Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Somewhat Lovely Bones?

You probably caught on Awards Daily that some early reviews of The Lovely Bones are out. Lots more to come presumably. But did you see this tweet from British actor/novelist/funny man Stephen Fry

Variety is significantly less riveted than Fry, calling it an "artistic disappointment". Todd McCarthy also crushes my dreams by starting the review talking about Heavenly Creatures, a film which he seems to hold in as high regard as I do (One of the three best films of the 1990s, if you ask me).

The "disappointment" seems to stem from Jackson's infatuation with visual f/x. As for its actors, this bit is interesting...
With reddish hair, brilliantly alive eyes and a seemingly irrepressible impulse for movement and activity, Ronan represents a heavenly creature indeed, a figure of surging, eager, anticipatory life cut off just as it is budding. Less quicksilver and more solidly built, McIver's Lindsey properly begins in her live-wire sister's shadow only to grow gradually into an impressive figure. Chain-smoking and depleting the liquor cabinet, Sarandon camps it up for a few welcome laughs...
McCarthy is less impressed with the parental units, Wahlberg and Weisz. Are you still counting down the days until dem bones arrive?

14 comments:

Anna said...

I am DEFINITELY counting down the days. Those reviews only make me want to see the movie more. Did you see that clip on AwardsDaily? Gave me chills!

adelutza said...

I tried several times to read the book because of all of the acclaim. Couldn't finish it. Hopefully the film is better, have hopes on Ronan and Sarandon.

Anonymous said...

Seems to be a love-hate movie....just saw that TIME mag just raved it. So hopefully i'll be on the "love" side

Robert said...

I dunno. I used to feel like end of the year was the time for good movies.

Now it just feels like the time of the year for movies too depressing to be entertainment and not insightful enough to be art.

Then again, it could be because I'm remembering 2008. Give me another year like 2007 and I'll probably feel that way again.

Michael B. said...

It seems more loved than hated at the moment--and all it needs is # 1's really. I think that it'll get nominations for Picture, Actress and Supporting Actor then a few techs. I could see the GG's going crazy with nominations for this movie...(picture, director, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress [sarandon], score, screenplay).

Andrew K. said...

I try to not let reviews sway, but I really hope this doesn't spoil it's Oscar hopes. I'm really glad to hear the positive reviews for Ronan. I'm confused as to whether or not he's insulting Susan there. To be honest [I love the entire cast] but Susan is the biggest draw for me. She is one of the BEST of her generation and it's becoming forgotten. I really hope she gets well reviewed. What can I say, I am really looking forward to this.

Michael B. said...

I've been reading twitter posts and it seems that audiences are enjoying it...Wonder how it'll do at the Box Office.

DJ said...

It's turning into a love or hate it type film, but there seems to be more love going around. I can't wait!

gabrieloak said...

I wonder if this is going to be a case in which audiences like the film more than the critics.

RC said...

This closer it gets to release day the more this film feels like a wild-card. Smash-hit? Will the readers go see it? Is the heavy story plus visual effects too akward? Award love? Too much hype?

Too many questions.

Flosh said...

My enthusiasm for this movie is on the wane.

I've seen two clips, both of them over-directed to within an inch of their life in that very specifically Lord of the Rings-era Peter Jackson way - where every beat has to be a MOMENT, underlined, italicized, hyperextended, and poised on a very fine edge between the sublime and the absurd.

He stayed on the sublime side in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, slipped over into the absurd more than a few times in King Kong, and looks like he may - or may not - have slipped a good deal further over that line with The Lovely Bones.

Trying not to prejudge the movie, but I'm not impressed with anything I've seen so far.

Wes said...

That Variety review was brutal. Another one bites the dust I guess. Sad. I hope that's not the case, b/c I loved the novel, and I wanted to see it succeed and have a great film treatment. This and "The Road" both seem like cinematic disappointments that pale in comparison to their source material. That's so frustrating. Oh well.

M said...

I still want to see it. I don't let critics sway my opinion of films if I am interested in them. I like that Saoirse is getting good reviews even from critics who didn't the film.

SERGIO said...

I think Sandra Bullock will make the final 5 with "Blind Side". She's the SUN of the movie and her movie is 1 at Box Office.