Review - You Kids Get Off My Lawn! Wait... NEVERMIND! ("Chronicle," "Akira" )

"I am the apex predator." With those words spoken by teen Andrew (Dane DeHaan), a fight ensues between him and his best friend/cousin Matt (Alex Russell) that climaxes the new release "Chronicle," a film shot entirely on camcorders & alternate videos.

We meet three high-schoolers: shy introverted Andrew, picked on in school and a victim of child abuse by his alcoholic father, his happy-go-lucky jock cousin Matt, and lovable Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan) who's running for school president. During a rave, they discover a hidden hole in the forest and a mysterious glowing crystal underground that gives them each telekinesis.

What starts out as innocent teen hijinks (scaring kids in a Toys 'R' Us, moving cars in parking lots, etc.,) ends up almost killing a tailgater on the road. Matt, the sensible one, implements rules that the three should abide by - but it's only a matter of time before abused Andrew sees "his destiny" and decides that he should make up his own rules. We see the world through his camcorder; his pain, his frustrations, and his ultimate fear and loathing for everyone around him.

** SPOILER ALERT **

When Steve is accidentally killed by Andrew, Matt cannot convince Andrew to stop using his powers to act out irrationally. The stage is set for the final act where all hell breaks loose in a whirlwind fight in downtown Seattle that is captured on TV, street, police, and home video.

What sets this movie apart is the very nature of it: sort of a "Cloverfield" meets "Superman" meets "The Blair Witch Project." The clever SPFX camcorder shots are not only effective, but are sometimes unnervingly real-looking... especially the flying sequences, which are particularly good. I only had a problem with the ending coda which, for me, was a let down.

Written by Max Landis, son of John Landis ("American Werewolf in London") and directed by Josh Trank, this short film (a scant 83 minutes) is a little gem that is a decent morality tale for all of us, but don't let anybody tell you I said that.

AKIRA (1988)

"Neo-Tokyo is about to EXPLODE!" That's the tag-line from one of the best Japanese anime films I've seen. Set in 2019, it's been 31 years since Tokyo has suffered an apocalyptic blast due to Akira, a young boy with a god-like abilities that nearly destroyed Japan when a scientific experiment on him went terribly wrong. His remains were cut up, put in jars and hidden, until...

Enter Tetsuo, a introverted teen and member of the Capsules, a brazen motorcycle gang that hunts their rivals, the Clowns. His best friend, Kaneda, has the coolest bike around and often teases Tetsuo for being so square. Soon, Tetsuo is injured after he crashes into a runaway "esper" (an Akira experiment test subject) and Colonel Shikishima and Doctor Onishi, who run the secret Akira project, discover that Tetsuo has remarkable latent telekinetic qualities. Tetsuo is then whisked way to a secret government facility, exposed to the Akira virus, and faster than you can say "Chronicle," he has gained super-kinetic powers.

Kaneda tries to stop his best friend, who has become drunk on power and blood-lust, but by now, it's much too late! The climatic ending is surreal and strangely bizarre, as is most of the movie. It's ultra violent, beautifully animated, and wildly imagined.

Note: when you watch this movie, watch it with the English subtitles and the Japanese voices first. I'm sorry, but our dubbing can't match the intensity of the Japanese voice-over actors. They're incredible and very passionate in their work!

Available on DVD & Netflix