Reel Critics:

Chris Columbus has directed two Harry Potter films. He now brings to the screen another character from a popular set of magical books for younger readers. “The Lightning Thief” is the first book in the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series. Centered in Greek mythology, the story covers Percy coming of age as he discovers his true identity as a demigod and son of Poseidon.

Logan Lerman does a fine job playing the juvenile super hero in the manner of Tobey Maguire’s “Spiderman.” Percy ends up in a secret camp where young demigods are training to realize their destiny as sons and daughters of Athena, Hermes and others.

Percy finds himself in the middle of a nasty fight among the major Greek Gods. Zeus threatens retaliation over the theft of the lightning bolt that is the hallmark of his power. Mistakenly believing that Percy is the thief, he sets forces in motion that drive the frenetic action of the plot.

The director clearly knows his way around the expectations of the fantasy adventure genre. The computer-generated effects are first-rate as legendary creatures come to life. Medusa, the Minotaur and the seven-headed Hydra all do battle with the young warriors. This movie has all the craft viewers might expect. It only falls short in building heartfelt connections that really make you care about the characters on the screen.

Just a bunch of cheese ball nonsense

After a sleepy but radiant Jessica Alba accepts his early-morning proposal in “Valentine’s Day,” an ebullient Ashton Kutcher says: “I intend to be a sappy cheese ball all day.” So there you have this movie in a nutshell — don’t say you haven’t been warned.

In Garry Marshall’s thinly-veiled copy of the far superior “Love, Actually,” pretty people talk and talk about love — being in love, not being in love, old love, young love, etc. ad nauseum.

With a cast that includes four — count ’em! — Best Actor Oscar winners (Julia Roberts, Kathy Bates, Jamie Foxx and Shirley MacLaine), you wonder why nobody bothered to work out a script worthy of all this talent.

Real love doesn’t always come wrapped up in pretty ribbons and flowers; much of the time it’s a hot mess that can make you crazy.

But in “Valentine’s Day,” love is as sanitized and soulful as Anne Hathaway’s silly calls with her phone-sex clients.

Marshall gives us what he thinks we want to hear but, at the end of the day, we have nothing to take home but fewer dollars in our pockets.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.