Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Middle school can be tough. What could make all of the changes of a ADHD and dyslexic 12 year old's life even worse? Try finding out that you are a demigod, the son of the god of the sea called Poseidon. To make things worse you find out in the same breath that said you are a demigod that you are also being blamed on stealing the most powerful weapon ever created, Zeus's Lightning bolt. From here Percy Jackson(Logan Lerman) must go on a quest to prove his innocence to the gods before Earth becomes a battleground of the gods.

The first thing I want to point out is that this is just a mythological story. Almost like a big history lesson about the greek gods. Zeus(Sean Bean), Athena(Melina Kanakaredes), Medusa (Uma Thurman), and Hades(Steve Coogan) are all included here and the gods are all shown to be selfish creatures with somewhat limited power. Percy Jackson's existence is due to gods coming down to earth and mating with humans, creating hundreds of demigods hidden on earth. A rule created by Zeus was also created that banned all contact from gods to their children.


The bad stuff is put to a limit as it is still a PG movie but does have some violence and very small sexual hints as he travels to Las Vegas as part of his journey. No language to be worried about though. There is also a lot of clean humor thrown in for fun. A funny fact that I found amusing was that Hollywood contained the earth's only passage to hell. It is also charming that the use of technology like iPods could be used to battle greek mythical creatures.


Although the movie is directed by Chris Columbus(yes that is his name) this movie is not like the Harry Potter movies. There is no "magic" in the movie, it is all just natural power used by the characters of the film. Perfect movie for the pre-teen crowd and a good alternative to the Harry Potter/Twilight movies and books. Once you can get someone hooked on the movie, you will likely be able to have read the books also (or vice-versa).

When In Rome

During this time of year there are often a group of chick-flicks that pop up and target the Valentine's Day audience to increase their profits. This being one of the lesser known Disney movies of the season starring Kristen Bell(Heroes) and Josh Duhamel(Transformers) along with some other familiar faces such as Danny Devito(Matilda), Jon Heder(Napoleon Dynamite), and Kate Micucci(Scrubs).

When Beth is looking for love in Rome, Italy she decides to reach in and takes some coins from a "Fountain of Love",wishing that the right man will come and find her. That does happen and when she returns to New York she finds herself being stalked by a group of men eager to fall in love with her. The strange variety of men include a street magician, a fit model, a painter and also a sausage businessman. Along with these men there is another man that Beth had fallen in love with while in Rome but now that he followed her back to the Big Apple she is not sure if his love is for real or if he was just forced by magic.


It is not a very good plot but it fits fine as a comedy. Some suggestive content would be some quick glimpses of nude drawings(for comical purpose) but with that aside there is a surprisingly low to no amount of mild language and sexual content. A good cheesy movie is what you will find here. If you have seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite (probably hitting the target audience) then you will probably find this movie amusing. Do not look for much substance because you will not find it here but it will be good for some light entertainment.

The Lovely Bones

"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.

My murderer was a strange man. I was so stupid but as I look down from up here, the inbetween of Heaven and Earth, I can see how the people I was connected to are coping with my loss. My murderer would never understand how much my father loved me."

With some themes said above you can assume this would be a pretty dark film and could turn away a viewer due to having to deal with a plot like that. Somehow Peter Jackson was able to turn it around and still make Alice Sebold's bestselling novel into an Award nomminated film. Nothing is to be found wrong with this movie that is wrong, save for a little bit of bad language that is placed purposefully, not just for the reason of placing it there because they felt like spewing cuss words out (like Tropic Thunder did). Aside from that there is also some blood seen in an intense scene. I am warning you that this is a depressing film and depicts how a young girl died and the events that followed. Not exactly your average feel-good Pixar movie but it is very well done.


The moral parts of this movie are just as good as the ones of "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus". Although they do not mention God, there is a heaven that is not one that I would have imagined but it is what Director Peter Jackson made it out to be. Along with teaching how much a father can love, it is shown how Susie struggles to let go of her previous life on earth and move on to heaven. Like God does in real life, the story is a lesson overall how good can come about the wrong things in life even though we cannot always see it.

