The Lovely Bones

Apparently read that the american release on december 11th is only limited viewing and then more on December 25th but it goes on full release on Janurary 15th in the usa and 2 weeks later in the uk !If thats true ive never seen that before where a much anticipated film is not on full release on day one !paticullaly as the story is set in december at the begining ! dont understand Dreamworks/Paramounts thinking on this!
 
I think this is pretty harsh, especially regarding the effects which are in the places they need to be and definitely not overwhelming.

I loved the 'in-between' sections and, indeed, the whole of the first half of the film was IMO brilliant, moving and in parts scary (the part where she's in Mr Harvey's bathroom just after she died...) it sucked me right in. The second half, however, dragged a little. It didn't help that they all but cut out Rachel Weisz's (Susie's mother) role and Susie's sister, who most of the book is really about, if I remember. You can understand why Peter cut it though. Best to focus on Susie and her dad.

What they did leave in was expertly done. Mark Wahlberg was actually decent, which is something in itself! Stanley Tucci was so good as Mr. Harvey, Susie's killer (that's not a spoiler btw). Some actors need a script that spells everything out for them but Stanley hardly had any lines and sold it perfectly.

The best thing about it is, of course, Saoirse Ronan who plays Susie Salmon. Such a fantastic actress for her age (she was only 13 when they shot this), she carries the whole 2 hours. No-one could have done it better, surely. Peter Jackson's love of the huge close-ups on actors faces are great here because she's so striking. I reckon she really is the next huge star in-the-making.
 
I've heard the same multipule times. It sounRAB like most of Rachel Weisz's and Susan Sarandon's scenes ended up on the cutting room floor (possibly Sarandon's ridiculously out of place comedy montage would have made more sense if we'd had a few more of her scenes left in). There was an entire subplot (which is absolutely vital to the story in the novel) about Susie's mother having an affair with detective Len that was apparently filmed but totally eliminated from the final cut of the film, aside from a few hints that only people who had read the book would notice.

It seems like if anything hurt this film, it's some of the bizarre editing decisions. Obviously there have to be changes when a book is transferred to the screen but the fact that huge chunks of footage were slashed from the final cut is so noticable and the editing in general is inexcusably piss poor.
 
The one thing that bugs me is that they cast actors in their 20s to play 14-year-old Susie's younger sister (well she's younger in the book, maybe they've changed that) and the boy she likes at school. This is so they can be shown when they're older later in the movie, but even from the trailer it seems weird.

The alarm bells SHOULD be ringing with Mark Wahlberg but maybe, just maybe, Peter Jackson has got a good performance out of him. Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon are solid actresses so there'll be no problem there.
 
Hasn't it been in post-production for absolutely ages? I hope we should start seeing trailers soon, though it looks like the press releases for this film are going to be drip fed to us very slowly. It's taken this long just to find four little photo stills...

I think it's going to translate beautifully to the big screen. The fact that they've taken so much time over it gives me real hope for that. There are some scenes that could be absolutely gorgeous if they've been handled correctly, like the scenes in Susie's heaven.
 
Susie's final wish was to have her first kiss with Ray, and she swapped places with Ruth for a minute to complete the wish and then went on to Heaven with no regrets. Ruth sensed Susie's wish and gave up her body for her. It was said earlier in the film that Ruth was frowned upon for being "weird" by everyone because she "saw" things, and that was the spirits and afterlife I think that's why she sensed Susie. :)
 
I HAVE read the book (albeit a while ago...) and think that the film is a good adaptation. I agree that the film is a bit...disjointed, but then I get that same feeling from the book. When I read it I didn't like the whole 'taking over someone else's body' thing but they portrayed it well in the film, didn't make too big a deal out of it.

It was always going to be a difficult story to do justice to, and I think PJ has done well.
 
I had high hopes for this film, maybe too high. Some stories just don't translate well to screen and I think that's what has happened here.

It would be nice to see a dicretor's cut of the film to see if there was stronger characterisation originally. Here's hoping for something on the DVD, even just a few deleted scenes.
 
Totally agree with you...Also S.Saradons character was also out of place..

Overall a good film but with a story like that it could have been so much better.
 
The character was fine in the book. She was a rock for the family and had amusing moments without being reduced to a one dimensional slapstick comedy figure.

The character as presented in the film is totally unrecognisable from the character in the book. Jackson completely wasted Sarandon.
 
Up there with Transformers 2: Revenge of the fallen as the worst film of this year;

Okay so here it goes;
The lovely Bones aka A Lovely Mess aka All Bones, No Meat

You can see how badly this film was edited in post production, making certain characters look foolish with out any reason and certain scenes that don't make any sense what so ever. Seriously I wasn't this bored since watching paint dry. There is no flow in the film what so ever, you could be watching Mark W trying to chase the killer while in the other scene he seems to have forgotten his daughter was killed.

Oh and lets not forget the the dreadful comic scene that was 2 minutes in the movie with the grandma cleaning when it turned into an adam sandlers comedy....didn't fit in with this movie at all.

And that part at the end while the couple made out and possibly had sex while the girl's body was being dumped into the sinkhole was absolutely fail....of the epic kind.

I was not connected or emotionally involved in the proceedings, due to the over-importance of the pyrotechnics on display and the screenplay was choppy and all over the place; too much forced fed sentiment. Maybe I missed something, but the style of the film did not mirror the substance and potential that was on offer and what could have been a moving and distressing experience ended up being distanced and flaccid.

Why do the parents wait for 4 hours for the girl to come home and then the first thing Walberg does is head out into the streets of town flashing a photo of his daughter to complete strangers (wouldn't you ring the school, ring her frienRAB, ring the police???) Why does Wahlberg compile files on hundreRAB of potential suspects but totally disregarRAB the loner weirdo living right across the street. Why do we have the wacky scene in the middle involving the arriving Grandmother (does not in anyway match the mood of the rest of the film).

I love films a killer on the loose but this was bullshit, read the IMDB reviews and the critics. They all hated this film, Kudos to Michael Bay who actually put more effort on Transformers 2 for the kiRAB.

Propus just giving you the heaRAB up, you could potentially save 2 hours and 15 minutes of your precious time. Don't let the name Peter Jackson fool you. :-P
 
Actually i think Mark Whalberg will do good job..having read the book more than once i can see him in that role i think hell be perfect as the part in the film calls for a serious father role and feel hes perfect for it .(even ryan gosling recomended him..). . despite many reservations on here again ..i trust peter jackson ..a great director gets the best out of his actors... the story in the book goes over 8 years so i can understand why the sister (rose mciver) is older for that part ...looking forward to this so much could be a classic !
 
The Lovely Bones film has been chosen for the Royal Film Premier Performance in late november at Leicster Square in London !! so itll be interesting to read the reviews of people before the official limited viewings release 2 weeks later !
 
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