Over the past few weeks I have been reading the Percy Jackson books to my son. We started with The Lightning Thief, the first book in the series. He quickly became a fan. (Okay, I like reading them to him as much as he likes hearing them.) They are a worthy reading choice for those of you who have finished with the Harry Potter books.

[Spoiler Alert: I'm only going to mention things that I think are obvious from the trailers. Sorry if I get that wrong.]

Like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson is a misunderstood youth who does not realize his powers. It turns out the Percy is a hero: half-man and half-god. The gods of Olympus are still around. You just need to take the elevator in the Empire State Building to the 600th floor. Poseidon had an affair with Percy’s mother and is Percy’s absent father.

Will my kids like it?

“It was good, but a little scary and a little loud.” (The review from my young son.) When I looked around, all of the kids were enjoying the movie.

Will I like it?

When I was looking around at the kids, I noticed that all of the adults were also enjoying the movie. I liked it too. You definitely want to add the movie to your Netflix queue. It’s also worth seeing with your kids. I’m not sure the movie is worth the expense of a babysitter for a parents out night.

The special effects are great and the story is good enough to keep you interested. I was hoping it would do a better job of bringing the great characters of Greek mythology to the big screen. It’s much better than original 1981 Clash of the Titans remake with Sam Worthington as Perseus.

How PG is it?

My six-year old hid his eyes during the monster scenes. The encounter with Mrs. Dodds at the beginning of the movie is the scariest of the monster scenes. The Minotaur attack and Hades appearance in a campfire were also scary. The movie got progressively less scary for younger kids.

There is a fair amount of sword fighting and monster battles, but very little bloodshed. I didn’t notice any foul language. There is some mild sexual innuendo between Rosario Dawson as Persephone and Grover.

Do I need to read the book first?

The Percy Jackson stories are very accessible. If you haven’t read the books, the movie will certainly encourage you do so.

You also don’t need to know Greek mythology. Unfortunately, the movie downplays the underlying mythological stories.

How much does the movie differ from the book?

Chris Columbus was very true to the Harry Potter books when he directed the first two movies in the series. With The Lightning Thief he strays very far from the book. He omitted some semi-major characters, added a monster from the second book, made some significant changes to the storyline and made a few changes to the underlying Greek mythology.

Reading the book was much a much richer experience than watching the movie. It was great to see the transformation of Greek mythology to the modern age. The book was funnier and had some great lighthearted interactions that were missing from the movie.

Will the polytheism confuse my kids?

Some parents may be concerned that the concept of multiple gods might confuse their kids. I have been waiting for a question about which god is Jesus’ father. So far, it has not been asked. He just accepts the transfer of Greek mythology to the modern day and that the mythological gods are just really powerful characters.

Will my kids want to learn more about Greek Mythology?

One can only hope.

Is it as good as the Harry Potter movies?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone set a high bar for bringing a widely read fantasy book to life. The Lightning Thief is good, but not as good as the first Harry Potter movie.

Is it just a Harry Potter knock-off?

The comparisons to Harry Potter are obvious. Each book takes place during a year in Percy’s life. The first two books take place during summer vacation. The third takes place during winter vacation. Like Harry, Percy was unaware of his origins and his powers. Percy has a group of friends (one male, one female) joining him on his quests. There is a prophecy involving Percy that may determine the fate of his new found world.

I found the modern interplay with Greek mythology to be really interesting. The book and the movie could have focused more on that interplay and created a more enjoyable story without adding the Harry Potter like themes. The movie downplays some of the Harry Potter concepts from the book.

Any good previews?

I leave that up to my son. The quotes are his.

• Alice in Wonderland – “Looks cool.”
• Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore – “That’s funny.”
• Despicable Me – “Ha, ha, ha, ha!” (It was the new minions trailer).
• Karate Kid – “Kapow.” (A remake with Jacki Chan as Mr. Miyagi)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid – “So not happening.” (I don’t know what that means.)

Image courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Image: www.thetimetravelerswifemovie.com

In a year when the top chick flicks involve vampires, it’s hard to say what makes a geeky chick flicks stand out from the rest of the genre. But it’s safe to say geek women are drawn to films with intelligent dialogue, an interesting premise, a strong female lead and a leading man who’s quirky but charming. (Good-looking doesn’t hurt either.)

