By Christian Miles, 16.

I watched two new movies recently and thought I'd pit them against each other to see which I think should win the theater cagefight. Sound fun?

On one side of the ring we've got Tim Burton's latest work, Alice in Wonderland, and on the other side we've got Chris Columbus' adaption of Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief.

I didn't necessarily like Alice or Percy before going into the theater, so this is as close to an unbiased review as I can give you. Here goes...

Alice in Wonderland

19-year-old Alice returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen’s reign of terror.

The biggest concern I've seen over Alice in Wonderland is that Tim Burton would "creepify" it with his signature dark style and flair for oddity. This is a family film, and Disney seems to have recognized that fact. I didn't think it was dark at all. The cinematography didn't resemble anything from Burton's Sweeney Todd or Nightmare Before Christmas. As for the oddity... you can't get more odd than unbirthdays and rabbits with watches. In this sense, Burton has stayed very true to Lewis Carroll's original vision of Underland.

All the same, this movie may not be ideal for younger moviegoers. There were a few violent sequences, including a creature getting its eye poked out and another beastie getting its head severed, but these were purposefully non-graphic. The Mad Hatter's look is peculiar, but it falls far short of The Dark Knight's Joker on the creepy scale.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Teenage Percy Jackson discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out with friends on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods.

You may remember that I did a post awhile back reviewing the book this film is based off of. You also may remember that I didn't particularly like the book. The movie was a totally different experience. It breathed life and humor into the characters and even improved the plot.

Chris Columbus, the director of the first two Harry Potter films, avoided several of the pitfalls the book held, but while doing so he created a couple others. The sensuality, which is almost non-existent in the book, was upped quite a bit. Also, Percy is rewarded for being disobedient and a word that would've gotten my mouth washed out with soap for saying was spouted twice.

Percy is a relatable character. He stands for friendship and family throughout, and risks his life several times for both. The harpy-like "Fury" in the beginning could scare younger kids, but I think it'd be a fine film for ages 12 and up.

The Winner

Alice in Wonderland only just managed to snag the victory. I enjoyed both movies a lot, and would give them both four stars, but Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief posed too many problems for me to truly enjoy every aspect of it.

Christian Miles is a sixteen-year-old Christian speculative fiction writer.