Gattaca

Gattaca is one of those movies that I never had the chance to see in the 90's when it came out. Recently, I finally had the chance to see Gattaca and found it to be a good movie. Set in the not too distant future, society is now separated based on the genetic makeup of a person to determine what types of work a person is eligible to do. Gattaca is a science fiction movie that falls along the same lines of 1984 or even Fahrenheit 451, where everyone's individual lives are controlled by a central governing body. The story centers around Vincent Freeman, who is genetically meant for only menial jobs, but through a false identity he is working a higher end job in hopes of going on a scheduled space mission. This is one of those science fiction movies that is a lot of fun to watch as the story unfolds as it puts you on the edge of your seat.

Ethan Hawke stars as Vincent Freeman the man who through the use of false identification has left what should be a limited menial job to go out and live his dream to go on a mission into space. Hawke give a really strong performance and has a strong believability in his role. His performance is one that makes the audience not only think, but really question how we could ever get that way in society, where people are hampered by a perceived genetic ceiling. Hawke has an ability as well to play his character with such a confidence yet vulnerability that one can not help but root for him to be successful in his deception. Alongside Hawke is Jude Law in the role of Eugene Morrow, a former athlete who is now restricted to a wheelchair. He works with Hawke's character to help him stay ahead by providing the blood and other things necessary to not get caught with all the tests everyone is regularly subjected to. Law gives a strong performance that we truly believe especially during one scene where he is crawling to get to the door so that the whole deception is not found out. Uma Thurman plays the love interest and it really is a role that works just fine for her. I believe this to be one of her first roles and it is interesting to see the potential she had at this point and to see how far she has come in her career. The rest of the supporting cast do a good job and really serve a purpose. The supporting cast at moments helps to keep the story moving along.

The story of Gattaca is one that i really enjoyed. It is a movie that while the story of a controlling dystopic society is not exactly ground breaking, I fell the way the director unfolded the entire story to be very unique. Sometimes science fiction movies are very strong with the action, but when the important moments of the story come about the movie can feel stalled. Gattaca does a great job at having smooth transitions between the moments of action with these moments where the plot is set to move along. The pacing fits so well as it does not get caught in such slow movements that you are wondering how much longer the movie will be, but instead they keep you right on the edge of your seat.

It is always interesting to see movies that deal with the future and what types of technology they view that will be around in a "not too distant" future.  Gattaca's view of the future was fairly simple and really not much that was too far fetched of what we could generally see in the future. Movies like Gattaca that has the main story dealing with so much of our being completely controlled by the government and them wanting perfect type genetics, hopefully serves to remind society to prevent this type of control every being allowed. I feel directors that occasionally do a movie that deals with a dystopic society is to prevent society from thinking a Utopian society is attainable.

Gattaca is a science fiction movie that is not only an edge of your seat thriller, but is really a movie that almost anyone can sit down to watch and enjoy. Gattaca has a strong cast that give good performances that help the story to move and not stall. I am giving Gattaca three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that is enjoyable and a movie that can give you a science fiction hit. It is one that I have added to the movie collection and is definitely one worth renting or if you come across it on TV to take the time to watch.

-The Movie Man

Just Go With It

Just Go With It is a fun comedy that does just what a comedy should do and make you laugh. After overhearing his bride to be comment on his large nose, Danny Maccabee calls off his wedding and from that point forward he builds his own defense mechanisms so his heart will never get broken again. Using his wedding ring to help he pretends to be an abused spouse in his marriage, in order to have one night stands. Only he ends up falling for a girl and she happens to find his wedding ring, he lies saying he is "getting a divorce" and this woman upon wanting to meet his soon to be ex. Danny convinces his receptionist to play the part for him.

