Percy Jackson

Impressive 'Percy' slays 'Wolfman' Two weeks out, the fate of the three big movies that opened over Presidents' Day weekend has changed dramatically. 20th Century Fox's "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" has demonstrated solid staying power and now appears likely, on a worldwide basis, to closely match the final gross of the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," which dominated the box office in its debut. Universal Pictures' "The Wolfman," meanwhile, has quickly faded and has gone from a so-so opening to bust.

"The Penderwicks on Gardam Street" Jean Birdsall Rosaline is 12. Skye is 11. Jane is 10. Batty is 4 1/2. Their dad's name is Martin and the dog is Hound. Skye goes to Boston. Jane is writing a play. Rosalind is trying to figure out a solution to a problem for a neighbor and Batty is acting out the parts of Jane's play. A lady moves next door while all this is happening. This is a hilarious comedy - read the book to find out what happens next. Reviewed by Charlotte, 10 Ivanhoe Elementary Los Angeles "The Sea of Monsters" Rick Riordan This is the second book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

CAST: Logan Lerman, Rosario Dawson, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Catherine Keener. Directed by Chris Columbus. BACK STORY: Based on the Rick Riordan bestseller, a huge fan favorite among 10-year-old boys, the film tells of young Percy, a fatherless kid suffering from dyslexia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, who discovers that he's actually the son of the immortal Poseidon and that the mythic Mount Olympus of Greek gods...

In young-adult fiction, look for the fall to squeeze every last drop of — excuse the expression — blood out of the vampire and supernatural creature trend. We've seen werewolves, ghosts, warrior fairies, zombies … where can we go next? Well, into younger age groups, for one. With her new novel "Radiance" (Square Fish/Feiwel and Friends, ages 9-12), for example, Alyson Noël spins off a new series about the ghostly younger sister from her "Immortals" books for ages 12 and older.

"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" will bring the bookshelf bestseller to the screen, but he's not quite the magical child familiar to the millions of young readers of author Rick Riordan. In the books, the hero is 12, but in this new Hollywood adventure, the actor is 18-year-old Logan Lerman. On the Hero Complex blog, director Chris Columbus talks to Rachel Abramowitz about the age issue and says that, in a way, Lerman takes Percy to an even older sensibility. "He's like this 45-year-old guy trapped in a teenager's body.

In "The Red Pyramid," the first book in "The Kane Chronicles," Rick Riordan's new series for middle readers, a child has godlike powers but doesn't know it until strange things begin to unfold. A parent disappears, prompting introductions to ancient characters and travels to otherworldly places. There are battles with evil forces and a looming deadline by which the child must complete a mission, lest society descend into chaos. If this sounds like "Percy Jackson & the Olympians," the author's five-book, New York Times bestseller fantasy series — and source of the film "The Lightning Thief" — that's no coincidence.

If you want to know what it's like to be a television star, walk down a Los Angeles sidewalk with Kevin McKidd, whom "Grey's Anatomy" fans instantly recognize as the tortured trauma surgeon Owen Hunt. If you want to know what it's like to be a movie star, listen to McKidd describe a solitary stroll he took on a New York street during the filming of "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." "There's a shot where I arrive in the city and walk up out of the ocean," says McKidd, who portrays Poseidon in the modern-day adventure with gods of Greek myth.

The White Ribbon Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $38.99 The Cannes prize-winning and multiple-Oscar-nominated German drama "The White Ribbon" represents writer-director Michael Haneke at his most direct and accessible — or at least as accessible as a 144-minute black-and-white film about the roots of European fascism can be. Set in a small village in the year before World War I, "The White Ribbon" explores how the tyrannical and capricious local...

In young-adult fiction, look for the fall to squeeze every last drop of — excuse the expression — blood out of the vampire and supernatural creature trend. We've seen werewolves, ghosts, warrior fairies, zombies … where can we go next? Well, into younger age groups, for one. With her new novel "Radiance" (Square Fish/Feiwel and Friends, ages 9-12), for example, Alyson Noël spins off a new series about the ghostly younger sister from her "Immortals" books for ages 12 and older.

