Thanks to Gulf Film, we have 30 tickets to the movie to give away.

The film follows three teenage high school friends who one night discover a crack in the ground and a mysterious figure underneath it upon further exploration, which ends up giving all three of them telekinesis powers. At first, they all begin to test their powers by playing pranks on unsuspecting people and discovering their potential. But all the fun and games come to a stop when they begin to realize that one of them may be slowly using it for a far sinister purpose.

Lurking around in mysterious caves = superpowers.

Newcomer filmmaker Josh Trank helms the film based on an original script by Max Landis, and it’s especially notable not only because this doesn’t feel like a first-time effort at all but also that it’s extremely rare that Hollywood makes a superhero movie not based off an existing property. Sure, it does have a few inspirations mainly from ‘Akira’ and hints of ‘Cloverfield’ but the plot itself is largely original. But the first thing you’ll notice is how fleshed out it is as a screenplay. The characters are well developed for the most part especially the character of Alex who’s shown as a bullied young man from the outset. You can just see from the first scene with his daddy issues and abuse that he’s the kind of guy who will just flip out one fine day and wreak havoc. What if a guy like that gets superpowers? It’s an intriguing question and the progression of events beautifully show the state of mind of the character constantly changing and his ideologies evolving into something dangerous. All this has to be chalked up to surprisingly deep character development with not only the characters learning something and changing by the end of the film but there’s also a message here. A superhero movie like this could easily have been a mindless entertainer filled with CGI and action but the filmmakers decided to tell a genuine story instead and it pays off in droves.

Found footage is usually seen as a gimmicky way to tell a story and there are movies that go to great lengths make sure that the film looks authentic from the camera filming it. ‘Chronicle’, however, doesn’t go that far and this actually works in its favor. On one hand, there is not one moment in the movie that breaks the illusion that the scenes are being filmed by some sort of recording device and applause to the filmmakers for really keeping to that promise and putting in that extra effort. At the same time, it doesn’t remain constricted to the format and has fun with it by taking some creative liberties. Instead of the frantic shaky filming for the most part, the director opts for some very inventive ways of making the film more traditional in filming style by coming up with a near-genius way to do so – the main character of the movie is fond of filming things and once he gets superpowers, he decides to levitate the camera around him to film the events of the film. This leads to some excellent memorable sequences including the flying sequence which is not only breathtaking to watch because the camera is hovering around them, but also very fresh and unique in what it tries to achieve. The long one-cut conversation scenes are riveting to watch because of the way they are filmed and add a lot more drama to the scenes. The finale in particular is fascinating because even though destruction is taking place, the movie tries to stretch limits of believability by having some sort of camera filming whatever happens – whether it’s an iPad or a security camera or a handicam. It’s sometimes ridiculous to think who would have collected all of that footage together but it’s a fun way to tell the story for sure.

When an angsty bullied teen gets superpowers, sh*t happens.

Speaking of the finale, the entire movie builds up to quite a powerful finale to say the least. I’m not going to spoil anything here, but the last 20 minutes of the film are not only impactful but are enough to satisfy most action fans and remind you a lot of ‘Carrie’ and ‘Cloverfield’ at times (which is a good thing). Though the film works with a rather modest budget, this is the portion of the movie that looks as good as any other big budget summer movie in terms of spectacle. Some may have hoped for it to go a little further than it does in terms of destruction, but I think it stops just short of being overblown. Even the effects in this part are very believable and realistic, but sadly that can’t be said to some of the effects earlier in the film. There’s something about even the simplest ball-juggling effects and levitation effects that don’t ring true probably because the budget constraints and the found-footage style don’t exactly gel together here. Some more polish to the film in this section would have been better. Another thing that the film lacks is that it underuses the character of Steve who had an interesting backstory to him but is a character that was eventually set aside in favor of the main characters. Acting is a strong suit of the film, though. Every single actor of the movie gives a very strong performance and particular mention goes to Dane DeHaan who gives a terrifying, evil but sometimes tragic performance of a young man descending into darkness.

But ‘Chronicle’ is definitely a must-watch for anyone looking for a smart and effective action thriller that’s also unique and manages to excite you despite dozens of lame found-footage movies that have been hitting shelves lately. Found-footage is not dead, it’s only the filmmakers’ imagination that fails to come alive. And ‘Chronicle’ is an example of a super-powered film that surprises.

Rating – 8 out of 10.

Just one of the many sh*t-your-pants moments in the film.

THR reports that the sequel is officially happening with director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell (who also played a small role in the movie and was the lead in the first ‘Saw’) returning. There’s no word as to where the plot of the movie will go or whether the actors Patrick Wilson or Rose Bryne will return, but suffice to say that they’ll figure it out. Oren Peli and Steven Schneider will executive produce the movie, which is expected to go into production this year for a 2013 release.

