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Post by Leanne on Feb 8, 2010 11:33:07 GMT -5
Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief Posted by David Sztypuljak on February 8, 2010 · Comments Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a series of five books written by Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is the first of the book and sets the scene for both us, the audience and for Percy himself. After the Harry Potter series, kids seem to be in need of another fix of something mysterious and wonderful and it seems that Percy Jackson is where it’s at. It’s not so big in the UK yet but after the release of the new movie with a mix of all star cast and semi-newcomers, will the films start a wave of Percy Jackson here in the UK? Hopefully my review of the film might help you decide! Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is directed by Chris Columbus. His name may not be one you’ve heard but if I tell you that he directed Mrs Doubtfire, Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, you’ll no doubt have seen one or more of his movies. He’s also very well known for his writing. He wrote Gremlins, Young Sherlock Holmes and some movie that you might have heard of called The Goonies that inspired this very website. He really is a legend in cinema and when you see his name billed on a movie you go in expecting good things. Here’s the brief synopsis to give you a bit more of an idea about what the movie is about: Synopsis: Trouble-prone Percy Jackson is having problems in high school – but that’s the least of his challenges. It’s the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus seem to have walked out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology texts and into his life. Percy has learned that his real father is Poseidon, god of the sea, which means Percy is a demigod – half human, half god. At the same time, the powerful gods on Olympus are feuding, which could launch a war enveloping our entire planet. I went into the screening of Percy Jackson not really knowing anything about it. I’d seen the trailers and read the synopsis and production notes but that didn’t really prepare me for what I was about to see. The movie opens with a gigantic Kevin McKidd (Poseidon) walking out of the sea with a huge trident tattooed on his arm. Poseidon soon comes to meet Zeus, his brother played by Sean Bean who tells him that someone has stolen his master lightening bolt, the source of all lightning across the world and lays down a gauntlet that if he doesn’t have it returned to him a war amongst the gods would begin. Zeus believes that Poseiden’s son, Percy Jackson has stolen it – the issue is that Percy doesn’t even know that he’s a demi god (half human, half god) but he has always felt different to all the other kids at school and had a love of spending time in water. After a series of events, Percy finds out his heritage and meets characters Chiron (Pierce Brosnan) who he thought was just his school teacher but is in fact half-horse and realises that his best friend, Grover Underwood (Brandon T. Jackson) is actually a satyr! Now, what is a satyr I hear you ask. Well, if you think back to your early high school days, you probably studied this sort of thing. I’m pretty sure I did anyway and watching this movie, I started remembering all the mythological creates that I had learnt about 16 years ago. You don’t need to know anything about Greek mythology to watch this film but I guarantee, when you come out of it, you’ll want to find out more about it. The effects that are used in this movie to create these wonderful characters are simply wonderful and very clever although after interviewing Brandon T. Jackson last week, I found out that wearing blue tights to create the effect afterwards isn’t as fun as we might think it is! Other creatures used in the movie include the Hydra (clip here), and Medusa, played by Uma Thurman who, as you’ll see in this image, has snakes in her hair, but, whatever you do don’t look into her eyes or you’ll turn to stone! I’m not sure I’ve ever seen product placement in a film like this with the iPhone. Credit to Apple / Chris Columbus there! The CGI used to create these snakes is absolutely fantastic with the multitude of snakes attached to her having their own personality yet still being in touch with and linked to Medusa’s thoughts and persona. Massive credit to the guys who created the special effects for this movie because they are simply brilliant. Full list of cast and crew on IMDb here. The other main leads in the movie include Alexandra Daddario who plays Annabeth Chase, the best swordsman (woman) of all the demi-gods. She’s a little perturbed when Percy turns up as the new kid on the block but their friendship grows stronger throughout the movie as she, Percy and Grover all depart on a question find who stole the Lightning bolt so that they can return it to Zeus before the epic war erupts. From here, Percy and his friends embark on a mission to discover the true thief of the lightning bolt. The issue for them is that Hades (the devil and another Greek god played excellently by Steve Coogan with his assistant played by Rosario Dawson) is on the hunt for Percy as well as with the lightning bolt, he can overthrow his brother Zeus. Percy decides the best cause of action is to go and meet Hades in Hell and try and talk things through. Chris Columbus is a genius of the child genre of movie as he’s able to tell a story that is both intense, adult enough for people like me to enjoy it but child-like enough that a 12 year old can come out of the cinema and ask their parents if they can go straight back in to watch it again. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is no exception. The story is clever and Columbus adds comedy to parts but also huge tension and draws you into the story. As I said earlier, the effects are amazing. Just watch this clip of the Hydra and you’ll see what I mean. Columbus saves the big cgi for one of the final scenes though and I won’t spoil it for you but the CGI is so well done. The three main leads are very believable and if there were a sequel (which I’m sure there will be) I would go and see it. There is one scene in particular which i think the movie lost it’s focus on being a movie for kids. The cast end up in a hotel where basically they are drugged to keep them there with women surrounding Grover. I’m sure it was wonderful for him to film but is this the sort of message to be sending to kids? I’m probably being over the top and you can tell me once you’ve seen it what you thought. All in all, Percy Jackson was a well made movie with so many Hollywood stars playing cameos, it was hard to keep up but all of them were so well cast and it was wonderful to see them in a movie where they could all have a lot of fun making. It’s also nice to know that if you want to be a Greek god, you have to be British! Roll on the sequel! Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is released this Friday 12th February. www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/02/08/review-percy-jackson-and-the-lightening-thief/
