Movie Review - Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Starring: Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Brandon T Jackson, Jake Abel, Anthony Head, Stanley Tucci, Nathan Fillion, Connor Dunn, Paloma Kwiatkowski, and more.

Directed by: Thor Freudenthal Screenplay by: Marc Guggenheim Based on the Novel by: Rick Riordan Cinematography by: Shelly Johnson Original Music by: Andrew Lockington

Premise: An attack on the demigod haven brings Percy face to face with the Lightning Thief, Luke son of Hermes. Luke asks Percy to join him and rebel against the gods, the very ones who'd probably yet to tell him of  the prophecy. A prophecy which claims that Percy will be either the savior or destroyer of those around him. With these ominous words the race begins to see who will find the Golden Fleece and either use it to save the haven's keeper, Thalia, or release the elder god Cronos back into the world to have his revenge. (Rated PG)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Logan Lerman reprises his role as Poseidon's son, Percy Jackson. Logan did a great job conveying Percy's insecurities as the success of his first adventure starts feeling more like a fluke rather than an achievement. Leven Rambin was fun as the haughty and competitive Clarisse. Nathan Fillion was a riot as the god Hermes.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" is filled with some incredible visuals. The mechanical bull early in the film was fantastic. Hephaestus would have been proud. The giant mouth of the sea monster in the Bermuda Triangle was simple and at the same time incredibly impressive. The visuals from inside the monster were even better.

An unexpected treat was a Confederate ironclad steam warship and its crew of zombies. The ship looked great. We even got to see her in action. And wait until you see what they do with Cronos - great stuff!

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: Just like Jason and the Argonauts, Percy has many obstacles placed in his path in his attempts to reach the Golden Fleece. A lot of details in Percy's journey tie back to the original stories of Jason and his quests, which made for some nice parallels. Added to this are Percy's swinging emotions on his self worth, his seeming abandonment by his father, and more shockingly still, the discovery that he has a brother. So plenty there to keep the hero busy inside and out.

Several other themes also underscore the plot giving it more flavor - Annabeth's feelings with regards to cyclops, Tyson's outsider status with both humans and those of his race, and a couple of others.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: While the creatures were CGI, most of those being attacked by them weren't, which meant we got to see a lot of stunt action. The lines between reality and CGI become more blurred every year and well executed stunts just add that extra bit of realism to the illusion. Great job.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: From the gorgeous forests in British Columbia to Six Flags in New Orleans, the locations department picked wonderful and unusual spots for their scenes. The great choices were made even more powerful by the excellent sweeping cinematography.

Conclusion: "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" is a fun quest story with some added elements. Great CGI makes this world of demigods and ancient Greek lore come to life.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Monsters University

Monster University

Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion, Julia Sweeney, and more.

Directed by: Dan Scanlon Screenplay by: Robert L Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Dan Scanlon Story by: Robert L Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Dan Scanlon Original Music by: Randy Newman

Premise: Mike has always been overlooked, but early in life he realized what he wanted to be when he grew up - a Scarer. And his dream feels close to coming true when he shows up at Monster University on his first day in college. Yet he finds out right away that there are plenty of monster who feel he's not qualified to be a Scarer, despite his high grades. Amongst them is Jimmy Sullivan, the son of a well respected Scarer. The road to his dream job, won't be as easy as Mike thought. (Rated G)

Review:

1) Voice Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Billy Crystal and John Goodman reprise their roles as Mike and Sullivan in this prequel to "Monsters Inc." The banter and one liners are as witty as the original, except this time the two monsters are working against each other even when they are on the same team. Helen Mirren was fabulous as Dean Hardscrabble. She was scarier than just about everyone there, without having to roar. Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, and Charlie Day were a lot of fun as the rest of the members in the Oozma team. Julia Sweeney as Scott's Mom was hilarious!

2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Pixar does marvellous work and it shows in every frame. Though the film is about a world of monsters, the look and the feel of Monster University is very much that of an old and famous university like Harvard, Yale, or Cambridge. Classical looking buildings, fraternities, orientation, school clubs looking for members, dorms, student rivalries, and all the other things one would expect as being part of the college experience. The tiny details to put all that together as well as adding things here and there things to make the world unique in its own right were amazing.

Using the versatility of animation, Pixar took full advantage and created many visual 'gags'. The chase through campus for the stolen rival university's 'pig' mascot was hilarious. Even more entertaining were the side effects experienced by those involved in the first test of the Scare Race.