Here are five of my personal geeky romantic favorites, in five different categories: separated by time; separated by death; shades of the supernatural; fun and silly adventures; and alternate realities. All are out on DVD, so you can pick out one or two of your favorites, open up the chocolates and snuggle up in front of the home screen with your favorite geek:

1. The Time Travelers Wife

Sure it’s got time travel paradoxes galore. (Would the main characters have become a couple if the time traveler hadn’t begun wooing his future wife when she was just a little girl and he was a mature man who had already known her for years?) But the movie won my heart by incorporating many of the novel’s best little throwaway lines into the script. (I especially love the scene where Eric Bana cracks wise while bursting out, Hulk-like, from some way-too-small effeminate clothes he’s pinched to cover his time-traveling nakedness.) Still, it’s the chemistry between Bana and Rachel McAdams that makes this a love story of the first order. (For what it’s worth, my husband even concedes this is one chick flick he found interesting enough to stay awake through.)

2. Truly Madly Deeply

Ghost with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze may have been there first, but this is the dead-husband-comes-back movie for the geek crowd. First off, you’ve got Alan Rickman as the dead husband, Jamie. Severus Snape he’s not, but Jamie is still a whiner lacking in social skills. Even in death he’s too self-absorbed to ask his widow Nina (Juliet Stevenson) before inviting all his dead friends over to hang out. Sound familiar, ladies?

Gerard Butler (with his shirt on) and Emmy Rossum in The Phantom of the Opera

3. Phantom of the Opera

You pick your ghoul, I’ll pick mine. I’m actually not a big fan of Gerard Butler, who plays the Phantom, and Emmy Rossum as the ingénue with the big voice may be a little too readily led astray by her guardian, the diabolical Miranda Richardson. But the kids and I enjoyed reading the novel so much that I was willing to give it a try. First I was grabbed by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music, and then by the setting – the Paris Opera, with more dark nooks and crannies than you can shake a stick at. And who wouldn’t want a candelabra-lit lake passageway in their basement?

4. Pirates of the Caribbean

When this one came out I was more than happy to take the kids to the theater. Johnny Depp is sexy even at his most ridiculous. Even Geoffrey Rush had a certain Captain Hook-like appeal (nothing against Orlando Bloom, either). Why is this film geeky? Well, I have a theory that what made this movie work was the Keira Knightley character. It’s her dream to be a pirate, and the story is told from her point of view. Without Elizabeth, it’s just a story of a bunch of smelly drunk guys and some skeletons.

5. Minority Report

I love Minority Report. It’s got that whole Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg/Philip K. Dick thing going for it, to the nth degree. Talk about scifi world-building – Spielberg made this movie extra creepy by using futuristic technology that was actually not that far away. (How long before the signs in The Gap start talking to you through your iPhone?) Maybe it’s not really a love story, but it is about a man and his family. And to us GeekMoms, that’s as sexy as it gets.

The Original Zombie Slayer, Ben Hanser (image: DVD Beaver / public domain)

The future. Whether 20 years or 200 years from now, the sci-fi genre is all about new possibilities and new ideas. Change. Often, sci-fi TV shows, movies and books give us the perfect opportunity to envision a time when skin color has stopped being a factor in human-to-human relationships. You know, the novel concept of “content of a person’s character.” I can imagine a date in the future, when we refer to each other as Terran (as opposed to Martian or Titanese) or even just human.

Over my lifetime, a few movies and TV shows have got it right by casting a black actor in a particular role, not to get a stereotype on the screen, but because the actor or actress was the right fit for the part; they were the embodiment of the character.

The character was not a slang-talking, gangsta-riding jokester with a background in the ‘hood. Not a sex kitten or ultra-pro-black (or as David Alan Grier says, “Mike Tyson black”), holding the gun sideways. Not a drug-dealing, pimping, dancing and jiving stereotype. They  were just another excellent player in said show or movie. They made us forget about race as a divisive issue.

So, in recognition of the first day of Black History Month, here is a list of my top 10 favorite African American sci-fi movie & TV characters of all time.