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Post by Leanne on Feb 11, 2010 2:28:21 GMT -5
Review: `Percy Jackson' makes thunder, not flame AP Uma Thurman with snakes for hair and a killer stare is almost enough on her own to make "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" worth seeing. Throw in the absurdity of former James Bond smoothie Pierce Brosnan, now put out to stud as a mythical centaur with a horse's rump, and this latest supplicant for the Harry Potter fantasy crowd has two decent elements in its favor. The trouble with this return to youth fantasy by director Chris Columbus, who made the first two "Harry Potter" flicks, is that it's more a list of ingredients than a movie-magic potion to enjoy from start to finish. Thurman's few menacing minutes are great, Brosnan's horseplay is campily cute, Rosario Dawson's turn as the Greek god of the underworld's bored, hot, randy wife spices up the movie's otherwise ho-hum action climax. For every worthwhile moment in this adventure about modern teen heroes bred by the Olympian gods, there's a clunker that merely fills up time, or worse, wastes it. Based on the first installment in the five-book series by Rick Riordan, "Percy Jackson" stars Logan Lerman in the title role, who was 12 in the novel, 17 on screen as Hollywood seeks to expand the audience to older youths. Percy's not as bereft of parents as Harry Potter, living with his doting mom (Catherine Keener) and his contemptible stepfather (Joe Pantoliano). But the teen matches the Harry formula for misfit-y, outsider-y youth who's not sure what he's doing in this world of mortals. As creatures from ancient mythology start popping up in his life — a minotaur here, a fire-breathing hydra there — Percy discovers he's a demigod, the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), ruler of the sea. Poseidon's brother, big boss god Zeus (Sean Bean), is ticked off because Percy is the prime suspect in the theft of his prize lightning bolt. Zeus lays down the law — the lightning bolt must be returned in 14 days, or the gods of Olympus are going to war, with puny humans lined up to become collateral damage. To prove his innocence, recover the bolt and save his abducted mom from the clutches of Hades (Steve Coogan) in the underworld, Percy sets off on a quest, accompanied by school chum Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) — who turns out to be a satyr, part-man, part-goat — and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), a demigod who's the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom. "This is a lot to process," Percy notes, and the fitful movies shows it. Director Columbus meanders from episode to episode, from Percy in Rocky Balboa training mode under the guidance of centaur Brosnan, to a Vegas layover where our threesome of heroes are lulled into limbo among the lotus eaters, to the fiery furnace of hell (location, just below Hollywood) and the heights of Olympus (location, just above the Empire State Building). The fight sequences are OK, the generous helping of computer-generated imagery is fine, the wisecracking camaraderie among Percy, Grover and Annabeth is passable, though they're no match for Harry, Ron and Hermione in the Potter adventures. The movie shines only when Thurman's snake-headed Medusa, with a glare that turns people to stone, slithers wickedly into the story. Thurman is gorgeous even with reptiles wriggling on her scalp, and her quiet malice in the comparatively low-key segment is more memorable than all the movie's loud, blustery action moments combined. Columbus rumbles up plenty of sound (and Furies). But where there's thunder, there should be lightning, and "Percy Jackson" simply lacks the spark. "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," a 20th Century Fox release, is rated PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language. Running time: 119 minutes. Two stars out of four. www.evri.com/media/article?entity_uri=%2Fperson%2Fkevin-mckidd-0x2c248&page=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fs%2Fap%2F20100211%2Fap_en_mo%2Fus_film_review_percy_jackson___the_olympians
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Post by Leanne on Feb 11, 2010 2:32:26 GMT -5
Kid-friendly "Percy Jackson" proves short on magic Ethan Alter Wed Feb 10, 2010 11:26pm EST NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Besides possessing the young year's lengthiest and most ungainly title, "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" is also notable for being Hollywood's latest attempt to turn a series of popular kid-friendly fantasy novels into the next "Harry Potter"-like film franchise. Since virtually all the previous efforts have ended in failure -- anyone remember "The Spiderwick Chronicles" or "The Seeker: The Dark is Rising?" -- the forces behind "Percy Jackson" are pulling out all the stops to make the movie click. For starters, they've tapped talented up-and-comer Logan Lerman to play the title role and surrounded him with such established stars as Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean and Uma Thurman. The movie's scale is also grand, taking its demigod teen hero from the mean streets of New York to the fiery pits of Hades before ending up in the halls of Olympus, encountering a number of gods and goddesses (and a minotaur or two) along the way. Meanwhile, the man overseeing the action behind the camera is none other than Chris Columbus, who got the "Harry Potter" movies off the ground nine years