The plot is about high school student Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) who discovers after an attack by his substitute teacher looking for Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt that the gods of Olympus are real and that his dad is Poseidon himself. Percy is then hurried away by Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) his guardian satyr friend in disguise and mother Sally (Catherine Keener) who take him to Camp Half-Blood – a training camp for demigods like Percy. It is here that he learns about his power and is joined by Annabeth Chase (Alexandra Daddario) to rescue his mother from Hades and solve the mystery of the true lightning bolt thief.

While the overall plot is grounded in Rick Riordan’s book, it also takes some huge steps away from it as well in terms of Percy’s age, where they go and why the lightning bolt is stolen in the first place, which only reinforced my feeling that this movie was made to order with tweens in mind. Which is why I am a little bit surprised about some of the sexually suggestive humor. Not to mention the experience these apparent high school students had in Las Vegas, which for me was a real stretch. In addition, some of the settings in the movie made me think that they were also stretched in terms of budget. Settings such as Camp Half-Blood just didn’t seem to convey the type of mythical prowess you’d expect in a film of this nature.

Speaking of the film, there were definitely some fun filled action moments. But I personally found the overall film lacking in substance in regards to its characters. In spite of the actors and actresses good performances, you never really got to know the characters themselves or sense the depth of urgency as to what a war of the gods would really mean for them personally. This is unlike the Sorcerer’s Stone (Philosopher’s Stone), which allowed audiences a chance to understand who Harry Potter is as a person, what his struggles were and what he wanted out of life. I guess I just never felt connected to the characters or cared if they succeeded or not. And that brings up another issue about characters – what about the mythical figures themselves – don’t these classical characters deserve fair treatment? I mean, sure the movie shows us the sibling rivalry and selfish nature of the gods, and treats us to some of the legendary figures such as Medusa, but never do we get a real sense of their power and personality other than, “Oh yeah they’re real.”

If I had to sum up my experience with Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, it would be this: it was like watching a high budget made-for-TV movie from Disney – a fun fantasy film mixed with some special effects – all in the hopes that tweens will beg their parents to let them watch it and buy the DVD.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is set 23 years after the events of the first film in the year 2008, just before the stock market downturn, which Gekko tries to warn others of to no prevail due to his lack of credibility in the financial world. Gekko then decides to rebuild his relationship with his estranged daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), who avoids her father since she blames him for the suicidal death of Rudy her brother (played by Stone’s son in the original film). Gekko then agrees to help a young Wall Street trader named Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf) – Winnie’s fiancé – to catch the person responsible for his mentor’s death in return for his help in catching his daughter’s love again.

Wall Street 2 will be released on April 23, 2010 and will also feature a cameo appearance by none other than Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen). While greed may not be good, here’s hoping this sequel is.

But that’s all changed since I’ve seen the trailer to the June 11, 2010 release of “The Karate Kid,” starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Chan of course is no stranger to martial art films, but Jaden is. Yet, since his endearing role in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” many like myself have come to expect great things of young Mr. Smith who obviously has a lot star power of his own. Perhaps this was genetically passed down from papa who’s had his own fair share of summer blockbusters.

This soon-to-be summer hit is the story about 12-year-old Dre Parker (Smith) who moves from Detroit to China after a career move by his mother. He immediately becomes the target of the class bully after befriending Mei Wing. With no kung fu skills, Dre is helpless until Mr. Han (Chan) teaches Dre how to fight and how to live.

While the trailer shows a few nods to the original film, this reboot seems set to “wax” the floor come June with a promising plot and high-action performances. Here’s hoping that Smith and Chan can deliver some of that movie magic many of us experienced back in June of 1984.

Soap Opera on the Big Screen
Okay, I’ll admit it – I’ve never read any of the Twilight books. Why? Is it because I don’t love vampire stories? Wrong O! I’ve been reading stuff about vampires since I first started reading as a kid. On top of which I’ve also seen almost every blood-sucking flick and show as well, including the Twilight films. So why haven’t I read the book? In short, I am really busy and I don’t have a lot of time to read fiction. In honesty, they seem more geared towards the ladies, like some Harlequin romance novel. So now that I have watched the latest Twilight film, I believe my suspicions are correct – the Twilight films are nothing more than “Soap Opera on the Big Screen.” And just as daytime soaps are popular for their steamy romance and lovers’ spats, so are these films. In other words, the movies are more about romance than they are about vampires.

