Work on Marc Webb’s Spider-Man sequel is coming along nicely. It seems the majority of the cast is in place and filming will start soon. Two of the new additions to the movie were out and about promoting their movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Shailene Woodley, who will be playing Mary Jane Watson, and Dane DeHaan, Harry Osborn, talked a little about the upcoming Spidey movie.

Woodley spoke with MTV about joining the cast and how excited she was about the film. The actress couldn’t reveal too much, but she said she’s a fan of the character and really enjoyed the reboot:

Spider-Man has always been my favorite super hero dude, since I was a little girl. I think there’s something really special about flying. When I watched the previous Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield, he made me feel invincible. I think Marc Webb is amazing. I’m so stoked to work with Andrew and Emma [Stone], they’re the best of the best.

She went on to say that she didn’t know any real details about the film, but she assumes she’ll be part of a love triangle if the comics are anything to go by. Woodley also hinted that she’d be making the transition and become a redhead soon. You can watch the full video interview by clicking here.

Chronicle break-out star Dane DeHaan also chatted about The Amazing Spider-Man sequel while on the red carpet for his film with Daniel “Harry Potter” Radcliffe called Kill Your Darlings. The actor remained tight lipped on what he knows, but he did confirm that he will be involved in a love triangle. Is it with Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane, Aunt May? We’ll have to wait and find out. The director of Darlings may have spoiled a big plot point for the film though. HitFix reports an incident that occured during the cast introductions:

[Director] Krokidas introduced the cast of “Darlings” which includes Daniel Radcliffe, Ben Foster and Michael C. Hall. When he got to DeHaan he said “He’s the Green Goblin.” DeHaan just smiled, but it didn’t seem like Krokidas was kidding.

Is this a case of a director who doesn’t know a lot about comics or is Webb planning on skipping Norman and having Harry don the Green Goblin gear? I would say it’s the first, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the second happened. The Green Goblin was used in Sam Raimi’s first film, so it would be a little too soon to simply rehash the character. What do you think? Would you be pleased if Harry is the first Green Goblin?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Amazing Spider-Man 2: Shailene Woodley, Dane DeHaan, And A Possible Villain Spoiler

“Chronicle” starts off with one of the main characters, Andrew, turning on his camera for the first time and the audience is immediately privy to the dysfunctions of his home life and what kind of person he is. As we move along we meet our second character Andrew’s cousin Matt, who seems to be in some sort of crisis of identity. Through the lens of Andrew’s camera we see his daily life of being tormented and picked on in high-school for the first 15-20 minutes, until we meet the movies third character Steve, at a rave. From here on out it is what the audience has come to see, super powers.

The story for “Chronicle” is not one that we haven’t heard or seen of before, what happens to the powerless when they acquire tremendous power, but what makes this film better is in the way it is presented. There is a great philosophical approach to the characters and how they react and what they decide to do with their powers. Andrew, Matt and Steve each play out the heroic archetypes of Hero, Anti-Hero, and Tragic Hero, which you’ll have to see by watching the film.

The “archival footage” approach in “Chronicle” doesn’t bother me too much as it did in other movies using this technique, in some ways it helps the audience bond and place themselves in the moment and giving the audience an inner perspective into these characters lives.  Writer Max Landis has crafted a well thought out story that really plays with and changes how we look at people with super powers. He has a great understanding of the super hero genre as illustrated by his youtube video about “The Death and Return of Superman,” which is really a great jaded and satirical look of that event. If you haven’t seen it check it out here.

The VFX in the movie go from good to almost cheesy at times. The big moments like building destruction, flight and bigger telekinesis moments are fantastic, but small gags look awful and clearly CGI. There are great scenes where Andrew is manipulating his camera through telekinesis getting great over-the-shoulder, crane and panning shots at times by himself or moments of emotion. There is one scene at the end that I thought was particularly well done with cell phones and point and shoot cameras.

“Chronicle” is really a movie about human nature and shows an honest approach to how humans react when given tremendous power. This movie is probably the closest thing to getting a good live-action “Akira” movie in the US. “Chronicle” offers a good emotional connection and a view of super-powered genre typically not seen with many of the blockbusters hitting screens.

A recommended view in the theaters especially for the flight sequences and the destruction towards the end.

Wilt Manglicmot, Chronicle Movie Review