ago. So has "Percy Jackson" successfully cracked the "Potter" code? In terms of overall quality, not even close. Still, the film's carefully calibrated mixture of CGI-enhanced spectacle, diverting (and blood-free) action sequences and adolescent angst could make it a modest hit with the 8- to 12-year-old set when 20th Century Fox releases it Friday (February 12). Where Harry's exploits attract audiences of all ages, though, Percy's appeal seems strictly limited to the family moviegoing crowd; anyone outside of that demo is better off waiting for part one of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," due in theaters in November. "Percy" opens Adhering to the same "hero's journey" narrative that has driven almost every cinematic fantasy-adventure since "Star Wars," the inaugural installment of this would-be franchise introduces viewers to Percy Jackson (Lerman), a surly teenager who discovers that he is the offspring of the Greek god Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). This news couldn't come at a more difficult time; a war is brewing amongst the gods over Zeus' (Bean) stolen lightning bolt, and Percy is widely assumed to be the thief. Spirited away to a demigod boot camp with the inelegant name Camp Half Blood, the novice hero is trained in the art of war and allies himself with a wisecracking Satyr (Brandon T. Jackson) and the goddess Athena's butt-kicking daughter Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario). Together, the trio head back into the real world to save Percy's human mother (Catherine Keener) from the clutches of Hades (Steve Coogan) and find a way to avert the coming clash of the titans. "The Lightning Thief" is at its best when Columbus and screenwriter Craig Titley find ways to put a fun contemporary spin on some of the familiar names and storylines from Greek mythology. In his battle with snake-haired Medusa (Thurman), for example, Percy relies on the reflective surface on the back of his iPod in place of a mirror. The island of the Lotus Eaters, meanwhile, has been transformed into a lavish Las Vegas nightclub where time literally stands still. But the film's haphazard plotting and bland characterizations often undermine these clever conceits. It's particularly unfortunate that the lone black character essentially functions as the white hero's servant. What's really lacking in "The Lightning Thief" is a genuine sense of wonder, the thing that brings viewers back to Hogwarts over and over again. Percy's world seems like a decent place to visit, but it's just not magical enough to make you want to live there. www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61A0MA20100211
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Post by Leanne on Feb 11, 2010 8:25:33 GMT -5
Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief This tame addition to the adolescent fantasy market is a poor man's Harry Potter. Logan Lerman... demi-god HERE'S a new angle on the causes of climate change. Somebody has stolen Zeus's lightning bolt, prompting a hissy fit of such magnitude that it's threatening an Olympian war that would wreak havoc on Earth's weather. Only Percy Jackson, teenage demi-god, can stop it. If he fails, we all go under. Essentially, The Lightning Thief stacks up as a fairly tame addition to the adolescent fantasy market. Adapted from a bestseller by the American writer Rick Riordan, it is directed by Chris Columbus, who has done two Harry Potter pictures, and it's fashioned to a similar template, with a few key atmospheric differences. If Harry is the offspring of a union between folklore, fairytale and English boarding school fiction, Percy is very much a creature of the American teen movie: high school division. After he is plucked out of his everyday mortal existence and sent off to realise his gifts as a demi-god, he is enrolled at a super-human version of the kind of summer camp which was featuring in high school pics when Mickey Rooney's voice was yet to break. The main difference is that T-shirts and sweat pants have been replaced by tunics and breastplates. Nor are super-heroes immune from adolescent angst. Since Zeus has decreed that the gods are never to contact the children they have conceived with mortal men and women, all the campers are harbouring "parental issues". When the film begins, 17-year-old Percy (Logan Lerman) is yet to be told that he is really Perseus, son of Poseidon, the Classical Greek god of the ocean. The only clue he has had to the dormant powers he possesses is his ability to hold his breath underwater for minutes on end. In the water, he says, he can think. On land, he has been diagnosed with dyslexia and attention deficit syndrome. But once he discovers his true identity, life begins to change – very fast. In quick succession, he is attacked by a fury, has a fight with a minotaur and learns that his best friend (Brandon T. Jackson) is a satyr and his classics teacher (Pierce Brosnan) is a centaur. Manoeuvring four legs and a tail, Brosnan looks only marginally more comfortable than he did when trying to hold a tune in Mamma Mia! Nonetheless, he is ever the good sport. "Yes, I have a real horse's ass," he says ruefully in response to Percy's astonished gaze. As you may have guessed, the script has not quite conquered the problem of marrying comedy with mythological resonance. In casting the authority figures, Columbus has gone British, with a dour Sean Bean as Zeus and an equally serious Kevin McKidd playing Poseidon. Bombastic bursts of orchestral music accompany the earthly scenes these two have together, and things are just as solemn on Mount Olympus, which is reached via a celestial lift at the top of the Empire State Building. The Underworld, on the other hand, is pure kitsch. Its entry point lies in Los Angeles underneath the Hollywood sign and, as Hades, Steve Coogan presides, looking like a raddled former rock star. Naturally enough, Rosario Dawson's sultry Persephone is desperate for other company. Also camping it up is a highly entertaining Uma Thurman, who seems to have been inspired by Gloria Swanson's Norma Desmond in perfecting her turn as snake-haired Medusa. She at least manages to pump a bit of originality into the action – unlike the teenage leads, who look as if they've been chosen for their ability to engage the camera in long moments of unblinking eye contact. As you would expect, there is a lot of computer-generated imagery, some of it spectacular, but the cliches are so plentiful and so well-worn that the effect is far from electrifying. All you have at the end of it is an enervating feeling of deja vu www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/film/film-reviews/percy-jackson-and-the-lightning-thief/2010/02/11/1265477641490.htmlAustralia
