One person’s delight is another’s disappointment, at least it is regarding movies. Over spring break our family visited relatives, filling hours in part by attending a nearby movie theatre. We viewed two movies; both of which I recommend for children 12 and up. Neither of these are suitable for young children.
Wrath of the Titans
Zeus, the king of the gods, and controller of thunder and the sky. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This movie fulfills action and humor as it makes fun of its predecessors as well as stand on its on story. Being a fan of the original “Clash” I find the golden owl as a Wilson-type (Castaway with Tom Hanks) companion to Hephaestus very amusing.
The humanesque emotion displayed by the Gods, the bravery of the demigods and daring of the humans (Andromeda) make this Titan installment likeable and entertaining. The downside is that not enough gods and goddesses show up nor is an explanation for their absence, other than lack of prayers, given. It would have added some depth if Hera, Aphrodite and Athena would have showed up to kick some Chaos butt. A few goddess warriors alongside mere human Queen Andromeda would have added to the female power; although Andromeda held her own. All in all this movie was very enjoyable in the theatre and will be purchased when it comes to DVD.
The HungerGames
Jennifer Lawrence at the 83rd Academy Awards Red Carpet IMG_1081 (Photo credit: MingleMediaTVNetwork)
The children and I had long anticipated this movie being fans of the trilogy by Suzanne Collins. My daughter had already seen it with her friends and loved it. With expectations high we left dad with the relatives to attend the midweek matinée. We were not disappointed–at first. After the movie when the special effects and fast pace faded from our short-term memory we digested the content. All was well enough in the beginning; its easy to overlook the inaccuracy of costume in district 12. Katniss looked like her boots were off an Italian designer shelf and her detailed clothing was not something hand-me- downish or hand-made looking. Apparently apocalyptic Appalachia is retro 1930’s with a touch of Discovery Channel circa 2012. The climax was a bit anti-climatic. Peeta is supposed to be seconds from bleeding to death but in the scene he was fully alert. The two are supposed to be sucked up into the hover craft and torn apart while Katniss is screaming but instead the just show the hover craft overhead and skip to a montage of ending sequence shots that don’t portray Katniss’s conflicting emotion or her terrors. Instead she’s casual like she’s hanging out at high school with a buddy. I think in the end Jennifer Lawrence wasn’t given direction to act like Katniss (it was cut from the script or overlooked) so she acted like Jennifer Lawrence. The actors are not supposed to overshadow their characters. Josh Hutcherson is a brilliant Peeta. I think this film is still worth seeing although I hope they will reshoot the end for the DVD and Catching Fire better be excitement from beginning to end or we’ll wait for the DVD, rent it, and return it.
abundantnurturing 