Adam Sandler stars in the role of Danny, and does a pretty good job. Sandler has seemed to find his acting niche as he seems to have a yearly role in the romantic comedy genre. This suits him perfectly because he can really ham it up onscreen and he does a good job making you laugh throughout. With the romantic comedy being more comedy then romantic, Sandler really does not have to do much on the emotion side and that is just fine for me because I do not look for Sandler to bring a wide emotional range to his roles. Starring along side Sandler is Jennifer Aniston playing Sandler's receptionist Katherine. She does a great job at playing the role of the soon to be ex-wife with a fairly decent funny outlook. Aniston really shines in her role and she has a real good presence onscreen that the audience is drawn to her character and they root for her to succeed immediately. The comedic abilities of Aniston I am becoming more of a fan of in each comedy role I see her in. She does a great job with her delivery and while we expect great comedy from Sandler, Aniston is one that I did not really have much of an expectation from, yet she had some great timing and made me laugh as much as Sandler did, even outshining him in some moments and scenes. The chemistry between Aniston and Sandler is spot on and really took the movie to another level. The chemistry is part of what makes this movie work, in a movie if the two leads do not work well off one another then the jokes would fall flat.

The rest of the supporting cast do admirable jobs and even have their own funny moments. I was pleasantly surprised withBrooklyn Decker in the role of Palmer. While she is mainly eye candy casting she surprised me in that she was not too bad and even came off funny throughout the movie. At the same time I think her beauty was outshone by Aniston's as I found that that is where I was drawn to first at the moments when they were both onscreen together. I also enjoyed Bailee Madison in the role of Maggie, Aniston's daughter. She definitely has some potential as she gets older and gets more roles, she has that great ability to shine in comedies. As the fake daughter to Sandler shes uses a fake English accent that will definitely make you laugh and she has some great one-liners. Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews in their small roles are pretty funny as well and especially in their interactions with Aniston and Sandler. The competition they have during the luau party is definitely a high point.

The story for Just Go With It is very predictable and formulaic. Even though the story was precisely what could be expected that is not always a bad thing. This movie you did not have think about it or wonder where the story was going to go. Instead you could just sit back and just laugh and enjoy n seeing how the director decided to unfold the story. Having a majority of the movie take place at a Hawaiian resort, a place where most of us do not get to experience  much allowed the audience to be swept up in the beauty.

Just Go With It ends up being a fun romantic comedy that while it has elements of both it does focus more on the comedic moments. The chemistry between Sandler and Aniston is what really helps to not only make the movie enjoyable, but funny as well. I am giving Just Go With It three buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a movie worth renting for a date night or a night you are looking for simply laughs as well.

-The Movie Man

Killers

Killers is a movie that is strictly pure entertainment, and comes off a little bit more romantic comedy then romantic action movie. Even with this feeling of Killers being a pure kick back popcorn eating movie, it still has its struggles. Initially the storyline for Killers seems like it would work very throughout as the government secret spy assassin falls in love and decides to leave the killing behind for the wonders of a marriage and a house in the suburbs. Unfortunately, Killers ends up being a small grade imitation in many ways of Mr. and Mrs. Smith without the smarts.

The acting in Killers struggles throughout. Katherine Heigl, has a bit of a credibility issue for me playing the nerdy, struggling in love woman. While in Nice with her parents she even comes across acting like an 8th grader because she is embarrassed in front of Kutcher's character to be there with her parents that she actually tells the lie that her father is an ex that is stalking her. Heigl although is enjoyable eye candy on-screen, her character comes off a little boring at times. Kutcher at times comes off as being lost on-screen with the other stars in the film. Kutcher though does have some comedic moments and interactions that make you forget about the other moments when he is lost with the other actors. In supporting roles Tom Selleck and Cather O'Hara are underutilized in the role of the parents. O'Hara while on the plane to Nice has one of the best lines of the movie and really is the epitome of her character, but I will not spoil it for anyone that has not yet seen Killers.

The story in Killers really has a hard time figuring out exactly where it wanted to be. At moments it felt like it tried to be like Mr. and Mrs. Smith so hard that it just failed to be totally cohesive. Also for me the aspect that they lived in the suburbs for three years with no issues only to all of the sudden have trained assassin neighbors it just did not work for me. Kutcher's character is supposed to have been a top spy so even though he is not in the spy game anymore he should have still been able to have the feeling that something was not right with their neighbors. I would have liked to have seen one neighbor being an assassin to be a strong plot move, but having so many jumped that plot point to overkill in my book.