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Post by Leanne on Feb 12, 2010 10:38:51 GMT -5
February 12, 2010 ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’: Barely strikes once “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” may have the most unfortunate movie title since “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” It’s too long, for starters. (What’s the matter? Didn’t have the guts to put a “Part 1” in the title?) And it indicates that the movie is about a character named Percy. Yikes. Of course, because this is a movie about Greek mythology (though set in the present day), Percy is actually short for Perseus, the demigod who killed Medusa and rode Pegasus. Mythology – so popular with the young people today. Still, that title still sounds like a wee bit of a marketing challenge. But then, I’m not a parent of a kid who wants to see this movie because it’s based on the first in a kids’ series of adventure novels by Rick Riordan. I assume that the books are an attempt to trap the same publishing magic as J.K. Rowling did with the Harry Potter books. I’m sure the publishers would argue about the Potter comparison, saying that the template is mythology and not magic: gods, demi-gods, furies and the like. But get serious: It’s pure Harry, from the revelation that teen-age Percy has powers he never knew about to the Hogwarts-like camp where he learns to use said powers to the Dumbledore-like teacher (in this case, the centaur Chiron, played by Pierce Brosnan) who helps him achieve his destiny. It’s even directed by Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Potter films. Which means it’s fast, flat and punchline-challenged, despite the presence of Brandon T. Jackson (who played the hilarious Alpa Chino in “Tropic Thunder”). As a satyr who has yet to earn his horns, Jackson is buried under the weight of soggy one-liners and mushy, generic dialogue. But why should he be alone? The script by Craig Titley is all about the action sequences, with little thought to giving the dialogue even the semblance of a polish. There are plenty of opportunities for humor but the jokes just lay there, as if they’d been subjected to Medusa’s stony gaze. The plot, such as it is, concerns an impending war between Zeus (Sean Bean) and his brother, Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). Zeus’ lightning bolt has been stolen and he blames Poseidon’s human offspring. If it isn’t returned in 14 days, by thunder … well, you get the idea. Poseidon’s offspring? That would be Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), a kid with dyslexia and ADHD (but an amazing ability to hold his breath underwater for seven minutes or more at a time). He doesn’t know who his real father is or that he’s a demigod until a school trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s antiquities room. There, a substitute teacher turns into a Fury and attacks him, screaming for him to return the lightning bolt. Except that Percy didn’t steal it. So Percy is hustled off to demi-god training camp by his best friend Grover (Jackson), who drags himself around their high school on a pair of crutches, it turns out, to disguise the fact that he’s actually got goat legs. The camp apparently is in those famous mountains of Long Island, given the route his mother (Catherine Keener) takes across one of the bridges of lower Manhattan. But just as they reach the camp, they’re attacked by a minotaur sent by Hades; Harry’s, er, Percy’s mother is whisked away to Hell. Percy must train and learn to use his abilities so he can go on a quest blah blah blah. The quest involves him, Grover (Jackson) and a daughter of Athena named Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) – in other words, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Oh yes, and a bevy of movie stars. There’s Uma Thurman as Medusa, Rosario Dawson as Persephone and, in the film’s only funny sequence, Steve Coogan as a heavy-metal-rock-star-styled Hades. It’s not awful – it’s just not particularly inspired. Lerman is an interesting young actor, as he showed in last year’s little seen “My One and Only,” though he has little to work with here. Neither does Jackson, who is stuck making lame jokes – on crutches, no less. And, with the exception of Coogan, the adults have apparently been instructed to play the gods as very serious people, minus any twinkle of humor. Only McKidd evinces a bit of emotion, with a moment in which he explains his lifelong absence to Percy. There must be some fun in the literary series somewhere. But it’s been lost in the translation from page to screen – and something tells me this movie won’t be inspiring a sequel anytime soon. hollywoodandfine.com/reviews/?p=1990
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Post by Leanne on Feb 12, 2010 10:47:42 GMT -5
Weekend predictions boxoffice.com/featured_stories/2010/02/early-weekend-predictions-49.php Title Gross (M) Cume (M) Locations Inc./Dec. 1 Valentine's Day $48.0 $48.0 3,665 New 2 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief $32.5 $32.5 3,356 New3 The Wolfman $31.0 $31.0 3,222 New 4 Avatar $21.0 $659.0 2,685 -315 5 Dear John $17.5 $55.3 2,975 +6 6 From Paris with Love $5.9 $17.2 2,722 0 7 The Tooth Fairy $5.7 $41.6 2,748 -470 8 Edge of Darkness $5.2 $36.8 2,615 -451 9 When in Rome $3.8 $26.3 2,125 -331 10 The Book of Eli $3.4 $87.3 1,825 -995 Percy Jackson will find a sweet spot among teenage boys who wouldn't be caught dead seeing Valentine's Day. The 20th Century Fox release comes with a built-in audience thanks to its source novels, but the effective trailers should entice plenty of patrons who haven't done their reading. As of 4 p.m. PT, MovieTickets.com is reporting that Percy Jackson is responsible for 16 percent of sales. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief could muster $32 million during its prolonged debut frame.
