Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) - Lerman and Jackson return in improved sequel

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Three young stars in a veritable sea of CGI on the poster for Thor Freudenthal's Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Demi-god and high school student Percy Jackson finds out that he has a half-brother, who is a cyclops, and heads out on a new adventure with his friends, - against the evil Kyle and his father Kronos the titan.

 

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is written by Marc Guggenheim (Supergirl (2017-19)), adapting the same-titled 2006 novel by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods (2023)), and directed by Thor Freudenthal (Hotel for Dogs (2009)).

The film opens with a rather dubious and confusing backstory about a character we only meet a lot later, but Sea of Monsters nevertheless is a clear improvement from the insufferably silly first Percy Jackson from 2010. It is freed from the countless, ungodly bit parts played by older stars, and instead we are here treated to more fun with the young cast, including a sweet plot-line about Percy and his new brother, and lots of 3D-minded action, monsters and a cute 'seahorse'. This is very safe entertainment, essentially not really about anything, but it is affable enough, not least due to the charming Brandon T. Jackson (Deadbeat (2014-15)) and Logan Lerman (Indignation (2016)), who incredibly enough actually plays Percy with his little boy's face. The female actors are anonymous and unexciting in comparison. 

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is still silly, but in more acceptable lengths, - as when , for instance, Percy's dyslexia is explained as a reason for him to suddenly see a map in the ocean... It may be the 3D film of the year.

 

Related post:

 

First Percy Jackson movie: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief (2010) - Columbus' uinteresting YA fantasy

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 90 mil. $

Box office: 200.9 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.23 times its cost)

[Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters was released 7 August (USA and 4 other markets) and runs 106 minutes. Shooting took place from April - July 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana and in British Columbia, including in Vancouver. The film opened #4, behind fellow new releases Elysium, We're the Millers and Planes, to a 14.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend, grossing 68.5 mil. $ (34.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 13.4 mil. $ (6.7 %) and Russia with 12.6 mil. $ (6.3 %). The film additionally made an estimated 49.2 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. No more Percy Jackson films were made, but the character returns in a younger version in a new 2023 Disney+ TV-series. Freudenthal returned with 8 TV credits and one short prior to his theatrical return with Words on Bathroom Walls (2020). Lerman returned in Noah (2014). Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is rotten at 42 % with a 5.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters?

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief (2010) - Columbus' uinteresting YA fantasy

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A teenage boy seems to be making the ocean go crazy on this special effects-focused poster for Chris Columbus' Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy is a dyslexic teenager with ADHD who learns that he is also a Greek demi-god.

 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is written by Craig Titley (Scooby-Doo (2002, story)), adapting the same-titled 2005 novel by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Last Olympian (2009)), and directed by great Pennsylvanian filmmaker, co-producer/director Chris Columbus (Adventures in Babysitting (1987)).

From Columbus, a master of family fare in the early 1990s (Home Alone (1990); Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)) comes this disappointing bid for a new fantasy-based family adventure. As fodder for the Young Adult segment it is harmless and thank God has some humor (albeit mostly without being outright funny.) But it is a terrible bore and without attraction for audiences older than the slim target (teenage) demographic.

26 year-old actor Brandon T. Jackson (Get a Job (2016)) plays a high school student (!), and although Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)) is charismatic enough in the title lead beneath his helmet of soft, cherubic hair, there is no chemistry to elevate matters. Pierce Brosnan (The Misfits (2021)) and others in the impressive adult star line-up are obviously here for a paycheck. 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a really silly light-weight fantasy with sketchy visual effects and widespread green-screen solutions chosen. 

