The Lovely Bones

Back in December of 2008 I finally decided to read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold after hearing person after person say how good it was. I was a little hesitant at first, because it seems like whenever someone suggests a book to me, it's usually awful (I have really weird taste in books and it seems like most people don't get that; at all) but I found it at Borders and read the plot synopsis on the inside cover; it was definitely something that seemed interesting to me.

I'm so glad I listened to them - The Lovely Bones is now one of my favorite books of all times (second only to Idlewild by Nick Sagan), and I become so emotionally involved in this book that I legitimately cried a few times while reading it, and was able to picture every single scene.

So imagine my sheer excitement when I heard a few months ago that they were coming out with a Lovely Bones movie? I was ecstatic. Until I began to think of all the things they could completely screw up in it - especially The In-Between. But every single movie trailer was thrilling and I couldn't wait to go see it (my favorite trailer included "2-1" by Imogen Heap; if you haven't heard it yet, it's the first song on my playlist off to the right, so go listen to it!). Sadly it came out to limited release in December and I wasn't one of the lucky ones that could see it....

But the movie was officially released yesterday and of course I went to go see it! So Alex, Kylee, Jess, Charlie, and I packed into my car and headed off to the College 9 Theater for the 10PM showing of the movie. All I can say is that is was absolutely amazing. At first I wasn't too happy with Mark Walberg as the choice for the father, but he was definitely a good fit for that role. Of course they cut out a few scenes here and there, but nothing that altered the storyline completely. It was definitely worth the stress of trying to plan when we were going and who was going and then getting to the movies and thinking we weren't going to get in (because of the massive line of people at the theaters). By the time it was over I hadn't even realized that it was roughly two hours long. I was on the edge of my seat in a few seats, even though I already knew what was going to happen. I think that's the best kind of movie - one that keeps you in suspense, even if you know what's coming up. The only problem I had was with who they cast to play Susie Salmon: Saoirse Ronan. If you have absolutely no idea who that is, it's Briony from Atonement. If you still have no idea who that is, look her up, I can't help you any more than that. For a few moments I let my hatred for Briony slip through and would ruin moments of the movie. If you haven't seen Atonement, go see it, and you'll realize how much a hardcore bitch Briony is, and you'll hate her too.

My overall rating for The Lovely Bones: 4 out of 5 stars - everyone should definitely go see this movie.