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Post by Leanne on Feb 12, 2010 13:44:25 GMT -5
Movie review: ‘Percy Jackson’ successfully invades Potter’s field Having directed the first two “Harry Potter” flicks, Chris Columbus is no stranger to fantasy-adventure and its formulaic dashes of mystery, magic and world-saving heroics. So it’s little surprise that he delivers precisely that with “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.” It might not be as magical as the boy wizard franchise, but “The Lightning Thief” has enough wit, likable characters, cast and quasi-action to make for an engaging and entertaining ride. A cross between “The Goonies” and “Potter,” “The Lightning Thief” doesn’t add anything to the genre, as it borrows liberally from its predecessors. Even the computer-generated imagery is ho-hum. Those snakes springing from Uma Thurman’s scalp do not make you cringe; it’s the actress’s icy glare and menacing appearance as Medusa (think: “Kill Bill”) that makes you cower. She could turn anyone to stone. Instead of sorcery and treasure hunts, “The Lightning Thief” tells the story of the boy hero within the context of Greek mythology. The plot, and there’s a lot of it, centers around Zeus’ lightning bolt allegedly being stolen by Percy (Logan Lerman from “3:10 to Yuma”). If it’s not returned within 14 days, all hell will break loose. Columbus – and screenwriter Craig Titley – weave the mythology into modern times and sometimes it works cleverly (the entrance to Hades is hidden behind the iconic Hollywood sign); sometimes it falls flat and strains logic. How, for example, could the all-powerful Zeus (Sean Bean, “National Treasure”) lose his lightning bolt in the first place? It’s all based on the popular series of kids’ novels by Rick Riordan and the filmmakers obviously hope the franchise (there are five books, and a greenlit sequel) will be the next big thing. It’s certainly a breakout role for Lerman, as he injects heart and an abundance of energy into Percy. Along for the ride are the wisecracking sidekick Brandon T. Jackson as Percy’s “junior” protector, Grover (think Ron Weasley), a satyr (half-man, half-goat). Rounding out the trio is the smart and sassy Hermione clone, AnnaBeth, (Alexandra Daddario), who like Percy is the offspring of a god. She’s the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, and he’s the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), god of the seas. Before Percy learns he is a demigod, he is a regular teenager struggling with dyslexia, ADHD and a good-for-nothing stepfather (Joe Pantoliano). Then, suddenly, monsters burst onto the scene to snatch him and cart him off to Camp Half-Blood, a Hogwarts-like place where the offspring of gods and goddesses go to refine their skills and powers. With all the swords and shields, it looks like a Renaissance fair. No mortals are allowed, either. In the meantime, Percy’s mother (a bland Catherine Keener from “Where the Wild Things Are”) is kidnapped by Hades, Percy’s uncle. The Big 3 gods – Zeus, Hades and Poseidon – are also squabbling brothers. Just when the plot becomes too convoluted, Titley’s script offers a funny moment that doesn’t kill the mood. For example, Percy is briefly distracted by a bevy of bikini-clad babes frolicking in the hot tub. They turn out to be the daughters of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Like other demigods – Hercules and Achilles – Percy goes on a quest. His mission is to prove to Zeus that he doesn’t have the bolt and to rescue his mother from the underworld of Uncle Hades. With AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” playing in the background, what ensues is a cross-country treasure hunt from New Jersey to Nashville to Las Vegas to Hollywood to find Persephone’s pearls, which they need to get out the underworld safely. Along the way there are predictable battles with Furys, minotaurs and the hydra. You also have to see Pierce Brosnan as a centaur who becomes Percy’s mentor. His is the most debonair half-man, half-horse you’ll ever find. Rosario Dawson is a sultry Persephone, residing for six months in hell with Hades (a creepy Steve Coogan dressed like an aging rock star.) Most memorable is Thurman’s Medusa, whose short performance makes it all worthwhile. Stick around until after the credits roll and you’ll see why. (PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language.) Cast includes Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Pierce Brosnan. 3 stars out of 4. www.norwichbulletin.com/entertainment/x1631828475/Movie-review-Percy-Jackson-successfully-invades-Potter-s-field
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Post by Leanne on Feb 12, 2010 14:05:01 GMT -5
'Percy Jackson' aims for godhood but has to settle for staying Earthbound Before you read this review, you may want to refer to the opening paragraphs of my Chris Columbus interview for some personal disclosure. If you choose not to take my word on this one, I'll refer you instead to the always-articulate James Rocchi, whose feelings fairly closely mirror my own, and who has no connection to the filmmakers at all. Let's start with a simple statement: nothing is going to be "the next 'Harry Potter.'" When Jo Rowling wrote the first few books in the "Harry Potter" series, she wasn't breaking bold new ground. She didn't invent a genre. She didn't come up with the idea of magic wands or wizards or even a Chosen One having to learn his role in a larger destiny with the help of various mentors. Allow me to restate Joseph Campbell's definition of the monomyth: "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man." Sounds familiar, right? It should, since it has basically swallowed pop culture whole. I'd argue that George Lucas (who also didn't create a genre or a storyline or his character archetypes) was the one who started us down that path in terms of modern pop culture. The success of "Star Wars" changed things in much the same way that the success of "Harry Potter" has impacted the past decade. All Rowling did was tell her story well, invest some genuine feeling into her characters, and perfectly tap a loneliness and a desire to be special that spoke to a generation of kids who were ready for her message. What she did was singular, and it was a commercial force that will not be matched in this genre. Since the explosion of popularity for "Potter," there have been many pretenders to the throne, many book series cranked out trying to capture the same market, and some of them have done well enough to make it to the screen. I'm not surprised 20th Century Fox purchased the "Percy Jackson" books. The idea of doing a "Harry Potter" riff with Greek myths is simple and potentially rich enough in source material to run for many, many books, and Rick Riordan, who created the books, came by it honestly. He started writing the first book well before there was a Harry Potter, well before Rowling published anything, even if he wasn't able to find a home for the idea until her success kicked the door open. He was a teacher of Greek mythology whose own son was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD, characteristics that he incorporated into Percy Jackson, his hero. I haven't read the five books, but I have a general sense of what they are, and they certainly have an active fanbase that has taken to the world that Riordan brought to life. Are they "Harry Potter" big? No. But nothing is. The next thing that becomes a phenomenon like that will come out of left field, and even if it also plays with familiar tropes (which I can almost guarantee it will), it will do so in a way we haven't seen in a while, and it will spawn its own army of imitators. My basic point is this: for many of us of a certain age, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" will seem like familiar material right off the bat, because we are literally innundated with a dozen new movies a year about "the Chosen One." For me, the thing that makes or breaks a movie like this is how consistent or clever the world is that the film creates, how well the chemistry of the cast works, and how much energy there is in the telling. And on that level, I would rank "Percy Jackson" as a charming effort overall that makes very good use of its Greek mythological underpinnings, a movie that absolutely called to mind the energy that was present in the early work of Chris Columbus as a screenwriter, the glory days of Amblin' in the '80s. I say that as someone who really digs "Gremlins," who isn't a fan of "Goonies," and who has mixed feelings about "Young Sherlock Holmes." Despite me not linking "The Goonies," I am well aware of the impact it had on many of my peers, and the continuing hold it seems to exert on them. I can recognize that in his early efforts, Columbus wrote a sort of modern pulp that cut through the cynicism that was a big part of the pop culture of that era, and because he was so earnest, he managed to create work that resonated. There was an energy to his writing that hasn't always shown up in later films of his like "Mrs. Doubtfire" or "Nine Months" or "Stepmom." Those films weren't aimed at that same audience, weren't trying to tell the same types of stories, and I think one of the reasons Columbus has never maintained a consistent fanbase is because he has never been the same filmmaker consistently. When he made the first two "Harry Potter" films, he was basically a man trying to play the piano in a straightjacket underwater. He wasn't directing a film... he was shepherding an asset. Warner Bros. had a plan, and if he didn't pull off those first two movies, that plan wasn't going to work. There are any number of intended franchises that lay bleeding out on the sharp rocks of audience indifference, so Columbus certainly could have failed. It was possible for those movies to bomb. Nothing was guaranteed. The fact that the films he made worked to the degree they did is sort of miraculous. This time out, Columbus feels like he's having fun, like he's enjoying this go-round of world-building, and he seems much more comfortable with the technical demands of giant monsters, flying kids, and magic. He is helped mightily by the chemistry between his three young leads, and it was a smart move, making them older teenagers rather than pre-pubescents. There's a genuine sense of peril that underlines the quest that Percy (Logan Lerman) and his two companions, Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), have to embark on if they hope to rescue Percy's mother from Hades (Steve Coogan) and stop a war between Zeus (Sean Bean) and Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). The movie plays rough enough at times, complete with a "Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas" side trip to a casino run by the Lotus Eaters, that there are consequences, but the film also keeps the truly grow-up stuff just under the surface. The adults may know what Rosario Dawson's gonna do to that Satyr, but the kids won't. The guest stars in the film, the recognizable faces, work to varying degrees. Sean Bean and Kevin McKidd have very little screen time, but at this point, they both carry enough baggage as screen figures that it works... they suggest a danger and a power that is appropriate. Uma Thurman seems to really relish her time onscreen, but she's all monster and no seduction, which I think is a combination that is vital for Medusa. Steve Coogan d**n near runs away with the film during his one big scene, and Rosario Dawson is perfectly tuned in to his lunatic energy, making the trip to Hades one of the film's best moments. Joe Pantoliano shows up simply to be disgusting, and you should make sure you hang around till the end of the credits for Joe's best moment in the film. As with most of the films in this genre, I do think the quest is very easy, and I'm really not sold on the way Camp Halfblood (where all children of gods and mortals go to learn how to harness their powers) is presented. There are issues of parental responsibility that are played too quickly, thrown away in most of the important sequences, and only Catherine Keener, as Percy's mom, comes close to playing a fully-realized parental figure. Considering how much of the film focuses on the notion of an entire generation of abandoned kids, the way the emotion never quite kicks in and connects has to counted as a failure of sorts. But I think there's a lot to like about the film, and what surprised me is how the trailers for this film had a distinctly "Night At The Museum" vibe, while the finished film is nothing like those witless horror shows. This is not a smarmy pop culture joke machine, and it's not a plastic misfire a la "Eragon." Built with set pieces that demonstrate a real affection for Greek myth iconography (both the Hydra and Medusa really work), centered on a strong performance by Logan Lerman (a star in the making, based on this and "3:10 To Yuma"), "Percy Jackson & The Olympians" aims young and hits the target fairly consistently. www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/the-m-c-review-percy-jackson-the-olympians-the-lightning-thief
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Post by Leanne on Feb 14, 2010 2:57:20 GMT -5
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief's Friday Box Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief's Friday box office gross was enough to land it second place at the box office. On Friday, The Lighting Thief made an estimated $10.5 million on Friday for a very good per theater average of $3,128 from 3,356 locations across North America. As it did on Friday, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief will place second this weekend at the box office with a projected gross of $50 million for the four-day, double holiday weekend. This gross is by far an over-performance for the Universal released movie, since it was expected to open more in the high $20 million range to possibly low $30 million numbers. 20th Century Fox is obviously trying to replicate the success that rival studio ,Warner Brothers, has seen with its adaptation of another Fantasy Adventure known as Harry Potter, which almost every one knows is one of the most successful movie franchises in history at the box office. In fact, they even hired Chris Columbus to direct the movie, a director who has directed two Potter movies, including the very first one. A $50 million opening is very good news for Fox, especially since most thought it wouldn't be a success, and additionally The Lighting Thief has a budget of $145 million, without including advertising or prints. Now, it's a bit too soon to call the move a success, but if it holds up well in the coming days and weekends at the box office, as well as a good performance overseas, The Lighting Thief will be just that. As always, Thanks for reading this box office blog, and please be sure to check back for our weekend box office report with all the latest numbers, and everything else movie related. blog.boxofficespy.com/2010/02/percy-jackson-and-olympians-lighting.html
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Post by Leanne on Feb 15, 2010 3:29:48 GMT -5
Weekend box office results 1 N Valentine's Day WB $52,410,000 2 N Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief Fox $31,100,000 3 N The Wolfman Uni. $30,627,000 www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/
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Post by MarryMeOwen on Feb 15, 2010 13:12:54 GMT -5
Awesome so glad for Kevin and the cast looks like franchise material to me!
