Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)

A sea of convoluted mythological mess.

After the events of the first film, Percy is now living like any other demigod in Camp Half-Blood. However, nothing stays normal for so long in the world Percy lives in. He finds out he has a cyclops for a half-brother named Tyson, whom he has difficulty accepting at first. But that's the least of his troubles as the camp finds itself vulnerable after the magical tree protecting it has been poisoned. Percy, together with Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson, must embark on a quest to find the Golden Fleece that has the power to heal Thalia's poisoned tree. Along the way, they will cross paths with an old foe and face an ancient enemy that only the gods themselves defeated a long time ago.

Those who read the novel will definitely hate this film adaptation. Having read the book as well, I have noticed how the film took a different path in telling the story. To be fair, I understand why the film deviated from the original story since Rick Riordan's novel is not exactly 'film-adaptation-friendly.' The book has too much going on that if the film follows it, it would most probably be five hours long.  So the main concern is, how will the writers be able to make the film interesting and somewhat faithful to the story of the novel at the same time? Whatever answer they came up with this question is definitely the wrong one.

Sea of Monsters suffers from losing a sense of direction halfway through the movie. It does not know its destination. It's lost in a sea of disoriented and unwanted ideas. It has too much going on that it almost did not make any sense. One difference from the novel and the film is that the former manages to make sense despite having lots of ideas and story arcs. The film tries to incorporate the same technique but it only results to the lack the creativity and depth to entertain the audience. There was nothing mythical and magical about the film and no matter how much CGI they use, it wouldn't save it even if its life depended on it. The ending was very anticlimactic as well, not to mention illogical. How is one demigod supposed to beat an ancient titan that took three Olympian gods to defeat before? But of course, the film finds a way. The characters are not exactly the smartest out there. When faced with a decision to make, they choose the dumbest option which would eventually lead to the dumbest result. The movie is not as funny as it thinks it is. Often times I would just sit with a poker face whenever they would deliver a punch line. 

The CGI isn't the most impressive either. There is only one scene in the entire movie where I find the use of CGI very effective. It was during the time where the Oracle of Delphi was telling Percy the history of the Titan War. It was presented creatively by using the stained glass as an inspiration. Other than that particular scene, the rest were either mediocre or a failure. 

In conclusion, the film is one hot mess that will only exhaust and drain your energy until it ends. It may probably entertain a few people below ages 12 but if you're older and you know better, then the film is definitely a disappointment. 

Rating: 1/5

The Wolverine (2013)

After all those years, Wolverine still manages to stay sharp.

Some time after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan is living a life of solitude in the forest just outside the small town of Yukon, still living with the guilt of killing Jean Grey. He is soon visited by a mysterious Japanese girl named Yukio who has been looking for him for a year upon orders of his master, Yashida, who also happens to be a friend of Logan after saving him during the Nagasaki atomic bombing. Logan is informed that Yashida is dying and he wants to personally see Logan to say his goodbyes. Logan reluctantly agrees but soon finds out that saying goodbye is the least of his problems.

The film is based on the 1982 Wolverine arc by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, which is very popular and is considered as being one of the best arcs in X-Men. Despite not reading the comic, it's quite an honor to see the movie based on the comic even though changes and revisions have been made. The film itself is laid out like a comic book. The arcs are very noticeable and distinct from one another. We start off with Logan in Yukon where he lives a life of of recluse and having friends with a grizzly bear. It transitions to the next arc by the arrival of Yukio and their travel to Japan. The moment he arrives in Japan is another arc where we see him meet his old friend and finds out the real reason why he was called in Japan. The transition to the next arc would be his involvement with Yashida's granddaughter kidnapping and eventually the romance between them. The second half of the film mostly focuses on his growing love for Mariko, Yashida's granddaughter, but at the same time, being haunted by the ghost of Jean Grey. Jean Grey appears throughout the entire film but the real purpose of her appearances is given further meaning when Logan starts loving another woman. The last arc would have to be saving the day as typical of any superhero movie. 

