FILM NEWS | In Cinemas This Week...

It's another big week for the cinemas as more long awaited films are hitting the big screen. This week - Thursday, 20th March - the following films will be released at a local cinema near you:

Starring: Aaron Echkart, Bill Nighy, Miranda Otto and Yvonne Strahovski

This film is a modern-day take on Mary Shelly's, Frankenstein. Aaron Eckhart leads a stellar cast in a battle between good and evil in a fleeting and fragile world. sL Recommendation: For all you Adrenalin Junkies out there.

Starring: Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Carrie-Anne Moss and Kiefer Sutherland

Based on one of the most catastrophic volcanic eruptions in ancient history, Pompeii compiles several pieces of evidence into a tragic story of honour, power and love. sL Recommendation: For  all you History Buffs waiting for something new to dig up.

Starring: Ice Cube and Kevin Hart

All Ben (Hart) wants to do is marry Angela (Tika Sumpta), but it's almost impossible with her brother James (Cube) in the way. To prove that his love is true, Ben agrees to Ride Along for the time of his life. sL Recommendation: For my pack of Laughing Hyaenas - yes, hyaenas, I know you own your laughing fits in the cloak of darkness just as much as I do.

Starring: Jay Z

Following the strand of "DocoCons™" out there, Jay Z is following in suit as he takes us through his biggest show yet. With cameos from Beyonce, Rita Ora and heaps more, this film is set to thrill all you Jay Z fans out there. sL Recommendation: For all you Musicians looking for some inspiration or answers to what it takes to be Made In America.

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That's what's coming to the big screens this week. For more info and to see what else is coming this month, click here for the Event Cinemas webpage where you can also get you tickets for any of the films above when they're released this Thursday, 20th March.

Singing out,

strictlyLeisure xxx

PS. Here's the trailer for upcoming film, The Maze Runner, based on James Dashner's best selling trilogy starring Teen Wolf's, Dylan O'Brien. This film is set to be released in September this year:

FILM REVIEW | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Percy (Logan Lerman), Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) are back for a whole new quest – a quest that seems to drag all of Camp Half-Blood with them.

With a war waging between cousins, immortal fathers and mentors seem impossible to communicate with – even the Oracle of Delphi’s prophesy was more cryptic than a court jester’s riddles.

With his destiny on the line, can Percy live up to the prophecy told long ago?

The Story

Based on the Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan, this movie adaptation is much closer to the book than the first film. I take my hat off to Marc Guggenheim for his page-to-screen delivery of one of this century's endeavour to revive Greek mythology for a new generation.

Unlike the first film where Poseidon is brought to life in human form, this film immortalises him into the deity that seemingly abandons his child – but in reality, gives him a different perspective when a certain “optically-challenged” half-brother is thrown in the picture.

Guggenheim’s rearrangement of the events in the book was classy and straightforward and really gave the film an edge.

The Cast

Logan Lerman – Reprising his role as the sole demi-god spawned by one of the “Big Three”, Lerman is nothing short of brilliant. Although it is not his best performance, he brought Percy to life, making his suffering as the seemingly only son of Poseidon grappling with the fact that he has a somewhat half-brother, along with the weight of the fate of the world in his hands.

Alexandra Daddario – Loving the blonde that was missing from the first film, Daddario is still her feisty self, yet less intense - which is exactly what Annabeth needs to be through the progression of the series. Retaining Annabeth’s bossiness, Daddario has found a great balance between her driven Greek-demi-goddess side and her caring human-being side.

Brandon T. Jackson – Although Jackson was brilliant as the film’s comic relief, he hasn’t really done anything new with the character, which is both great, yet disappointing. Great in the sense that he’s the audience’s constant, but I think in not growing as a character, he lacks the essence of the Grover in the book series.

Douglas Smith – Perfect portrayal of Tyson. Sure the story doesn’t allow for the childish nature of the Cyclopes mythology, but Smith captured the Tyson of the books perfectly. He was a great contrast to Lerman in regards to seeking and speaking with Poseidon.

Leven Rambin – I loved that we see Clarisse in this film! She’s such a central character to the first two books of the series that I grinned so much when she entered in the opening scene. Rambin captured her PERFECTLY and I’m dying to see what she does with the character next!

Jake Abel – Also reprising his role as the lightning thief, Luke, Abel gets a longer reign as the antagonist in this film. What Abel lacked was a sense of consistency in his dialogue, which I think was on purpose in the sense that he was trying to revive the titan of all titans, while trying to gain revenge on Mount Olympus. So for me, I think Abel almost outshone every other cast member, with the exception of Rambin.

Graphics and Visual Effects

The mechanical bull, taxi ride, hippocampus and water surfing were all done very well. What I hated was Kronos; he was too mechanical or graphical to be believable. I really wish that we saw a human aspect to him. Yes, I do in fact understand that he’s the scary Titan who ate his children, but Greek pottery did portray him with human-like features, had Kronos been portrayed in that way I think he would’ve been much scarier against the theme park setting.

Overall, it was a great film. Well written and well executed. Kudos to every single member of the cast and crew.

Star Rating: ★★★

Next on sL: The Royal Ranger - Reading with sL