Up & Coming Weekly

20 UCW FEB. 24 - MARCH 2, 2010 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM First of all, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (120 minutes) is rated PG. Really? That seems like a questionable choice, considering how some of the rather mature female leads spend scads of screen time crawling all over the decidedly youthful male leads. Second of all, Chris Columbus, who directed the first wildly success- ful Harry Potter movie, also directed this? Did he have the swine flu at the time? Even usually dependable actors like Uma Thurman must need dental surgery after all the eye- rollingly self-indulgent scenery chew- ing. Seriously, the movie was even cornier than my popcorn. Finally, I thought it was 2010. So how on earth did the final product end up rife with so much racism and sexism? The plot issues might stem from the book (haven't read it, and after this, don't intend to). But the book is based on mythology noted for its powerful female characters. Despite the existence of a potentially interesting female lead, the powerful women in the source material did not translate to powerful women on screen. The movie opens with the yummy Poseidon (played by the yummy Kevin McKidd) meeting with Zeus (Sean Bean). Zeus is a little bossy boss. He accuses the son of Poseidon of stealing his master lightning bolt and demands its quick return. Since there are apparently loads and loads of demi-gods (the offspring of humans and gods) wandering the earth, it seems a little short- sighted of Zeus to point his gigantic fingers so quickly. It is also seems that Zeus might have paid a little more attention to a weapon that serves as the source of all his power. We meet the aforementioned son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) and go on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There, Percy is attacked by a Fury and finds out who he really is. Although, being able to stay underwater for 20 minutes at a time and his ability to automatically translate ancient Greek writings while remaining unable to read English really should have given someone with the brains of a demi-god a big clue that he might have some extra human origins. Following Percy's Ah-HAH moment his Latin Teacher (Pierce Brosnan with some luxuriantly curly chestnut locks) sends him off to safety with his buddy Grover (Brandon Jackson). Huge plot hole by the way…why wasn't Percy placed in this camp during early childhood? Finally at the safe haven, Percy meets demi-gods Luke Castellan (Jake Abel) and Annabeth Chase (Alexandra Daddario). He then immediately Harry Potters his way out of safety (meaning he defies authority figures and, with his trusty male/female sidekicks goes off to face the very danger he is supposed to stay away from). From this rather trite opening, the film continues on for another end- less hour. There are some pretty fun cameos. Thurman plays a glammed up Medusa, Rosario Dawson shows up as Persephone, and Comic Genius Steve Coogan offers a brilliant turn as Hades. The adolescent adven- turers' most notable visitation is to the palace of the Lotus Eaters in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, this is one of all-too-few bright moments in an otherwise dull film. The effects are pretty. Everything else is pretty bad. The Premise Doesn't Quite Work Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Rated PG) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com Winterize home YOUR Fort Bragg Locations: Bastogne Drive Hefner Plaza Fayetteville Locations: 1638 Skibo Road 6300 Ramsey Street 7840 Raeford Road 910.864.2232 or 800.793.2328 www.fortbraggfcu.org *Membership restrictions apply. Interest on a home equity loan may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax advisor. Fort Bragg Federal Credit Union can help you winterize your home with a home equity loan! Need a new fur- nace/heating system? Need to up- grade your windows to more energy efficient ones? Our competitive fixed and variable rate home equity loans can help you with your needs. You can also use your home equity loan for: Debt consolidation • New car • Winter getaway vacation • College tuition • Almost anything! • MU @ NIGHt SPRING TERM II Starts March 15th. For more information, please contact our offi ces: MU AT FT. BRAGG: Building 2-1105 Room 106 Fort Bragg, NC 28310 910.436.3624 MU AT NIGHT OFFICE ON CAMPUS: Trustee's Building 910.630.7190 Methodist University is a participant in the Yellow Ribbon Program (Chapter 33). If you are a qualifi ed veteran or family member, you may be able to attend Methodist University tuition-free with no student loans. At Methodist University we are committed to supporting active duty military families and the veteran community. For more information, call 910.630.7174 or 1.800.488.7110 x7174 or visit us online at www.methodist.edu. The YelLOw RiBbon that's as GoOd as GOlD.

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