 

Related posts:

 

Chris Columbus: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) - Potter and Co. return for handsome if overlong first sequel

1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Top 10: Best family movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Top 10: Best dramedies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) - Columbus and Robin Williams score with a truly great family jewel

1992 in films - according to Film Excess 

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - The coolest kid in the world incites kiddie bellylaughs once again 

Top 10: Best Twentieth Century Fox titles 

Home Alone (1990) - Columbus, Hughes, Culkin and co. take Christmas and home defense to the next level 

The Goonies (1985) - Sweet child performances drive Donner's beloved, uneven adventure (writer)
Gremlins (1984) - Dante's 1980s puppetry classic (writer)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 95 mil. $

Box office: 226.4 mil. $

= Minor flop (returned 2.38 times its cost)

[Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was released 10 February (France and 4 other markets) and runs 119 minutes. Shooting took place from April - July 2009 in British Columbia, including in Vancouver, in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Tennessee. The film opened #3, behind fellow new releases Valentine's Day and The Wolfman, to a 31.2 mil. $ first weekend, where it spent 2 more weekends in the top 5 (#4-#5), grossing 88.7 mil. $ (39.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 14.7 mil. $ (6.5 %) and South Korea with 11.5 mil. $ (5.1 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. The film additionally made in excess of 37 mil. $ on home video sales in North America alone. The young stars returned with a new director for sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013). Riordan was unhappy with both films and has become screenwriter for the new Percy Jackson adaptation series for Disney+, arriving in 2023. Columbus returned with Applebaum (2012, TV movie) and theatrically with Pixels (2015). Lerman returned in The Three Musketeers (2011). Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is rotten at 48 % with a 5.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief?

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) - Weitz's YA smash will bore your pants off

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There's no shortage of sexual promise and weird-looking youths on this foggy poster for Chris Weitz's The Twilight Saga: New Moon

 

Bella and Edward are very enthralled in their love of each other, but then he wants her to live a normal life (without a vampire lover) and disappears, and she begins a new intense, platonic love relationship with Indian wolf boy Jacob.

 

The Twilight Saga: New Moon is written by Melissa Rosenberg (Step Up (2006)), adapting Stephenie Meyer's (The Host (2008)) New Moon (2006), and directed by Chris Weitz (Down to Earth (2001)).

Nothing much new under the sun here in the second chapter of the Twilight franchise, which in its long love dialog scenes metaphorically play the strings, boil the sugar and glaze in fat - all at the same time!

Mostly contrary to its predecessor, Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight (2008), New Moon bores tremendously: No one performs well in the unexciting and at times incomprehensible story. Michael Sheen (Dolittle (2020)) is strange as an eagerly staring vampire leader, and the werewolves look about as natural as 1950s sci-fi b-movie monsters. SPOILER The final cliffhanger; Ed wants to get wed! Gasp! 

 

Related posts:

 

The Twilight franchise: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) - Slade brings the popular teen franchise a thin cup of more, slightly better the same

Chris Weitz: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) or, Ginny's Fate: A Star Wars Calculation (co-writer)

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

American Pie (1999) or, Losing It Before Prom (producer/uncredited co-director) 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 50 mil. $

Box office: 711 mil. $

=  Mega-hit (returned 14.22 times its cost)

[The Twilight Saga: New Moon premiered 16 November (California) and runs 130 minutes. Production was green-lit and announced the day after Twilight's sensational opening in 2008. Robert Pattinson (Water for Elephants (2011)) was reportedly paid 12 mil. $ for his performance, while Taylor Lautner (Abduction (2011)) was paid 4 mil. $. Shooting took place from March - May 2009 in British Columbia, including in Vancouver, and in Italy. The film opened #1 to a 142.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 another 3 weekends and then stayed in the top 5 for another 3 weekends (#2-#4-#5), grossing 296.6 mil. $ (41.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 43.4 mil. $ (6.1 %) and France with 39.2 mil. $ (5.5 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 1/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. The film sold more than 8.8 mil. home video units in North America alone, totaling 185.1 mil. $ in additional sales. The franchise and stars returned in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010). Weitz returned with A Better Life (2011). Pattinson returned in Remember Me (2010); Kristen Stewart (Seberg (2019)) in Welcome to the Rileys (2010). The Twilight Saga: New Moon is rotten at 28 % with a 4.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Twilight Saga: New Moon? 

