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Jackson's Number
"Peter Jackson's infatuation with fancy visual effects mortally wounds The Lovely Bones," writes Daily Variety senior critic Todd McCarthy in what may be the first cut in an onslaught of critical knives. Do howlings winds and heaving seas approach?
Lovely Bones director Peter Jackson
"Alice Sebold's cheerily melancholy bestseller, centered upon a 14-year-old girl who narrates the story from heaven after having been brutally murdered, provides almost ready-made bigscreen material. But Jackson undermines solid work from a good cast with show-offy celestial evocations that severely disrupt the emotional connections with the characters.
"The book's rep, the names of Jackson and exec producer Steven Spielberg, and a mighty year-end push by Paramount/DreamWorks will likely put this over with the public to a substantial extent, but it still rates as a significant artistic disappointment.
"There has been cautious optimism among longtime Jackson followers that this material might inspire him to create a worthy companion piece to his 1994 Heavenly Creatures, which similarly involves teenagers and murder in an otherwise tranquil setting and remains far and away his best film.
"The potential was certainly there in the book, which reminds of Dennis Lehane's successfully filmed novels Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone in its devastating emotional trauma, but offers the distinctive perspective of the most entirely plausible omniscient narrator in modern literature.
"Unfortunately, the massive success Jackson has enjoyed in the intervening years with his CGI-heavy The Lord of the Rings saga (the source of which receives fleeting homage in a bookstore scene here) and King Kong has infected the way he approaches this far more intimate tale. Instead of having the late Susie Salmon occupy a little perch in an abstract heavenly gazebo from which she can peer down upon her family and anyone else -- all that is really necessary from a narrative point of view -- the director has indulged his whims to create constantly shifting backdrops depicting an afterlife evocative of The Sound of Music or The Wizard of Oz one moment, The Little Prince or Teletubbies the next.
"It's a shame, because the first half-hour or so suggests that Jackson, had he taken a vow to keep it real and use not a single visual effect, still has it in him to relate a human story in a direct, vibrant manner."
"When it sticks to the everyday neighborhood inhabited by its characters, The Lovely Bones, which was shot on Pennsylvania locations and in New Zealand studios, finds a reasonable equilibrium between drama and production values. When it ventures beyond it, heaven turns into Hades."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 24, 2009 at 5:58 PM
comment #1
Eloi Manning
says ...
Not surprising at all.
It's been a while since I read the book, but I just remember it being fairly low-key in every respect until the ending. It was a quiet, sad, funny tale and this bombast and scale that Jackson has shown in the trailer just looks entirely wrong. I imagined the book to be closer in tone to something like Donnie Darko than What Dreams May Come.
Posted by Eloi Manning
at November 24, 2009 6:07 PM
comment #2
Sams
says ...
After reading your earlier post re AICN and Peter Jackson, I knew as soon as I read the Variety piece that this was a review you would agree with.
Posted by Sams
at November 24, 2009 6:09 PM
comment #3
THE MovieBob
says ...
I'd be curious to know how the reviewer would expect someone to shoot a film partially set in heaven without using "a single visual effect"...
Posted by THE MovieBob
at November 24, 2009 7:56 PM
comment #4
Mr. F.
says ...
Yay! A negative review! Wells, you've WON!
Seriously though -- shouldn't we be hoping for the best from movies? Personally, I hope Lovely Bones is fantastic. Don't have a lot of faith based on what I've seen... but I'd rather hope for the best than be on the lookout for negative reviews that reinforce my preconceived notions. Keep an open mind! There are too many bad movies out there. At least Jackson's heart seems to be in the right place -- it's not like this is a toy-/comic-based cash grab... maybe he can do something with it. Fingers crossed.
Posted by Mr. F.
at November 24, 2009 8:37 PM
comment #5
Mr. F.
says ...
MovieBob: I only saw it once, which was more than enough... but wasn't that Spielberg's take on Heaven in ALWAYS? No visual effects -- just Dreyfuss and Hepburn walking around a wheat field or something?