1. Ben Hanser, Night of the Living Dead, played by Duane Jones: One of the first black hero characters in a mostly-white movie? Maybe, but I am not a movie expert. Duane Jones showed us all how to take out a zombie or two.

2. Lornette “Mace” Mason, Strange Days, played by Angela Bassett: Kicking ass and taking names, Mace broke the mold by being the black lady that would come to the rescue of the white man. I believe it was one of Angela Bassett’s best roles.

3. Benjamin Sisko, DS9, played by Avery Brooks: Running for six years in the ’90s, Star Trek: DS9 was a great entry into the canon. And Avery Brooks owned the role of the space station commander. While most geek folk remember Avery for DS9, I still like the Hawk character better.

4. Geordi La Forge, Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Levar Burton: My hero back in the day. I wanted to be Geordi. Out of all the Star Trek characters, I would propose that Geordi was the most geeky. He “loved” starship engineering. Even fell in love with a holographic colleague.

5. Lando Calrissian, Star Wars, played by Billy Dee Williams: Suave, cool, collected and prepared, Lando held it down in Bespin and proved he could fly a bucket of bolts just as well as Solo. I’d have Lando at my back any day.

6. Sgt. Apone, Aliens, played by Al Matthews: While the tough-as-nails black sergeant is a running stereotype in Hollywood, Al Matthews was great in Aliens. Just wish he would have cracked a few more alien heads before being taken out in that tunnel.

7. Morpheus, The Matrix, played by Lawrence Fishburne: Fishburne killed this role. The elusive Morpheus. Man of mystery. Thinking back on who else may have played this role any better, I’m coming up blank.

8. Lt. Uhura, Star Trek, played by Nichelle Nichols: The queen. While her role was limited in most episodes, Nichelle Nichols was a fixture on the Star Trek bridge. Because of her casting, many more opportunities opened up for black actors. And that kiss was controversial for its time.

9. Lt. Vanessa Damphousse, Space: Above & Beyond, played by Lanei Chapman: Before the Battlestar Galactica reboot, came Space: Above & Beyond. I was truly saddened when this show was kicked from the air. Glen Morgan and James Wong did a great job of casting this near-future space drama. And who could not love a fighter pilot as fine as Lanei Chapman.

10. Mace Windu, Star Wars, played by Samuel Jackson: I remember when Sam Jackson was announced as a feature character in the Star Wars prequels. One could only guess as to how he would portray one of the leaders of Jedi Council. While I think the dialogue for his character should have been tossed, I still feel that Mace Windu was one of the best Jedi masters from the movies.

Many more actors and actresses could have gone on this list. As time slowly rolls by, we are seeing more and more diversity on TV and in the movies. And as cheaper technology allows for Hollywood-caliber effects (Panic Attack) to spread across the world (Pumzi), let’s hope we see a more realistic portrayal of humanity’s peoples on the sci-fi tubes.

20th Century Fox

When we go to the movies, we have an expectation of being entertained. When we drop nine dollars a shot on a blockbuster like Avatar we don’t expect a following lecture on the dangers of smoking because it appeared in the film. Yet every time a film depicts smoking, no matter the connection to reality or not, that’s exactly what happens. It’s an interesting side effect to something that is clearly entertainment, and a hypocritical condemnation of a select behavior in film when so many other deplorable behaviors are generally left untouched.

Last week, The Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education denounced the scene in Avatar when Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) gets out of her tanning bed, er – mind-projection avatar pod – and lights one up. They didn’t like the reckless craving for a cigarette after engaging in some avataring. Specifically, “Where’s my goddamn cigarette? What’s wrong with this picture!”

From the New York Times:

Stanton A. Glantz, director of The Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, said his Smoke Free Movies initiative would soon come out swinging with an informational campaign aimed at what he saw as the movie’s pro-smoking message.

Pro-smoking message? How about pro-reality message? Or for that matter, since the movie took place on a fictional planet in the future, which can’t accurately be predicted, a pro-fiction message? How do we know that in the future, when there are spaceships and space flight, that there aren’t safe cigarettes? Perhaps it’s full of simulated tobacco and a nicotine replacement pack to just fulfill the requirements of an oral fixation? This is the future after all, and with technology laying around to transport a paraplegic soldier into an avatar via what looks like a tanning bed, one would only assume that a safe alternative to cigarettes has been created. Of course, it still looks like a cigarette and that’s what matters.