I personally liked the movie even though I predicted the ending before it arrived (probably because these guys are known for trippy twist endings). There is scope to expand on the mythology of the film and considering these are the guys responsible for the “Saw’ franchise, there’s definitely reason to believe that they know how to form a franchise with their stories. Anyone who liked ‘Insidious’ should also check out ‘Dead Silence’, which was  a 2006 horror film by the same team and is criminally underrated with a truly unexpected twist ending that will surprise you. Sadly, that movie didn’t do well and sequel plans were cancelled. Good to see that this one has seen its deserved success though.

More on the movie as we get info.

DC Comics has announced a seven part prequel series of interlocking stories that will each focus on different characters like Rorschach, the Comedian and Nite Owl. As for the work itself, DC assures this:

“As highly anticipated as they are controversial, the seven inter-connected prequel mini-series will build on the foundation of the original WATCHMEN,the bestselling graphic novel of all time. BEFORE WATCHMEN will be the collective banner for all seven titles, from DC Comics.”

“Stepping up to the challenge is a group of the comic book industry’s most iconoclastic writers and artists – including Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS), Lee Bermejo (JOKER), Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL), Darwyn Cooke (JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER), John Higgins(WATCHMEN), Adam Hughes (CATWOMAN), J.G. Jones (FINAL CRISIS), Andy Kubert (FLASHPOINT), Joe Kubert (SGT. ROCK), Jae Lee (BATMAN: JEKYLL AND HYDE), J. Michael Straczynski (SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE) and Len Wein (SWAMP THING).”

The following are the seven parts:

- RORSCHACH (4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo

- MINUTEMEN (6 issues) – Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke

- COMEDIAN (6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones

- DR. MANHATTAN (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artist: Adam Hughes

- NITE OWL (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert

- OZYMANDIAS (6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee

- SILK SPECTRE (4 issues) – Writer: Darwyn Cooke. Artist: Amanda Conner

There’s also a continuous story called ‘Curse of the Crimson Corsair’ that will be running through all the issues, similar to the ‘Curse of the Black Freighter’ story in the original to supplement the events of the comic.

But the question is this: is this right in expanding the mythology of the original which is ever so perfect and especially when Alan Moore himself isn’t involved? I would go out on a limb and say yes, it is a prequel and will end up being a treat for the fans especially since DC has made sure some really talented people are involved here. Fleshing out their backstories doesn’t sound like the worst idea and I’m open to it as long as they don’t mess it up. Even the original artist Dave Gibbons gives it his blessing:

“The original series of WATCHMEN is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell. However, I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire.”

What about another movie? Highly unlikely, I would say. The original was great but the mass audiences never accepted it and it’s not a cheap film to make, so the idea seems implausible. Below are the artwork from all of the issues:

]]> http://tbreak.com/movies/21226/blog/dc-comics-announces-before-watchmen-prequel-comic-series-artwork-inside.html/feed 0 http://tbreak.com/movies/21220/blog/justin-timberlake-joining-clint-eastwood-in-trouble-with-the-curve.html http://tbreak.com/movies/21220/blog/justin-timberlake-joining-clint-eastwood-in-trouble-with-the-curve.html#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:05:45 +0000 Faisal Hashmi http://tbreak.com/movies/?p=21220 Out of all the desperate singers trying to break into acting as well, the only one who has gradually been able to impress and hold his own has been Justin Timberlake. After working with David Fincher in ‘The Social Network’ which resulted in a pretty impressive performance, he’s now set to star alongside Clint Eastwoood and Amy Adams in Robert Lorenz’s ‘Trouble with the Curve’.

Variety reports that the script by Randy Brown deals with an aging baseball coach (played by Eastwood) who is slowly going blind and decides to make a trip to Atlanta with his daughter (Amy Adams) to check out a potentially great young player. It’s a great role from what it sounds and I’m not surprised that Eastwood is back to acting to play it even when he said ‘Gran Torino’ would be his last film. Lorenz is his producing partner for long so I can see how bringing Eastwood on board was an easier job. Timberlake is set to play Johnny Flanagan, a friend of the coach and possibly a love interest for his daughter. Matthew Lillard (The Descendants) and Joe Massingill are in negotiations as well.

A pretty big deal for Timberlake to be starring alongside a heavyweight like Eastwood. What do you think?

Deadline reported that Al Pacino has been signed on to voice the role of the villain in the upcoming ‘Despicable Me 2′, which is set for release on July 3, 2013. Now Javier Bardem was set to play the villain in that movie but he has since dropped out, so it’s safe to assume that Pacino is taking over that role. The original in 2010 was a critically and commercially successful movie that kickstarted a new animation studio that is now giving you ‘The Lorax’ this summer. Casting Bardem as a villain was more exciting, but Pacino is definitely the next best and will bring a lot to the role. But it will be a Steve Carrell show for the most part.