Chronicle

Chronicle - Dir. Josh Trank (2012)

With great power comes great responsibility. That was the lesson taught to Peter Parker and generations of comic book fans. Peter has a lot in common with Andrew Detmer, the lead character of Chronicle, as played by Dane DeHaan, an actor who closely resembles a young Leonardo DiCaprio. Both Andrew and Peter are lanky, socially awkward teens and suffered torment at the hands of high school bullies. Peter, at least, had a strong upbringing thanks to his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, who instilled in him a strong moral code. Sadly for Andrew, he did not have the same support system.

The shy and sensitive Andrew lives with a bed-ridden mother (Bo Petersen), who is slowly dying of cancer, and an alcoholic and abusive father (Michael Kelly), a former firefighter collecting disability. Andrew makes a new habit of carrying a camera everywhere he goes, recording his life at home and at school. His only friend is his cousin, Matt (Alex Russell). He's everything Andrew isn't. Confident and outgoing, Matt enjoys discussing Plato, Schopenhauer, and Jung. He invites a reluctant Andrew to a party where they meet up with Steve (Michael B. Jordan), the star quarterback who's running for class president. Together, they explore a pit in the woods where they discover a strange, glowing object.

Next thing you know, the three lads have been gifted with telekinetic powers. Do they fight for truth, justice, and the American way? No, they do what any teenagers would do if they were given extraordinary abilities. They pull pranks on each other and unsuspecting citizens at the shopping mall. They spook a little girl at the toy store with floating stuffed animals and knock one poor guy into a rack of groceries. There's even a Scott Baio in Zapped! moment when they lift the skirts of a group of pretty girls. Just when you think Chronicle is just Jackass with superpowers, things turn down a darker path as Andrew's mom gets sicker and his father gets angrier.

Chronicle marks the feature directorial debut of Josh Trank, who co-wrote the screenplay with Max Landis, son of John Landis, the director behind comedy classics like The Blues Brothers and Animal House. It's a fresh take on both the superhero film and found footage genre. The 1980 cult classic, Cannibal Holocaust, pioneered found footage, but it was The Blair Witch Project that really brought it to the forefront. The genre has exploded in recent years due to the immediacy of information in the YouTube era. It makes sense for Andrew to carry a camera everywhere he goes. The camera itself acts as a barrier between Andrew and the world around him, a point needlessly spelled out by one of the characters. At its best moments, the concept allows Trank to place the audience directly in Andrew's point of view as we witness the highs and lows of his life, from the heartbreaking cruelties at the hands of bullies to the invigorating freedom when the boys learn how to fly. Indeed, the flight sequences in Chronicle are some of the most captivating since Christopher Reeve first made you believe a man could fly. Even better, Trank isn't beholden to the conceit that the character must always be holding the camera at eye level no matter what ala Cloverfield. Thus, Chronicle isn't rife with queasy, shaky cam shots because the characters can simply float the camera at a convenient angle with their powers.

The question remains did Chronicle need to be done as a found footage movie? Not really. Trank mixes in black and white surveillance footage and news camera footage when he can to maintain the concept. Matt romances a pretty blonde (Ashley Hinshaw), who is a video blogger, allowing Trank to cut back and forth during their conversations. These scenes tend to draw too much attention to the genre's conventions and don't help the story. There are still places where it makes no sense for the camera to be recording. Andrew's dad berates his son for wasting money on an expensive camera, but still keeps it running? Although, you could argue Andrew switched it back on either consciously or unconsciously.

Luckily, the film is so well made and compelling that these minor quibbles do not diminish the overall experience. It's remarkable that Chronicle was made on a budget of only $12 million as the special effects are more convincing and the action more visceral than films made with tens times as much. Chronicle builds and builds towards a climactic confrontation at the top of the Space Needle before turning downtown Seattle into a war zone. The chaos and destruction harkens back to the drive-in sci-fi classics of yesteryear.

Chronicle turns out to be an origin story, but you'll walk out of the theater satisfied and craving more, instead of feeling ripped off at having only watched an extended first act. This is the debut of a filmmaker with great potential. Rumors instantly popped up that Trank would direct Fox's reboot of Fantastic Four, but they were quickly shot down. A shame since Trank can clearly bring a unique voice to the staid formula. There's a sly deconstruction of the superhero at work here evidenced by a scene where Andrew tortures a spider and plucks its legs off with a mere look.