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Post by Leanne on Feb 15, 2010 16:23:04 GMT -5
so how many of you Tweeted Percy Jackson ....#percyjackson ;D Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief completed its dominance of Twitter this week by raking in 7,654 tweets on Thursday. This gave it 19,722 tweets for the full Monday to Thursday period. That's the fourth most tweets in a film's release week since last September behind New Moon, Avatar and Where The Wild Things Are. Wild Things managed to score 8,290 tweets on its Thursday before release, and 20,684 for the whole week. It had $12 million in sales from 3,735 theaters for its first Friday for a Twitter ratio of 1,724. Percy Jackson's ratio should definitely be higher due to its lower theater count, a noticably larger amount of spam and a few RTs (retweets) which caught on during the week. I'm going to slightly up my early weekend prediction and will be expecting a $8 million Friday and $32.5 million 4 day weekend. Valentine's Day had 4,498 tweets on Thursday, up from Wednesday's 3,267. That gave it 13,441 tweets for the full Monday to Thursday period. By comparison, Dear John had 4,124 tweets on its Thursday before release, and 12,194 for the whole week. It grossed $13.8 million from 2,969 theaters for its first Friday for a Twitter ratio of 884. Similar to Percy Jackson spam levels are higher than usual here because of all the attention the film is getting and there are a higher amount of false positives than usual thanks to its very generic name. All of this will drive its ratio way higher than it might have been in a perfect world. Look for a $11 million Friday and $48 million 4 day weekend. Lastly, The Wolfman finished the week with 2,397 tweets on Thursday. That gave it a very solid 6,603 tweets for the week. I had been using Sherlock Holmes as a yardstick for potential here but the holiday season really pushed its ratio way lower than it would have been at any other time of the year so it really isn't valid or useful. What is certain is that the older audience, less tweet spam and a much more specific name (than Valentine's Day at least) should definitely afford it the lowest ratio of the week and only to break the 1,000 mark. Expect a $7 million Friday and a $31 million 4 day weekend. Check back Saturday to see Friday's numbers and the actual Twitter ratios for the weekend and follow @alexboxoffice on Twitter for additional updates. percyjacksonmovies.com/external/http://boxoffice.com/thenews/2010/02/12/twitter-box-office-update-62.php
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Post by Leanne on Feb 18, 2010 2:44:22 GMT -5
PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS Dethrones VALENTINE’S DAY; AVATAR #3 by Michelle Hutton | Feb 17, 2010 | This past weekend was particularly good at the North American box office thanks to Valentine’s Day falling on a Sunday, a day that is usually softer than both Friday and Saturday. President’s Day falling on the Monday after didn’t do any harm, either. Somewhat surprisingly, the top movie on Monday was Chris Columbus‘ Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, with $7.4 million and a total of $38.6 million after four days according to figures found at Box Office Mojo. The weekend’s top grosser, Garry Marshall’s all-star romantic comedy Valentine’s Day, fell to #2, with $6.8 million and a pretty impressive total of $63.1 million. Valentine’s Day stars Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Taylor Lautner, Eric Dane, Shirley MacLaine, Taylor Swift, Bradley Cooper, Topher Grace, and many others. Following in third place was James Cameron’s Avatar with $5.1 million and $666.3 million to date. Joe Johnston’s poorly received Benicio del Toro-Anthony Hopkins vehicle The Wolfman was #4 with $4 million and a disappointing $35.5 million to date. I say "disappointing" because The Wolfman cost somewhere between $110 and $150 million. And thus far the horror drama hasn’t been doing all that great overseas, either. The previous weekend’s #1 movie, the romantic tearjerker Dear John, was #5. Starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, this tale of two star-crossed lovers earned $2.1 million for a $56 million cume. At #6, Dwayne Johnson’s Tooth Fairy, co-starring Julie Andrews, grossed $1.9 million thanks to kiddie business. In fact, movies that are supposed to appeal to children fared the best in percentage terms on Monday. In other words, Percy Jackson, Tooth Fairy, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel had the smallest percentage drops (20-27%) from Sunday. But expect huge drops when Tuesday’s box-office figures are announced. The John Travolta-Jonathan Rhys Meyers vehicle From Paris with Love was #7 with $857K, followed by Mel Gibson’s $80-million revenge thriller Edge of Darkness with $729K (and only $37 million to date), and Jeff Bridges‘ Crazy Heart with $716K and $17.5 million to date. At #10, the Kristen Bell-Josh Duhamel romantic comedy When in Rome took in $595K. Rounding out the top fifteen were Denzel Washington’s post-apocalyptic drama The Book of Eli ($579K), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel ($415K), Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side ($405K), Shahrukh Khan’s controversial Bollywood drama/musical My Name Is Khan ($320K and $2,675 per screen, the highest average among the top twenty films) and Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes ($295K). www.altfg.com/blog/box-office/percy-jackson-valentines-day-avatar-69104/
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Post by Leanne on Feb 19, 2010 16:27:54 GMT -5
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Post by MarryMeOwen on Feb 19, 2010 18:40:08 GMT -5