The comedic moments throughout the movie though not always timed perfectly did make me laugh throughout. The chemistry between Heigl and Kutcher does make for good laughs one such moment deals with Heigl carrying a fun and how to properly hide it on her person. To go along with the comedy one of the other aspects that I enjoyed was the overall twist regarding who the antagonist will be through the movie. While I would have greatly enjoyed a stronger development of the antagonist, the twist did make up for that weakness.

Killers struggled throughout with its identity, but was mindless entertainment. I think one of the most glaring aspect for me was the under utilization of the supporting cast. Killers does have some comedic moments that will make you laugh, I am giving Killers two and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Killers was a film to me that I will have to be in a specific mood for, it is one that will either make you laugh for the comic moments or can make you laugh because of some of the absurd situations.

-The Movie Man

Unstoppable

Unstoppable is a movie that takes no time at all to get immediately into the action. Unstoppable is the story of a freight train in Pennsylvania that while it is being moved about in a train yard and being unmanned the throttle gets bumped causing the freight train and its load of hazardous materials to gradually pick up speed and become an unstoppable train as it careens through towns out of control with no one to stop it. From there it is a pedal to the metal ride as this movie does not stop from the first moment until the end. A movie about trains is not always easy to do and yet I was looking forward to this movie as soon as I heard about it. Not too mention I wanted to see it even more once I found out Denzel Washington was involved because he has that uncanny ability with his performances to be able to take any type of movie and move it above what it may have been with any other actor.

The story for this movie was a great one. Based on actual events the film makers do a great job at giving some great moments of suspense without being too corny which can easily happen with movies that are based on actual events. Kudos goes to the filmmakers for the ability to not only make an exciting movie about trains, but it is truly the only movie I can recall in which the train is the antagonist in the film. While bad guys have used trains as part of their plot, Unstoppable is simply a train that was accidentally let go, yet the train as the antagonist fits perfectly. As the train barrels through town after town and through each railroad crossing the train truly has no feelings or remorse no matter what happens. It is about as close to perfect as an antagonist can be because there is no way to reason with the train which ends up being more intimidation that everyone in the audience can feel throughout the film.

Denzel Washington plays the role of Frank, a seasoned engineer who along with his rookie conductor set out to try to catch the runaway freighter and hopefully stop it before it reaches the raised tracks and dangerous "S" curves that would surely flip the train and cause the hazardous waste to spill and decimate a town. Washington gives his usual great performance and he is able to play the role with just the right amount of hardness that the audience can truly believe he is a long time train engineer. He has this great hard headedness that only makes the audience root for him simply because he defies the order he is given by those in charge not to go after the train. Starring alongside Washington is Chris Pine in the role of Will, the rookie conductor. Pine plays the role with a similarity in the way he played Captain Kirk  in Star Trek. Both of these characters he played are very similar so as the rookie conductor he comes out with an arrogance and cockiness that he feels in being a young hot shot and he believes to know more then any of the others. As well as feeling that he knew all that was needed in order to advance quickly as a conductor. Washington works well with Pine as the hardened veteran engineer does all he can to humble the new rookie conductor.  The chemistry is very strong between these two and the conflict they have at the beginning works well and it shows a great reason to real life and how those that seem so different can find similarities. Like the characters of Frank and Will do through the family struggles they are both going through. 

The rest of the supporting cast is sufficient, but they are also fairly minimal. Rosario Dawson gives a strong performance as the yardmaster Connie. She plays her role very strong and is confident in what she thinks to be right. Some of the arguments that take place between her and Galvin her boss make for some good drama and as the audience you feel she is wanting to do the right things that you can not help but look at her boss as being an idiot.

Unstoppable is a movie that ends up being truly that as it is unstoppable from the opening sequence until the end. I really enjoyed the unique aspect of this film as the runaway train being the sole antagonist.  I am giving Unstoppable three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that will eventually end up in our DVD collection. It is not only worth the price of renting but a fun movie worth owning.

-The Movie Man

Cars 2

Five years after the original Cars, Pixar has introduced a second installment to go along with the original. While a lot of critics panned the story saying it is the weakest of any Pixar film, I found myself looking forward to seeing Cars 2 once I saw the spy aspect to the movie. I love the spy type movies from James Bond to even some TV shows that have been about spies. This made me definitely intrigued to see how Pixar would tell a spy story within the world of Cars. While I probably would say that the Cars franchise is probably the weakest of the Pixar films, but that is not to say this is a terrible movie like some made it out to be.