One thing to look out for in this film is the vulnerability of Logan. We see him get tired, get hurt and get wounded, a side where we are not used to seeing or even imagining when we think of the Wolverine. This plot twist gives more meaning and depth to the character that Hugh Jackman has been playing for more than a decade now. The constant visits of Jean Grey in Logan's dream are a debatable topic since some like it while some don't. Personally, I find it very effective in giving more character depth not only for Logan but also the Wolverine in him. Her constant visits remind Logan of who he really is and the guilt she brings to him only makes him stronger despite being troubled at first. In this film, Logan has two women he loves; one is a ghost who torments him with guilt while the other is very much alive and is willing to help him move on. Both characters are very essential to the character development of Logan. The character Mariko is the key to changing Logan. She is the reason why Logan should continue living. The juxtaposition is always seen with Jean Grey's ghost visiting Logan. Through Jean, the point of transformation for Logan is clear and perfectly understandable.

The film is not as perfect as it sounds though. It does have a few things that are off about it. The third and final act of the film is weak. After so much character development and great build up towards the end, it surprisingly fails to give the awesome ending you want. The first two acts would tease so much about different things especially with regards to the other characters such as Viper and Harada, Mariko's childhood sweetheart, that you will expect something significant from them by the end. The twist is fine. I didn't see it coming but it is not that much of a shock. Other than this, one concern is how watching it will make confuse you on where you should put out all your emotions. The movie can be about Logan and his emotional battles or it can be about Logan's battle against the other villains. You can choose but either way, something feels off about it. 

In terms of production design and location, Japan is a great choice of setting for the movie. It gives off the feeling of new yet traditional and old. It is actually parallel to the character of Wolverine who lives in the modern world despite living for decades already without aging. The film really shows the two faces of Japan. From a busy and modern city where the young and hip are to the country side where peaceful and traditional Japanese people are. I'm pretty sure it even promotes Japanese tourism at some point since the cultures and traditions of the Japanese are also introduced to the audience. 

In conclusion, The Wolverine is one of the best films of the year. Great action, great story, and great characters. It may have flaws of its own but one would always over-look them if the film is entertaining, which it is. A piece of advice, there is a scene in the middle of the credits which serves as a great teaser for the upcoming film X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Rating: 4/5

After Earth: Crash and Burn

After Earth is a movie than runs on a paper thin plot and with CGI animations that barely pass above average.

After Earth is a movie that takes place after the humans left the earth since it was deemed no longer fit for living. As the remaining of the human population venture into space, they find the planet suitable for existence and call it Nova Prime. The humans are not alone in the planet though. The humans find themselves against an alien species called the S'krell who wishes to conquer Nova Prime. The S'krell's secret weapons against the humans are beastly creatures called Ursas, blind and rabid creatures who hunt with the use of their sense of smell. They hunt by smelling their prey's fear and once they get hold of the scent, escape is almost inevitable. Enter the hero, General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) who was able to suppress his fear, a process called ghosting, which enabled him to save the world. His glory does not come free though since he loses his daughter to an Ursa after it attacked their home. A witness to his daughter's death is his son Kitai (Jaden Smith) whom his daughter chose to save and die for. Kitai, having witnessed her sister killed right before his very eyes is ridden with guilt and aims to be a Ranger like his father but fails to do so. Cypher is about to retire as a ranger and as he sets up for his last mission, his wife convinces him to take Kitai with him so they can bond like father and son. Aboard the ship, they encounter an asteroid shower which causes their ship to split into two and crash on the now evolved earth. With Cypher wounded,  his son must now go to the other half of the wrecked ship to retrieve the emergency beacon. Along the way, Kitai faces danger in the unfamiliar world and to make matters worse, the Ursa they carried on board the ship is set loose  and hunts down the remaining survivors.

This movie soared high but crashed and burned. Star Trek Into Darkness just came out less than a month ago and it definitely set the bar high for any upcoming sci-fi films to follow its lead. What After Earth lacked that Star Trek had was the grandeur of what a sci-fi film should look be. We expect to see futuristic gadgets, spacecrafts combined with an action pack adventure. After Earth was nothing more than just a boy running for his life in a jungle that was supposed to have evolved drastically but can be barely seen in the movie.

The story of After Earth was written by Will Smith after being inspired from a show he watched on tv about a father and son stuck on a mountain. Originally not a sci-fi, Smith thought it was a good idea to have the same concept in a movie set 1000 years into the future. Sadly this film might not even be remembered for the next five years, how much more a thousand. 

