This week, the two biggest movies that appear to be hitting the screens ("Big Miracle" aside..) are James Watkins' "The Woman in Black" and Josh Trank's "Chronicle".
Both of these films intrigue me as they're niche genre pieces that appear to have some actual potential. The former, Woman in Black, is a thriller/suspense film with a trailer that looks to show off some of its eerie tones and dark concepts. Horror films these days love to capitalize on those very same elements with their trailers though, and few ever pull off anything memorable. So how it all translates to a full-length movie is yet to be seen. This is also the most notable post-Harry Potter project to date from the wizard himself, Daniel Radcliffe. And as much as I'd be happy for this kid to succeed, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to see anything more than Harry Potter when I look at him. No, not that Harry Potter.
The trailer for this as well as my thoughts on "Chronicle" after the jump.
Here's that Woman in Black trailer for you guys. The film focuses on a man who travels to a small village only to discover the ghost of a woman who haunts and terrorizes the locals. Looks pretty spooky to me!
And the other notable film hitting theaters this weekend is "Chronicle". I'm not sure if I think this movie will be any better than "The Woman in Black", but I'm definitely more intrigued by this one. Both provide me their suspicions, but I feel like this one has the potential to sway violently in either direction for me. I can envision going into this one and either being completely blown away and loving it or feeling like it did nothing for me and forgetting about it a week later. Woman in Black probably won't be anything amazing, but it'll probably do some fun things with the genre and at least be serviceable. Both are getting pretty solid early reviews so far though, so I'll have to hold off on any more of my opinions until after I get a chance to actually check these films out.
Anyway, here's the trailer for "Chronicle"'. As you'll see, this film focuses on a group of teens that all of the sudden discover they have superpowers. Turmoil hits as they fight their own dark-sides and learn how to handle their new gifts.
So if you're looking for a movie this weekend, I would cautiously recommend either of these to you. I think both have the potential to do some really good things, but I also feel like both have the potential to miss the mark as well. If you're not a big superhero or horror fan, and you aren't the kind of person that will go see anything just to go, you may want to hold off for now; wait for our reviews in the coming week and make your decisions from there. If you're a fan of these genres though, even slightly, go check these out, if for nothing else, just out of intrigue. By next week though we'll have a much clearer idea of what to expect here.