The voice acting does a grat job just as one would expect from a Pixar movie. Owen Wilson reprises his role of Lightning McQueen, but an interesting aspect of the movie is that where McQueen was the focus in the first film, this time he ends up being a supporting character. With this change Wilson really did not bring anything new to McQueen and so we did not really see anymore character development. Cars 2 focuses its story on Mater being pulled into the world of espionage, with Larry the Cable Guy giving his voice once again to the character. While the character of Mater is far from deep, Larry the Cable Guy playing basically himself in what he would be if a car. He uses a great redneck feeling that at times pushes the boundaries of annoyance, but he keeps it controlled so well as to not cross that annoyance line. The supporting cast of voices all seem to fit in well with the rest of the cast that everything flowed nicely. John Turturro in the role of Francesco and Michael Caine as Finn McMissile work well with the cast and I would have liked to see even more interaction between Francesco and McQueen as well as Finn interacting with Mater.

Along with the voice actors I would have to say it is interesting to see the Pixar effect has done with voice acting. Before Toy Story most of the Disney animated movies did not have neccesarily the big name stars, but used voice specific actors. While there was the occasional star like Robin Williams as the genie in Aladdin, today almost all animated movies are now using stars and big names because that is partly how they can really promote the movies because of the competition for movies for families has stiffened greatly. So any animated movie you will see at least two big name stars to draw in as many ticket sales as possible. Along the same lines with the cristicsims out there for Cars 2 is that Pixar upon the release of Toy Story sixteen years ago they took animation to places it had not been to before. With most any Pixar movie it has its moments where they are taking animation to a new level, but now the other animaiton studios have caught up to what Pixar has been doing so the quality of other studio animated films is just as strong as what Pixar has been putting out.

The storyfor Cars 2 while enjoyable to me with the whole spy aspect was not as stroung as it could have been. Granted I know this movie was geared as a kids movie I would have really liked to have seen a deeper character development between the so called evil cars "lemons" and the mastermind over tham all to even the character development with the spy based cars, instead the story really glossed over the surface. This depth could have made the movie better in my eyes, but it would have taken it from good to great. While Cars highlight was it side characters, Cars 2 almost abandons them. McMissile is a moving plot device and little more. Shiftwell is supposed to be a love interest but nothing truly develops and she lacks any interesting moments. Because of this there are almost no funny littel side scenes where characters have fun just being themselves. Instead, most of the humor is derived from seeing Mater do silly things.

Spies and Cars seems like it would weork really well together. After all, any Bond or Bourne film easily show why the two go together. The opening scene on the drilling platform is easily the best scene in the whole movie with the fast chase and all the cool gadgets. But they weren't able to properly combine the racing and spy elements, it was almost as if two movies were being ran sumultaneously. There is too much spy stuff for the racing to be interesting and it becomes pointless. It may have worked better for Pixar to simply set Cars 2 as a spy movie set in the Cars universe and used McQueen and his friends in a cameo role or a small story arc.

Cars 2 is not a great movie, but a good one. It ends up being an enjoyable movie for everyone in the family. While I enjoyed the spy aspect of this movie I would have loved them to have done more with it. I am giving Cars 2 three buckets of popcorn out of five. This movie while not as good as some of the otherPixar movies is a fun family film that your family can enjoy any night. We have already added this movie to our DVD collection.

Knight and Day

Knight and Day is a simple popcorn munching movie. It's a pleasant diversion, a fun time that doesn't ask a lot of the audience and offers an enjoyable ride. While these action comedies have become a movie type that we see quite regularly, if you go into this movie thinking you have it figured out based on the trailer, you will be shocked to know how wrong your thoughts on what Knight and Day would end up being. Knight and Day though is almost a parody of action movies, as it takes all the action sequences to an over the top feeling throughout. When the stuff happens on the plane at the beginning, it is not even remotely believable, but that is the point. Knight and Day establishes right away  that this is a garish, over the top comedy. The ridiculous opening sequence clearly shows that it is not only a comedy but an outrageous one at that.

