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

Abstract-Percy Jackson discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, and that he has been wrongly accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt.

Pros:
-The story draws heavily on Greek mythology and uses it in ways that are new, exciting, and humorous. There are too many examples to list in one posting, but the best one is when the Island of the Lotus-Eaters is reinterpreted as a Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. That was the most hilarious part of the movie.

-Grover, the satyr who is Percy's best friend and "Junior Protector", is expertly played by Brandon T. Jackson, who has the best performance in the movie.

-There are excellent action sequences, in particular Percy's battle with the Minotaur and the fight against the Hydra at the Parthenon in Nashville, as well as his final showdown with the real thief.

-Some really great actors appear in smaller roles. The best of these was Uma Thurman as Medusa, who scared the living daylights out of me. Rosario Dawson was also great as Persephone, the abducted wife of Hades who, in a twist on the original tale, has numerous gentlemen "visitors" as payback (nothing happens onscreen). Pierce Brosnan does well in his role as Chiron, who disguises himself as Mr. Brunner, a teacher in a wheelchair, before revealing his true identity as the centaur who trains demigods to become heroes. Luke, played by Jake Abel as the mischievous son of Hermes, is also an interesting character, although I felt he was somewhat underutilized. Catherine Keener, though not spectacular, was decent as Sally Jackson, Percy's mother.

-The movie touches on the troubling subject of children having to grow up with absentee parents. In the film, the gods (both male and female), come to earth to have children with humans, and then must return to Olympus, forbidden to see them again, lest their feelings for their kids interfere with their heavenly responsibilities. I know a lot of people my age and younger who, because their parents sidelined them for careers, can relate to the abandonment issues Percy (played by Logan Lerman), his ally/love interest, Annabeth(played by Alexandra Daddario), and the other teenaged demigods have as a result.

-The movie is really clean. If there were any profanities, I didn't hear them. The violence was standard fantasy/adventure fare. On the raunchy side. it does not get any worse than the daughters of Aphrodite waving to Percy and Grover while wearing bikinis.

Cons:
-One minor character randomly looks into Medusa's eyes for no apparent reason.

-There are some plot holes. For example, there's no explanation for where the heroes get the money for the trek across America that they take during their quest before they enter the underworld and later go up to Mt. Olympus. Also, it's not explained how Chiron was able to change his form in the first place.

-The main characters, Percy and Annabeth, aren't given much of a personality, causing them to be eclipsed by Grover and all the vibrant secondary characters in the film. Basically, Percy is the stereotypical average-kid-turned-hero and Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, is the overdone, invincible warrior princess. I'm not going to be too harsh on the actors who played them because I really felt they weren't given much to work with.

-The special effects are sub-par in certain scenes. For example, it was obvious that Poseidon (played by Kevin McKidd) was walking beside a blue screen in the opening where he's supposed to be rising from the ocean depths. Medusa's hairdo was also poorly done CGI.

Overall rating: Phenomenal! A must see for all fantasy and adventure movie lovers, especially Greek mythology enthusiasts. If you go, stay during the credits to see a hilarious clip revealing the fate of Percy's stepdad.


(The image used in this post is from The Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com. I claim no ownership whatsoever over this image)

Writing Update 2: The Lambert Connection

This past week, I finally finished my maps of the major setting of Part I and reread the entire manuscript. Overall, I thought it was pretty good, especially Part III, in which most of the duels and fighting takes place. The only thing that needed serious improvement besides the setting are the characters in Part II, who require a lot more development if they are to have a strong impact on Sandra.

However, before I get to that, I'm going to revise Part I. I already began to edit the first four pages and cut out some information that really isn't needed until later in the book. I also described Sandra physically, from her own perspective, and suffice it to say that the poor young lady is way too hard on herself. Additionally, I wrote a short story about an important side character, and through it, discovered their connection to Sandra's childhood hero, Lammy. Although I had to adjust her age accordly, it was a twist that not even I had expected. I think she finally gained free will, that glorious state in which a character takes control of their life and basically tells me what to write about them. I love it when that happens because that's when the story literally writes itself and I just sit back and watch as the words fly onto the page.

That's all for now. Until next week, transcend reality and find the truth!

Writing Update 1: Cartography In the Arctic

The best and worst part about being snowed-in is that you get a lot of free time on your hands. It's good because you can play video games, draw, read, or simply catch up on a lot of missed sleep. It's bad because you cannot get out due to the fact that the road is covered in enough snow and ice to sink the Titanic. Luckily, I put my time to good use by working on the setting of "Fionnuala."

