Change Your Image
brandas2000
Reviews
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
Read books, Like movie even tho different
I will not ramble on and on with opinions that include comparisons to other movies, books or characters. I will only say "This is a MOVIE and NOT REAL" before I continue....
As far as the books - I purchased these books for my 11 year old daughter last year and started to read them myself. I love Greek mythology and enjoy the premise of these books. My daughter and all her friends are totally obsessed with them (oops, here comes a comparison), something that hasn't happened since Harry Potter. I think the first book was a little monotonous with the kids continuing to get in the same binds over and over and never catching on. The other books are not so much his way. They are fun, full of action and humor, fast-read books.
As far as the movie of the first book - The screenplay is very loosely based on the book. The characters are older in the movie and can drive (significant since they cannot drive themselves anywhere in the book). Yet, I still enjoyed the adaptation. There is *no way* the movie could have all the content of the book.
Only very slightly unnerving was all the sexual innuendo. This really was not in the book and would not have been since the kids are much younger. So, for my daughter and her friends, this kind of freaked them out, but just a little bit.
Summary - we all enjoyed it and will definitely buy the DVD. They did a good job of keeping the basic idea of the book including the action and clever comedic lines.
The Golden Compass (2007)
We enjoyed it
I saw this movie with a friend first. I was concerned about the content and message of the story given all the controversy and comments I read on the internet.
Know what? I thought it was a good movie. I would not take my 4 year old daughter to see it since it is a little intense.
But, I happily took my 9 yr old daughter to see it the next day. I didn't mention any of the religious implications of the movie before hand and only mentioned them after she saw the movie ... she had no idea what I was talking about. We both just enjoyed the movie for what it was - a fantasy adventure.
I don't give it more than an 8 since the graphics were a little lacking and the story even seemed a little light; there were a *lot* of loose ends. I wonder when the sequel is due?
Happily N'Ever After (2006)
Very disappointing
POSITIVE - I can say that this movie did hold our interest, including my 3 year old daughter who doesn't often sit through movies. I wasn't looking at my watch wondering when it would be over. The characters were cute and the voices fit them (I disliked Doogal because the voices did not match the characters well at all). NEGATIVE - What was very disappointing, however, was that it was not funny. It had a couple of funny lines, but that was it. SO, DON'T BOTHER - I would say that this movie is not worth the $10 entry fee or even the movie rental. RECOMMEND - Save your money to see Shrek 3, later, or, if you haven't seen them yet, go to Charlotte's Web or Night at the Museum.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Loved it! Never read books.
I never read these books and neither had my 7-year old daughter. But, she has the complete set of books now! She even got one of the "How the movie was made" books. Note - she reads at a 6th grade level even though she is technically only 1st grade age.
We thoroughly enjoyed the entire film and story. We took it just for what it was and did no comparisons to anything else - previous movies, other stories, the books. The acting and special effects were completely wonderful. We had no complaints for any of the graphics. It was all very believable.
We did think it was a tiny bit slow in a couple of points and overall, a tiny bit long, but since it isn't really a story or movie for very young audiences (5 and younger), this was okay.