by Nick Leshi

I finally saw the movie Chronicle. Although it wasn’t perfect, it was still very entertaining. It is another found-footage film, and although it would have probably worked fine (maybe even better) without the gimmick, it managed to use multiple point-of-view cameras to good effect. The story itself was an interesting cinematic take on the superhero genre, more due to the characterization of the villain than any of the “been-there-done-that” plot points.

The villain in this case is actually a troubled teen, Andrew Detmer, with a family life in crisis and bullying at school. Watching his trials and tribulations through the camera lens, sympathy builds as he gets drunk on his new found power and then continues to spiral out of control. Played by Dane DeHaan (who reminds me a lot of a young Leonardo DiCaprio), Andrew’s character arc is compelling and heartbreaking.

Any of the plotholes (and there are a few), can be overlooked or explained away with some forced logic. Why go explore a mysterious hole in the ground in the middle of the night? Because it’s there and the guys doing the exploring are heavily intoxicated. As the teens experiment with their telekinetic powers by doing pranks and testing the limits of what they can now do, why not use their magical minds to pull a car out of the water when Andrew forces it off the road? That’s a little tougher to explain (although I guess it could be argued that they still weren’t strong enough to pull off such a feat), but the scene was so well done and full of dramatic tension, I could forgive the writers for sloppy storytelling.

The other two guys who obtain incredible powers after discovering a mysterious object beneath the earth, popular Steve Montgomery (played very nicely by Michael B. Jordan) who wants to become a politician someday, and Andrew’s cousin Matt Garretty (played by Alex Russell), are not nearly as interesting as the disturbed Andrew.

It is often the case that the bad guy is often much more interesting to follow than the do-gooder. Examples abound, from Lucifer in John Milton’s Paradise Lost to The Joker in both Tim Burton’s Batman and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. When done well, audiences can better relate to the imperfections of the antagonist. It becomes tougher to flesh out a believable hero who avoids temptation, overcomes all the odds in noble fashion, selflessly fights for truth and justice, doing everything that we all wish we ourselves could and should do. The result is often a bland, two-dimensional, unrealistic hero versus a complex, motivated counterpart, whose actions might be despicable, but nevertheless understandable and much more emotionally charged — the kind of stuff that’s fascinating to watch.

Both Steve and Matt have their own great moments, but it is Andrew’s story from beginning to tragic end. Steve has a lot of enjoyable moments, but Matt is the one who becomes the film’s ultimate main hero.  He too has a strong path of growth as we see him forced to step out of his cool-guy persona and make a commitment with his love interest, video blogger Casey Letter, played wonderfully by Ashley Hinshaw. He then is driven by guilt and necessity to reach out even more and try to save Andrew, even if by that time it’s too late.

The final climactic sequence is extremely well-done, and makes me wonder what the big fight in Superman II might have been like if it had been made today. (Maybe we’ll find out in Man of Steel.) The epilogue hints at a sequel in which we might learn from where exactly the source of their powers came, drawing attention to the unanswered question of Chronicle that the writers didn’t care to touch upon in this first film, instead focusing all their efforts on some splashy superpowered special effects and some nicely developed character moments — even if the bulk of those moments were spent on the tragic Andrew.

by Nick Leshi

I love the coming attractions for movies. Sometimes, the sneak peaks are the best part of the movie-going experience, since some motion pictures don’t live up to the hype! Often, though, you can’t judge a film by its trailer.  A while ago, I briefly wrote about the art of movie trailers, but now is the time to take a look at my choices for the top twenty best sites on the Internet to view those bite-size appetizers for future cinemative features.

Break.com’s Movie Trailer Zone – Break Media is a leading creator, publisher, and distributor of digital entertainment content including video, editorial, and games. The movie clips found on Break.com are available in “Regular,” “High Res,” and my favorite resolution, “Highest.”

ComingSoon.net - Now owned by CraveOnline Media, ComingSoon is one of the granddaddies of online movie buzz, and their trailer page is pretty comprehensive.

DarkHorizons - Here’s another oldie but goodie, a site I’ve been visiting for a long time, and it never disappoints.  Owner and writer Garth Franklin continues to do an excellent job of giving us early looks at what’s coming down the movie pipeline.

Fandango – The popular movie ticket purchasing site obviously offers some great video clips of the films coming up in the hope of getting consumers salivating and eager to buy some tix for highly anticipated blockbusters (as well as smaller indie flicks) as soon as they go on sale.

