Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters -> disappointment in Greek myths :(

looks like a Star Wars poster, don't you think?

The Plot:
The story begins with Percy recounting the story of Thalia and her great sacrifice in order to protect her friends.



A young Annabeth, Luke, Grover and Thalia are running to Camp Half-Blood while being pursued by monsters. Thalia sacrifices herself to get the others into the camp and her father Zeus finds another way for her to live by transforming her into a pine tree, creating a magical border around the camp so that no other half-blood would suffer from a fate as she did and to make sure that no monsters (especially cyclops) would enter camp Half-Blood.



The scene then shifts to Percy (Logan Lerman) during a camp competition against Clarisse La Rue (Leven Rambin). Percy loses the competition after he assists another camper, and is badgered by Clarisse.

 

Soon after, Chiron (Anthony Head ) and Mr. D (Stanley Tucci) investigate a Cyclops that has somehow passed through the border, and the Cyclops is revealed to be Tyson (Douglas Smith), Percy's half-brother.


After the campers pick on Percy and Tyson, the camp is suddenly attacked by a Colchis Bull, who breaks through the border and ravages Camp Half-Blood.

 
 

Percy finally defeats it with the help of Tyson, Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), and Clarisse.

 

Following this, Luke Castellan (Jake Abel) suddenly appears and confronts Percy, trying to convert the son of Poseidon to his cause. When Percy refuses, Luke disappears.


The campers soon realize that Thalia's tree has been poisoned and that they have been left vulnerable to attacks. Percy asks Chiron about a prophecy he is involved in (for Luke had tried to bait him with the knowledge earlier), and subsequently visits the Oracle, who tells him of a prophecy of a half-blood of the eldest gods either saving or destroying Olympus.



Percy tells Chiron about the prophecy and the latter then tells him that he is the only living half-blood of the eldest gods, so the half-blood in the Prophecy may refer to Percy himself. Annabeth and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) then find a way to save the tree as they learn about the Golden Fleece which has the power to heal almost anything and they then propose a quest to Mr. D, in which they retrieve the Fleece from Polyphemus' Lair in Circeland in the Sea of Monsters and use it to heal Thalia's tree. Mr. D then announces the quest, but chooses Clarisse to lead the quest instead, much to Annabeth's and Percy's dismay.

Percy then convinces Grover and Annabeth to accompany him on the quest, and Tyson joins them against Annabeth's wishes. However she gives him the Mist to help mask his facade.




Annabeth hails the Chariot of Damnation and Percy threatens the three drivers to tell him of his prophecy, causing them to give him a set of coordinates in the Sea of Monsters before ejecting the group from the cab in Washington D.C.

 


 \

reminiscent of Harry Potter's Knight Bus

While walking down the street, Grover is kidnapped by Chris Rodriguez and taken to Luke.

Meanwhile, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson meet with Hermes (Nathan Fillion) and he gives them a thermos that releases the winds from the four corners of the earth, as well as a magical box sealer that, when taped around as a border, can make anything disappear.

 



 

The three ride a Hippocampus to Luke's yacht, The Andromeda, where they are captured and locked in the brig. Percy frees them with the box sealer and they escape after fighting through Luke's men and a Manticore, using the thermos to escape on the ship.

 







The group is consumed by Charybdis after Tyson loses the thermos, and they discover Clarisse in the monster's stomach, captaining an army zombies ship. Percy and Clarisse work together to escape Charybdis's gut, and after understanding the coordinates given by the taxi drivers, soon they arrive at Circeland, Polyphemus' lair, disguised in a theme park long abandoned.

 

 

Percy finds Grover and the five escape Polyphemus, retrieving the fleece and trapping him in his cave.

 
 

Afterwards, Luke arrives and demands the Fleece from Percy, who refuses. Luke shoots a crossbow bolt at Percy but Tyson takes the bolt in the chest before falling to the water below, much to Percy's shock.



Luke begins reviving Kronos as Percy laments over the loss of Tyson. Annabeth then encourages Percy to take leadership. The team then escapes captivity and a fight ensues. Percy grapples with Luke over the Fleece, but Luke easily gains the upper hand. Luke is suddenly thrown away by Tyson, revealed to have survived his wound, due to the water healing it, as he is Poseidon's son.