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: Since this is a prequel, a lot of the audience who are familiar with "Monsters Inc" will be expecting the eventual reconciliation between Mike and Sullivan due to their close friendship in the first film. What's fun about the expectation, though, is the fact Pixar doesn't make it easy. The problems are not something touched on then are quickly and easily resolved, but rather the eventual, expected outcome works in stages, which was quite nice.

A lot of the issues the two monsters face in the film can be plucked straight from real life or several college movies. But the one thing which will surprise many is that though this is considered a children's film, the writers don't solve the problem in an unrealistic way. If anything, the fact they show that rash actions do have consequences, and even punishment, is a path that's not the 'norm' with movies made for kids. But all is not doom and gloom, the film also showed that even in failure one can still find a way to where they want to go. It might be a longer more arduous path, but eventually one might get there. Definite kudos for that.

4) Music - Total Thumbs Up: Music isn't normally a category I use (though I am a definite believer in soundtracks being able to make or break a film), but it was definitely needed for this film. Randy Newman's score was perfect - the main title song in the style played by any college marching band. It did a lot in immersing the audience into the whole college theme.

Conclusion: "Monster University" is a fun film with a lot of content for adults as well as kids. Very nostalgic in a way - bringing back memories of college days or 80's college movies. The attention to detail is just amazing. Also, make sure to sit through the credits - there's just a tiny bit of more fun at the end. (The short cartoon called "The Blue Umbrella" which shows before the main feature is adorable!)

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Paying Full Price to See Again.)

Mind Sieve 6/3/13 - The Lame Edition!

Hey, guys!

Two conventions in three weeks has been brutal, so this will be a lame Mind Sieve this week! Hopefully will be back to full speed by next time. :)

But I won't leave you empty handed.

A new trailer for Percy Jackson - Sea of Monsters. 

See you next time!

Mind Sieve 3/12/12

Howdy!

Safe Exclusive 60 sec Trailer from Total Film. A heavy dose of action. Dang! 

This one looks like it will be a ton of fun! The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore trailer.

Prometheus - Ted 2023 Video - fascinating! Tie's it to the Alien universe. With more info at EW.com

New trailer for the Avengers Assemble movie. SWEET!

First look at Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger from Total Films. An EMO Lone Ranger? Hee!

Museum Mondays from This Write Life - Hermitage Museum and Raphael. Some lovely stuff! 

Beautiful Tilt-Shift Time-Lapse of The Biggest Carnival in the World from Peta Pixel. The video is awesome. Made even more so by the way everything looks like it's out of a Godzilla movie! Kept expecting him to show up. Then it was made even better when Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers show up! lol. Beautiful video!

Movie preview for Touchback with Kurt Russell. When it started I wasn't sure it was my cup of tea, but I think I'm hooked now. :)

Always Call Nathan Fillion When Voice Actors Break Down from io9. This is hilarious! 

Medieval Monday - The Mancatcher from AJ Walker. Have always thought them a nasty but useful bit of  people management tool. :P

Designing From Bones - Elements of Culture from Gene Lempp. Let's talk Cyprus!

Book Trailer for Naomi Novik's Crucible of Gold. Can't say you really learn squat about the book, but it's darn pretty! lol

All Alone In The Night - Time-lapse Footage of the Earth as seen from ISS. Absolutely gorgeous! Love the lighting in the clouds and seeing the edge of our atmosphere. The northern lights are amazing!

Pinterest - 13 Things Writers Should Know by Rachelle Gardner. Hah! Already have mine. Actually did something about it last week. :P You can find me here. Had some glitches and issues with duplicates, but have some boards up. Heh heh.

Authors, Here's A Superfab Fun Way To Connect with Readers - Pinterest post from DD Scott. Uhm no, I don't get the feeling she's excited about Pinterest at all! :P

6 Reason Authors Should Love (Facebook) Timeline from the Girls With Pens Blog.

How To Pin A Quote On Pinterest from Galleycat. Okay, this could be way nifty!

Understanding The Show Don't Tell Rule from Aliventures. Great post with awesome examples!

Love Writing? Love The Tools Of The Language from Roz Morris. Tell it, sister!

25 Things You Should Know About Word Choice from Chuck (NSFW) Wendig.

I think that will do it for this week. Enjoy!