First up:
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| 7.4 out of 10 on IMDb |
Before you judge Chronicle, I'd just like to say I think the concept is awesome, plus the delivery is an interesting, but fitting, choice. The story depicts three high school students who gain super powers after making a discovery. With their new abilities, they are pushed to the edge and begin to embrace the dark unknowns that come with the discovery.
I am the first to bash the found-footage/ documentary genre, especially when it is done wrong. And believe me, they are easy to find. But there are times where these styles of film making are executed perfectly (see District 9 for documentary). Lately, horror movies have been frequenting the found-footage format and making me vomit a little every time a new one comes out. My hatred in general for this style may stem from the fact that people are stupid enough to believe these movies actually happened ("Based on a true story" used to mean a nice, steady foundation in an event, not just one small detail) and Hollywood doesn't mind making a quick buck off these people. But that is a story for another time.
Chronicle has a great storyline for a found footage movie and presents something that is a novel concept. Growing up, we always see superhero stories that focus on the good side and how they endure through their problems. The Dark Knight tested the waters and showed us how Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent both struggled and had different outcomes, but it didn't show us Batman reach into his dark place. Plus, Batman technically doesn't have superpowers other than being super BA, but that's getting off topic.
Seeing these kids deal with their superpowers and the dark abilities of them is an interesting story that is perfect for the found-footage style and hooked me from the first trailer on. Recommendation: catch it on Blu-Ray.
Side note: Fox has hired Max Landis, the master behind the screenplay, to begin writing a script for Chronicle 2. If it's good enough for a sequel, it has to be good, right?
Next up:
| 6.8 out of 10 on IMDb |
Let's start with the story: A lawyer (without the aid of his two best friends) heads to a remote village to deal with the deed of a house. The house is haunted by the woman in black. You get the point. But what sounds like a stereotypical horror movie presents it in an interesting way: the titular character isn't shown for the majority of the movie. That's right, the story about the woman in black and she isn't even seen for awhile? Dats crazy, yo. From everything I heard (hey, I can't see every movie known to man), the story is great and provides us with a solid horror movie in an age with too many found-footage horrors and exorcism movies. I don't know what I would do if they ever made a movie like that...
Most intriguing aspect for me though has to be Radcliffe outside of Harry Potter. We know he can act just fine, especially in comparison to other movies tweens might grow attached to, cough* Twilight* cough. Radcliffe picked a great movie to start his post-wizard phase of movies. I'll be looking to see what else he can provide. Please, just don't start making a bunch of Romantic Comedies, Mr. Radcliffe.
Next up:
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| 7.0 out of 10 on IMDb |
I like Denzel Washington, I like Ryan Reynolds, and I like gunfight, actiony-movies. Of course I am going to want to see this. And more than Denzel Washington, I like bad Denzel Washington. I think he has his best performances in his nitty-gritty roles. Ryan Reynolds on the other hand, hasn't had too many roles to show his serious acting, outside of Smokin' Aces.
Regardless, it's an action packed thriller we all should be able to enjoy (minus kids- I wouldn't imagine it to be too kid-friendly). Try to grab that before its taken out of theaters, or just wait until it comes out on Blu-Ray/DVD
Last, but certainly not least:
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| 6.4 out of 10 on IMDb |
But back to Star Wars in 3D. Last Fall, the complete series was release on Blu-Ray for the first time, packaged by their trilogy. If you thought lightsaber duels were great in High-Def, wait till you see Darth Maul get sliced in half in 3D (and don't even say "ohhh! Spoiler Alert, Brah!" That movie came out over a decade ago and if you didn't realize, he's not advertised for Episode II at all... except for the Clone Wars stuff on Cartoon Network, but let's just all disregard that.)
Now that everyone knows the Prequel Trilogy couldn't stand up next to IV, V, and VII, its okay to go and enjoy this one on the big screen again, along with podracing in 3D and the wonderful Jar Jar Binks.
If you missed it, well there's always Titanic you can go see in 3D later....
That's it for February! If you missed my selection for January movies, be sure to go check that out, and be sure to read the original post for a full list of my highly-anticipated 2012 films.