The group however watches in horror as Kronos rises from the sarcophagus. Kronos consumes Luke and Grover, before battling Percy.

Percy realizes that Riptide is the "cursed blade" of the prophecy, and slays Kronos with it, who regurgitates Grover and Luke, the latter landing in Polyphemus' Lair.

Their victory is short lived as Annabeth is stabbed from behind by the Manticore, who is later  killed in turn by Clarisse and Grover. Annabeth dies in Percy's arms, but is resurrected by the Fleece. Percy then gives the Fleece to Clarisse and they return to Camp Half-Blood.



Clarisse places the fleece on Thalia's tree with Annabeth protecting the tree over night and the campers rejoice.

Percy later settles down with Tyson, drinking nectar, as he encourages his brother to be okay about being a cyclops.

 

The group returns the next day to find Thalia (Paloma Kwiatkowski ) alive, as the Fleece healed Thalia too much and returned her to human form.



The film ends with Percy realizing that Thalia is a child of Zeus, and therefore is another possible child of the prophecy about either preserving or destroying Olympus. The last scene shows the sarcophagus with Kronos' remains in it glowing.



Anyhow, here's a bonus: Character Highlights.

Review:
It was really disappointing this sequel is :(

i really enjoyed the Lightning Thief, i thought it was fresh and entertaining. the sequel though had a few misses that compel me to rewatch it to really decipher what went wrong.

for starters, i wonder why is it Mr D is so horrid. it was akin to seeing Percy's stepfather all over again. the disregard, the neglect.. plus he's drinking on the job whilst caring for the kids. not good! he even had the temerity to ask "what do i miss?" after Percy successfully destroyed the Colchis Bull. i mean, hello! #gajibutabetul!

plus, they make it so easy to penetrate the camp's protection. last time it was Hades, this time Luke and a Colchis Bull. Aduihhh.. plus the fact that though the Greek gods were said to exist so long time before yet their demigods are portrayed to be teenagers and adolescent only? why ha? no grown up demigods to save the world from the Kronos kah?


in order to make more sense to my feelings about the movie, as i said, i watch it again. and it made me revise my rating. it was not THAT bad but rather disappointing.

for an example, the Oracle looks like an amateurish CGI done. i admit, the storytelling is done nicely but the Oracle get up.. disappointing!! i can't imagine the Oracle being chummy with the Chariot of Damnation's drivers. and that Chariot is too much imitative of Harry Potter's Knight Bus, which rather ruins the effect. hurmm.

many aspects of this movie don't add up:

• the title is Sea of Monsters. yet the only monstrous entity in its rightful sense is Charybdis alone. and that creature is to be a sorry excuse for the disappearances of ships and such in the Bermuda Triangle? no sirreee! i mean, Percy and his friends got away by just blasting the canons towards it's stomach and poof! yay! we're saved! argghhh! and pray tell, how does Charybdis manage to ensnare flying aeroplanes? #lawyered

• why must Luke kidnap Grevor only to abandon him in the Polyphemus' lair? why didn't they just bundle up Percy and the rest of the gang to the lair and get it done with? plus, Luke is so resourceful that he can retrieve Kronos' sarcophagus yet he stops short of retrieving the golden Fleece? plus there are so many satyrs in the world, why must Luke pick Grover?  i couldn't brain that!

• plus Polyphemus seems so tame. is he short-sighted as well? Medusa in the last movie is at least frightening and fierce. i mean, Luke could have get away with the Fleece easily!

Clarisse is annoying. brash even. a bully. her in-your-face treatment of Percy only serves to betray her jealousy and insecurity. why? over-acting much? :snigger:

and Annabeth's role, along with her hair color seems to water down in this sequel. she looks prettier nevertheless, yet i couldn't help wishing she has at least more meatier role in this one, at least a close equal to Clarisse. does hanging out with Percy tames her attributes handed down from Athena? or was it because she finally met her goddess of a mother last time, her angst is cured?

Percy is the only redeeming factor. he is naturally good at heart. the way he gave the Fleece to Clarisse as it was her Quest, not his, simply shows how genuinely nice he really is. he's not looking for a name, yet he was constantly bullied, as if his ability to find Zeus' lightning means nothing to his people. why is that?

btw, i still couldn't understand how Tyson could become a Cyclops that is almost human-like? where did he get that human genetics? Poseidon, as you know, is a Greek god whilst Tyson's mother is a water nymph. how did Tyson's get to be a Cyclops from genetics make-up like that?

favoritism much?

