The Movie Godz would like to be gracious, but they’ll never look kindly upon a film that kills off a cute kid and then returns him to earth as a ghost. They just can’t. Even with the respected James Schamus** having co-written the script, it seems too manipulative, too Lovely Bones, too give-us-a-break-already. Especially with Zac Efron in the lead.

That said, the most significant piece of information that I got from this trailer is that Efron’s face has filled out — he’s no longer boyish. He’s obviously “acting” and trying to expland his chops, and that’s always to be commended.

Charlie St. Cloud was directed by Burr Steers from a script by Schamus, Steers, Craig Pearce and Lewis Colick. It’s based on a Ben Sherwood book called “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.”

** Schamus is not, per the WGA, a credited writer on the project, although he did work on it.