I am an ardent Fan of Peter Jackson's 'Heavenly Creatures' and rate it #1 in my oben, nach oben 5 drama films of all time thus far. I was looking vorwärts-, nach vorn to seeing this film adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel - which I have not read - as it sounded like he was going back to his 'Heavenly Creature' roots with the story that was presented. I had read some disappointing reviews before seeing 'The Lovely Bones' so did not go in with much expectation but kind of hoping that the detractors may be wrong: unfortunately they were right.

Where to begin: 1/ I found the Schauspielen weak and forced. Mark Whalberg was miscast...

Peter Jackson’s Latest Suffers from Too Much Special Effects and Too Little Character Development

Peter Jackson’s newest release The Lovely Bones bears greater similarity to his smaller films (particularly the wonderful Heavenly Creatures) than to the sprawling, epic Lord of the Rings trilogy—but it’s unlike any film he has directed previously. Alice Sebold’s 2002 novel is a startling, sometimes brutal, and often touching tale of a girl whose life ends before she even has her first kiss. Unfortunately the movie, though beautifully filmed, is an incoherent mashup of the book’s most...