Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Lovely Bones
Directed (and written) by Peter Jackson, Dreamworks SKG, 2009. Starring Mark Walhberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci and Saoirse Ronan.
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Thriller.
Question: I was trying to think of a question regarding this particular movie to get everyone connected and I just can't think of one. Sorry. The subject matter of The Lovely Bones is usually one I don't care to watch, but many of my friends read the book and enjoyed it, and I watch movies so.....
What can I say about The Lovely Bones? Well, I was depressed during most of it because it is about a young girl's death in the early 70's and her family's desire to figure out who killed her. Also, the young girl is hanging around in limbo trying to reach out to her family. This is the premise of the story, a hard one to watch, I know. But, frankly, I was bored throughout most of the film along with being depressed.
Stanley Tucci, one of my favorite actors, plays the sadistic, killer neighbor who isn't a suspect to the people around him but for us, the audience, we know everything. Mark Walhberg plays the father of the young girl who was killed. Although he did a decent job, he looked so much like his character in Boogie Nights that I had a hard time disassociating him from that film. Very distracting.
There were parts where "limbo" was supposed to be overly theatrical or whimsical but I just didn't buy it.
The young actor, Saoirse Ronan, did a really good job but I am afraid to admit that I just didn't connect with her character. Perhaps all this was better in the book (by Alice Sebold) with the reader's imagination.
Sorry I skipped a day from posting but this one was a struggle for me to wrap my head around. Let's hope the next film is one I can delve into deeper and enjoy the story more.
My favorite thing: Susan Saradon's character - the only comic relief in this heavy drama.
My least favorite thing: The anticipation of Dirk Diggler's entrance.
Possibility of a sequel? No, fortunately.
Did the previews show too much? Actually, yes.
Rating: PG-13
Length: 136 minutes
Review: 3 out 10
COMING SOON: Conviction
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
The movies I like ... I watch them over and over, in order to see everything I mossed the first few times. There is always so much going on in the background. I can more easily appreciate the director's sound embellishments or the reasoning of a character, as the emotions sweep across their face. I can value performances, even when they are disturbing, as was the whole distasteful subject matter, on which the film was based. Stanley Tucci made me cringe and want to run away as fast as I could. The sister's breaking into his house had me gripping my sofa pillow, until I squeezed a dent into it.
The question I could find myself asking is this. When we go to the movies can we truly disassociate ourselves from an actor's previous performance? Do we have the ability to turn off the light switch on a prior role, in order to allow them to become the character they are portraying in this movie? Most times I can do this and sometimes I cannot.
I can honestly say I did not see Dirk Diggler anywhere near the movie set.
I didn't want to see this film but I have watched it thirty times. HBO does like to replay and I like to re-watch.
I hear ya! I have many movies I watch over and over and I have watched Boogie Nights - a lot. It was the hairstyle (and time frame) not the performance that was distracting for me. Most of the time I have no problem disassociating the actors from their roles as well. This one, unfortunately, was not one of them. Oh well.
Thank you for responding. I really appreciate hearing other's POV. In fact, I welcome it. All these comments will help other make their own opinion.
Katy
Thanks for joining the "Won't you stop by for a cup of joe blog hop" Don't forget to follow the hosts. Thanks for joining the Hop! I am your newest follower. Have a great day!
Post a Comment