Movie Review - Sea of Monsters

 Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters   $$$     

 

 

PG

106 Minutes

Starring: Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T Jackson, and Douglas Smith.

Director: Thor Freudenthal. 

 

            This is the second in the series of stories by Rick Riordan about teen-aged children of the Greek gods. While I didn’t think it was quite as good as the first one I still enjoyed it a great deal.

            Percy (Logan Lerman) is having a bad case of post-world-saving blues. He finds himself doubting his worth since he hasn’t done any major league heroics lately. Then a mechanical bull crashes through the protective barrier around Camp Half-Blood and all of that changes.

            The barrier exists as the result of the death of Zeus’s daughter. He transformed her into a tree that generates the protective field around Camp Half-Blood and keeps all the half deity children safe. But someone has poisoned the tree and the only way to save her and the camp is to travel into the Sea of Monsters (The Bermuda Triangle) and retrieve the Golden Fleece.

            Percy and his crew are not selected for the quest. Instead, Clarisse (Leven Rambin), the daughter of Ares is sent along with the satyr Tereus (Connor Dunn). Since Clarisse has been routinely routing Percy in the camp games it makes sense. However, Percy and his crew decide to take on the quest anyway after Luke makes an appearance and discusses “the prophecy.” A half-blood child of one of the big three is foretold to have a pivotal role in the fate of all the gods and their children. And Percy is the only half-blood that meets that criterion.

            The plot for this film was good. It showed nice character development. The acting was not inspiring, but certainly did not detract from the story. I have to admit that I am spoiled when it comes to special effects. There was nothing wrong with the special effects in this movie, per se, but other than the scene with the mechanical bull they failed to impress me. My biggest complaint is with Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario). In the first film she had mad strategy skills and could handle herself pretty well in a fight. Unfortunately, in this film she just seems to be along for the ride. The character was totally underused in this story.

            I had fun watching the movie and look forward to sitting down to watch it again with my children. Fun but unspectacular earns it a solid three Movie Bucks from me. Go see it as a matinee.

                        Randy’s Rating System 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.

 

Movie Review - Planes

 Planes   $$$     

 

PG

92 Minutes

Starring: Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, and Brad Garrett.

Director: Klay Hall.

 

            Let me start off with a warning that I saw this film several months ago as an advance showing and it is possible that changes have been made since then. That being said, if you always loved Cars, but wished it had been about planes instead—then this is the movie for you.

            Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) is a crop dusting plane with ambitions of becoming a world class racer. There are a couple of problems with that scenario; he’s afraid of heights and he’s a crop duster. However, with the help of the old, gruff retired Navy fighter, Skipper (Stacy Keach), he learns enough about flying fast to qualify for the race.

            And what a grand race it is. Planes from all over the world have gathered to participate. There is Bulldog (John Cleese) from England, Ishani (Priyanka Chopra) from India, and my children’s favorite El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui) from Mexico. With help from his trusy ground-vehicle side kick, Chug (Brad Garrett), he faces off against an elite group of flying machines in a race around the world.

            The story is cute. Unfortunately, it was too much like Cars. The hero is interesting in winning a race and becoming famous. He is mentored by a grizzled veteran with a tragic past. And his best friend is a deep-voiced goof. The story is predictable and I found myself frequently comparing it to Cars. On the positive side, it is a cute movie with great voice acting and a lot of laughs.

            I give Planes a solid three Movie Bucks for good family entertainment. You probably will enjoy it more at a discount showing where you won’t lament paying full price for a movie you sort have already seen.

 

                        Randy’s Rating System 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.

 

 

Movie Review - Red 2

 Red 2   $$$ 1/2    

 

PG-13

116 Minutes

Starring: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, and Helen Mirren.  

Director: Dean Parisot.

            If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Red 2 doesn’t fall far from the parent movie. Other than a new evil plot to be thwarted and the situation of how integrate a civilian girlfriend into the dangerous world of retired espionage it’s a retread of the original movie. Not that I have a problem with that. Let’s face it, where else will the tension of a villainous plan to kill millions take the back seat to the conflict between the new girlfriend and the old girlfriend in the life of our age-handicapped hero.

            Frank (Bruce Willis) loves Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker). But the zip in their relationship is stagnating because he is too busy protecting her to have any fun. Well, the gun-toting, spy shooting, risk your life at every moment kind of fun anyway. This all comes to a predictable end when Marvin (John Malkovich) shows up to warn Frank that trouble is a-brewing.  Then—BAM—the bad guys arrive on the scene and much killing ensues.

            I laughed throughout the entire movie. It was a riot. Aside from being witty the script was rather routine. Fortunately, for this story that works. The acting was great. The explosions and mass destruction of property was great. In fact, the only thing I had a problem with was the enormous disregard for human life the film portrayed. I understand that that is part of the humor of this film, but I think you can take it too far. And this film does—slightly.

            Red 2 gets a solid three-and-a-half Movie Bucks from me. It’s worth full price at your local cinema. I’m even considering picking it up on DVD when it comes out. If you go expecting more of what you got from the original movie, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

                        Randy’s Rating System

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.