Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters a Fangirl Review

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters a Fangirl Review

I think I was just as shocked as anyone when they announced that Percy Jackson was getting a sequel.  Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief was not a huge success here in the states, but due to its popularity in other countries, it made enough money to greenlight a second installment.

I didn’t get a chance to see the first movie while it was in the theater.  Some friends of mine went to see it and really enjoyed it, which prompted them to start reading the 5 book series.  They knew I was looking for a new series to get into and suggested that I might like it, so I gave the books a shot.

It took only a few chapters of The Lighting Thief to hook me into the story.  Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson series does a fantastic job mingling reality with Greek mythology and takes the reader on a quest of danger, suspense, and fun.  In short it’s the history lesson you wish every teacher you ever had would have given you in school.

 

I blew through the series in no time and fell in love with the characters and the world of Half-Bloods.  When the Lighting Thief came out on Blu-ray I was so excited to watch it.  When I saw who they cast as Percy, Logan Lerman, I thought he was perfect.  He was very close to how I envisioned the character from the books, but unfortunately that was the only positive thing I took away from the movie.   I don’t mind when movies do not strictly follow the books (except in the case of Harry Potter) but the movie felt rushed and the other main characters, Annabeth and Grover were nothing like their characters in the book.  They made Annabeth out to be a worrier with dark hair when she’s blonde in the book and extremely smart, which is her greatest strength, and Grover was made out to be a player.   Watching it felt like they knew they were going to only get one movie so who cares if it’s good or not.  

 

The moment I saw the trailer for the sequel my skepticism lifted.  When I saw that Nathan Fillion was playing Hermes I was sold!  The things that bothered me from the first one seemed to be amended, Annabeth is blonde and Grover seemed more scared and less of a player.  I also liked the replacement for the Chiron character with Anthony Head.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Pierce Brosnan, but he was too cheesy as Chiron.  Anthony Head knows what it’s like to be a Watcher, see Buffy for reference.  

In the Sea of Monsters we find Percy feeling alone and doubting his abilities as a demigod.  His father Poseidon never communicates with him, and since his first quest, he’s no longer the top half-blood on campus.  When the camp’s protective barrier is weakened and its existence threatened Percy and his friends must travel to the Sea of Monsters to recover the Golden Fleece which has the power to heal the barrier and protect the camp once again.  

Director Thor Freudenthal does a great job of bringing the essence of the book to the movie, something I feel was lacking in the first one.  The actors do a nice job in this, especially Nathan Fillion, I’m not biased or anything, but his scenes were the best and he makes a nice reference to a little TV show that got cancelled to soon!  I geeked out over it and if you were a fan, you will too! Plus he does look ruggedly handsome in those UPS shorts!

 

I saw this in 3D, but I wouldn’t make the recommendation that it’s a must see in this format.  I always seem to prefer 3D in my living room more than in the theater, unless I’m seeing something in IMAX.

If there is any justice in the world this movie will do better than the first and they’d greenlight the rest of the series right now! They definitely left it open for it to continue, which made me extremely happy as I left the theater.  

 

Bottom line, if you like Fantasy and Greek Mythology, you will really enjoy this fun family movie.  Fans of the first Percy Jackson and lovers of the book series will love the sequel as well!  If you were on the fence about seeing it for any other reason, jump down from the fence and get to a theater this weekend.  You will not be disappointed.   Don’t be afraid to bring the younger kids.  There is a little violence, but it’s all mythically related and nothing that’s too harsh for them to see.

Be sure too tune into to the next Strange Adventures Podcast where we will be discussing all things Percy!  Look for us on iTunes under Strange Adventures Podcast.

Pacific Rim: Dan's Review

Pacific Rim 

 

Today we are cancelling the apocalypse!

I have to start by confessing that I was against this film from day zero and that I am a rather harsh movie critic even by my own standards.  I generally have a hard time with big budget summer popcorn movies altogether.  However, if you were able to drift into my mind last night as I watched Pacific Rim the experience may have been something like “oh-my-god-this-is-so-rediculously-awesome-I-can’t-believe-that-huge-robot-just-smashed-his-face-with-wait-are-those-wings-and- is-that-a-sword?!?”

Overall I was very impressed with the movie.  In my mind this is basically Guillermo del Toro’s vision of a live-action westernized anime.  The movie starts out taking itself very seriously, which could be hard for some to take when dealing with giant robots (Jaegers) fighting huge monsters (Kaiju).  I would have enjoyed if that serious tone carried on through the rest of the film, but we are then introduced to some pretty eccentric characters along the way that in turn infuse more of an anime-style feel to the story.  That could have been a deal breaker for me as I tend to gravitate away from over the top characters in a live action setting, but once I reminded myself of the subject matter and retrofitted the movie into the anime archetypes established in my head (Neon Genesis Evangelion) I was pulled back in.

I absolutely loved the visual effects.  The Jaegers are enormous and like the Kaiju vary drastically in design from one to the next.  I liked seeing all the gears and intricate parts of the Jaegers in motion just as much as watching the next monstrous creature emerging from deep in the Pacific.  Had Jaws not been successful at keeping me out of the water as a kid, this movie would been more than happy to invoke that fear.  The destruction caused by the visceral combat is all gloriously rendered.  The locations are fantastic and everything down to the pilots suits exude a sleek sci-fi design.  I want a Kaiju skeleton boat base just as much as the next black market dealer.