It used to be that the only adults who read young adult literature were those who had a vested interest -- teachers or librarians or parents who either needed or wanted to keep an eye on developing readers' tastes. But increasingly, adults are reading YA books with no ulterior motives. Attracted by well-written, fast-paced and engaging stories that span the gamut of genres and subjects, such readers have mainstreamed a niche long derided as just for kids. Thanks to huge crossover hits like Stephenie Meyer's bloodsucking "Twilight" saga, Suzanne Collins' fight-to-the-death "The Hunger Games" trilogy, Rick Riordan's "The Lightning Thief" and Markus Zusak's Nazi-era "The Book Thief," YA is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak publishing market.

The White Ribbon Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $38.99 The Cannes prize-winning and multiple-Oscar-nominated German drama "The White Ribbon" represents writer-director Michael Haneke at his most direct and accessible — or at least as accessible as a 144-minute black-and-white film about the roots of European fascism can be. Set in a small village in the year before World War I, "The White Ribbon" explores how the tyrannical and capricious local...

In "The Red Pyramid," the first book in "The Kane Chronicles," Rick Riordan's new series for middle readers, a child has godlike powers but doesn't know it until strange things begin to unfold. A parent disappears, prompting introductions to ancient characters and travels to otherworldly places. There are battles with evil forces and a looming deadline by which the child must complete a mission, lest society descend into chaos. If this sounds like "Percy Jackson & the Olympians," the author's five-book, New York Times bestseller fantasy series — and source of the film "The Lightning Thief" — that's no coincidence.

It used to be that the only adults who read young adult literature were those who had a vested interest -- teachers or librarians or parents who either needed or wanted to keep an eye on developing readers' tastes. But increasingly, adults are reading YA books with no ulterior motives. Attracted by well-written, fast-paced and engaging stories that span the gamut of genres and subjects, such readers have mainstreamed a niche long derided as just for kids. Thanks to huge crossover hits like Stephenie Meyer's bloodsucking "Twilight" saga, Suzanne Collins' fight-to-the-death "The Hunger Games" trilogy, Rick Riordan's "The Lightning Thief" and Markus Zusak's Nazi-era "The Book Thief," YA is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak publishing market.

Impressive 'Percy' slays 'Wolfman' Two weeks out, the fate of the three big movies that opened over Presidents' Day weekend has changed dramatically. 20th Century Fox's "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" has demonstrated solid staying power and now appears likely, on a worldwide basis, to closely match the final gross of the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," which dominated the box office in its debut. Universal Pictures' "The Wolfman," meanwhile, has quickly faded and has gone from a so-so opening to bust.

If you want to know what it's like to be a television star, walk down a Los Angeles sidewalk with Kevin McKidd, whom "Grey's Anatomy" fans instantly recognize as the tortured trauma surgeon Owen Hunt. If you want to know what it's like to be a movie star, listen to McKidd describe a solitary stroll he took on a New York street during the filming of "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." "There's a shot where I arrive in the city and walk up out of the ocean," says McKidd, who portrays Poseidon in the modern-day adventure with gods of Greek myth.

'Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' MPAA rating: PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language. Running time: 1 hour, 59 minutes Playing: In general release

There were inscriptions written above the entrance of the Temple of Apollo at the Oracle of Delphi, and the two most famous ones were cautionary words of wisdom: "Know thyself" and "Nothing too much." Those bits of ancient advice are worth considering as two Hollywood studios hope to launch film franchises that use Greek mythology as the unlikely premise for popcorn entertainment. "These are the stories that began storytelling in many ways," director Louis Leterrier said a few months ago on the London set of his "Clash of the Titans," the Warner Bros.

"Percy Jackson & the Olympians" A boy is swept up in a battle of Greek gods. "Valentine's Day" Intertwining stories of love. "The Wolfman" A nobleman's horrible destiny. Also: "The Most Dangerous Man in America" "My Name Is Khan" "North Face" "Order of Chaos" "Red Riding Trilogy" "Terribly Happy"

On Valentine's Day weekend, moviegoers are set to fall in love with an underdog on what's expected to be a packed weekend at theaters. Romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," from Warner Bros.' New Line Cinema unit, will almost certainly sell more tickets in the U.S. and Canada than Universal Pictures' and 20th Century Fox's bigger-budget event films "The Wolfman" and "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." The big question for the weekend, distribution executives at several studios agreed, is whether all three films can comfortably coexist.