f13.net

Peter Jackson's new movie.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thelovelybones/large.html

Am I the only one who has no fucking clue what's going on? It's like 'What Dreams May Come' mixed with some generic detective movie mixed with some generic 'parents lose a child and have to find out who took them' and a thriller.

I can't make sense of it.

I am guessing it is based on the book.  Basically the story follows the course of a young girl whom is murdered, goes to heaven and then the follows the life of her family, friends, the murderer and detective assigned to the case from her vantage up in the clouds.

I loved the book but suspect the film will be quite different in terms of pacing and dramatic emphasis. Trailer does look quite good though.

So I'm watching this right now (don't ask, don't tell) and it's... well, halfway through, it's the definition of bland. Whenever it seems to have found footing, the rug is pulled away from under it and it starts telling a different story. It wants, and tries, to be atleast four different genres and it's not succeeding very well.

Ok, final third just went fucking odd. This is a story that should be implying and showing-not-telling, but the voice-over (when Saoirse isn't simply yelling it out) is so excessively eager to describe every feeling and intention of the characters that what happens on screen instantly becomes overacted and often mortifyingly stupid. Not going to spoil anything, but there were multiple moments where I rolled my eyes or had to leave the room out of embarrassment.

Overall it was just a clumsy and heavy-handed but beautifully shot (mostly the CGI, to be honest) thriller/coming-of-age/love/drama/something. The acting was pretty okay with a few exceptions both ways.

This was my experience with the book. It felt painfully self-conscious and overwrought. That's acceptable in writing, mind you. The whimsical majesty of it all kept me reading to the end, but it was unpolished craft. With text, my brain can tie all the stories together on its own. In film, everything things need to have a more explicit onscreen timeline... all within a few hours.  Subtlety cannot exist as voiced narration and must be carried in timing and facial expressions. Not that there was much subtlety in the source material to begin with. It would have had to have been invented.

Jackson and team have a gift for making mad visuals real. Delicate, emotive storytelling... not so much.

Thanks for the review, I'll probably see it on video.

Isn't that the definition of Peter Jackson?

Jackson films are beautifully shot?

Terribly overrated director IMO.

He is damnedably boring.

I agree, in general. I love Jackson for making the LotR trilogy, but that's mostly in admiration of his ability to rally people and taking on a production that would have made other directors cry AND turning that kind of gusto and resources into some pretty great and unique movies. It was a herculean effort that I just have to respect.

I didn't even like LOTR. That shit was borrrrrrrring.

You read the books.  The pacing of the movies should have been no surprise.  I personally think that Jackson did a masterful job of staying true enough to the books to appease fans while providing enough action to interest newcomers. 

I thought the fist movie was great, the second completely boring and the last was a mess. An enjoyable to look at mess, but still a mess.