^ok cool- awesome! That was the main reason I didn't want to watch it

so wait - with my limited knowledge of Percy Jackson and Clash Of The Titans, if both have the same gods in them, which, if any, is the rip-off of the other one? if I am clueless, someone please tell me so!

so wait - with my limited knowledge of Percy Jackson and Clash Of The Titans, if both have the same gods in them, which, if any, is the rip-off of the other one? if I am clueless, someone please tell me so!

neither is a rip-off.
Clash is a remake of the '80's version, and it's set in the past, Troy-like settings and clothing.

Percy Jackson is based off a book, and is set in modern days.

Well seeing as Percy Jackson is a modern story (very) loosely based on Greek myth, and Clash of the Titans a retelling of the original Greek myth, I would have to say Percy Jackson is the "rip-off" .

To further confuse the issue "Percy" Jackson is a clear take off on the original character Perseus. Yet in the original Greek myths Perseus is the son of Zeus. In the Percy Jackson series "Percy" is the son of Poseidon. Again, Clash of the Titans is closer to the original myths.

GB

When I was watching Clash of the Titans, and Pegasus came on screen I couldn’t help but think of Fledge and how amazing it will look if one day God Willing Magicians Nephew gets made! Pegasus was just beautiful! The more I think about the movie, the more I want to see Clash of the Titans again!

Saw "How to Train Your Dragon" today with our whole family--all of us enjoyed it I think, from my 5 year old brother to my 20 year old brother. Yes, it was pretty predictable, but it was a fun and enjoyable watch.

sounds awesome 7chronicles!

Libby: neither of them are rip-offs. They're totally different stories. Just b/c they both have the Greek gods doesn't make them the same movie.

I saw Clash of the Titans today. I thought it was a good movie, nothing spectacular but it was a fun watch.

Just a few thoughts,
-I'm not much of a fan of Sam Worthington. He's played the exact same character in this, Avatar, and Terminator Salvation. He's yet to prove that he can do anything else.
-I thought Mads Mikkelsen was very good as Draco, and ended up being one of my favorite characters. Ralph Fiennes was also great as Hades, very creepy. I was actually a little disappointed in Liam Neeson as Zeus. While he seems tailor made for the role, it just didn't really work for me.
-Like Icarus pointed out, I think earlier in this thread, even though I saw it in 2D, there were some shots (the horribly rendered CGI coin) that were added in post-production to add to the "3D effect" that really stuck out like a sore thumb, and honestly were kind of annoying and took me out of the moment.
-All of the creatures looked great, and Pegasus was beautiful.

I'm going to see How to Train Your Dragon in 3D on Monday, and I'm very very excited about seeing that.

I went to a free Christian Film Festival yesterday and saw a movie called Like Dandelion Dust. It was a reallly good movie about a couple trying to get back their child, who they gave up for adoption at birth. It's a tearjerker, but that's my kind of movie . It's based on Karen Kingsbury's novel of the same name. It's rated PG13 for alcoholism and domestic abuse but everything is handled really well, and you don't see much violence or anything. The whole story is very touching. I'd heartily reccomend it to anyone that doesn't mind a kinda sad story .

I saw the new Clash of the Titans this afternoon. Bkey and I apparently share much the same opinion on the film...good but could have been better. I like Sam Worthington but he needs to do more than grunt, swing swords, and be stern with everyone. There are some major plot differences from the first Clash of the Titans, which I won't reveal here, but by and large the two films are not very alike, other than they have the same characters (for the most part) and title. The original film was able to tap into my imagination when I was young...this one is more geared for special effects. Never mind that the stop-motion photography from the original is very dated, never mind that the acting is a little hammier, it still showed some reverence for the "source material", and doggone-it, it was fun! This one tosses much of it out the window.

Medusa in the original is ugly...very ugly. I know this will sound a bit weird, but in the new one if you take away the snakes for hair and the long, serpentine body (and naturally the stone-gaze), she's actually kind of attractive. In a squirmy, snaky kind of way. The original Medusa was scaly, mean, and plenty ugly...and by extension far more menacing. They should have stuck with that.