Plus, there's no explanation given as to why Poseidon ignores Percy whilst he does answer Tyson? surely Poseidon should have learned his lesson in the last installment, ignore not your children. but then he's a descendant of Kronos who ate his children and whatnots. doing what Poseidon did would have been an improvement, comparatively, i guess.

which proves my earlier point in my review of Clash of the Titans, as such:

"i disapproved the term "gods" used to refer to Zeus and his lot. they're obviously NOT. with human failings and limited powers, well, they are merely deities. plus, if Zeus is so powerful, why must he delegates the dirty job to Hades, who obviously has a bone to pick with his fellow brothers and other Olympians who reside on top of the Mount Olympus while he was supposed to be the king of the misery-fermented Underworld?"  

i think the best way to describe them is Olympians. for they are created, Kronos is no god, his sons are far from god-like. to me, God is explained in its simplest sense in this verse:



think about it. God is Supreme, Powerful. He is without fault, perfection in every sense. He does not die nor His power diminishes. He is the Creator and nothing creates Him.

the Hunger Games: loves the Book more!

the Poster:

the Trailer:



the Plot:

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the nation of Panem forces each of its 12 districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Part twisted entertainment, part government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains.

Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson). If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

In coal-mining District 12, Katniss 16, previously hunts and provides for her family, since losing her father in a mining accident 4 years ago. She volunteers when outrageously costumed Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) draws the name of her beloved younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields). Effie calls for applause, instead the crowd raise silent three-finger salutes, their traditional gesture for respect and farewell at funerals.

With baker's son Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and support team, Katniss travels by luxury train to the extravagant Capitol. Haymitch sobers up, convinced by their rising chances. He warns that professional killer Career Tributes in Districts 1, 2 and 4 train full-time till age 18, and usually win.

Helped a team of prepping up, Katniss was scrubbed clean before she was sent to meet her stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). He made her and Peeta wear customised outfits that can be set alight with artificial flames in order to ensnare the audiences during the Parade. It worked as expected, everyone's attention is drawn to her and Peeta. Peeta holds up her reluctant hand for roaring cheers, a first ever for a pair of tributes to show allegiance ahead of the Game.

Later on, during the interview session with blue-wigged Caesar (Stanley Tucci) in front of live audiences in the Capitol,  the TV interviewer nicknames Katniss as "Girl on Fire" in reference to her outfit during the Parade. She is candid in her answer and emotively answers the question about Prim. She was dismissed and then Peeta was called out. During the session Peeta unexpectedly admits he has since long loved Katniss. She is angry at the apparent ploy for sponsors who provide in-Game gifts, but he is sincere. And Haymitch along with the rest of the prepping team members feel that it was a smart move to pose them as star-crossed lovers. it bumps her popularity amongst the audiences who shall be the Sponsors.

The 24 Tributes are given ample training before getting evaluated by the team of Gamemakers. Katniss evidently makes an impression when she leads the pack by the score of 11/12 to the much chagrin of other Tributes especially the Careers.

In a beautiful forested Arena, a Cornucopia of supplies lure most contestants to a bloodbath where half die, but Haymitch warns Katniss to abandon the Cornucopia and instead head straight for high ground and water. She did after grabbing the nearest bag filled with necessities, barely escaping the knive-throwing attack from Clove (Isabelle Fuhrman), a District 2 female Tribute. however, when she went to far away from the rest of the Tributes, the Gamemakers send fireball attacks to flush her out straight to the lake where the Allied Careers are gathering. In her attempt to flee, Katniss injured her legs and has to take refuge in the water springs where Allied Careers suddenly appear. Alongside with them is Peeta who is accepted to tag along to help track Katniss, but he convinces the Careers to wait overnight when they corner her up a tree.

Rue (Amandla Stenberg), District 11, very young and small, hiding nearby, points Katniss to a deadly tracker jacker nest. Katniss drops the nest onto the sleepers, and as the rest flee, she takes the bow and arrows from dead Glimmer (Lever Rambin) of District 1. Katniss hallucinates from the tracker jacker's venomous stings, and barely hears Peeta's shouts for her to run away and save herself from the rest of the Careers. She flees before collapsing unconscious somewhere in the forest.

