Chronicle / The Grey

[FilmMeister]

I apologize for my absence in advance but i've been really busy over the past 2 weeks. Over the past 2 weeks also, I have seen 2 movies that I can honestly say are front runners for my favorite film of 2012. And we're only in Febuary! Be warned these may be really long.

The first film is The Grey:

Going into this, I wasn't expecting much. But when i came out, I was blown away.The story centers around survivors of a plane wreck stranded in Alaska. Lead by John Ottoway (played by Liam Neeson), these survivors must try to survive and get back home, while also avoiding a pack of wolves. This was an intense thrill ride that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I also loved what they did with the characters. These characters to start out with are detestable. But as the film goes along, you start to have feelings for them as we learn more about them. In fact, some of my favorite scenes in the film are when we learn about these people. Overall, this is a fantastic movie. The acting is great, the characters are well developed, the suspense is bountiful, the direction and production designs are just breathtaking, it's just great. Great movie, great time, give it a watch.

I give it 4 stars out of 5

The next film is Chronicle

Likewise with The Grey, I wasn't expecting much when I went in. But I came out amazed. The film centers around a unpopular teenager named Andrew who videotapes his life. One night, He and some friends come across a meteor that gives them the powers of telekenisis and flight. You would think that they decide that they want to be superheros right away right? Wrong. They do what any teenager would do with superpowers; have fun with them. Unfortunatly, Andrew slow slips to the dark side because of his miserable life. I loved how realistic this film was and how well developed and 3-dimensional these characters were. Steve is the popular kid, Matt(andrew's cousin) is the average joe, and andrew is the unpopular kid. I felt so sorry for andrew because he doesn't deserve any of the bad things in his life, and I also was very impressed that even though this film was made for 15 million, The visual effects were breathtaking; Especially the scene when the teens were flying, it looked so realistic. Overall, Chronicle is one of the best superhero films I have seen in my life. This can take it's place up there with Spider-man, The Dark Knight, X-men and others. To all other superhero movies coming out this year, Be warned you have some serious competition up ahead.

I give this 4 1/2 stars out of 5

This is Taylor Hudson reminding you that if it's movies you want it's me you need.

ooh man do my fingers hurt

[Pyro Tramp]

Be warned these may be really long.



ooh man do my fingers hurt



Really? Try writing a dissertation.

[The Rodent]

Interesting reviews there mate. Might go see The Grey now, feel the same as you, not expecting much but sounds like it's worth a go.

[ThatGuy]

Very nice reviews here's my opinions.

The Grey - 3/5

The Grey was good for the most part but the ending was what really disappointed me, it seemed that a lot of the movie dragged on, they spent a lot of the time telling back stories to get you to feel for the characters, while on some level that did work, the last 30 minutes or so of the movie is where they failed to really keep me on Edge, I lost excitement with it dragging on, then we have him surrounded by the wolves and maybe you get to see something interesting but it goes to an abrupt ending and that was disappointing. I know where they left you "wondering" but with how slow the ending was, they could have given us a little more.

Chronicle - 4/5

Solid movie throughout, I liked what they were able to do with the effects and everything.

Not much of a story, you never knew exactly what the thing was that gave them the powers, something to that effect could have made the movie better, but what the movie lacks in story telling it definitely makes up with the special effects. I found how they started perfecting their powers very interesting. When you have someone start to use his powers in a bad way basically because of his upbringing and the fact his mother is ill, it gives it an extra sense of excitement, by keeping you on the edge of what's going to happen next? Will he be stopped?

[genyav]

i like movies with Liam Neeson but The Grey great idea about plot..
but don't like audio/video effects and most foolish of dead.. 3/5

[Yoda]

"I'm going to start beating the sh*t outta you in the next five seconds! And you're gonna swallow a lot of blood!"

[CatChaseGnome]

The Grey was really really great when it was great, and it was predictable B- Movie monster stuff when it was bad. I'd also like to say that the scene around the fire where they tell their back stories was badly executed and overall very jarring.

Chronicle I thought was very stupid. Andrew was such an unlikable little prick it was hard to even watch. The effects were nice and a couple of the characters were at least pleasant, though very far from being fleshed out. I don't know. I was mega disappointed.