Posted by Mr. F.
at November 24, 2009 8:39 PM
comment #6
Phreaker
says ...
Going by one Variety review? Uh, I think I'll wait and see for myself. Most of the time I find I disagree with McCarthy. Also, give me a break. He seems to want Peter Jackson to suddenly morph into Clint Eastwood. The main criticism I keep hearing about the movie is that they don't dwell on the rape enough. I guess we don't can't get enough poring over the details of rape. Men are so weird.
Posted by Phreaker
at November 24, 2009 9:24 PM
comment #7
DeeZee
says ...
THR focuses on Tucci, Freeman, and Cage @
http://tinyurl.com/yl735l2
Divergent opinions on 'Frog.
http://tinyurl.com/ygc7ubf
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941670.html?categoryid=3479&cs=1&ref=ssp
Anyone wanna see a German take on Kafka's Burrow?
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011787.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
Shouldn't documentaries be for people who have vast acting experience?
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011771.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 I like how the background around his pic is pink, a color I'm sure he'd like to be associated with his imae.
Hugh Jackman in Rock'em Sock'em Robots, er Real Steel.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011766.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
Tommy Jones leaves Lincoln Lawyer.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011757.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
Abrams to produce Samurai Jack movie.
http://www.kungfucinema.com/j-j-abrams-to-produce-samurai-jack-film-11829
Beastly Musical
http://www.darkhorizons.com/trailers/
Rain talks Ninja Assassin.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/interviews/1512/rain-for-ninja-assassin-
Interview w/ In The Loop's Peter Capaldi.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/interviews/1513/peter-capaldi-for-in-the-loop-
Last Station trailer.
http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2009/IJKLM/Last-Station,The/trailer.php
Ninja Assassin spots, clip, and red-band trailer.
http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2009/NOPQR/Ninja-Assassin/trailer.php
New Youth In Revolt trailer.
http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2009/STUVWXYZ/Youth-in-Revolt/trailer.php
Avatar interactive trailer.
http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2009/0-9ABC/Avatar/trailer.php
Lovely Bones clips.
http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2009/IJKLM/Lovely-Bones,The/trailer.php
That Collapse guy's getting the last laugh.
http://tinyurl.com/yd8ktlx
Posted by DeeZee
at November 24, 2009 9:54 PM
comment #8
televisiontears
says ...
Not to turn the conversation to DZ again, but when I see those Bing commercials where people rattle off completely irrelevant information, I imagine that's what he's like in real life.
Posted by televisiontears
at November 24, 2009 10:09 PM
comment #9
Big Black
says ...
DZ's huge strings of links are completely fucking annoying. I'm reading reactions to Jeff's post and then BLAM, the biggest post in the thread is this huge list of unrelated bullshit.
Posted by Big Black
at November 24, 2009 10:35 PM
comment #10
Mcflyboy
says ...
Jeff hating this one was inevitable, but who didn't know this was already doomed? I mean, who replaces Ryan Gosling with Mark Wahlberg? I don't care how miscast Gosling was according to the book, now we're stuck with Wahlberg's constiptated "emoting" face.
Posted by Mcflyboy
at November 24, 2009 11:01 PM
comment #11
Gordon27
says ...
"Instead of having the late Susie Salmon occupy a little perch in an abstract heavenly gazebo from which she can peer down upon her family and anyone else -- all that is really necessary from a narrative point of view"
Yeah, why even bother making the movie visual at all? Why not just do it on the radio?
Hey, let's reimagine classic movies, per Todd McCarthy's review!
"Instead of merely showing a few quick gunshots and letting the audience understand that the heads of the five families are dead -- all that is required from a narrative point of view -- Coppola intercuts between all of them *and* the baptism of his nephew! Style over substance!"
"Instead of merely showing the boats landing on D-day and then cutting to the carnage of the aftermath -- all that is required from a narrative point of view -- Spielberg indulges in twenty minutes of war footage involving characters we never see again! Too much style!"