Having said that, I really thought there were a few really cool vampire moments in the film. Yet I still struggled to stay awake during most of the film. Of course, anytime I started to drift asleep, adult women and teen-age girls panting and screaming over some actor taking his shirt off or appearing topless immediately wakened me. Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with films appealing to a certain gender. I can think of plenty of films I saw in the theater where guys and teen-age boys reacted the same to some sexy actress. However, I guess that’s my real gripe with “Twilight: New Moon.” To be frank, there is nothing of real substance here. The only engaging part of the story is its trite plotline of “Will the boy get the girl?” Hear me out, as a guy who loves a good romantic flick, some of my favorite movies have this plotline (e.g., “Sleepless in Seattle, and “While You Were Sleeping”). Yet, those movies also had other story elements that made the movie great.

I guess another boring bit about the movie is its characters. For example, the character of Bella can be summarized like this: I love you, don’t leave me, and please make me a vampire. The other two lead actors can also be summarized in similar fashion: I love you, I promise not to leave, and maybe I will make you a vampire/werewolf wife.  To that, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner do an excellent job playing their parts. I don’t think they could have gotten a better cast to match these roles. Yet despite their talents, there is nothing new under the moon here in terms of complex characters.

Another thing that put me off was the fact that there wasn’t enough action in this movie. Who knows, maybe it’s because I am a guy who likes red meat. I thought the werewolf action-scenes were well done, but there could have been more moments that moved us beyond just sappy romance and depression. Let’s face it – there was a huge amount of the movie dedicated to showing us scenes with Bella basically pouting in pain. I understand the director needed to make the audience feel her loneliness and isolation, but I think that could have been accomplished in a shorter time span, thereby allowing more action on the screen. Heck, I would have settled for just some more blood and gore. I know that may sound like typical vampire stuff, but who cares; it would have at least kept my eyelids from drooping repeatedly.

All in all, those who have read the Twilight books have described “New Moon” as the worse in the series – a worse yet necessary step in moving the story forward. Since I have not read any of the books, I am going to have to assume that’s true based on my boring experience with this film. Here’s hoping the third Twilight movie is more than just some soap opera and that it will finally offer us vampire fans something to thirst after.

What makes this movie so amazing is not just the well-written screenplay, but also the acting accompanying it, which is not only superb but also heartfelt. I have seen Sandra Bullock in many roles but this has to be one of her finest performances. She truly convinces you that she’s a tough opinionated southern bell. Having spent some time with people from Tennessee, I found her accent authentic and her mannerisms genuine. I am not sure I like her as a blonde, but she looked gorgeous in this role as a mother, wife and businesswoman. Playing Michael Oher is Quinton Aaron, an actor I am not too familiar with until now. Though his character in the movie spoke very little, his performance masterfully embraced the nuance and spirit of Michael Oher. There were many other outstanding performances. But the one that constantly made me smile was the performance of Jae Head who played S.J. – Michael’s adopted brother, friend, and coach. Seeing his character on the screen made me wish there were more kids out there like S.J.

As far as the overall story goes, I am not sure if writer/director John Lee Hancock was trying to imply multiple meanings within the story through the use of its title, but here’s what I see. First, there is the blind side of a quarterback in which a left tackle, like Michael Oher, would guard. Second, “The Blind Side” could also mean how Michael Oher was blind-sided by the overwhelming generosity and love the Tuohy’s gave him. And lastly, “The Blind Side” could also imply how Michael Oher blinded his eyes by covering them as a child growing up, to protect himself from seeing his mother do some horrible things. So he protects the quarterback, he protects his new family, and ultimately he protects himself from allowing the evils of the world from robbing him of his dream.

Bottom-line, there are many other merits this movie has, but for me, it ultimately was about the story. If you’re looking for a potentially life-changing movie – look no further. “The Blind Side” will not only challenge your complacency in helping others less fortunate, it will also challenge your complacency in reaching your full potential both personally and professionally. I highly recommend this movie to all who breathe.