107 out of 108 people found the following review helpful:

Mark Wahlberg?????

A Customer from Chester le Street, 23rd May, 2009

I'm a big fan of Jackson movies...but I'm not convinced of the casting of Mark Wahlberg...his performance in M. Night's (also a big fan) The Happening was really TERRIBLE!! (VERY bad movie)...I don't see him as any character in the novel? I hope they're not casting him on his so called 'bankability' at the box office, that would be sad. I've read Alice Sebold's book and loved it...although I found it a little unresolved (but thats just my own frustration about certain characters (which is a good thing because you care about them so much), and nothing to do with this fantastic story). Definitely four stars for the BOOK...I'll reserve judgement on the film...I'll write another review when I've seen it!!! Mr.D

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20 out of 20 people found the following review helpful:

Book to film?

LisaJ from , 4th September, 2009

This is a tremendous book both original and emotional but can it be made into a film that affects you the same way? I am hoping that Jackson can pull off with this film what he did with the Lord of the Rings; let's hope. As for Mark as the lead I am not so sure and I don't particularly like Rachel Weiss either still maybe Peter can bring out the best of these people.

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16 out of 18 people found the following review helpful:

But is it as good as the book....

G2907 from , 29th September, 2009

That trailer made me definately want to watch it but being a huge fan of the book can the story be told with the same depth and elicit the same emotion. Suppose we will just have to wait and see.

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15 out of 15 people found the following review helpful:

A great book. The movie...?

BillyD from , 18th August, 2009

This was one of the most moving holiday reads I've ever experienced. What makes it so engaging is the way in which it allows your imagination to build a world that we know as 'heaven'. I'm intrigued to see how Jackson achieves this without taking something away from the original story. I do, however, trust his vision based on his copybook, but the jury will be out till we see his work in December. As for the casting? Great directors make good actors into great actors. This cast is already peppered with great (Sarandon) and good(Wahlberg) actors, so we should have no worries there.

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The lovely bones!!

jed2004xx from , 9th March, 2010

I watched the film last night and loved it alough i was in tears at the end lol it is very sad in some parts especially a scene near the end, The girl who plays susie salmon was excellent!! I would totally recommend this film, oh and i've not read the book lol so can't compare it :)

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Not convinced that this works...

Samzy from , 8th March, 2010

I absolutely loved the book, I found it disturbing, emotional and truthful yet the film does not seem to convey the same message and definitely does not do this justice. I left feeling disappointed and whilst in the ladies room overheard others talking about it. They obviously had not read the book and so did not understand the story line or the reason behind this story and so felt it was lacking in something. I agree with them! The powerful story was not conveyed through the film at all! There was also some alterations to the screen play which then made me question why they had introduced certain characters if they were not going to fully explain their role in the full context of the story. In conclusion I found it weak, messy and I wish someone with real passion for this book had made it into a film instead.

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Faithful to the book

grantf from , 3rd March, 2010

I would have given this four stars if it hadn't been for Spielberg's production credit showing itself in a few cheesy moments, the two bizarre comedic montages set to jolly music (I'm not making this up!) and the casting of Mark Wahlberg, who brings a touch of wood to every film he's in. Useful for Boogie Nights, but not for this ;-) It's very faithful to the book, so much so that you probably need to have read it to get the most out of the film. Jackson (sensibly, I think) shies away from showing Susie's rape & murder and the cop/mother romance is omitted. Overall a pretty good adaptation that makes me want to dig out the book for a re-read.

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Neither the book or the movie did it for me!

A Customer from Beddington, 27th February, 2010

I tried reading the book, and didn't go past the first chapters, as the story didn't grip me.I wasn't too sure about watching the movie, but decided to watch it, and unlike the book I got through the end, but it's NOT a story that resonated with me.Though I would have loved to have felt for Susie Salmon's plight that she was killed before she had the chance to have her first kiss, the whole story played out far too over the top. The 'heaven' scenes got too stretched out and finally just became annoying. The title of the movie/book is silly and the movie just struck me as inconsequential .The acting was okay which is why I gave the movie 2 stars.Sadly the plot just didn't tug at my heart strings or interest for that matter.

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