Chronicle

There’s a good movie and a great idea buried in the stagey muck that clogs up Chronicle, the latest entry in the found-footage craze. A film about three high school kids finding some kind of meteor and absorbing a strange energy that gives them telekinetic superpowers is a magnificent idea. But hampering the movie with the idiotic premise that everything is being filmed by the characters—an attempt for a new twist on the now-tiresome fake-documentary gimmick—is a terrible mistake. There are moments of brilliance, making this a near-miss; the found-footage gimmick is so tired and strained that it kills the film. That said, the finale is a real winner. Sneak in for the last 15 minutes.