Movie Review: ***^Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)

This is the second installment of this series of movies, and in fact I fond more enjoyable than the original.  Thalia, passed away some time ago at the hands of a cyclops, and she turned into a protecting tree for Camp Half Blood.  However Luke poisons the tree, and evil creatures are again able to enter the camp.  A party from the school goes in search of "the Fleece" which can heal anything.  Luke too wants to discover the fleece to restore Kronos, on of the ancient gods who was captures by the first Olympians.  Percy is not selected to be part of the group, as Clarisse, Luke's rival is selected.  Luke leads a second group with Grover, Annabeth and his half brother, Tyson (half Poseidon and half cyclops.)  Luke intervenes and captures them,  but then they escape.  Luke maintains his distance but when they discover the fleece he takes it from them, and begins to restore Kronos.  Tyson in all this takes an arrow for Percy, and falls into the ocean.  However he returns at the right moment, as being a son of Poseidon, the water healed his wound.  Annabeth is also killed, but restored by the fleece.  Percy has to deal with Kronos, with a special sword he had inherited.  They use the fleece to restore the tree, and also Thalia is brought back to life.
I think I like this movie because of the addition of Tyson.  He is half cyclops, which leads to a great deal of prejudice against him, and Percy has a hard time accepting him.  Cyclops have always been the enemy.  However Douglas Smith does an excellent job portraying the roll, and he is a bit naive, but the negative still hurts, he just chooses to ignore it, and usually wears sunglasses.  Over the course of the film, the prejudices melt away, and people begin to accept Tyson for who he is individually, rather than as a group.
Cast:
Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson, Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth, Douglas Smith as Tyson, Leven Rambin as Clarisse, Brandon Jackson as Grover, Jake Abel as Luke.

Movie Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

I previously reviewed the movie, and it wasn't my favorite.  I was having difficulty seeing the monsters I guess.  I like the movie better than the book by Rick Riordan. 
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-lightning-thief.html
The monsters are there in the open, and so much easier to see.  I also like the sparks between Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario).  Pierce Brosnan has a side roll as Chiron, teacher/ protector as is a centaur.  Turns out Jackson is the son of Poseidon.  He has been protected his entire life by a friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) who is actually a satyr, and disguises his features with crutches.  Jackson is accused of stealing Zeus lightning bolt, and must recover it somehow.  At the same time, Hades has taken his mother, who will be put to death if he doesn't deliver the bolt.  They are set on adventures to get the necessary bubbles that will help them leave the realm of the dead, so they can rescue Jackson's mother.  They face Medusa, and a resort where if you drink the free drinks, you lose track of time and reason for being.
This is a fun ride.  Lots of interesting special effects.  Although there are some intense situations, including the battle with Medusa, there is plenty to enjoy here.

Book Review: ***The Lightning Thief

  This book is written by Rick Riordan.  This book is basically Harry Potter in the setting of the Greek gods instead of witchcraft.  Olympus is above New York and the Underworld is below Los Angeles.   The author must not care for L.A.

The book was an enjoyable read, and had some tense moments.  The main character turns out to be the illegitimate child of Poseidon.

I worried about the book promoting belief in gods ra

ther than God.  I also worried about the morals.  So I would mildly recommend this book.
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2014/03/movie-review-percy-jackson-and.html