Hulu – The online TV giant isn’t just for watching television shows on your computer (free or otherwise), you can also catch some great high-resolution coming attractions of theatrical movie releases.

IMDB.com – The enormous directory of movie production credits also includes movie trailers for just about every movie made that had one.

iTunes – Apple, which owns QuickTime, the free multimedia player, provides a broad selection of movie teasers, which you can view online or on your iPod, iPad, or other electronic mobile device. Don’t worry, you don’t need to download the iTunes software to view the trailers online.

JoBlo.com – Although the current design, in my opinion, is a little less user friendly than it used to be, this site is still one of my favorites with a good compilation of movie teasers.

Metacafe – It bills itself as “the first and only entertainment destination solely dedicated to showcasing the best short-form videos from the world of Movies, Video Games, TV, Music and Sports.” Its collection of trailers for upcoming movies is a popular feature on its site.

TheMovieBox.net – It boasts that it has “the coolest” selection of videos andmovie trailers. Judge for yourself.

Moviefone.com – Now owned by AOL, the movie listing and ticket purchasing service offers its customers and Web surfers a nice bunch of film trailers to browse while deciding which upcoming movies to see.

Movie-List.com – Its layout and design has definitely improved over the years, and its still one of my favorite places to go to watch teasers of upcoming flicks.

MovieTickets.com – Another site to help you decide on which movies to spend your hard-earned cash, their trailer page is another good place to visit.

MSN Movies – MSN’s movie portal has a great batch of trailers.

MTV’s Trailer Park – MTV may not show many music videos anymore, but it does offer a nice selection of movie trailers on its site.

Reelz.com – The cable channel has a good section on its Web site with sneak peaks of upcoming flicks.

RottenTomatoes.com – It’s all about compiling reviews, but it also features some great trailers as well.

TrailerAddict – Some of my movie-buff friends visit this site daily and email me whatever new teasers pop up there.

Yahoo! Movies – Yahoo!’s movie site is still popular and is another good place to check out for your movie trailer fix.

YouTube – Now owned by Google, the famous online video site has its owndedicated section to movie coming attractions.

There are countless others. Which are your favorites?

by Nick Leshi

Entertainment Weekly had a cool little article about movies that were produced full of potential to become huge franchises, but plans for sequels fizzled with their miniscule box-office performance.  It lists Dune, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Eragon, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Green Lantern, Godzilla, The Golden Compass, etc. My rambling mind started thinking about movies that I think actually deserved to have their stories continue in additional movies, but never did.

I already wrote about specific sequels I would like to see, but here are some more fun films (a dirty dozen in fact) that I wish would spark some additional adventures for their characters.

Daredevil - It was far from perfect, but I think this much-maligned Marvel superhero adaptation had some nice moments and laid the groundwork for more chapters in the tale of the man without fear, blind attorney by day and masked vigilante who defended Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen by night.  I’d like to see to them try again, with or without Ben Affleck in the lead.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial – There have been rumors that Steven Spielberg has contemplated bringing a new episode in his classic blockbuster to the big screen. I don’t know how he would do it, but the idea is intriguing.

Galaxy Quest – Lesser comedies have sparked worthless sequels, so why not more of this outstanding, funny, and yes, endearing spoof of Star Trek?  It didn’t just play for cheap, easy laughs, mocking geeky fandom, it had heart. It was Tim Allen’s funniest movie by far.  Rather than another The Santa Clause, I’d like to see another Galaxy Quest.

The Goonies – We keep hearing that maybe, possibly, someday we might see the gang reunited for another great adventure.  I won’t hold my breath, but I’ll still keep my fingers crossed.

Inception – Christopher Nolan gave us an amazing new world that’s ripe for more stories.  Hopefully, we’ll have the chance to see them.

Independence Day – Again, a sequel to this huge hit is a no-brainer, which means we’ll eventually see it, but I’m surprised it’s taking so long.

The Mask of Zorro – Here was a fantastic action-adventure flick with terrific performances by Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and it set it up for more of the same — bring it on.  (Wait, they already made a sequel to this called The Legend of Zorro?  Impossible. It must have been so bad, let’s just forget about it and try a real sequel, okay?)

Pulp Fiction – Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece is perfect fodder for more stories.  I want to see what happens next to Jules. Samuel L. Jackson make a bazillion movies a year, I’m sure he’d find the time to do this.

