Lovely Bones

Although this isn't really a horror for me still it's classified under horror. I can understand that some people will find it gruesome due the subject but I must say that it had no drip of red stuff in it. Not that that is important, just look at Texas Chainsaw or Halloween, they were bloodless too. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this creepy flick. It reminded me a lot of The Loved Ones somehow, it must be the use of slow motion and the score. On the other hand it also reminded me of Heavenly Creatures by the way they used the dream sequences. It's a special flick coming from the hand of Peter Jackson. Knowing him for splatter and gore in his earlier days this could be a let down for some but I really liked it the way it was shot and the use of CGI didn't bother me at all. Not for everyone but if you can stand weird flicks than this won't be a problem for you.

I just saw The Lovely Bones today & having let it set in I thought it was a tremendous film!!! OK, I'll admit that Peter Jackson tried a little too much to overpower the film with CGI but that does not take anything away from the heart & emotion this film can generate.

Firstly the acting is absolutely superb with fine performances all round. Saoirse Ronan (from my homeland - Ireland) is a revelation as Susie Salmon. I have yet to see such a gifted piece of acting from such a young actress since Natalie Portman in Léon. She has been robbed of a nomination for a truly Oscar-worthy performance. Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon & of course Stanley Tucci (one of the finest supporting actors in modern times) are all convincing here too.

I believe that when the nay-sayers saw the level of CGI they lost interest & forgot what this film can really offer you at its core - tension, heartbreak, thrills & joy.

If you really make the effort to delve into this film, you will come out with a tear in your eye. If not, then I pity you for not being able to look past the CGI blunders & see a really emotional film.

Such a powerful movie, even after watching it over, it still made me cry. It's hard to imagine such kind of beasts exists between us.

Peter Jackson has done a great job. Hats off to him.

Slow & confusing in the beginning, different. Stuck with it. Other characters were well done!!

I have read the book. I loved it, I thought it was both chilling and heartbreaking with a fine story and credible characters. I do think it is much better than the film, which was solid enough but lacking a strong emotional core.

I will start with the film's faults. The story is a very intriguing one, but it is quite slow complete with holes and any parts that strived to be heartbreaking came across as mawkish. The script is quite weak often, particularly with Susan Sarandon's character in the sense that it is never quite sure which direction it wants to go. But what hurt the film most was some aspects of Peter Jackson's direction. Jackson is a good director don't get me wrong, but he does make some decisions that detract from the impact of the story rather than enhance it. Especially with the CGI, not that it was bad CGI in fact it looked quite good, what I mean was that there was a complete overload of it and I think some of it was unnecessary.

However, the film does look absolutely beautiful, with beautiful scenery and cinematography. The score gives a haunting, eerie and intoxicating quality too. While the story is flawed, there is a good atmosphere especially in the more chilling scenes, where they are quite chilling and that's an understatement. Apart from two performances, the acting is quite good. The best performance comes from the very promising child actress Saiorse Ronan, who is just tremendous here. Stanley Tucci is very chillingly effective too, and Mark Wahlberg is surprisingly good. The two performances I wasn't so taken with were Rachel Weisz, who is wasted, and the normally solid Susan Sarandon, who overplays quite badly.

All in all, an okay if inferior adaptation. 6/10 Bethany Cox