Review: The Lovely Bones

I don't know what to say about The Lovely Bones. I wasn't really expecting much based off of early reviews and Rotten Tomatoes rating, but I thought I would be entertained enough to keep me interested. After all, this is a Peter Jackson movie, and I was interested to see what he would do after returning to his roots with a smaller scale movie. About thirty minutes into the movie I was deciding what to pick up on the way home...Chipotle or Pei Wei.

Some people have compared this movie to What Dreams May Come, and I can't tell you why because I fell asleep in that movie. So I guess that's where the similarities come from for me. I was completely bored through most of the film. And it wasn't because the movie was bad, it was just that I felt underwhelmed. The subject matter of this movie lends itself to some strong and emotional performances but nobody really moved me. Stanley Tucci was great, but he is good in almost everything he does. The other exception was Susan Sarandon who brings some much needed energy. She steals the screen during a montage about halfway through. Aside from those two, everyone else feels flat. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why people keep casting Mark Wahlberg in these types of roles. If anyone bothered to watch The Happening they would have seen why. He rarely shows any range that doesn't feel forced.

Saoirse Ronan who plays Susie Salmon, the lead character, does a decent job, but I never felt attached to the story she was telling. I think this is due to the film focusing too much time on all the other characters as well. No one character feels like the lead horse, so maybe that is why the movie couldn't keep my attention.

I did appreciate a lot of the visuals, which show a surreal interpretation of the afterlife. These scenes are beautiful. I liked the idea that our heaven is unique to everyone based on their own pleasures and experiences. But it wasn't enough to keep me from wanting the movie to end so I could grab a bite to eat.

Lobo says: 1.5 out of 4 moons