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Created May 09, 2010 06:35PM PST • Edited May 09, 2010 06:35PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Good 3.0

   Upon hearing about Peter Jackson following three of the greatest films of our generation and his indulgent yet awe-inspiring King Kong remake with The Lovely Bones, I was excited. Had I read the book? No. Did i know anything about it? Not really. Was it a new Peter Jackson movie? Indeed it was. That was all I needed to know. Therefore, expectations were very high. Then mixed to negative reviews started happening. So my anticipation turned to dread. I am happy to report that it is far from a perfect film, yet is in no way a complete disaster. Considering the plotline, narrative structure, and flow of ideas…I expected either a mind-blower or a travesty. Thankfully it is elevated thanks to some good performances, special effects by WETA, and of course the production, writing, and direction of a very talented filmmaking team. The acting is great, the direction and writing are great. but the whole only comes together to be a good movie. Which is proof that no amount of talent and attention instantly makes a movie fantastic. This sounds like a negative response to a film listed as good. to be honest its because I liked it. But Is it to be recommended? That heavily depends on your tastes.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   If compliments are due for this film, they might start from the acting, as this is the kind of movie that sinks or swims on its performers due to the range necessary. Stanley Tucci has long been a gifted character actor, and in this he outperformed most of his other roles. While watching I kept thinking to myself: so many actors would have played this too broadly. Well Done. Mark Wahlberg deserves kudos for his performance as well (i know!) because he shows a lot more versatility than we are used to seeing from him. This film may well remind people why he became a star in the first place, instead of a one-note action star. Rachel Weisz is always stunning to look at, and in this she does a fantastic job yet unfortunately her scenes didn’t allow her much screentime. Saoirse Ronan may be the real star of this film. A young actor forced to play to this many emotions and moments can a lot of time buckle under the pressure yet she handles it better than most. I expect to see a lot more from her in the future. That isn’t to say that everybody was firing on all cylinders to create a well acted film, but for the most part is was all good across the board.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    It nothing to say that Peter Jackson knows how to direct a scene. He has been doing it since 1987 and proved to legions of fanboys in 2001 that Middle-Earth can be done. Jackson is a master of his craft, and in this film the same attention to detail, sure hand, and focus on story as well as spectacle is displayed prominently. The special effects, done once again by WETA, are handled beautifully. In fact, beautiful may be the only real description for the visuals shown. Jackson and WETA labs version of the flowing, always changing world of Susie Salmon’s personal “in-between” is definitely something to see. My highest recommendation goes to the showing of her world. My only complaint is that it feels as if far too much attention had been paid to showcasing the neat ideas of her world upon death that the narrative suffers occasionally. I loved those special effects sequences, but they seemed to happen very often just as the real world is getting interesting. So while you are watching in awe, you’re getting swept out of the current goings-on of the actual story.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Great 4.0

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 1.6

    This is a tough one. The story is a bout a 14 year old girl who is raped and murdered by her neighbor. She dies and is stranded between the world of the living and the world of the dead while her family crumbles in many directions. Yet the raping and murdering is never shown. It’s actually handled rather delicately, so as not to alienate the audience too much obviously. But the content is so dark its hard to say it is innocent. The family drama and tension escalating never really reaches a sense of fully blown violence, but the turmoil is anything but tame. The same goes for the rudeness, as there is so much more implied than shown, so much more told through body language than spoken aloud that you don’t initially think it is such a bad film. You begin thinking about the content and suddenly it strikes you: this is a tough movie. Despite the lightness of certain ideas, it is very dark. I would say it could be recommended to children only if you’re prepared to explain some “grown-up” content to them.

17. Sex Titillating 1.6

18. Violence Gentle 1.5

19. Rudeness Salty 1.6

21. Reality

    Surreal 2.7

    The physical and biological elements of the movie are rather realistic and when you factor in how real and emotionally driven the scenes on Earth are played, that is a good thing. Had it been played less naturally the film would have become too hammy and you would never believe a word of it. The supernatural elements are heavy, steeped in lore, and depending upon your beliefs…fake. There is nothing wrong with that, obviously, but it is good to know before telling someone to rent or buy it that your ideas about the afterlife, Heaven, Hell, etc are called into play and that may or may not change your ideas on how circumstantial the situation is.

22. Circumstantial Supernatural 3.8

23. Biological Glib 2.0

24. Physical Surreal 2.3