Knight and Day hinges on the interactions of the two main characters. Tom Cruise plays Roy Miller, the spy who throughout the movie the audience does not truly know if he is a rogue spy or still fighting for the good guys. While there are those who do not like Cruise because of his public antics, one needs to forget that and just look at the performance he puts in. Cruise plays his role perfectly and he is aptly fit for this role. He is able to bring a great confidence, strength and even humor to the role. Cruise definitely puts a fill effort in to any role he is in and it always shows. Starring alongside Cruise is Cameron Diaz in the role of June Havens, the woman who is accidentally thrown into the spy world. Diaz brings some great comedy with her and while some may not think so, I find her to be pretty funny. The chemistry between Diaz and Cruise is great and they really work well off one another for some great comedic timing. The supporting cast does a good job as well. Peter Sarsgaard in the role of Fitzgerald does well in helping to shroud Cruise's character in more mystery in not allowing the audience to know who really is good and who is not.

With the story and the action being so over the top the film makers are simply betting the vivacity of the action and the charm of Cruise and Diaz will get you involved. They want that involvement to grow rather than diminish as the story progresses. The action action is preposterous, but the protagonists are in trouble, so you forget it's silly and start to worry, but you don't forget to laugh...which you are meant to do. The movie manages to ramp up all three aspects and keep everyone entertained. This is all in an effort to appeal simultaneously to three different genre demographics: comedy, action and romance, and it manages to do a fairly good job at that. While the story is nothing unique it is suiting for the movie and serves its purpose to help with the action continually to move. The action likewise was definitely over the top and in your face particularly at moments when it is completely unnecessary.

Knight and Day is a movie that from the get go was never going to win any awards. A movie does not have to be in line to win awards to be a good movie and enjoyable. Knight and Day gives us an over the top action comedy that is meant to make us laugh and forget about our troubles. The chemistry between Cruise and Diaz worked perfectly throughout the movie and it was this chemistry that allowed their presence on screen to work so well with the great one liners and great comedic timing. I am giving Knight and Day three buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a fun movie to kick back, relax and just enjoy everything that comes at you on the screen.

-The Movie Man

Season of the Witch

Season of the Witch was one of those movies that I was very much on the fence upon seeing the first trailer on how interested I was in seeing it. While I am a big fan of movie that take place in the middle ages and deal with knights and mystical magic and such, the trailer had a feel that I was not sure about if it would be the knight type adventure/quest movie that I enjoy. Season of the Witch is a journey film that deals with a couple of knights and the task they have undertaken to help a town infected with the plague by taking a witch, who confessed to giving the town this curse, to a monastery with monks who can deduce the source of her power.

Nicholas Cage stars as Behmen, a knight from the Crusades, who has become disillusioned with the Church's senseless killing in the name of God in the Middle East. Cage gives his usual type of performance and he always seems to do a great job at passing off to the audience at being very believable at whoever he is portraying. This believability into his role of the knight and the true emotion that one struggles with after having killed, is a strong showing of the amount of preparation that Cage puts into a role. Cage also shows this preparation with his not only handling of a sword but his ability to fight with a sword as well. Cage even though he does have a tendency to play characters in a way that they all seem to be half a second away from being insane it makes his portrayals memorable and I think only strengthens his acting particularly in this movie. Starring along Cage is Ron Pearlman as Felson, Behmen's trusted friend who has become disillusioned as well with the Church and the killing in the name of God. Pearlman has the part of the duo in being the strong, competitive knight that also brings in some comedic relief from time to time as well. Pearlman plays this role well and his chemistry with Cage really gives you the feeling that the two of them have been through a lot together and these experiences have bonded them in ways that most do not survive through. The supporting cast is very minimal and while the rest of the group transporting the witch are onscreen most of the time we do not get more depth of what makes them who thy are as well as the witch. With the witch Cage's character has pity on her yet as the audience we are not given truly enough to care more for wanting to understand more fully why he has this pity on her.

