My dad decided to have one of his get together things where he and his friends invade the music/bar section of our basement and play really old music very loudly.

Mom and I opted to go see The Lovely Bones instead.

I’m not sure which one was the better option.

Okay, okay, so it was an AMAZING movie. The cinematography made me want to squeal. The colours were so brilliant, I wanted to jump up and down. The acting was so amazing, I wanted to cheer.

But I couldn’t do any of those things, because that movie was hella depressing.

Of course, I’ve read the book, so I knew it would be. In fact, in some ways the book described a bit more than the movie did, since the movie was rated PG-13 and the book would have been rated higher. Still, even with Susan Sarandon there, supposedly trying to be comedic relief, I did not feel like laughing at any point of the whole film. I never felt happy. It was one big downer. Definitely a must-see, and a must own on DVD, but I will most definitely be shelving it with Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (among a few others) in my I-probably-won’t-watch-this-for-entertainment-again section.

Of course, I loved Rose McIver as Lindsey. The character is so ballsy, and Rose is a great actress. Also, Carolyn Dando as Ruth kept me captivated with her character. Both actresses are relatively unknown, although I’m sure that will be changing soon.

Mark Wahlberg was surprising, as I am usually underwhelmed by things I’ve seen him in (sorry Mark!). I really loved him in this, though, I felt his pain (yay Mark!). I wasn’t a fan of Rachel Weisz, but I’m going to tack that up as a job well done, since I wasn’t very fond of her character in the book either.

Saoirse Ronan was amazing as always (weird Irish names are also cool), it was to be expected. She’s such a cute girl. The real shocker for me was Stanley Tucci. Not because he isn’t a great actor, because he is, but because of how unrecognizable he was! I knew he was in the film, of course, but I was skeptical, especially with my most vivid memory of his work in film being the dramatic but lovable gay man in The Devil Wears Prada. Yeah, the characters are quite different if you hadn’t noticed. Stanley was brilliant, and frightening, and sick. Looking at him made me feel icky.

So yes, TL;DR: Amazing movie, great effects, stunning performances from Ronan, Tucci, McIver, Wahlberg and Dando, slightly underwhelming performances from everyone else, but not something I’d really want to sit down and watch again. I mean, I probably will watch it when I buy it on DVD, but I will also be on the computer and allowing myself to be distracted by other things, which may make the film more bearable.