The entire movie is cold. From the story to the characters. It does not have an emotional attachment to its audience the way Avatar (James Cameron) or Star Trek has. From the beginning till the end, all we see is Jaden running for his life and fighting off animals. The characterization of Kitai and Cypher is poorly executed as well since it's not given much importance. A grave mistake such as this will only make the audience apathetic and distant. The story of your life can be playing right in front of you but you will wonder if it really is your life on the screen.

Don't get me started on the acting. Jaden's acting would not exactly be something to be proud of. I don't know what his father might think but I'm certainly not convinced. Such a pity considering the name his father made in the business. I cannot help myself from wincing every once in a while whenever Jaden has a big act to deliver. Nepotism really has its price. Will was the one who personally chose Jaden to act along side him. 

In terms of CGI animation, it was okay. More than satisfactory at most but not great. The newly evolved earth was promising but unexplored. It's actually fun thinking of what the earth will look like a thousand years from now and I'm sure that the writers of the script had fun thinking about it too.What I don't understand is by the time the movie is out, all I saw were bigger animals and moving plants. Lots of moments that you would actually forget that the story takes place on earth after a thousand years. A few effects were also a bit unrealistic. It was as if they were still under post-production.

Director M. Night Shyamalan is not doing well for his past few films. The Last Airbender was a complete failure and the only reason why I still watch his works are because of his previous films. The last film he made that was worth watching was probably the 2010 film 'Devil'. To be fair, After Earth can be considered as a good stepping stone. This was by far a bit...just a bit better than the others he made.

In conclusion, After Earth is a movie that fails to entertain. Cheap shocks, mediocre editing and poor characterizations is not really something to be proud of. To be clear, It wasn't a good movie but it wasn't all that bad. I've seen worst movies and After Earth can be the last on that list.


Rating: 1.5/5

Epic: A Movie For Kids at Heart

Blue Sky Studio's latest animated film is sure to bring in not only children but also adults who are kid at hearts as well. Children would most probably enjoy the fantasy animated film while the adults might mostly appreciate the animation. 

Epic is about a young teenage girl named M.K. (short for Mary Katherine) who reluctantly spends time with his estranged father who is obsessed with the existence of tiny creatures in the forest. Things between the two of them don't go smoothly as planned which causes M.K. to try leaving him for good, but that plan doesn't go smoothly either since she soon finds herself in the secret world of the leafmen, protectors of the forest. She must now go on an adventure to save the forest from those who try to destroy it while learning valuable lessons along the way.

One aspect of the film worth praising is its great animation. The design and the intricate details make the movie vibrant and pleasing to the eyes without crossing the point of exaggeration and headaches. The setting of the movie would make your imagination go wild of how much possibilities and adventures can be done in a vast forest despite being very tiny. 

As for the characters, they are actually quite amusing. Each character has his/her own distinct personality that would make them memorable. However, the characterization is not as perfect as it seems. What makes an animated film successful to both children and adults is how well the character develops. A very common factor in animated films is a protagonist who is barely desirable at the start but would develop throughout the film and come out stronger, more memorable and someone that the kids can actually look up to. The protagonist must grow and must be able to inspire his/her viewers, especially the children. Sadly, the film wasn't able to do so. Two of the protagonist in the movie had very fast transition form their old self to their new one. By the end of the movie, it was as if a change did not happen at all. Other supporting characters were no different and suffered the same fate of the mediocre characterization. 

Another miss for the film is the fact that there's too much going on to the point of complexity and plot holes. Not to mention, the fact that you would remind yourself that what you just watched was only a children's movie makes it more frustrating. There are too many ideas floating around that it's a pity that they were ignored and weren't explored further. They should have been better left out or better yet, simplified.

Nonetheless, the film did bring out good laughs from the audience but it could have been funnier. A few lines were a miss but most of them are worth a laugh. The voice acting was well done and mostly believable. There are plenty of famous names who contributed their voice for the movie like Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, and even Beyonce that sometimes, I couldn't take it seriously knowing it's them speaking, but they all did a good job and that's all that matters.

Basically Epic is worth watching but don't expect to be blown away like you would be when watching a Pixar film. If ever they do make a sequel, which I think they will, they should improve on their characters and need to put more inspiration to gain the approval of both children and adults alike.


Rating: 2.5/5

The Host: "Agonizing"

Been a while since I blogged. Too long actually. I figured I'd do so since one of the film industry's brilliant minds has passed away, Roger Ebert. He's actually someone whose reviews I would often read to see if a film is worth watching. So this movie review is dedicated in his memory. Sadly, this movie is not worth anyone's remembrance.

