Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Today, on a cold Winter afternoon, I have seen the newest Peter Jackson movie, “The Lovely Bones”, now that I have a day off from work.

Here is my review:

Plot/Synopsis: “Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong” director, Peter Jackson is back with a new film but he goes back to his roots to the genre where he started. Horror. The story centers around a young girl named Susie Salmon who was brutally murdered  by her neighbor, George Harvey (the villain of the film), who is a child serial killer who makes dollhouses for a living. Her family which her parents are played by Mark Walhberg and Rachel Weisz thinks she’s dissapeared but doesn’t know if she is alive or dead. When she is actually dead, she finds herself in heaven. She watches her family from heaven and as the film goes along she plots her revenge against her killer.

This film was adapted from the novel by author, Alice Sebold. While most wouldn’t think of this as a horror story, yes, I would think it is horror fiction, big time, but in a family friendly kind of way. Horror doesn’t always have to be about blood guts and slasher murders, right?

I enjoyed the film, greatly. Enjoyed it all the way through. Wasn’t bored one bit. The film was a full 2 hours long. The writing, and acting was excellent. George Harvey was a pretty cool villain. Even Mark Walhberg was entertaining in this. I thought the special effects and cinematography during the heaven scenes were pretty amazing. With James Cameron 3D effects are on the rise, you think Peter Jackson would use the similar 3D effects during the heaven sequences in this film. The film was pretty unpredictable and the pacing was good.

The Lovely Bones may not be as big in the box office, but that’s probably because it isn’t LOTR or King Kong. “The Lovely Bones” is my favorite film this year so far. Amazing work, Peter Jackson. Looking forward to what he can do with his upcoming Hobbit films?

Score for “The Lovely Bones” = **** (4 stars as in “excellent”)

Kev