It's been funny to see the relentless hype machine that has formed up around Chronicle, with some internet forums abuzz at the films early 100% Rotten Tomatoes meter. Of course, at the time it only had six reviews to its credit, but it's still holding pretty solid in the 80s, so hopefully it'll wind up actually being worth a trip to the theaters. Who'd have thought that there would be at least three movies in the early part of the year that I'd want to see (with The Grey and Haywire still calling me to the theater), despite not having to review them?
If you're in the mood for spooks and scares, The Woman In Black might be up your alley, but I cannot ever recommend that you see a scary film on the opening weekend, given that most young audiences tend to treat scary films as less a moviegoing experience than some kind of interactive game or a karaoke session or something. Come back next week and you'll likely be happier.
What are you going to see this weekend?
| 1. Chronicle This looks to be a fine found-footage film, with some remarkably good reviews, so here's hoping that the lingering aftertaste of The Devil Inside doesn't prevent people from coming out. | |
| 2. The Woman in Black This is a film filled with creeping dread, without much music and a lot of long buildups to its scares. So, of course, the audiences who flock to it this weekend will fill the theater with laughter, talking, and the incessant rattling of popcorn bags. Go next week sometime. | |
| 3. Big Miracle Good? Bad? I'm the guy who's not going to review this. Instead, I think I'll try to catch Coriolanus or A Separation this weekend sometime. | |
| 4. The Innkeepers Ti West's latest is getting good reviews, but not-so-great word of mouth from people who've seen it. That's a fair number of people, too, considering it's been On Demand for a while now. 25 screens. | |
| 5. Kill List This British indie is likewise reviewing well, even if its trailer did little to tell me anything more than that it was about a hitman with a family. 2 screens. | |
| 6. W.E. Madonna's second directorial effort coincidentally gets released during Super Bowl weekend, where she'll be the halftime show. This is totally a coincidence, you guys. | |
| 7. Perfect Sense "A chef and a scientist fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions." Well, it can't be any more depressing than Blindness. |

