A few other allegories are spread in and out of the rest of the movie and the actors make it all piece together to form this masterpiece. Actors such as Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg and also Stanley Tucci (who was recently nominated for an Academy Award for his depiction of Susie's killer in this movie).

Sherlock Holmes

"The game is afoot!"

Actually no, Robert Downey Jr. does not take on the old-fashioned Sherlock Holmes, but rather a more modern look at the character while still staying in the late-19th century storyline.

With his companion Dr. Watson (Jude Law) by his side, Sherlock is ready to kick bad guy butt. He actually does a lot of that along with some big fight scenes and explosions. It's like a superhero movie but with a much better plot and without superhuman abilities(unless you count his quick calculating powers).

In this edition of Holmes the villian is Dark Lord Blackwood(Mark Strong), a leader of a evil cult. The storyline then takes twists and turns until your head is spinning but yet you can still follow it. I compare it to a super-complex action filled Scooby-Doo movie.

With the cults there is a dark theme as human sacrifices are attempted and devilish tricks. Lord Blackwood plays some "supernatural" powers on his opponents and tries to make London fall to its knees with fear. For specific reasons I will not say, the spiritual content is nothing to be worried about because it is all resolved in the end.


The usual minor language are found and also less to no amount of sexual moments than the normal. Just some kissing but that's about it. There has also been some small controversy within interviews about whether Sherlock and Watson are more than just partners but gay partners. I have also heard that there is a scene in which they share a bed. In my viewing of this movie there was no proof that they were gay in any way and they do not share a bed at all. In fact Watson is on the verge of being engaged to a woman in the film. They are portrayed nothing more than good "brothers".

The acting jobs are done very well and the Robert Downey Jr.-Jude Law duo take on their characters quite natuarally. Robert actually just won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.

Although I have not personally read any Holmes books this movie stays fairly close to the stereotypical Sherlock Holmes that everyone knows of while Guy Ritche still puts his own touch of action to the detective hero. I would deduct that if you are a fan of Jude Law or Robert Downey Jr.'s work, you should indeed check out this movie. After all it is elementary logic my dear reader!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Dark Knight was not Heath Ledger's last film as many may think. In fact, he was in the process of filming this movie when his unfortunate accidental overdose happened. Director Terry Gilliam was not sure if he should abandon this project or figure out something to do with it. The latter happened as actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell stepped up and took on different parts of Ledger's character. Being all close friends to Heath, all 3 actors voluntarily gave their acting profits of this film to the late actor's daughter.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is about a 1,000 year old man who made several deals with the devil for worldly pleasures such as love, longevity of life, and the ability to let people go into their imagination. Each of these deals came with a catch as the Devil(Tom Waits) held the best of each deal made with Doctor Parnassus(Christopher Plummer). This came to the point to which the Doctor even owed the Devil his one and only child, when she reaches the age of 16. As her birthday approaches swiftly, the final countdown brings a mysterious new figure to Parnassus' traveling wagon which may hold the key to saving Valentina(Lily Cole) from the traps of the Devil.


The creativity in this movie never seems to cease. Everything from the costumes to witty humor of Parnassus's dwarf assistant to the imagination lands and especially how Law, Depp, Ledger, and Farrell are all incorporated into the same character. Each time Heath's character, Tony, goes into the vast plains of his imagination he transforms physically into a new version of himself, each of which fit into the theme of what is happening. It is quite ingenious and should have been planned this way before.

I personally could not find anything truly wrong with this film cinematically but there are a few parts that would not be good for all viewers. There is some use of strong language and a few characters also smoke. This includes the Devil, but I honestly think that the Devil probably would smoke. There is also a very brief scene where a woman is minor clothing but nothing is really revealed. Add some alcohol here and there throughout the film and that's about it.


This is now one of my more favorite movies and is very underrated. It shows how good temptations of life look but yet the consequences are not worth it. A message is also shown about how the choices of life can bring out what the true character underneath. I also give kudos to those involved in this movie by not using Ledger's death as a marketing plan like "The Dark Knight" did with the Joker. I am highly requesting that you spend your hard-earned money and go see this film instead of contributing to the mayhem of a certain movie with blue alien monkeys.

