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Head in the clouds with Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson's effects movie The Lovely Bones out this week.
PETER Jackson may have picked up a collection of Oscars for his Lord Of The Rings saga, but he's brought back to earth with fantasy thriller THE LOVELY BONES (12: Paramount).
Actually, that's not quite true, for in his vision of the afterlife the director spends too long in the clouds and loses touch with the real drama at ground level.
Jackson places too much emphasis on visual effects in his adaptation of Alice Sebold's best-selling novel about 14-year-old murder victim Susie Salmon.
The teenager (a suitably wistful Saoirse Ronan) observes from on high the aftermath of her violent death and sees her killer (Stanley Tucci) prepare for his next strike.
From her place in a strange but beautiful in-between world, Susie must help her father catch her murderer and protect her family before she can finally move on.
Sebold's book offered an incisive examination of the changing dynamics of a grieving family, but Jackson's soft-focus approach robs the story of its power.
Although Mark Wahlberg delivers a surprisingly poignant performance to convey the loss of his daughter, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Rose McIver (as mum, grandma and sister, respectively) feel superfluous. The finale is tense, but lacks the punch that you would expect.
> Old-fashioned action fantasy epic SOLOMON KANE (15: Entertainment In Video) is based on a collection of poems and short stories by American writer Robert E. Howard, who created Conan The Barbarian.
James Purefoy is charismatic as the 16th Century, West Country-accented crusader devoting his life to good deeds after just about escaping eternal damnation for past sins.
But demonic powers relentlessly sabotage his road to redemption and plant the vengeful Malachi (Jason Flemyng) in his way.
It's a typical sword-and-sorcery affair with the bonus of terrific Czech locations, a rousing score, clever CGI visual effects and impressive biblical imagery.
Add a solid supporting cast that includes Max von Sydow, Pete Postlethwaite and Mackenzie Crook and you can even forgive imperfections like the pointless monster that lurches through the climax.
> DIARY OF A BAD LAD (18: Safecracker Pictures), which was screened at Luton's Filmstock festival back in 2008, has been given a long-overdue DVD release. Extremely violent, and often unnerving, it follows frustrated film-maker Barry Lick (Jonathan Williams) in his bid to produce a crime documentary on the cheap.
His subject is psycho Tommy Morghen (Joe O'Byrne), a businessman involved in property rackets, prostitution, pornography and drug trafficking.
But Tommy is more cunning and ruthless than Lick and his team can begin to imagine and he mercilessly exploits them for his own ends.
Lick doesn't realise just how far out of his depth he is and his obsession with the project will compromise his ethics and put all his crew's lives in jeopardy.
> The first English language film from acclaimed Asian director Johnnie To, VENGEANCE (18: Optimum), was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2009.
French assassin-turned-chef Francois Costello (Johnny Hallyday) seeks revenge for the massacre of his daughter's family, gunned down by triads.
When Costello arrives in Hong Kong he meets three assassins – Kwai, Chu and Lok – and hires them to help find the gang.
> Anyone renting tedious teen flick SURVIVING SUMMER (12: Icon) will do well to stick with it until the end.
Hilary Duff plays rebellious Greta, shipped off to her grandparents to spend three months in the sleepy retirement capital of the USA.
The drama queen says she intends to kill herself – and long before the closing credits start to roll, you'll be wishing she had kept her promise and saved us all the trouble.
TOP TEN 1.The Lovely Bones; 2.Sherlock Holmes; 3.Daybreakers; 4.Alice In Wonderland; 5. Edge Of Darkness; 6.Up In The Air; 7. Avatar; 8.Crazy Heart; 9. The Book Of Eli; 10. Did You Hear About Morgans?
Chart supplied by Blockbuster
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
