Lovely Bones Is Jackson's Best Yet

Peter Jackson's adaptation meets mixed reviews

(NEWSER) - Peter Jackson's crafts a fantastic vision of the afterlife in The Lovely Bones, say critics, but some feel it came at the expense of the human side of the story of a murdered teen, adapted from the book by Alice Sebold.

• "By turns warmly sentimental, serial-killer sinister, and science-fiction fantastical, The Lovely Bones was an unlikely book to achieve worldwide success," Kenneth Turan writes in the Los Angeles Times. "Those mismatched elements come back to haunt" the film version, "making the final product more hit-and-miss than unblemished triumph."

Even if you don't like Will Ferrell, you'll laugh

(NEWSER) - Despite a few reviewers who think it’s basically an extended Saturday Night Live sketch, The Other Guys snagged a high score on the Tomatometer —and some are calling the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg cop comedy the funniest movie of 2010:

• If you’re tired of Ferrell's typical “clueless blowhard,” never fear: director Adam McKay “shrewdly varies the formula," making Ferrell the “square” and Wahlberg the “aspiring alpha dog,” writes Joe Williams in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . “The Other Guys is the funniest movie of the year.”

Lee Daniels misses Best Director race, The Road shut out, and more

(NEWSER) - The Golden Globes are “as notable for the films and performances that members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association omit as for those that they celebrate,” writes Chris Lee in the Los Angeles Times , and yesterday’s nominations “had no shortage of surprising snubs.” Lee, and Gregg Kilday in the Hollywood Reporter , point out a few:

• Lee Daniels, Precious: The only director whose movie got a best dramatic picture nod without being nominated for best director.

Critics slam video game-based action flick

(NEWSER) - Max Payne, a sci-fi shooter video game-turned-movie, is “undiluted junk,” writes Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News. “No amount of generosity could excuse the levels of ineptitude on display here,” she says of the Mark Wahlberg vehicle. “The story has more holes than a shot-up metal door, the acting feels bored at best, and the intermittent action, while passable, hardly makes up for the downtime.” More»

But slow, silly film has its moments

(NEWSER) - M. Night Shyamalan’s apocalyptic thriller The Happening is slow-paced and funny at times, leaving critics mixed in their reactions. It’s “too thoughtful for the summer action season, but I appreciate the quietly realistic way Shyamalan” tells his story, writes Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. “It will be described as empty, uneventful, meandering. But for some, it will weave a spell.” In the movie, a father (Mark Wahlberg) tries to escape with his family. More»