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) - Good CGI and young actors in strained dose of apocalypse

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An apocalyptic, sandy metropolis and a group of youngsters walking through it, on this poster for Wes Ball's Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

 

Thomas and a group of other boys and one girl, who have eloped the maze, smell something fishy on their new prison guards from WCKD, and they break free to discover a post-apocalyptic world!

 

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is written by T.S. Nowlin (Phoenix Forgotten (2017)), based on the same-titled 2010 novel by James Dashner (The Eye of Minds (2013)), and directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner (2014)). It is the 2nd film in the Maze Runner trilogy.

The young actors look remarkable unaged, despite the film claiming that 4 years has passed since the first film, (only released a year before.) The tone is the same in the teenage-fantasy horror/action/adventure, which is probably hard to connect with for most people who aren't teenagers. Fun or real thrills or surprises are lacking here; and the simple setup of an evil science class of people seems like near-nonsense.

New cast-member Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Godless (2017, miniseries)), returning star Dylan O'Brien (The First Time (2012)) and Co. meet scary zombies in the neat, CGI-driven world, and a depraved nightclub owner who stays open during the day. Whether everything here serves a deeper political meaning is hard to deduce. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is technically well-made but not really a good film.

 

Related post:

 

Wes Ball: The Maze Runner (2014) - O'Brien breakout, well-made YA nonsense

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 61 mil. $

Box office: 312.2 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 5.11 times its cost)

[Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials premiered 1 September (Sao Paolo, Brazil) and runs 131 minutes. Development of the film began before the release of the first Maze Runner in 2014. Shooting lasted 94 days and took place in New Mexico, including Albuquerque, from October 2014 - January 2015. The film opened #1 to a 30.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent 2 more weekends in the top 5 (#3-#5) and grossed 81.6 mil. $ (26.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were China with 29.5 mil. $ (9.4 %) and France with 25.3 mil. $ (8.1 %). A concluding, again successful film was made and released as Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) by Ball, with O'Brien back. This was Ball's next film. O'Brien returned first in Deepwater Horizon (2016). Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is rotten at 46 % with a 5.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials?

The Maze Runner (2014) - O'Brien breakout, well-made YA nonsense

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Oozing of thrilling excitement and atmospheric visuals, a great poster for Wes Ball's The Maze Runner

 

A young man arrives to a mysterious green park ensconced in a giant labyrinth, where a group of boys live in uncertainty.

 

The Maze Runner is written by Noah Oppenheim (Jackie (2016)), Grant Pierce Myers (The Fog (2005, assistant)) and T.S. Nowlin (Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)), adapting the same-titled 2009 best-seller by James Dashner (A Gift of Ice (2004)), and directed by debuting Wes Ball (Time for Change (2002, digital effects artist)).

If you are able to lower your skeptic guards, this Lord of the Flies-reminiscent Young Adult flick is a rather immersive, well-made serving of fantasy/sci-fi nonsense. It presents a successful mix of practical and digital effects as well as an attractive star in Dylan O'Brien (High Road (2011)).

Audiences have to accept that, perhaps in honor of the film's major studio financing parent, the mostly teenage characters have no sexuality, don't ever change clothes or go to the bathroom; but their emotions are conversely maximized. SPOILER The ending of The Maze Runner makes the whole film seem a bit like a pre-credit sequence to the main story.

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 34 mil. $

Box office: 348.3 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 10.24 times its cost)

[The Maze Runner premiered 11 September (Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place from May - July 2013 in Louisiana. The film opened #1 to a 32.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 2 weeks (#2-#5) and grossed 102.4 mil. $ (29.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 24.6 mil. $ (7.1 %) and China with 23.9 mil. $ (6.9 %). Successful sequels Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) were also with O'Brien, directed by Ball, who took them on as his next projects. O'Brien's next gig was the first sequel, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. Dashner was ditched by his agent and publisher in 2018 following unsubstantiated #MeToo rumors of harassment. The Maze Runner is fresh at 65 % with a 5.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Maze Runner?