When three high school friends stumble across an odd natural phenomenon that grants them telekinetic powers, director Josh Trank delivers their story to us via found footage. At just 26 years of age, Trank has not only secured himself a premature spot working on a blockbuster hit but has also successfully breathed new life into what was becoming a quickly predictable and tiresome genre.

The three main leads are social outcast, Andrew (Dane DeHaan), his wannabe philosopher cousin, Mark (Alex Russell) and the popular kid, Steve (Michael B. Jordan). As they each struggle through their respective adolescent tribulations, the unlikely trio must also come to terms with the new powers they possess.

From the trailer, it’s easy to dismiss Chronicle as another Cloverfield/Blair Witch clone out to nab an easy slice of cash at the box office. But what it really is, is much more. Where previously the genre has been used for shaky envisions of horror and mass terror with little justification for the camera existing in the first place, here it is utilised as a narrative device that is essential to both plot and character. Much credit has to be given for the innovative use of the lens throughout and how the likeability and intrigue of the film’s characters works to sheath all acknowledgement to the camera. This allows for total emotional investment as opposed to being drawn out of the movie’s world by what is often a cheap gimmick.

By traversing the field of the high school popularity hierarchy with its characters, Chronicle allows for each of us to relate to at least one of the leads. The accuracy of the school dynamic is rendered so well with these characters that it can be at times a humorous and even cringe-worthy nostalgia trip. Though the focus here is more on the super powers, the portrayal of adolescence is stronger than in other films in recent years that have directly tackled adolescence. Surprisingly though, what rings most resonant is the exploration into the birth of a super villain. Recently films like Kick-Ass and Super have given the vigilante duties to real people in the real world whom lack super powers; Chronicle flips this premise on its head and throws in the super powers as well. The result is a believable group of guys having fun and not even considering knitting themselves a spider-man costume. This means that later in the film when an all-powerful character emerges, a sense of dread is truly felt. You can’t help but panic and wonder how such a strong evil could be defeated.

In terms of flaws, one can only nitpick; there is a romantic plot element that is never really fleshed out, one character occasionally quotes philosophy which feels criminally forced and occasionally the movie will throw its themes in your face. The good does however outweigh the bad and the result is a rather brilliant piece of cinema with stellar performances all round that provides plenty of fun telekinesis based set-pieces for action fans and also some well developed drama for the rest of us. Josh Trank is one to watch.

Rabbit Hole is a solemn tale that chronicles the emotional trauma and marital strain endured by wed couple Howie (Aaron Eckhart) and Becca (Nicole Kidman) after the death of their young son. Such a premise sounds like the film could easily fall into the same ‘misery-for-misery-sake’ category as last year’s Oscar fodder Precious or The Blind Side. Fortunately though, screenwriter (and author of the original play of the same title) David Lindsay-Abaire chooses to set his story 8 months after the child’s passing. The result is not floods of tears and 90 minutes of moping around but instead an intriguing observation of the long-term effects such a tragedy can have not only on the parents but also their surrounding family and friends.

I saw this movie with no knowledge other than a short synopsis from IMDB and I think that is the best way to see it. The joy in this piece comes from simply watching all the past events unravel and how what is revealed informs your understanding of the characters. To begin with, we have very little perception of what’s gone on and why everyone seems to be so miserable but as said misery is justified, an empathy sets in even for the more seldom seen characters. Just watching them all exist becomes intriguing as you scour the dialogue to piece together the clearly yet subtly delivered story of this poor young boy’s death.

Director John Cameron Mitchell does an excellent job of placing you inside this bleak little world he creates. By using what appears to be natural lighting and some rather empty camera framing, the movie feels very down to earth, fragile and true and also the sense that something is missing is really felt. It’s a peaceful ride but it’s not afraid to crank up the tension when arguments between the two leads get heated. It really is devastating to watch a marriage fall apart over something so unfortunate, much like the downfall of the Ryan Gosling/Michelle Williams romance in Blue Valentine.

Rabbit Hole is not for everyone, the chances are if the premise interests you, you’ll get something out of it and if not, you won’t. Though overly bleak in tone, the intrigue remains throughout and the misery never takes a heavy hold on things. Moments of humour occasionally slide into the proceedings and they always hit their mark; Rabbit Hole is a successful drama and testament to how theatrical pieces can be successfully adapted for the screen.

I did write a review but it’s gone as I accidentally hit the refresh button on my browser before publishing it. Interestingly enough, that’s happened before.

