Saturday, September 7, 2013

The Book to Movie That Didn't Stink...I Think

I may have made a funny play on words. It amuses me. (Today has been a day of learning new bad jokes from Popsicle sticks. I've clearly had an intense day.)

Other things that amuse me are books turned into movies that don't bite the big one. A friend and I just returned from seeing Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. Granted, I haven't read the book that this movie comes from, but I do know enough of the story to know what's supposed to happen.


Pros:
-The story was easy too follow.
As I said, I haven't gotten to the books yet so I don't know them as I do other books. However, knowing what I do know, the story was set up with care and the events moved well together. I was interested every time they decided that something else needed to happen and I believed them. I really liked the constant references to greek mythology that you might only know if you've had the chance to read The Odyssey. Some of the characters really stretched my brain to attempt to remember, which was fun.

-The characters were so much fun!
I loved all of the little cameos and personalities of mythical creatures and characters. The hippocampus was definitely my favorite (cute sea horse!) and Tyson was so adorable and such a goober that you couldn't help but love him. Plus, can we just mention Nathan Fillion and his AMAZING Firefly reference! I'm still in shock that he was able to get that in such a huge movie. Percy seems to have grown up and Grover, as always, was fun. But Tyson definitely my favorite and probably the most well rounded character as well.

-The effects and the overall look of the movie were cool. 
They had a Fall Out Boy song at the very beginning, clearly the environment was set up for awesome!The special effects were great to look at and I especially loved how Chronos was rendered and how he moved. The sets were really interesting and looked great as well.

The Con:
-I'm really sad that it got such horrible reviews
I'm honestly not 100% sure why it only got a 39% review on Rotten Tomatoes. Honestly, the movie was fun and interesting and if you have any interest in the books it was a good way to get through the story while having fun as well. Perhaps the only thing I might see as giving it a poor review was that though the characters were cool, there wasn't a lot of development. Annabeth dislikes Tyson for a very superficial reason that made me question her character. Yes, it makes sense with her past, but the way it was brought across the screen didn't really grab me. Otherwise, the movie was great! I definitely recommend it.


Currently Reading:
What Happens Next  by Colleen Clayton
You Are Mine by Janeal Falor
Fractured by Sarah Fine

READING LIST UPDATE

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
This book made me bawl like a baby by the end. I found the premise really intriguing (girl is raised to be the sacrificial vessel for a god, but her god never comes) and what came next was a twist of characters that did not disappoint. I was really invested in the main relationship...and then the end THE END. Oh, you just have to read it.

Sanctum by Sarah Fine
I haven't read a book with this topic in a long time where I felt that the two main characters were as original as these two. She's trying to complete a "quest," he's trying to kill her/get her out of his turf but eventually decides to help her out. Etc, etc, etc. Heard it. Yet, this story surprised me. I'm currently reading the sequel, so we'll see if it holds up it's end of the bargain.

The Scourge by A. G. Henley
This one reminded me a lot of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, what with zombies surrounding this little group of people who are trapped by the infection. It took me a little bit to realize that when they meant the main character was "sightless" they literally meant that she was blind. I really started enjoying this book about half way through, when the relationship between the two main characters started to really make sense.

Waiting In the Wings

Crash by Lisa McMann
Pivot Point by Kasie West
Strangelets  by Michelle Gagnon
The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry
The Murmurings  by Carly Ann West
The Program by Suzanne Young


No comments:

Post a Comment