Chronicle is the best non-comic book, comic book movie since Unbreakable.

Rating: *** (*****)

The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau - Dir. George Nolfi (2011)

The Adjustment Bureau is a love story set against the back drop of lofty, metaphysical ideas. The film is very loosely based on a short story by Philip K. Dick and deals with the same recurring themes of free will and destiny found in his work.

Matt Damon plays David Norris, a rising star in political circles, who has just lost a bid for the New York state senate due to some embarrassing photos making the media rounds (he drunkenly mooned people in college). David hides in the men's room of the Waldorf Astoria while trying to come up with his concession speech. There, he meets Elise (Emily Blunt), a beautiful dancer hiding out from security after a crashing a party. David is inspired by her candor and free spirit, but fails to get her number before she splits. By pure chance, he pumps into Elise months later while catching the bus to work. He also happens to stumble on a group of mysterious men who have frozen his co-workers in time.

These dapper men dressed in well-tailored suits and fedoras are the Adjustment Bureau and they have been empowered by the "Chairman" to guide mankind on the proper path. Sometimes slight adjustments are called upon to correct the course. Whenever you lose your car keys, spill coffee, or forget to set the alarm clock, blame the Adjustment Bureau. They can also magically use ordinary doorways to travel great distances. The Bureau threatens to reset (lobotomize) David's mind should be attempt to expose or discuss what he's seen. They also tell him he can never see Elise again. As it turns out, David and Elise were never supposed to meet again. Their union was not meant to be and any potential romance between the two will lead to ruin for both parties.

Naturally, David disobeys the ominous warnings of the Bureau to be with his one, true love.

The Adjustment Bureau is entirely beholden to its outlandish premise. There are a lot of silly and arbitrary rules to explain the powers of the Bureau. Most of it won't make a lick of sense if you actually sat down to think about it. Luckily, the film doesn't get too wrapped up in wild concepts, instead choosing to focus on the romance between its leads. Matt Damon is likeable and charming enough to carry the movie as the protagonist. It's not as showy as his roles in True Grit or The Informant, but it’s a strong performance. As his love interest, Emily Blunt is sexy and free-spirited without devolving into the manic pixie dream girl archetype. However, you can pair up to of the most talented actors in the world and it won't amount to a thing without chemistry (The Tourist, anyone?). That isn't the case here as Damon and Blunt work exceptionally well together.

The supporting cast is great as well with Anthony Mackie as a sympathetic member of the Bureau who teaches David a few new tricks and Terence Stamp as a no-nonsense trouble shooter who is eventually called in. To no surprise, Mad Men's John Slattery fits right in with the retro-50's look.

Screenwriter George Nolfi, who worked on Ocean's Twelve and The Bourne Ultimatum, makes his directorial debut and does a solid job. He's helped greatly by veteran cinematographer John Toll, who gives New York City a slick look reminiscent of Inception. Many critics have complained that the stakes of the romance weren't high enough. That their dreams would be shattered was not enough to build dramatic tension. Personally, I found it more than adequate and didn't feel the need for something more melodramatic, such as their kid becomes the next Hitler. The one spot where Nolfi truly stumbles is the anti-climactic resolution. The film builds to an exciting foot chase as David and Elise jump from famous NY landmarks (Yankee Stadium, Liberty Island) with the Bureau doggedly on their trail. From there, it fizzles out as Nolfi scrambles to find a way out and chooses to go with the very definition of a deus ex machina.

The Adjustment Bureau could best be described as Dark City with the creepy goth atmosphere replaced by modern Manhattan chic. Despite a weak ending, the film is worth checking out due to its strong cast and great production values. As Philip K. Dick adaptations go, it's no Blade Runner, but it's way better than Paycheck or Next.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

Law Abiding Citizen

Law Abiding Citizen - Dir. F. Gary Gray (2009)


I can see the pitch meeting right now, Death Wish meets Saw. Law Abiding Citizen comes to us from director F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Be Cool) and screenwriter Kurt Wimmer, a true master of subtlety. Wimmer wrote and directed the guilty pleasure actioner Equilibrium and the gawdy video game-esque Ultraviolet. Citizen laughably attempts to pass itself off as insightful, sociopolitical commentary on our faulty legal system when it’s really just a dumb action movie.

