Ponyo and Percy Jackson reviews

These reviews for Ponyo and Percy Jackson show what a mixed bag both these films are.

PONYO
Hayao Miyazaki returns after such masterpieces like Spirited Away with a rather unspirited spin on The Little Mermaid, telling of a young fish, Ponyo (dubbed by Noah Cyrus) desperate to become a human. When a young boy, Souske (Frankie Jonas) saves Ponyo from near death, she makes it her mission to become a human and get back to Souske and prove her love for him. This description makes Ponyo sound like a deep, intellectual film for all ages, when in fact, it's Miyazaki's most kid friendly picture date. Obviously aiming for a younger crowd than his usual devotees, the legendary Japanese director fails to add any of the knowing humour for the adults to enjoy this as much as previous films. The only reason it's getting the great reviews is because it's a hand drawn animation, and reviewers want people to continue to think that they like these artsy- fartsy pictures. While Ponyo is not overly arty, many points that make it a disappointment have not been picked up on; the fact that the script is appalling in places, and the supporting characters are not fleshed out well. And there's the huge problem with the pacing; between the epic sea battles and tender moments between Sosuke and Ponyo, the film is ridiculously slow. Miyazaki prides himself on focusing on the whole film, but here he faulters by not making this entertaining or dramatic enough. Having completely bashed Ponyo, I'm going to contradict myself completely, and say it was completely adorable, funny and very cute a lot of the time. And the casting of Cyrus and Jonas is just brilliant, especially considering their siblings' past! Overall, this is an odd, cold film that has flashes of genius. Not Miuyazaki at his best.
OVERALL GRADE: 6/10

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTINING THEIF
I am a huge fan of the books, mainly because it was a fantastic alternative to Harry Potter. Rick Riordan is brilliant at fleshing out his characters, and making the action exciting; it bursts off the page ina flurry of hyperkinetic madness, making for an exhilarating read. Despite the film's attempts at exciting action and tender moments, much of the book's warmth is lost in an utterly cliched, predictable kid's offering that has some of the worst pacing since...well, Ponyo. The story of Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman, a good replacement for Daniel Radcliffe) learning he is the son of Posideon, and then, along with demigod friends Annabeth and Grover (Alexandra Daddario and Brandon T Jackson) embarking on a quest to both prove he did not steal God of the Gods, Zeus' bolt, and also to save his mother from the Underworld. The books are certainly not second rate material to Harry Potter, but this film is. The look, direction, stars, plot and everything else looks so similar to the first two Harry Potters (also directed by Chris Columbus, doing a moderate job here, but showing no enthuasism over the material) and audiences will not be pleased with this; I know I wasn't. The heart to heart moments are hilarious, and the action scenes pathetic to begin with. They improve greatly towards the end, as does the narrative structure and background design (sadly not the script or acting), and the film is very enjoyable, there's no doubt about it. It's just shame how disappointing it is.
OVERALL GRADE: 6/10