While Pacific Rim is not out to reinvent the wheel as far as story is concerned, it is in its own right a pretty fantastic take on humanity’s last stand against overwhelming odds.  I was invested in the fight the whole time.  I really enjoyed the entire cast, eccentricities and all, and particularly enjoyed Idris Elba’s performance as Stacker Pentecost.  I thought Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) had great chemistry and made me really feel for their characters.  The Jaegers themselves take on personalities of their own and add a certain charm to the chaos.  I could really feel the weight of their movements and the impact of their punches.  There were times when I would cheer and clap or just silently smirk along with the rest of the theater when Gipsy Danger would tread his way onto the screen.  He was there to fight and I had…well pretty good seats anyway.  His theme music has been stuck in my head all day!

There aren’t many spoilers to give away, but I still think you’ll find enough variety in the story and a few twists along the way to keep you invested.  Make sure to stay for the credits! 

Minus a few quirky moments and my initial reluctance to accept some characters, I give Pacific Rim 4 out of 5 Kaijus.

Thanks for reading,
Dan

Pacific Rim: A Fangirl Review

Pacific Rim: A Fangirl Review

Every year, Hollywood promises a summer full of blockbuster movies, but how often do they really deliver on that?   We get a lot of sequels and big budget movies that promise to entertain, but often leave us and our wallets feeling empty.

This summer has been hit or miss for me, so far.  I loved Iron Man 3 and Star Trek into Darkness but wasn’t thrilled with Man of Steel, and completely let down by World War Z.  I enjoyed Monsters University and Despicable Me 2 but didn’t leave the theater with the same love I had for the first ones.  Needless to say I had very high hopes that Pacific Rim would even out my summer movie experience.

My interest in this movie started last year at the New York Comic Con.  Guillermo del Toro held a panel with Legendary Studios and discussed Pacific Rim, and buzz over the movie quickly hit the show floor.  Sadly, I couldn’t get in to that panel, but I was infected by the buzz nonetheless and have kept up on its progress ever since.  Let’s face it, del Toro directing  a looming apocalypse, alien monsters that come from the deep rather than space and giant robots built to kick some monster ass…I’m all in! 

 

Pacific Rim is everything a summer blockbuster should be.  First and foremost, you should expect to be entertained, and you will be! Right from the start, we get an introduction into a world that has been invaded by Kaiju, gigantic monsters that do not come in peace.   They defeat the first one with Military firepower, but when they realize there are more, extreme measures must be taken and the Jaeger (Hunter in German) Program is born!

Please bear with me while my inner 12-year-old geeks out for a moment…the monsters are freakin’ cool and scary as hell!  The Kaiju (monster in Japanese) are measured on a Fujita-esque scale from 1-5: 1 being the first to emerge and 5 being the end of life as we know it.  They resemble dinosaurs and I love them all the more for it.  I would love to give more detail on them, but I really don’t want to give too much away. It’s much better to discover that for yourself.  I bit all my nails off during the fighting scenes with the Robots! Each time they would tackle, throw or spit toxic goo at the robots, I thought “Shit! How are they going to defeat this Kaiju?  It’s so powerful!”  As the movie progresses, they just get bigger and badder!

 

On to the robots!  You can’t help but be fired up over these things!  They are massive! They can fight on land and sea and they have some pretty cool gadgets for kicking some serious Kaiju ass.  Each Jaeger needs two pilots to control it, the stronger the bond between them, the better they fight.  The fight sequences between the Jaegers and the Kaiju are jaw-dropping.  We see them fight in all kinds of places, but the best one takes place in the Hong Kong bay.  The colorful background of Hong Kong and the intense fight between multiple Jaegers makes for one intense battle scene that garnered cheers from the audience at the end of it.  My personal favorite Jaeger was the Gypsy Danger, but they were all awesome.  I’m sure you’ll have your own favorite. 

Pacific Rim is 132 minutes of pure fun!  The plot is simple—Monsters bad, Robots good—but it’s a joy to watch.  Again, with this movie, the human storyline may take a backseat at times, but, honestly, who cares?  There’s enough of it to keep the story going and stay interested until the next epic battle. Personally, I liked the story; I thought it was well told and paced perfectly.  I cared just enough about everyone to feel something for them when they were in danger and to shed a tear or two at the end when…oh I won’t spoil it.  

Go see this movie!  If you’re tired of the crap that Hollywood gives you 90% of the time, then go see this movie and let the box office show that we still want original movies that for once can truly be called a summer blockbuster!

A New Fangirl Adventure!

A New Fangirl Adventure!

Dawn and I are always looking for new ways to share our nerd news and opinions with other Fangirls  Fanboys, so what better way to do it than a podcast!  We have joined forces with our good friends Nicholas Strange from Strange Amusements and fellow TV Fangirl Holly to create Strange Adventures podcast!  

For months, we have wanted to create a podcast but getting it off the ground was proving to be a challenge.  Nick was having the same issue trying to get his own podcast off the ground for Strange Amusements.  It seemed to us that combining our Fangirl adventures and Nick’s love of all things nerdy and horror-related seemed a no-brainer.  So, Strange Adventures podcast was born!

For our first episode, we chose to talk about Man of Steel and Marvel vs. DC in the cinema.  We had a lot of fun with this topic, even if some fanboys and fangirls don’t agree with us.  We welcome feedback and show suggestions; it’s all part of the fun with a podcast! 

We hope you download and enjoy our first Strange Adventures podcast!  We have some great upcoming shows planned and we hope you come along for the adventure with us.

You can download our first podcast and all future podcasts at

Strange Adventures podcast.

You can also reach the podcast through our email and on our new Facebook page and finally on Twitter @Strangeadvcast.

As always you can reach Fangirl Adventures at our email and on our Facebook as well as on Twitter @Fangrladventure 

Please check out our friend and co-host Nicholas Strange’s page . You can also follow him on Twitter @NicholasStrange for the latest horror movie and book news and reviews!

Thank you for all your support with our Fangirl Adventures! We love bringing them to you!