Serenity - Fans of Firefly can’t stop talking about how much they miss that show and how great the movie version was, they should make another film to convince the general public how great it actually is.

The Sixth Sense – What happened to little Cole Sear, the boy who could see dead people?  Actually, what happened to child actor Haley Joel Osment?  Make a sequel and explore the possibilities.

Time Bandits – It’s an atrocity that this brilliant motion picture never inspired further sequels.

The Truman Show – Another fine, underrated film, Jim Carrey should jump back into this character’s shoes as we see more of this future world that’s not too far-fetched from our own.

Unbreakable - M. Night Shyamalan’s career path has been disappointing, but this was another one of his better films — a realistic look at the fantasy world of superheroes and supervillains.  I wanted to see more, but instead we were given lesser films like Lady in the Water and The Happening.

It took decades for Tron to continue its tale, so I hold out hope to see the continuation of all of the above some day.

by Nick Leshi

Even though they are often fraught with stereotypes, gangster movies are still one of my all-time guilty pleasures.  Some of my favorite films are in that genre: The Godfather, Carlito’s Way, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, TV’s The Sopranos, and countless others.  Hollywood is a slave to trends, and it looks like a swarm of mob movies are coming our way.  Here are a few that grabbed my attention:

Gangster Squad – An all-star cast highlights this period piece set in the 1940s and 1950s about the Los Angeles police trying to deal with East Coast mafia members who are trying to expand their illicit operations to the City of Angels.  It stars Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Giovanni Ribisi, Nick Nolte, Robert Patrick, etc.  It’s directed by Ruben Flescher who previously helmed the crime movie 30 Minutes or Less and the cult action flickZombieland.

Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father – HBO is producing this eagerly anticipated biopic starring John Travolta as John Gotti, Sr., and Ben Foster as John Gotti, Jr.  It also stars the amazing Al Pacino, Chazz Palminteri, Kelly Preston, and Ella Bleu Travolta.  Legendary Barry Levinson (Sleepers, Wag the Dog, Bugsy, Rainman, The Natural, Diner, etc.) is directing, so I have high expectations for this project.

The Iceman – Based on the true story of hitman Richard Kuklinski, it stars Michael Shannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ray Liotta.

The Irishman – This adaptation of I Heard You Paint Houses (the new title is much, much bette

r) deals with a guy who has amnesia and is working for a mobster.  It stars the phenomenal Joe Pesci.

J. Edgar – Okay, this technically isn’t a gangster movie, but it’s a biopic of notorious law enforcement icon J. Edgar Hoover, played by Leonardo DeCaprio and directed by the always awesome Clint Eastwood.  I can’t wait to see it.

Looper – Here’s a twist.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt star in this science fiction mob movie — a killer recognizes one of his targets as his future self.  It’s directed by Rian Johnson who gave us the con artist flickThe Brothers Bloom.

Mob Street – Another true story is dramatized for the big screen, this time a look at the mafia’s infiltration of Wall Street.  The cast includes tabloid problem child Lindsay Lohan who could use a hit to keep her entertainment career alive.  Did I mention that Chazz Palminteri wrote the screenplay?

Now You See See Me - It might not really be gangster, but this crime story certainly has the feel — it covers a team of “Robin Hood” bank robber illusionists who give their stolen money to their audiences.  It features another great cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, and others.  The director is Louis Letterier who brought The Transporter, The Incredible Hulk, and the Clash of the Titans remake to life.

Scarface – Diehard fans of the Al Pacino version must be crying “blasphemy” at the news that Universal Pictures plans to remake that iconic Brian DePalma cult classic about mobster Tony Montana. No doubt, it will be tough to beat, but remember, it too was a “sort-of” remake of the Howard Hughes classic about gangster Tony Camonte.  More news as it develops.

Takers – A detective battles a group of bank robbers.  Again, not strictly mafia, but close enough.  The film stars Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, and Matt Dillon.

As usual, if any of those hit it big, expect to see even more in the pipeline.

by Nelle Engoron

Now that the final film (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2) has unspooled in Muggle theaters, there are no real surprises for the fans, who know full well how the saga ends from having read the books (to pieces, in many cases). But even after watching that final scene at Platform 9 ¾  play out (through tears, I’ll wager, for more than a few), there are unanswered questions about the wizarding world that J.K. Rowling conjured up.

