“CHRONICLE” Movie Review. Every DESTINY has its PAYBACK.

“CHRONICLE” PRESS PREVIEW

Chill, man.

Somewhere along the line, you learn that it’s choice really – not chance, that shapes a man’s destiny.

You play with fire, you get burnt.

That’s anybody’s comeuppance for toying with bad vibes.

Here’s the premise of the movie CHRONICLE.

It is about three spunky high school lads who uncovers a startling discovery that they can attain supernatural power.

Each uses it for his own singular purpose and each receives a different form of payback.

CHRONICLE follows the trend of the Blair Witch Project, the Paranormal Activity franchise and Cloverfield.

 These are “found-footage” movies, shot on hand held cameras to achieve those quirky, shaky shots for realism.  You see, the methodology of “hand held camera capture” renders the finished accomplishment more amazing.

First-time director JOSH TRANK gives his feature film a breath of fresh air and his visual treatment takes us through an intriguing story based on an absorbing screenplay by MAX LANDIS.

It has a bit of everything: drama, horror, suspense and fantasy all rolled into one big nail-biting entertainment.

Let’s delve into the main plot without much ado:

Troubled teenager Andrew (DANE DEHANN) leads a lonesome, unhappy existence.

His mum is dying of cancer and he detests his abusive alcoholic father.

He demonstrates what human frailty is all about.

His closest friend is his cousin Matt (ALEX RUSSELL) who understands, yet is not entirely proud to be seen with him.

Andrew’s pastime is to record everything in his life with a clunky video camera.

 At a rave party one night, Andrew, Matt and their classmate Steve (MICHAEL B. JORDAN) stumble upon a crater that leads down to an alien artifact.

Inexplicable things start to erupt before their eyes of which we do not get to see because Andrew’s camera cuts out. We are later shown that each of them has developed telekinetic powers.

Boys will be boys, and the three chums use their newfound abilities to pull off pranks just to impress their schoolmates.

 Andrew can easily assemble a Lego space station just by focusing on his mindset.

At the supermarket, they shock spectators by reeling a shopping cart skirting down the aisle.

In the parking lot, they brain-valet a car from one parking space to another much to the ire of the exasperated car owner.

At the school’s talent show, the low-esteemed Andrew now becomes a rage when he performs mind-bending card tricks.

Let’s leave the best for last – the boys are able to will themselves to fly, way above the skyscrapers and clouds. In one incident they are foolishly laughing when they are almost killed by a passing jet.

Everything’s done in the spirit of fun, until they start to play with fire by levitating a truck into a lake.

From then on, the thrills become more pronounced, spinning out of control.

And death-defying.

“CHRONICLE”  is an excellent thriller with a cool, slick dressing.

The story is intense and the plot has its fair share of twists and turns that keeps you guessing all the way.

The thrills go above and beyond to shock you into submission.

To sum it all up, it is a thoroughly enjoyable film with a great unknown cast, a great director, stupendous effects and a profound script.

Watch it if you can.