As part of our spring break STAYcation, we've gone to movies this week.
Yesterday we watched demi-gods battle villains on behalf of Olympus.
"Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief" would not have been my first choice for a matinee, but my 11-year old son really wanted to see it. And, he's suffered through enough Jane Austen adaptions for PBS to warrant my indulgence. He's read the entire Percy Jackson series books by Rick Riordan.
I went, frankly not expecting a whole lot. And, as is usually the case when you're not expecting a lot, I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I spent most of this movie trying to figure out how it could have been made an even BETTER movie. It teetered on really good at several junctures. If they'd only worked a little harder on the dialogue -- and pandered a little less to the pre-teen set (or the director's perception of what the pre-teen set finds interesting.)
Even Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars.
I agree with Roger that Pierce Brosnan's graceful and convincing portrayal of a centaur is certainly worth a look-see. I liked that as well as Uma Thurman's amusing turn as Medusa (who takes a licking but keeps on ticking.) And, the location shooting was interesting, even delightful.
There's also a scene shot at Nashville's Parthenon in my native Tennessee.
But, the best part was listening to my son after the movie's conclusion.
"They left out Chronos. They didn't mention the chimera. That part in Nashville was really in the second book..."
Everybody's a critic.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Lightning_thief.jpg