No, not just what the appeal of drinking pumpkin juice could possibly be, or why eating chocolate helps when confronted by Dementors (chocolate helps with everything, after all). If I were to share a butterbeer with Rowling, here’s the top five questions I’d want to get answered:

#5: Why do witches and wizards celebrate Christmas?

As an ex-Catholic and ex-Fundamentalist Christian, I’ve always found it both funny and sad that some believers think the series promotes the work of Satan when it’s actually profoundly Christian. After all, its twin messages are that you should exercise your free will to selflessly do good rather than selfishly do evil, and that love is the answer to all things. (Not to mention that it portrays a young man giving up his life and being resurrected to save his world from a snaky figure who leads people into wrongdoing.)  A resolutely moral tale in the tradition of Pilgrim’s Progress, it instills all the best values in children under the guise of simple entertainment. But that’s all subtext. I’m still trying to figure out why wizards and witches celebrate a holiday combining a religious belief they don’t hold with human traditions they weren’t raised in. Perhaps they simply enjoy any excuse to get presents and overeat, just like we Muggles do.

#4: Why do magical people need money?

Throughout the series, much is made of the fact that the Weasley family is poor while other families such as the Malfoys are rich. (Unsurprisingly, it’s the Malfoys who point this out at every opportunity.) Goblins oversee the gold-stuffed personal vaults at Gringott’s, the sole wizarding bank (which must surely be too big to fail). Even if you allow for one of Rowling’s rules, which is that items can be transformed but not created by magic, it still leaves unanswered the question of why wizards and witches need money. Even if they require it for buying essentials, why should having more of it be any better than having just enough? Surely you could conjure at least the illusion of whatever you’re lacking? (And isn’t that all that shopping does for you, anyway?) And where do they spend this money? The only shopping district we’re told about is Diagon Alley, which is not exactly Rodeo Drive. And there doesn’t seem to be a grocery store anywhere near the Burrow. We might guess that they shop online, except it’s obvious that there is no magical internet, or they wouldn’t have to spend all that time doing research at the Hogwarts library.

#3: Why does magic work for some things and not for others?

Why is Ron stuck wearing dowdy old clothes to the ball in Goblet of Fire, while his father can rustle up a luxurious interior to a tiny pup tent at the Quidditch World Cup? Why doesn’t Ron just wave his wand and turn his fusty hand-me-downs into a magnificent tux? If you can transform one object to meet your desires, why not another? And while we’re on the subject, is there some rule that forbids turning your partner into someone else for the evening when that old magic just isn’t working for you anymore?

#2: What is all that magic good for, anyway?

The hippogriff in the room no one talks about. Seven years of study at Hogwarts and a lifetime of practice to become an adept wizard or witch who uses those astounding skills for…what, exactly? Yes, they are fantastically handy when you need to fight off a dark lord, destroy horcruxes, play a game that involves flying, or simply make dinner without being stuck stirring the risotto. Party tricks take on a whole new meaning, and you can imagine the enormous kick of refining your magical skills and showing them off to your friends. But these people have a (literally) stupefying amount of power, from the ability to kill with a curse or a potion, to the wherewithal to tame a dragon, to the ability to transform into another person or creature. What’s the day-to-day use for all this incredible yet arcane knowledge? And with all that know-how at their disposal, why haven’t they used it to help the Muggle world? Merlin knows we need it. (We could also use some of that gold at Gringott’s to pay down the deficit.)

And my #1 question: What in the world does Hermione see in Ron?

OK, I get it. Despite the fact that they’re a natural and obvious couple, pairing off Harry and Hermione would have been too pat. And Rowling knew that her readers would want to see the main characters end up with someone from the series that they knew and loved. So Harry makes the homoerotic choice of marrying his best friend’s look-a-like sister and Hermione is left with the option of a Weasley or a Longbottom. While Ron’s humor and all-too-human neuroses are endearing, and he is the loyalest of friends, I can’t imagine what the brilliant Hermione, the “most talented witch” of her generation, sees in him. What exactly do they talk about at the dinner table after they’re married? Both in the books and the movies, the lively dialogue takes place between Harry and Hermione, or Harry and Ron, but rarely between the two supposed lovebirds, unless they’re bickering. I guess it could be a sex thing, although that’s not obvious, given Ron’s surprise at learning that romance is “not all about wandwork.” But why we love someone is the ultimate puzzle, the answer to which can’t be found stashed in an orb in the Department of Mysteries. And as Voldemort himself painfully learns, love is the one force in the universe that can defeat magical folk just as it does Muggles.