Anyone that saw the trailer and the movie would realize that the trailer is anything but a good interpretation of what the movie is truly about. While the general plot and story were not earth shatteringly new, I though it was a good story that had an intriguing magic/witch aspect to it. It was definitely a nice twist as the climax approached and  I thought it would turn out one way only to give a completely unexpected reveal. It is always a great aspect for a movie when they do a twist in a way that you are thinking one way the entire time only to change your thoughts on how it will all turn out at the last possible second. To go along with the good storyline is that of the action sequences. Enjoyable action sequences are really the parts that can make or break a movie like Season of the Witch. I really enjoyed  the sword fighting that took place throughout the movie. One of my favorite parts of action took place when the group is attacked by a plethora of wolves. During the attack Behmen is being attacked nearly simultaneously by a wolf in front and one from behind. So he slashes the one in front of him and then spins the sword into a backward stab without looking to get the wolf that was coming at him from behind.

Season of the Witch is a movie that ends up being not exactly what it seems. I really enjoyed the action sequences throughout the movie and they all flowed perfectly within the story. Season of the Witch was a good movie that had plenty of sword fighting, knights and even some weird magic. The acting by everyone was very believable and did a strong job at portraying the emotion that one would have definitely felt during those times with a plague spreading. I am giving Season of the Witch three buckets of popcorn out of five. This movie was well worth the price of renting and is a fun enjoyable movie that you can sit back and relax.

-The Movie Man

The Lincoln Lawyer

This is one of those movies that I was not sure how bad I wanted to see. While I waited and did not see this movie in the theaters, I was really glad when I saw it. Lincoln Lawyer tells the story of Mick Haller, a lawyer, who because of the morally questionable clients he feels with he finds it easier to run most of his client meetings from the back seat of a Lincoln Town Car. Things turn intense after he takes the case of a privileged, rich kid who has been accused of the rape of a prostitute, as the story unfolds Mick comes to find out this new clients has ties to a past client that was accused of murder and Mick convinced to plead guilty to the murder. What ensues from this knowledge, is an edge of your seat thriller which has you wondering how Mick can get around attorney/client privilege to make things right.

Matthew McConaughey plays the role of Mick. McConaughey is fit for this role because while lately he has been in a lot of romantic comedies where he does not really have to act, this role allows him to show the range of emotion he is capable of giving. He is really believable as the lawyer who is all about the money and his ability to win in the courtroom, no matter who he is defending as long as the price is right.  He plays so great the moments of absolute disdain as this smooth talking lawyer who defends any scumbag that can pay, then turn your feelings around completely with his likability from his southern charm. McConaughey has such a believability as we feel his internal strife as he tries to figure out how to best handle his situation. Ryan Phillippe in the role of Lois Roulet, the main antagonist in the film plays his role with such a coldness that it only adds to the edge of your seat feelings. While there is a good argument to be made that Phillippe plays every role with this cold almost wooden emotion, this time it definitely worked for his character. The coldness and lack of emotion his character gives this great no remorse, cold and calculating traits that make him a perfect antagonist to match against McConaughey's character. The rest of the supporting cast does a great job at really helping to bring even more strength to the overall storyline. With such a strong supporting cast it makes for great interactions and scenes through the entire movie. Every scene is not a wasted one which is a rarity in films nowadays. William H. Macy in his role as the private investigator/friend to Mick is particularly strong. In a way Macy's character plays the role of the grounding or even almost the moral compass to Mick and helps him at least stay somewhat moral as a lawyer.

When I saw this movie I felt like it could be a John Grisham novel. Later, I found out there is a whole series of books written by Michael Connelly about Mick Haller. The direction by Brad Furman does such a strong job of weaving the story moment to moment that the movie does not have low points or even scenes that are just there for filler. Everything that is put in has been put there for a purpose. This simply just helps to build the intensity of the film as it progresses toward the climatic moment. While I believed throughout that I knew how it all would end, it really kept me off balance and tense in such a way that I did not know how it would end until we finally hit that point. The story does a great job at not only putting us right there with Mick as we are almost in his head as he tries to make decision as to what to do. The range of emotion that is portrayed through the film fits perfectly. Knowing how attorney-client privilege works I could not help but feel anger with the legal system as Mick comes to the realization as to what Louis Roulet's foolproof plan is truly about. Also it was nice that they did not muddle the story with a lot of legal jargon. There also moments of humor sprinkled here and there to lighten the mood of what has been taking place. There are twists thrown in that make you wonder how will Mick get out of this one? Only for him to do just that in a way that is completely unexpected.