Alvin and The Chipmunks 2: The Squeakuel!

ALLLLLLLLLLVVVVVVIIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!

The movie starts off with that memorable line from Dave Seville(Jason Lee of My Name Is Earl), the human guardian of the singing chipmunk trio. With Dave in the hospital during most of the movie he is not a big part, but his gaming addict nephew Toby steps in and "helps" take care of the rodents. The Chipmunks also meet a new challenge as they try to survive attending a human school.

The chipmunk's ex-record manager Ian also returns while trying to get revenge on the chipmunks. Ian stages his comeback to the music industry with the newly discovered Chipettes competing against the original chipmunks.

This movie is much like the last Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, but less entertaining. Toby(Zachary Levi of TV Show Chuck) is funny but probably not as much as they could have made the character. The film also seemed to be too short, missing a lot of substance that the first one had. One last negative point that I have is the fact that even though big name actors/actresses are attached to the voices of the chipmunks and chipettes(such as Amy Poehler), you cannot tell who is really doing the voice. They could have had anyone else do the voices and I probably would not know the difference.



The songs featured are good Chipmunk fashioned songs but on more modern songs now such as Beyonce's "Single Ladies(Put a Ring On It)" and Pink's "So What" and also older songs like "We Are Family" and "Stayin' Alive". For all of the people out there worried that the involvement of the Chipettes will make the movie inappropriate, there is nothing to be afraid of. This movie is even more appropriate than the first movie as there is less crude humor and more little things that will make toddlers laugh. The only thing that you might be concerned about are the songs or maybe little chipmunks dancing like Beyonce. Honor Society and the winners of America's Got Talent, dance team Quest Crew, also make appearances of themselves in the movie. Though it does not meet up to the expectations of the last one, this is a perfect movie for the little ones. They won't mind the story(or lack of); after all who doesn't like cute little singing rodents?

Avatar

It is finally here! James Cameron (director of Terminator 2 and Titanic) has been working on this "special project" for around 15 years now, waiting until the technology was just right to make his beloved film. He spent that time creating what his world would look like, making the language that would be used, and making his own "original" story from scratch. Well this is what he claims anyway. The story has actually been done a ton of times before. It goes with the plots of "Dances with Wolves" and "Pocahontas". One more movie that I realized today that this film is basically an incarnation Disney's animated movie "Atlantis" just with a different setting.

Avatar is about Jake, a man in a wheelchair, who gets the chance to be in a Avatar program on Pandora which is moon of an unknown planet. The setting is in the year 2154 and the humans are determined to gain the land of the natives(called Na'vi),which contains valuable minerals. The Avatar program allows Jake to be in the body of one of the 9-feet tall Na'vi and negotiate with the natives. From there, the story of Disney's Atlantis pretty much fills the rest of the story.

The graphics did look pretty good but they still looked unbelievable. When you are not focused on the movie you can really see how ridiculous a giant rhino-type creature looks with an unnecessary 6 legs. You can decide for yourselves whether the land of Pandora looks real or not. You may be asking "What format should I see this movie in?". My response would be to spend a little extra and see this in IMAX if anyone should choose to see it in theaters. James Cameron himself helped contribute to making the 3D technology and specifically for IMAX viewers. Cameron and his team helped out one another in making the film look good, but they did not do a very good job on working on the story.

As with any action movie, there is minor cussing throughout and also suggestive stuff. What I mean by stuff is the fact that the na'vi may be computer generated but still have clothing styles of Indian tribes (or Native Americans). Their necklaces barely cover their chest and their loincloths cover the bottom.

In my own opinion, see this movie if you are the type of person who wants to see movies like "2012" or you just want to see a movie for a fun purpose with no intention of a good plot, then go ahead and welcome yourself to Pandora, the home of the 9-foot tall naked blue alien monkeys who live on floating islands. As for me Avatar gets 3 stars, mostly due to the effects and cast selection of Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation) as Jake.