Note to self: Write reviews in Microsoft Word before using tumblr.

Thinking of doing an all nighter? Need to reset that body clock? It’s no easy task staying up all those hours, it’s not always that exciting either. My personal choice of past-time for such and escapade is the movie marathon but those tired eyes can be hard to keep open half way through feature-length number three. Many a time I have tried and failed.

But not any more.

It’s Coff-Tea! The ultimate midnight/early morning beverage. Energy drinks are over-priced bollocks, tea sends you to sleep and coffee just don’t cut it. Coff-Tea is the only way to go. It’s a recipe I developed one dull night last year and one that has since saved my essay-dodging arse on more than one occasion I assure you. Now, having perfected the doses of each ingredient, I am ready to share the gift of Coff-Tea with you.

You will need: Coffee, Tea, Sugar, Warm (not boiling) water and a novelty mug of your own choosing - go on, have fun with it.

Firstly, ensure that your water is the correct temperature; really hot water is no good as it can have a calming effect that may relax you so much that you fall asleep. Ideally you want to boil a kettle and then let the water sit for around an hour. For a little tip, as you make each Coff-Tea, send the kettle to boil so that when you come to your next helping, the water will have cooled down a little.

Secondly, dosage is imperitive! You want one tea bag for flavour, one heaped tea-spoon of coffee for that added caffine kick and finally, one small tea-spoon of sugar. I don’t care how sweet your pretty little teeth are, too much sugar will make you crash and burn way too early so be sensible and moderate it carefully.

And there you have it, one Coff-Tea, served up to perfection. Enjoy your night and choose those films wisely (Rotten Tomatoes is your friend - the critics know).

:)

I can’t really vouch for the rest of the world but being British, it’s been kind of hard to avoid the media coverage leading up to the supposed ‘major world event’ that is the joining in holy matrimony of Prince William and Kate Middleton. What makes it so major, I’m not sure as our current monarch, Queen Elizabeth is clearly immortal and will be Queen forever. This is probably some great form of treason but, when is that old bag going to die? She’s been Queen forever! Step aside Lizzy and let someone else have a go. She’s like a greedy school child on a swing, but I digress.

What warrants such heavy media coverage and such wide merchandising is a mystery to me. I’m pretty sure the majority of the British public couldn’t give a toss, let alone the rest of the world. It’s not really a wealthy body of research but, upon posing the question “Who actually, genuinely cares about this royal wedding?” to my collection of Facebook friends, the responses I got were mainly along the lines of, “I don’t give a fuck.” This is to be as expected really. In an age where royalty is just something that exists in our culture and not something that is celebrated, and where marriage is merely the first formality on the pathway to divorce; why would anyone give a fuck?

Perhaps there is a certain degree of interest amongst the older generations of our community but then again, they’ll get excited about anything you throw in the face via the medium of the ‘magic Coronation Street box’ that they still don’t seem to understand. My great-grandparents had only just got their head around the VCR when my aunts decided to upgrade them to a DVD player last Christmas, and don’t even get me started on explaining the digital switch-over to them. If they’re still alive in 5 years, it will probably be time to move them on from CD to iPod and I pity whoever gets the duty of introducing them to that. Still, they could always decorate it with one of these. I remember my grandfather having a go on the Nintendo Wii, Christmas 2006; I personally put the heart attack he suffered shortly after down to technology-induced body shock. That was his third one I think, and he was shot in world war II - the resilient bastard.

Did you know the royal wedding has its own website? Just look at that page, it’s sickening. Upon examination, you’ll see they even have their own Facebook profile and a Twitter feed, who the hell is manning those? More importantly, why does a wedding have its own publicity team and consequently who is funding it? I’m genuinely racking my brains trying to figure out why they would promote such an event so heavily? Are they really so up themselves that they think such an act would be of service to the public, like this information is want the public want? My guess is there are websites dedicated to pictures of cats on skateboards that will be visited more frequently than this one.

I have to admit though, the Twitter feed is rather entertaining. By following ‘@ClarenceHouse’, you can track such developments as the flowerbeds looking ‘colourful’ or how you can now download a free app with information on past royal weddings! Truly riveting stuff, one can only imagine what incredible insights will be delivered next. Perhaps we’ll learn what colour the icing on the cake will be, maybe they’ll disclose details as to whether the bible used during the ceremony will be leather-bound, or they could even give us a sneak preview into the Queen’s after party setlist - I presume she’ll be DJ-ing.