Creating settings has always been one of my least favorite parts of writing. I love developing characters, weaving plots and subplots together and creating witty and spunky dialogue, but for me, describing what things look like is simply dull. After all, if there are swordfights, spellcasting duels, and death-defying escapes, who cares what the trees look like? I usually skim over those parts in the books that I read and if a book has too much description (such as "Titus Groan", in which there are basically four or five paragraphs of description per line of dialogue) I stop reading entirely. That being said, I want my readers to have a clear picture of the nation of Yangvaad, where Sandra's adventures take place, so I decided to come up with a fun way to do it: drawing! I sketched out maps of the region of the country where the story takes place and then created floor plans of the primary setting of Part I. Not only was it a great way to unwind after shoveling mountains of snow twice within a week, but it also gave me a clearer picture (only throw ripe tomatoes at me for the pun, please) of where the key events of my novel take place.

That's it for now. Until next time, transcend reality and find the truth!

The Nazarite’s Writing Creed

My first, and foremost goal as a writer is to honor God and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in my writing. While Jesus will not randomly appear on every page, my stories will honor His principles: truth, love, justice, mercy, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice and portray the consequences that befall those who chose the darker path of deceit, lust, corruption, ruthlessness, vengeance and selfish passion. To be realistic, I will have major characters that will choose both paths, and you will not always be able to predict which character will choose to serve the Greater Good or become slaves to evil.

What you will NOT find in my stories:
-Political correctness, no matter what bill is signed into law. Worse case scenario, I'll continue writing in prison.
-Gratuitous violence, sex, and profanity. I find that frying the brains of my target audience is, at best, counterproductive.
-Knockoffs of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and other popular works. While these have influenced my writing, I see no need to reinvent the lightsaber, so to speak.

What you WILL find in my stories:
-Characters that reflect the struggles and triumphs of God's masterpiece, the human race!
-Tales that descend into the deepest, darkest recesses of hell and ascend to the gates of heaven beyond the sun and stars, and everywhere in between!
-A world that exists independently from earth with its own cultures, mythology, languages, empires, and ecosystems!

The Nazarite's Origins: My History in Brief

"For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." (Judges 13:5)

In the Bible, a Nazarite was someone who took a special vow to separate themselves wholly to the service of God. One of the requirements for this vow was that they never cut their hair during their service. The most famous Nazarite was Samson, to whom the above verse refers. While I am not an Israelite with superhuman strength (and prefer to have short hair), I have separated myself unto God through accepting Jesus Christ as my personal savior.

Since I've become a Christian, God has blessed me by allowing me to study abroad in England, my favorite country in the world. After I graduated from college, I was given the honor of being a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Eastern European nation of Georgia, a country with a rich and ancient heritage that is the home of the most hospitable and loving people whom I've ever met. My service there was tragically cut short by the Russian invasion, during which I was evacuated to Armenia. While there, I was welcomed with open arms by the Armenian people as well as the local Peace Corps Volunteers and staff. It was there that I was given the opportunity to continue my service in Micronesia, where I served on the island of Kosrae. On Kosrae, God gave me the strength to refuse to attend the local, island-wide church that taught a false gospel of salvation through good deeds and church membership. He empowered me to stand up for the fact that eternal life can only be received through faith in Jesus Christ, allowing me to endure in my beliefs in spite of being ostracized, slandered, and persecuted by the community and my own host family for my decision. When my host father, a lay minister in that church, finally lost all sense of reason and threatened my life, God made sure that I was evacuated safely for the second time, after which I was allowed to complete my service early and to return to the United States.

Since I've returned, I've spent my free time returning to my favorite activity: writing! I'm currently working on a book that describes my Peace Corps experience in more detail, as well as trying to publish the sequels to my story "Heart of Flesh", which appeared in Mindflights Magazine in May of 2008. I'm also revising my novel "Fionnuala," which continues Cassandra's adventures beyond "Heart Of Flesh" and its two sequels, "Innocent" and "Ecgtheow's Way." This blog will cover the progress I'm making, along with movie and book reviews and the occasional "random thoughts" post.

Next Post: The Nazarite's Writing Creed. Discover what you will (and won't) find in my books and stories.