Original

There's a cameo by a certain robotic owl from the first film (go Bubo!). Scorpions have an appearance too. But by and large Pegasus steals the film...they really hit a homerun with the effects for the winged horse and I'd have been content just watching 10 minutes of Pegasus flying around. It was just beautiful! Kinda reminded me of Fledge from Magician's Nephew.

Major nitpick: The Greek pantheon of gods are there for all to see. Except they don't really do anything, with only Zeus (Neeson) and Hades (Fiennes) getting any kind of noticeable screen time. Apollo and Poseidon get one line apiece. The film would have benefitted greatly with Hephaestus, Hera, and Aphrodite, especially as they were important to the first film. Instead in this film they're window dressing.

Not really happy with the plot either. I kept thinking the characters were doing the wrong thing, notably with their adopted stance with the gods. But maybe that's just me. Decent film, good for a watch (Pegasus is worth half the price of admission), but I'd recommend waiting till' it's out on video.

The Book of Eli recently came to Aussie cinemas. I thought it was a very good action/thriller. More thought-provoking than most. It contains Old Testament-type violence with a New Testament message. Don't go into this movie expecting a feel-good movie, it's not. It's very dark and grim. But in the darkness, shines a light. Hope. Salvation.

Some Christians have complained about the graphic violence (most of it is warranted but yes, some is gratuitous), many non-Christians have complained that it's message is too overt. See it for yourself and decide.

WARNING:The Book of Eli is appropriate for older teenagers and adults. It contains strong violence, some strong language and themes.

8/10

I had a chance to view the new Clash of the Titans this weekend and agree with much of what others have already said (especially Shadowlander's comments): enjoyable but it could have been better. I also went in knowing it was 'grittier,' so to speak (in terms of violence), than the original.

Here are a few additional observations:

Nods to the original include

Familiar faces include Sam Worthington (Avatar) - whose Aussie accent seems to peek out just a bit here and there - and Liam Neeson. Io was portrayed by Gemma Arterton - familiar to me primarily because of her prominence in the Prince of Persia trailer, which has appeared in front of just about every movie I've seen for the last 6 months, including this one. Alexander Siddig, who played Dr. Bashir in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, appears as Hermes, though as Shadowlander noted Olympians other than Zeus and Hades have such small roles I didn't recognize him until I saw his name in the credits.

I did like the portrayal of Mount Olympus, even more so than that in the recent Percy Jackson movie. Charon and the River Styx were portrayed much like I've always imagined them - an old creaky boat crossing dark, fog-filled waters, as opposed to their more-interesting interpretation in The Lightning Thief movie.

The Pegasus (which usually is said to have come from drops of the Medusa's blood mixing with sea foam after Perseus killed her) was, as others have said, very well-done. By the time The Magician's Nephew rolls around, who knows what further improvements may be made? Something to look forward to, for sure.

The Stygian Witches were also creepy, but rendered well in terms of how the stories describe them.

There are some nitpicks about not being entirely true to the original Perseus myth, but that's okay. One of them I rather liked:

And I think including

But these are just details. I may get the DVD eventually, if it's at the right price.

edit: somehow I forgot what might be my biggest beef with the plot:

Just for the record, in the Percy Jackson books, Charon and his boat do go down an actual dark, creepy river of death. Olympus is more interesting too, as are the gods (a LOT more character development, and not only for Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades).

I actually have yet to see even the trailer for Clash of the Titans. I was interested for a little while because of Liam Neeson and Sam Worthington, but in the end I didn't have enough interest to actually spend money on seeing it.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

^ditto. I might see it when it comes out on DVD though...ditto about PJO too

I saw How To Train Your Dragon this weekend and echo some of the comments already made here: predictable, yet enjoyable enough. The idea that

The one character's

I thought the epic battle scenes near the end might have been a bit much for the little ones in the audience, but the comments I overheard after the film indicated that at least some of the little kids weren't bothered by them.

And one of the ads before the movie was touting the availability of Avatar on DVD - I haven't seen that too often before.