Roger Ebert's review, ( I kinda agree with a lot of his points but I'll cut him some slack since he obviously didnt' read the books) rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100210/REVIEWS/100219996Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief BY ROGER EBERT / February 10, 2010 Cast & Credits Percy Logan Lerman Annabeth Alexandra Daddario Grover Brandon T. Jackson Chiron Pierce Brosnan Hades Steve Coogan Mrs. Jackson Catherine Keener Medusa Uma Thurman Zeus Sean Bean Poseidon Kevin McKidd Persephone Rosario Dawson 20th Century-Fox presents a film directed by Chris Columbus. Written by Craig Titley, based on the novel by Rick Riordan. Running time: 119 minutes. Rated PG (for action violence and peril, scary images and suggestive material, and mild language). Printer-friendly » E-mail this to a friend » AddThis Social Bookmark Button Every movie involving superheroes requires an origin story, and "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" has a doozy. The Greek gods on Mount Olympus sometimes descend to earth to have children, you see, and these half god, half humans are demigods. They live among us. One is Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), who is the teenage son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson (Catherine Keener). But he doesn't know this. I wonder if his mom noticed. Kind of a letdown to discover Greek gods are runaway dads. Percy finds he can think best when underwater for 10 minutes at a time. Poseidon was the god of the sea, you will recall. His best buddy is Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), who is revealed as a sort of assistant demigod assigned to watch over him. His teacher is Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan), who is actually Chiron, a centaur. Give Brosnan a lot credit for wearing the back half of a horse as if he'd been doing it for years. The movie, based on a novel by Rick Riordan, has fun working out modern parallels for Greek mythology. Percy, for example, thinks he is dyslexic, but it's only that his eyes instinctively turn English into Greek letters. That's no help in class. After learning of his real identity, he goes off to Chiron's demigod training camp with Grover, and he becomes friends with Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), a demi-goddess if ever I've seen one. The plot heats up. Zeus (Sean Bean) and Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) meet atop the Empire State Building to discuss Zeus' missing lightning bolt, which he believes Percy, Poseidon's son, has stolen. (The story requires a certain suspension of disbelief.) Why, when or how he allegedly might have done so begins as a mystery to Percy, but eventually the situation leads to slam-bam special-effects sequences, as the gods and demigods do battle. Undoubtedly the biggest attraction among the gods is Medusa, and Uma Thurman demonstrates she can wear a snake-covered head as gracefully as Pierce Brosnan can trot around with a horse's netherlands. There is also the advent of Steve Coogan as Hades. Yes, Steve Coogan. Hades, you recall, is the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. Or maybe you don't recall. It's one of my weaknesses that I was never able to work up much of an interest in the Greek gods, who made for discouraging fiction because they were entirely defined by their attributes. They had no personalities to speak of, but simply went about doing what they did. You can understand why Zeus is so upset about losing his lightning bolt. That's what he does, hurl that lightning bolt. What is Zeus without his bolt? Director Chris Columbus has fun with this goofy premise, but as always I am distracted by the practical aspects of the story. Does it bother the Greek gods that no one any longer knows or cares that they rule the world? What are the genetic implications of human/god interbreeding? And, forgive me, I'll have to double back to Sally Jackson, Percy's mother. How did she meet Poseidon? At the beach, I suppose. Did he reveal his true identity? If a guy picks you up at the beach and says he's Poseidon, do you say, fine, let's not date, let's just mate? Then when the bastard dumps you and disappears, leaving you pregnant, what way is that for a god to behave? My remaining question involves the title. Call me foolish, but I don't consider "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" an ideal title. The movie's original title was "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief," which at least has the advantage of sounding less like a singing group. Note: This is the first film I recall with end credits including the names of the actors who played Parthenon Janitors. I know, it's the Parthenon in Nashville, but even so.
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Geniusmentis
KMKonliner
McVid
I only have 2 neurons and one of them is usually sleeping.
Posts: 4,067
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Post by Geniusmentis on Feb 19, 2010 19:10:10 GMT -5
LOL Well, with such a god.... I love again the sea....
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Post by MarryMeOwen on Feb 19, 2010 20:01:27 GMT -5
LOL he's obviously not into greek mythology
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Post by Leanne on Feb 24, 2010 2:14:03 GMT -5
The Lightning Thief has been out around 12 days now. And what are the box office numbers??? First, you may remember the budget of $95,000,000 from an earlier read, and now… The box office results: U.S Box Office: $58,760,000 International Box Office: $67,647,000 Worldwide Box Office: $126,407,000 The movie has beaten it’s budget, and it should still have around a month in the box office. www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=percyjackson.htmPJ tops worldwide box office to 2010 www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm
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marcy
KMKonliner
Posts: 2,528
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Post by marcy on Feb 24, 2010 4:49:49 GMT -5
So, the sequel is a go then, right??
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Post by Leanne on Feb 24, 2010 9:02:01 GMT -5
nothing confirmed yet, lets hope it keep doing well
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