Let me first share how reluctant I was in watching this film. But the thing about me is I always give movies the benefit of the doubt. I can only say it's good or bad only and only if I watched it myself. Soooo...

20 minutes into the film I wanted to walk out of the theater already. Yes it was that bad (in my opinion). Let me point out my complaints:

1. The novel to movie adaptation

The moment Melanie talked to herself, I was like "Wait, is this serious?" I haven't read the book, but the more I was watching the film, I was trying to see it as a novel. (to the point that I even googled it on my phone during the film) The taking-to-oneself MAY have worked for the novel but it does not work in the big screen. This is one book that should have never been made into a film in the first place.

2. Unrealistic

No, I'm not talking about the alien. I'm talking about those simple human actions and decisions that are so obviously scripted and would never happen in real life. Example, we have the alien-Melanie almost killed by some human guy and the next thing we know, she falls in love with him in the span of, I don't know, one or two days? Same goes for the human, as a matter of fact, he (human) even took the side of the alien against his own brother. Now some of you might be saying "It's fiction! Not a documentary". Well, if that's the way you think then maybe we can all just start making movies then.

3. Neither exciting or romantic

It was stale and boring. Maybe they wanted less action to focus on romance but the love story wasn't anything to be complimented either. I found it rather awkward.

It pains me writing this review so I'll stop here. What really irks me the most in this film is how unrealistic it is. Not to mention cliche. A "making-out-in-the-rain" flashback???? Really? It was silly. I felt like it was a comedy film but even as a comedy I probably wouldn't have laughed. I apologize to all the fans out there but I just didn't like it.

The moment alien-Melanie was given a new body, I walked out of the theater already. Figured it really didn't have anything else to give.

I actually like "The Host" (Gwoemul), a 2006 South Korean film, much better. 

Rating: .5/5

Rise of the Guardians: Not Enough Magic

So I just watched Rise of the Guardians in 3D earlier and to get straight to the point I was not super satisfied. I liked it no doubt but I guess I expected too much again. I've seen the trailer of the movie last month and I told myself I had to see it because it would be awesome. Well, there was some awe but not much.

Let me break it down to you guys why the movie didn't meet my expectations:

1. Unexplored Story line
We have a protagonist who has a mysterious past and is reluctant to become a hero but turns out to be the only one who could stop the villain. Heard something like that before? Me too, lots and lots of times. Simple in other words. It didn't give me goosebumps which is what I actually look for in animated movies T_T

2. Villain not evil enough
Pitch (the villain's name) is actually scary in some parts but he isn't consistent with what he is showing to the audience. Maybe it was done in purpose but it just didn't work for me.

3. Pacing is a bit complicated
First the movie goes to the conflict quite fast not bothering to build tension and when it does, it (tension) fades away quickly. Not to mention, there's too much going on from one scene to another, but this is a more tolerable criticism.

4. Poor Characterization
I do appreciate how they redesigned the guardians but the movie didn't seem to give it much importance and instead focused on the animation.

But the movie wasn't all bad, as a matter of fact I might even list down a lot more good comments than the bad ones.

1. Great Family Film
Santa, Toothfairy, Easter Bunny, and the Sandman in one movie, how could children not want to watch it?

2.  Impressive Visuals
The effects and the animation were awesome and this can be seen through out the movie especially whenever the guardians make use of their powers.

3. Creative Redesigning of the Guardians
Never would I have thought that Santa is so bad ass, Jack Frost is young and good looking, the Easter Bunny to be surprisingly tall, the Sandman is cute, and the Toothfairy to be super bubbly.

4. Talented Voice Actors and Actresses
Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law and others (no offense to them) all did a good job giving life to their characters.

5. Heartwarming Morals
Believe in yourself, that's the most important moral that I learned watching the movie. There are a lot more but I think the one I mentioned was the most important.

So would I recommend you guys watching it? Of course I do. I'm pretty sure you'll like it. AGAIN the reason why my review is inclined to the negative side is because I EXPECTED TOO MUCH from it so I got disappointed. Nevertheless, it's actually a good movie. Its funny but not too much, I actually found the trailer to be funnier. -_-

So watch it and leave your insights about the movie below in the comments :))

Rating: 3/5