Gerard Butler stars as Clyde Shelton, a nerdy inventor. Well, at least as nerdy as King Leonidas can be. Shelton happy suburban life is shattered when two men break into his home and forced to watch as his wife and daughter are murdered. The men are arrested, but one, Darby (Christian Stolte), the fellow who did the actual killings cuts a deal with an opportunistic prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx). He gets a light sentence while his partner receives the death penalty.

Shelton disappears for ten years and returns with a vengeance. He tampers with the lethal injection machine causing the execution to be excruciatingly agonizing. He abducts Darby and cuts him up into pieces. Later, Shelton brags about slicing Darby’s penis off with a boxcutter. Yep.

Despite being placed behind bars, anyone remotely connected to his case are dropping like flies. The defense attorney, the judge, the district attorney, I think Shelton kills a few hapless interns as well. Turns out, he used to work for the CIA assassinating targets with intricately designed deathtraps and devices.

Unable to live up its intriguing premise, Law Abiding Citizen crumbles in the final act. The film grows more and more implausible. Like so many others, the filmmakers run out of ideas and choose to descend into a mess of explosions. Butler is his usual gruff manliness while Viola Davis (who wowed audiences in Doubt) brings more gravitas than this movie deserves in her tiny role as the Mayor.

Rating: **

Changeling

Changeling - Dir. Clint Eastwood (2008)



Eastwood is a rather populist filmmaker, more so this past decade. He’s directed four of my favorite Westerns, the first three being High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and the Shane takeoff, Pale Rider. The fourth is Unforgiven which took a less romanticized approach to the genre. Since then, he’s done the lovey dovey weepy (Bridges of Madison County), the crowd pleasing fluff (Space Cowboys), the serial killer thriller (Blood Work), the gritty crime drama (Mystic River), the inspirational sports film (Million Dollar Baby), and the war film (Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima). With each project, Eastwood takes a straightforward approach, evoking all the basic emotions of triumph and tragedy you expect from awards season fare. Sometimes this can be more insulting than the worst piece of garbage to infest the multiplex. At least, when you’re pandering to the lowest common denominator, you have no delusions over what you are. When you pander to the Academy voters, you have a self-important air about you and film.

Now, am I insulting Eastwood’s abilities as a filmmaker? Not my intention. He’s absolutely amazing at what he does. But, other than Unforgiven and, to a lesser extent, Letters from Iwo Jima, he hasn’t truly offered anything different than what is normally found during the pre-Oscar hype months. He’s just not taking risks.

Changeling just screams Oscar bait. It’s a period piece, has an epic runtime, renowned actors, and a woman in peril. In anyone else’s hands, the film would have been manipulative tripe. However, in Eastwood’s hands we have a great movie, an old fashioned L.A. crime film in the vein of Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. Changeling is based on the true story of Christine Collins whose case was immaculately researched by screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski (a comic book writer and creator of Babylon 5). Straczynski spent a year researching the material and even went as far as attaching newspaper clippings to the actual script. Both Eastwood and Straczynski are exacting in their craft and together they have created an immaculate production. The costumes and production design are authentic to a tee while Eastwood’s approach is in line with the classic Hollywood style.

The length of the film never bothered me and neither did the multiple false finishes as I was absorbed at every minute. The story is part-mystery and part-serial killer movie while the third act is predominantly a courtroom drama. The latter of which isn’t quite as strong as the previous acts.

Much like her in A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie is called upon to give a heart-wrenching performance. She definitely looks the part of a flapper girl with her slight frame, pale skin, and ruby red lips. She cries on cue as the mascara runs down her cheeks. She’s de-glamorized and disheveled after being unjustly committed to an asylum.

While I enjoyed the film, I wasn’t blown away by it. Changeling proudly hits all the right notes at exactly the right moments. It’s impeccably made, well acted with a riveting story behind it. This is the type of movie that critics eat up. But, it's the circumstances surrounding the true life events that are more interesting than the picture based on them.

Rating: ***