'The Lovely Bones' Full Trailer: Great, but Still a Question Mark

Posted by Michael Dance

I really don't know how this one will pan out at all. Peter Jackson has a way of coming in with lowered expectations and then blasting you out of the water -- even on King Kong, he managed a Best Director nomination at the Golden Globes.

He's also enormously smart to follow up such effects-driven spectacles with a family drama. Sure, The Lovely Bones has its share of CGI, with visions of the afterlife galore, but it's decidedly not a male-driven adventure movie.

Given Jackson's unlikely pairing with this bestselling novel, one might expect massive box office numbers, but it still seems like a heavy question mark. Sure, there are stars in the movie, but they're all in roles supporting a young actress with a really confusing first name. (It's spelled Saoirse but pronounced "Seer-shah".) And while the novel was wildly successful, just look at the crappy business that My Sister's Keeper did earlier this summer. (Sure, it's not the same thing and My Sister's Keeper also infuriated fans by radically changing the ending, but my point is that a bestselling book is not a guarantee of box office success.)

Reviews are also a big question mark. I like the trailer a lot, but it does hint that there might be jarring tone shifts, from tear-jerking drama to CGI fantasy to neighborhood suspense thriller. Will critics buy it?

Check out the trailer below. If you're interested in a closer look, Movie Cultists has a few screenshots of some of the cooler images in the movie.

Visual Effects is a lock, right? Right?

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'The Lovely Bones' Full Trailer: Great, but Still a Question Mark

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