspelled previous, but I'm sure we can find a use for "pervious" in modern vernacular.

Thumbs up +1 Thumbs down