[The Prestige]

Chronicle is a film that I was gutted to miss at the cinema. I've yet to see it but I hear mostly good things about it and your review more or less reinforces my desire to watch it, Filmeister.

The Grey sounds like a potentially good man against nature type of film. I will try catching it on Lovefilm or something.

[Yoda]

All I'll say about The Grey right now is that the marketing is a terrible indicator of what the film's like. It's slow and psychological. It's got its moments, but it's not an action film.

[Justin]

Right. I don't get a lot of The Grey bashing. Sure, it's essentially a b-movie, but does that make it a bad film? Weirdly enough, no.

I'd be surprised if anyone wasn't slightly moved and disturbed by the ending. It's not easy to digest.

[Nuggett]

I have to agree with FilmMeister. Both movies have pleasantly surprised me. Especially The Grey. It has become one of my favorite movies of 2012 so far. Great plot, evolving characters, an AMAZING plane crash and some Liam Neeson-badassness. What more do you want?

Chronicle was a pleasant surprise as well, though it is not as good as the grey. I don't generally like the Found Footage Film, but it really added to the feel of the movie. I also liked the idea of youngsters abusing their powers for pleasure. It's how I imagine teenagers would act. I'm 22, and that's how I would probably act, should I get powers, haha.

[gandalf26]

Watched Chronicle last night. 4/5.

Shame that it's only 75 minutes long, also could have done with moving away from handheld camera around halfway through. Quite big time gaps in the events of the movie, They find the shiny thing in the cave then it skips to them using powers in backyard. That said I was hooked after 10 minutes. Great film, loved the flying scenes.

[Powdered Water]

The Grey is the better of the two. The shaky cam aspect in Chronicle is laughable and not needed. I hate it and wish it would end. What's next? A movie shot entirely with cell phones?

Anyway, neither of these flicks warrant a high rating. The Grey would get a 3 from me, but Chronicle 2 is a good deal lower.

[Justin]

I hate to sound like I'm defending it, but The Grey is b-movie fun with some interesting philosophical questions about man's place in the environment, while Chronicle is a step-above these found footage movies with a solid script.

Neither are exactly classics, but entertaining nonetheless. I'll admit I was a little apprehensive about seeing each film, though luckily my skepticism proved unwarranted.

[planet news]

The shaky cam aspect in Chronicle is laughable and not needed. I hate it and wish it would end. What's next? A movie shot entirely with cell phones?what. it wasn't shaky for the vast majority of the film, because the kid held it with his mind or the camera was set down somewhere. it was seriously the least shaky blair witch thing yet.

it wasn't shaky

[Powdered Water]

what.

Ya heard me.



it wasn't shaky

Was.

[Septimus79]

I have seen Chronicle, Very good, worth a good 4 out of 5.

[wintertriangles]

Ya heard me. Was.It's almost as shaky as Saving Private Ryan, but that was never an issue for ANYONE

[planet news]

Was.naw

[Jakeseven8]

The Grey was not what i expected and they big fight at the end was non existant? i was let down. liam neason is a boss though

chronicle i think was an awesome movie, mainly because i want to get super powers man for real lol. but just the way they bought in the fact that he was a product of his environment and not a bad kid. his life was just screwed up by people who treated him like crap so he turned into a super villian. i thought that was a good message.

just my 2 cents

[akatemple]

I just watched both of those movies and was severely let down by both of them, it took me 3 viewings to get through Chronicle and The Grey was just nothing, such a bad ending. IMO

[Tyler1]

such a bad ending. IMO

It couldnt have ended better.

[Justin]

I honestly can't imagine how it could've ended otherwise without completely changing the entire script.

[Powdered Water]

naw

Non agreeance

[cricket]

Watched Chronicle last week and really enjoyed it, and it's not the type of movie I normally like. I thought it was very entertaining from start to finish and is probably in my top 250.

Watched The Grey today and enjoyed it enough, but will probably completely forget about it after a couple days. To me, there was nothing original or memorable about it. I pretty much just enjoyed Liam Neeson's performance, and a couple of the other actors were ok.

[Justin]

You're right about how familiar The Grey seems. It boils down to a classic, existential thriller with the over-arching theme of man's place in nature, or man v.s. nature. The ending was probably the best part of the film; Liam's realization is pretty devastating.