The Lincoln Lawyer ends up delivering an edge of your seat courtroom mystery drama movie. McConaughey and company make every scene worthwhile and exciting. While I do feel like they had three points where they could have ended the movie, I would have liked it to end with the viewer questioning what happened and also questioning the ethics of what happened. I am giving The Lincoln Lawyer three and three fourth buckets of popcorn out of five. While this is a movie that is not for everyone and that not all will enjoy, it was one that I enjoyed from start to finish.

-The Movie Man

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is the first movie based on the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series. After seeing this movie I was intrigued and wanted to read the books so I went out and read the series. Unfortunately, after reading the books it really effected how I felt about the movie. While it is totally understandable within a thousand page Harry Potter book to take out moments here and there but in a book that is only 350 pages you do not get that same liberty. Percy Jackson without reading the books ends up being a fine enjoyable movie, but with the knowledge of the book series the movies loses a lot. One can view the first movie and the first book as being completely different stories. Given that Percy Jackson was still an interesting and fun new update to Greek mythology in a way that the audience forgets that mythology has been around for hundreds of years.

Logan Lerman in the role of Percy Jackson does a fine job. Lerman does a very solid job gibing the audience the hero/underdog in a way that we cant help but want him to succeed. He is also believable in the unbelief he has at first in relation to being a half God. The audience grows with Lerman throughout the movie as I felt his resolve and presence onscreen get stronger as the movie moves forward. While I liked the selection of Alexandra Daddario in playing the role of Annabeth, the characterization for Annabeth was not what it needed to be to match the book. Daddario many may recognize her from her small role on the show White Collar as Kate. The problem with the character of Annabeth is that she ends up being the hybrid of Clarisse and Annabeth from the books. Daddario plays her part the way it was written which is just fine, but it ended up feeling disappointment that her character was written so far off form the book. The rest of the cast while okay, I felt there were some definite casting issues. For me Brosnan, Thurman, Coogan and Dawson were wasted in their roles. These four always give strong performance and in Percy Jackson it is not different, but the star power ends up being a little distracting to the viewer. The viewer with some of these being such small roles that by the time you finish think "Oh cool, Uma Thurman is Medusa" her role has already hit its climatic moment and is beginning to move on.

Had Percy Jackson been a stand alone movie that was not so loosely based on a book the story would have been a strong one. Now with the announcement of working on another installment based on the second book, some of the weaknesses that I could have overlooked are now true weaknesses that will hurt the overall ability for fluidity, unless they are able to repair these definite shortcomings. The most glaring issue is the lack of the overall villain who is the mastermind that is orchestrating everything throughout the entire book series, without the introduction of Kronos, we are left with a book series that is nothing more then mere adventures in each following movie. The lack of laying the villain foundation for Kronos would be like the first Harry Potter movie leaving out any mention of Voldemort, it is just unimaginable that they would have left that out. Also leaving out Clarisse, Aries, the Oracle and replacing the Chimera with the Hydra were omissions and changes make this adaptation a real struggle because these all play vital parts in future books.

The battle sequences and action were a definite strong point. The battle with the flying sneakers was a nice new twist for a climatic battle. It was very enjoyable to watch the action unfold throughout the movie as it really helped to keep everything moving that I was caught up that I was not wondering how much longer the movie would be. Along with the action, a movie that deals with mythical fantasy creatures must do a good enough job on these creatures that the audience is willing to believe that they are watching a creature that is actually possible and does not look fake. The CGI and special effects are able to make the creatures believable and it works well for me.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief would have been a great movie if it was not based on a book series. My overall feelings for the movie were effected by reading the books, and it really hurt my opinion since it so loosely followed the source material. The young stars in this film have definite star potential for the future, and I look forward to seeing how they improve as this possible book series all get made into movies. Since Percy Jackson was not as close to the book as I would have liked I am giving it two and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. I hope that the second movie will fix on the weakness from the first movie and I hope they will follow the book closer. If you have read the books go into watching this movie with very low expectations and you will enjoy it. If you have not read the books and do not plan on reading them then you will greatly enjoy this movie.

-The Movie Man