"In the third hour, instead of focusing his story on the significant elements of the narrative, Michael Mann suddenly diverts everything while Al Pacino saves his step-daughter from a suicide attempt."
Posted by Gordon27
at November 24, 2009 11:07 PM
comment #12
DeeZee
says ...
Oh, and Ebert gave The Road and 'Fox 3 1/2 stars, but appears to have bypased Ninja Assassin.
Posted by DeeZee
at November 24, 2009 11:43 PM
comment #13
markj
says ...
Point 1: I knew as soon as I saw the trailer that Jackson had messed it up. Using 2.35:1 for starters, when 1.85:1 would be much more appropriate for the story. And then the colour palette used, and the abundance of CG. Some of the acting looked ropey too, especially Mark Wahlberg.
Point 2: DZ is the most incredibly annoying poster i've ever come across.
Posted by markj
at November 25, 2009 12:22 AM
comment #14
lazarus
says ...
I'm still mystified that someone as easily ticked off as Jeffrey Wells (and to be fair, most of the time his anger is well-founded) sees this fucking troll polluting their site on a daily basis and doesn't seem to care whatsoever.
To make a real world analogy, if D.Z. was taking a dump every morning in Jeff's backyard we wouldn't hear the end of it.
Posted by lazarus
at November 25, 2009 12:42 AM
comment #15
COCO
says ...
Short and to the point DZ....like this. No links.......
Posted by COCO
at November 25, 2009 2:03 AM
comment #16
Outdoor Lighting
says ...
Peter, is a great director I love all of the film directed by him.
Posted by Outdoor Lighting
at November 25, 2009 2:33 AM
comment #17
LexG
says ...
MarkJ: No one should ever use 1.85. It is a HACKSPECT RATIO for stylists of limited vision. Rectangle, please.
Any time I ever see a movie, any movie, in 2.35, I feel giddy like the director at least made an attempt, whether they know how to manage the extra real estate or not. 1.85:1 just seems lazy and half-assed, like television. Christ, if I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL is in 2.35, there's no earthly reason why an epic Peter Jackson movie with extended fantastical sequences should be framed like a 1978 episode of TAXI.
All that said... Is Jackson really THAT big a visual stylist that Wells and McCarthy find his look THAT flamboyant?
Other than his SUPER-LAME distorto-vision speed-cam that he ripped off from Sam Raimi, I tend to think of his movies as looking pretty grubby, grey, green and unappealing. It's not like he's laying down hot-pink filters and purple gels doing Greengrassian acrobatics. Most of his shit looks like a Super 35, everything's in focus but underlit version of a TNT original that would star Noah Wyle.
Posted by LexG
at November 25, 2009 3:17 AM
comment #18
Matt Holmes
says ...
The undisputed worst review most surely come from The Sun.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/film/2743275/Lovely-Bones-is-set-to-be-one-of-the-best-films-of-2010-says-The-Sneak.html#ixzz0XokBvZP1
It pains me to see tabloid critics get the all important places at big screenings but sites who aren't read as widely but make great efforts in providing well minded criticism, are left out in the cold.
Samples from The Sun's review, from a guy who calls himself "The Sneak"...
"The Lovely Bones, out on January 29, is his most mature, self-assured and visually dazzling release".
He makes no mention of Heavenly Creatures, so presumably he's never seen that mature Jackson film.
"In one heartbreaking scene, Susie's father Jack (Mark Wahlberg) smashes the ships in bottles that he has pain-stakingly made.
The most impressive star, surprisingly, is Wahlberg.
Getting him to act is not an easy task, so Jackson is clearly a great director."
Just painful.
Posted by Matt Holmes
at November 25, 2009 3:24 AM
comment #19
snoop
says ...
