Based on the thorough thrashing this movie has received from other reviewers, I came with few expectations. Movies based on novels are, after all, often difficult to put together in a way that is satisfying to readers yet visually engaging. On this note I must disagree with the negative reviews and nay-sayers: Jackson has succeeded in both stunning me visually (hard to do, as Im an artist and therefore picky) and thoroughly tugging my heartstrings. I found myself in tears during easily one third of the movie. Although I am an emotional person, I strongly disagree that The Lovely Bones bears much resemblance to a made-for-TV melodrama. I gave it a 9/10 because it is not perfect. There are a few elements that could have been better developed, such as the relationship that grows between Susies younger brother Buckley and their bereaved father. However, Jackson chose to focus almost completely on Susies dilemma in the afterlife as she watches her family grieve and her killer become maddeningly arrogant in his ability to duck and cover. It is this reviewers opinion that if you came to The Lovely Bones expecting a gruesome rape scene along the lines of A Time to Kill, you were disappointed. (Jackson expressed dismay that his viewers would even WANT to witness a 14-year-old girl being raped and murdered, stating that he had no desire to portray such and never will.) This movie will not appeal to males in general, particularly under the age of twenty-five, for what should be obvious reasons. It is about a young girl whose life was stolen from her. She therefore has a young girls feelings, hopes, and fantasies. If you can relate to those emotions, then you probably won like this movie. If you can be touched by the powerful imagery the CGI in the movie provides, you probably won like this movie. There are straightforward, A to Z movies that tell their stories step-by-step from beginning to end (plot-driven), and then there are movies that weave a tale around the emotions and struggles of their characters (character-driven). This movie is one of the latter, and if you don like that kind, then you probably won enjoy it. Furthermore, a character-driven tale based on a novel in which every character receives as much screen time as it did page time ends up becoming epic in length. I marathon-read the book in one day. How long does a movie based on it need to be in order to accurately establish the core plot? In summary, if you can allow Jacksons special effects to blow you away, as was intended, and if you can approach it with an open heart, then you e in for a real treat in The Lovely Bones. It was elegantly done and very entertaining -- to the right person.

Starring:

Amanda Michalka, Anna Dawson, Billy Jackson, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Bruce Phillips, Chuck Schanamann, Dan Van Wert, David C Roehm Sr, David Kneeream, Gary Beck, Greg Wood, Jack Hoffman, Jake Abel, Jennifer Butler, John Wooten, Joseph Tornatore, Lee Burkett, Lee Miller, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Ahl, Michael Imperioli, Michelle Nagy, Mike Wilson, Peter Jackson,

Genre:

Drama, Fantasy, Thriller