James Cameron sent a nice email response to news outlets, that summed up his feelings about the anti-smoking crusade that has been aimed at his film. He starts off referencing Dr. Augustine, “She’s rude, she swears, she drinks, she smokes,” said Cameron. “Also, from a character perspective, we were showing that Grace doesn’t care about her human body, only her avatar body, which again is a negative comment about people in our real world living too much in their avatars, meaning online and in video games.”

He wasn’t done there as he continued on to point out the inconsistent and hypocritical behavior when it comes to judging and expectations of realism in movies, “I don’t believe in the dogmatic idea that no one in a movie should smoke. Movies should reflect reality. If it’s O.K. for people to lie, cheat, steal and kill in PG-13 movies, why impose an inconsistent morality when it comes to smoking? I do agree that young role-model characters should not smoke in movies, especially in a way which suggests that it makes them cooler or more accepted by their peers.”

“Movies should reflect reality.” In reality, no matter how much we don’t like or don’t agree with it – people smoke. Without going into a ranting dissertation on the role of the parent, but it’s up to the parents to teach their kids about the dangers of smoking, it’s not up to Hollywood to do that. It’s not up to Hollywood to teach kids not to become ax murderers or swarmy detectives. Where is the outrage every time one of the so-called “torture porn” movies come out, such as the Hostel movies? Sure, the reviews reflect the general consensus about the quality of those films, but there is never such outrage until a film attacks good ‘ol family values. Remember the storm of bad press after Kevin Smith’s Scenesmoking.org, a site that monitors tobacco use in films. Sherlock Holmes, The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Blind Side also got “black lung” ratings for their depiction of tobacco use. That’s right, Sherlock Holmes smoked a pipe. Shield your children’s eyes!

The assumption being made by these organizations is that kids are impressionable and will begin smoking because their on-screen heroes smoke. Which goes right back to the “smoking is cool” argument.  I don’t disagree, it might make some kids consider smoking. I don’t disagree with these organizations waging a campaign against Hollywood to stop the depiction of on-screen tobacco use. They have every right to misdirect their outrage. Because that outrage should be placed solely on the backs of the parents. If a 13 year old takes up smoking after seeing Avatar it’s not James Cameron’s fault for having it momentarily in his movie, it’s the parents fault for not talking to and paying attention to their kids. Overall, I agree with the message organizations such as The Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education are sending. I don’t smoke, and believe that doing everything we can to prevent our children from doing it is a righteous mission.

As for Avatar being considered “pro-smoking” because it has a scene in which a character smokes, that’s just absurd. As Cameron mentioned, the character isn’t exactly a role model and shouldn’t be viewed as such. That kind of logic suggests anything that shows up in a movie is an endorsement of that activity. In just looking at Avatar that means Avatar promotes invading peaceful planets, stealing resources, killing marines (or mercenaries, couldn’t definitively make that determination) and so on.

There is a reason we pay to go see movies, there is a reason Hollywood makes movies. They aren’t always the same reason, but the outcome is the same. While I believe Hollywood is after your money more than anything else (some of the best films of late however have not come out of the film factory on the west coast) they are also out to entertain us. That is what we must always remember when going to a movie. Not only is it entertainment, but it’s a story.

So it’s up to us how we interpret that story. Do we go see a slasher film and want to go out and start ripping off limbs of near helpless teenagers at a summer camp? Do we see a movie in which a character invents wiper blades so we become inspired and invent something? Perhaps, movies can be inspiring. They can also leave an impression. It’s this impression, whether it be smoking or violence, that we do have to think about and remind ourselves that no matter how real a movie looks or feels – it’s just not reality. Sure, there are accuracies and little details that make it reality, but it’s not. What it is – is a depiction of reality. And I don’t want to live in a reality where Humphrey Bogart doesn’t light one up during The Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education.

What are your thoughts on smoking in the movies? What about when compared to violence in movies?

Image credit: Mark Fellman / 20th Century Fox

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