The Lovely Bones (6/10)

The movie started out really well. Right to the point where Saoirse Ronan's character died. Then the fantasy kicked in. It was beautiful the first time we visited that image of "heaven". Peter Jackson's magic took full swing. But after a while, it got silly.If only the movie had stuck to the thriller side of things, because that was where true magic was. Coupled with Stanley Tucci's incredible performance, it could have been a really, really good movie. Instead, the fantasy side detracted and distracted and was just a complete waste of time. Maybe this was how the book was written but a friend who read it said it was a bore. Figures.But one awareness did come to mind, when Ronan was told that she needed to move forward and not backward. Because when she didn't, her family suffered. Even after life, one has to keep moving forward; therefore even more so when alive. Otherwise we will always be stuck, just like Ronan between life and heaven.A lot of big names like Susan Sarandon and Rachel Weisz but none were effective. Mark Wahlberg wasn't too good here too. And I hated how Jackson shifted gears into comedy so soon after the death of Ronan's character. That took the thriller out of the movie again.So not as satisfied as I could have been.