Is this a damned if you do damned if you don't thing. If he uses special effects and gives us a vision of heaven--he's mutilated the story. But I bet not to many people would have loved the whole simplistic gazebo idea either. Such things have also been done (Mr. F already alluded to Always). We're not talking about a play based on the book; we're talking about a movie.
Also, I'd suggest it might be possible they enhanced the whole heaven thing to beef up Susie''s scenes and give her something to, you know, do. I may eventually believe the effects were overburdening, but I'm not against them on principle. I mean really? An isolated gazebo? Might as well have just had her sit on a cloud with her legs crossed.
Posted by snoop
at November 25, 2009 4:45 AM
comment #20
markj
says ...
LexG: I have to respectfully disagree. Whilst I love cinemascope it really isn't suitable for all films. Would Schindler's List have been as effective if Spielberg had gone for scope? The Godfather? There's still a place for tableau in the movies, and I feel it's done better in 1.85:1.
Of course if you're going for spectacle then 2.35:1 is the way to go. I always remember a friend of mine that went to see Waterworld and walked out after the Universal logo came up because he couldn't believe that the most expensive movie ever made had been shot 1.85:1.
Having said that, Kevin Reynolds reasoning for not using 2.35:1, that it kills the vertical, makes a lot of sense too.
Posted by markj
at November 25, 2009 4:55 AM
comment #21
J. Ho
says ...
Kat Dennings joins 'Thor' cast
Posted by J. Ho
at November 25, 2009 6:15 AM
comment #22
J. Ho
says ...
Kat Dennings joins 'Thor' cast
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011794.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&ref=vertfilm
Posted by J. Ho
at November 25, 2009 6:15 AM
comment #23
J. Ho
says ...
'Ninja,' 'Dogs' take on 'New Moon'
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011817.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
Posted by J. Ho
at November 25, 2009 6:17 AM
comment #24
J. Ho
says ...
Where the Wild Things Are Official Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NOkQ4dYVaM
Posted by J. Ho
at November 25, 2009 6:18 AM
comment #25
CitizenKanedforChewingGum
says ...
Did D.Z. get a girlfriend?
Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum
at November 25, 2009 7:08 AM
comment #26
Monument
says ...
DZ is harmless, I just scroll by his info dump but I do occasionally check out a link. What is far more annoying are the half dozen or more "fuck you DZ" links that follow.
Posted by Monument
at November 25, 2009 7:53 AM
comment #27
N. Siter
says ...
Actually, J. Ho may have hit on something. If all the DZ haters out there really want to get him banned for the link comments, then maybe they should start commenting with bunches of links like DZ does. The logic being: if Jeff lets DZ do it without banning him, then he shouldn't have a problem with everyone else doing it - so long as they don't do other things that people get banned for. So, if all of the threads start getting hijacking with a bunch of link comments, it might make Jeff reconsider.
Or, it might not.
Could be fun to find out, though.
Posted by N. Siter
at November 25, 2009 8:03 AM
comment #28
Colin
says ...
McCarthy is a hack. I do not nor have I ever cared what he thinks.
Posted by Colin
at November 25, 2009 10:23 AM
comment #29
DeeZee
says ...
N. Siter: I post new shit. Ho posts yesterday's news.
Posted by DeeZee
at November 25, 2009 3:14 PM
comment #30
kamichojin
says ...
Uh Oh, I think someone's dick got stepped on.
F'n hilarious.
Posted by kamichojin
at November 25, 2009 4:21 PM
comment #31
orler
says ...
I like 1:85 aspect ratio - it fills up my entire screen.
Posted by orler
at November 25, 2009 7:38 PM
comment #32
Gordon27
says ...
No, DZ, neither one of you provides news. Don't pretend like you think you're doing a service to people. You're an annoying asshole, and you know it and do it deliberately.
Posted by Gordon27
at November 25, 2009 9:46 PM
comment #33
btwnproductions
says ...
Good as the book was, THe LOVELY BONES was never going to work as a movie.
Posted by btwnproductions
at November 27, 2009 3:11 PM
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