Fortunately for Katniss, Rue finds her and due to her knowledge in Agriculture which her District 11 is famous of, manages to apply healing leaf compresses for two days on Katniss' wounds, and teaches her a mockingjay call signal. Recuperated, Katniss forms an alliance with Rue to destroy the means of survival of the Allied Careers. Deploying divide and attack tactics, Rue helps distract the Careers away from their gathering area and gives Katniss the opportunity to shoot apples to fall on land mines and explode the enemy stockpile of food and weapons, while a loner Female Tribute, Foxface distracts the guard. Furious to see their stuffs blown to bits, Cato (Alexander Ludwig), District 2, snaps the negligent guard's neck.

Katniss follows Rue's cries, and frees her from a net trap. Marvel (Jack Quaid), District 1, throws a spear at them but as Katniss dodges, Rue takes the hit. In anger, Katniss shoots him dead, then comforts the dying Rue. She piles flowers around Rue, and salutes farewell to the camera, starting riots in grain-growing District 11. Panem President Snow (Donald Sutherland) summons Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley), the Gamemaker, to express his displeasure. The intended safety valve for social unrest intended through the Hunger Games is having the opposite effect.

Despite Snow, Haymitch convinces Seneca to favor "underdogs" and "star-crossed lovers". An announcement allows both tributes from the same district to win. Katniss finds Peeta hiding, his leg infected due to a wound inflicted by Cato after he finds out that Peeta is actually helping Katniss. Another announcement promises what they need most is waiting at the Cornucopia area.

After Peeta falls asleep due to a sleeping drug sponsored through Haymitch's interference, Katniss goes to the Cornupia to get the medicine for Peeta's serious wounds. Clove, District 2, ambushes her, but pauses to gloat about killing Rue. Thresh, also District 11, kills Clove but spares Katniss, just this once, for Rue. Overnight, Peeta's wound vanishes under the retrieved medicinal cream.

Katniss goes to hunt while Peeta opts to gather food, but she catches him before he eats fatal Nightlock berries. Foxface, District 5, secretly following Peeta, lies dead from Nightlock. Katniss takes berries from her dead hand, in case they meet Cato who doesn't know that plant is deadly.

The sky instantly darkens, beasts bay, and Katniss recognizes the finale. Thresh screams. In memoriam, his image flashes in the sky, and the cannon booms his district number. Katniss and Peeta outrun the mutant hounds, climb atop the Cornucopia, but Cato holds a knife to Peeta's throat. Katniss wounds Cato and Peeta hurls him down to the feasts of the Muttations. Katniss shoots Cato to spare him an agonizing death.

Suddenly, the announcer revokes the rule allowing two winners. Peeta tells Katniss to kill him, instead she gives him half the Nightlock, fully aware that the Gamemakers can't afford losing their final victor. Hastily, the announcer stops them and proclaims both victorious.

Out of the arena, Haymitch warns Katniss that her defiance has made powerful enemies. Seneca, locked in a room with a bowl of Nightlock, presumably does commit suicide, maneuvered by Snow. Watching the televised victory return, Snow plans revenge.

the Characters:

 

the Review:
i recently  bought the Book. and use my imagination to navigate my comprehension of the story. Katniss and Peeta were magnificent in the book that upon watching the movie, i was thoroughly disappointed :(

only readers of the Book could understand the moves being made, the depth that was in the Book failed to be brought to the screen. oh such disappointment!

but the casting was excellent. Katniss and her temper during the session with the Gamemakers are marvelously done, i couldn't have imagined better. Peeta being the underdog that's in love with Katniss since forever.. well, the movie failed that. they should have preserved the storyline of the baker once in love with Katniss' mother. that could have helped a bit, i don't know.

and the scene where Katniss being starved only to be given a flicker of hope by Peeta at the cost of being struck by his mother for burning the bread. i mean, only Book readers can understand. plus, Katniss and Gage look so well-fed.

oh and i hate the message given through the sponsors' gifts. because i'd like to think Katniss is smart.

sigh. the movie was disappointment to me, the Book is not. so there, go read!