Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
Release Date: August 7 Oscar Prospects: Bad Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the second film adaptation in the popular children's fantasy literature series. The first film adaptation, Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief, while coming nowhere near Harry Potter type numbers, apparently did well enough financially (thanks to the ever-growing worldwide box office) to merit the production of a sequel. Some three years later, I kind of wonder if they dropped the ball on this one, but no doubt hardcore fans of the books will still show up to see their beloved series up on the silver screen. The sequel's plot revolve's around the titular Percy (who I guess is the son of the Greek sea god Poseidon, although I have never read the books or seen the first film) in his attempt to save his homeland by traveling to the Sea of Monsters to retrieve the Golden Fleece and stop the yada yada yada. No matter how much fantasy enthusiasts (aka nerds) want to argue the point, I've always felt the plot of these type of stories is mostly arbitrary and of secondary importance. What seems to be of paramount importance in these endeavors is that there are a lot of characters with long back stories and lore (where simple quantity of events and connections appears to be a sufficient substitute for actual depth in character and text), and particularly for the filming aspect, plenty of opportunities for high-octane action sequences. I am skeptical of the film's box office fate, but I am downright positive this film won't come anywhere near Oscar. While the film's star, Logan Lerman, may be an up-and-coming actor after his solid lead turn in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and a promising role in Darren Aronofsky's forthcoming biblical epic, Noah, as Percy Jackson, he won't earn more than a solid paycheck. I guess theoretically, the film may have a chance in some of the below the line categories, but if the first film didn't succeed there, I can't imagine the sequel will. Possible nominations: None