Maybe the review of 'Lovely Bones' was muddled

'Muddled' review?Dann: Most times when home, after taking the risk of being disappointed by a movie based on a great novel, I say, "Dann's sharpshooting critique was right." NOT SO regarding "The Lovely Bones," based on your Jan. 15 review, "Lovely, but muddled." This time I was glad that I did not heed your rating of 2#189; stars and saw an excellent movie.Director Peter Jackson's "avalanche of the spectacular" was necessary for Susie's voice and place, and it did not "crush" or even diminish the plot, characters, message of the story, although there were a lot of the character developments, secondary plots, and symbolisms left out.I felt that the real-time hero is sister Lindsey (played by Rose McIver, whose acting stole the show, even above Stanley Tucci's Mr. Harvey), who stalled in screaming out discovery of her scary visit to Mr. Harvey's house, which you thought was an implausible scene, because she was so glad, in the lovely-healing-bones moment, to see her mom and dad back together. So, how, in this case or technically in other examples, do you think that the script became muddled? Is it failure along the "production way" to translate the book's dialogue and vision into a movie or is it that the book does not innately lend itself to becoming a good movie?The "Hollywood closure" questions that you pose about how and why Susie can finally depart to heaven, i.e., because of her family's love, affirming her first kiss, an inscrutable and procrastinating God, are not resolved in the book either. Thanks for your (most of the time) right-on reviews and always-current cinema info in the Daily Herald. Jennifer Rose, Hoffman Estates.Dear Jennifer: (First: Spoiler Alert! if haven't seen the movie.) I did not read Alice Sebold's novel, and my guess is that the events that worked so well for you in literary form didn't translate into the more literal medium of film for me. When Lindsay discovers the killer's identity and he takes after her, she doesn't realize he has given up the chase, so her inexplicable silence upon dashing into her house runs contrary to normal human behavior, even if it does signify the lovely literary notion that love trumps fear.Susie's supposed attempts to reveal the killer to her father are at best tentative. We know the dead rose that magically blooms in Dad's hand is an indictment of Mr. Harvey because we've been given that information. Dad hasn't. He just has a mystical sign she is still around.I thought that Susie being a good sister, she would move heaven and the in-between to help Lindsay once the killer decides to murder her. If Susie did, she accomplished it so obliquely I didn't notice it through two screenings.I do agree with you about McIver's performance being an underrated part of Jackson's movie.DannGolden global crisisNominations for the 82nd Academy Awards will be announced the morning of Feb. 2, and this year we'll see just how accurate the Golden Globe Awards are at "predicting" nominees and winners of the best picture Oscar.The Globes nominate 10 movies for best picture in drama and musical/comedy/animated categories. The Oscars have had only five best picture nominees. So it figures that out of 10 nominees, the odds are pretty good for the Globes to nail many if not most of the Oscar noms.But this year, the Academy is allowing 10 nominees in the best picture slot, which evens things up. Now, we'll see how the Globes fare on a one-to-one basis. Of course, the Globes still get to name two movies the best of the year. Last Sunday, they chose "Avatar" as best dramatic feature and "The Hangover" as the best comedy (animated/musical).If the Globes really are solid prognosticators of the Oscars, which will win Best Picture come March 7? (Hint: The earth will open up and swallow Hollywood before "The Hangover" wins a Best Film Oscar.)FYI: I'll have my own list of people and movies that, in a perfect world, should receive the nominations. Look for it in the days leading up to Feb. 2 in the Daily Herald and on dailyherald.com.After Hours 'Maid'The After Hours Film Society presents Sebastian Silva's "The Maid," a drama in which a domestic (Catalina Saavedra) with 23 years of service to a rich Chilean family gets a little defensive when two new maids come to help out. General admission costs $9. It will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Tivoli Theater, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove. Call (630) 534-4528 or go to afterhoursfilmsociety.com.Woodstock film fest!The eighth annual Woodstock Film Festival cranks up today for a five-day run at the Woodstock Theatre, 209 Main St., Woodstock. Among the entries: "The Class" from France (#x2605;#x2605;#x2605;#x2605;), "Departures" from Japan (#x2605;#x2605;#x2605;#189;), "Rivanche" from Austria (#x2605;#x2605;#x2605;), "Temporada de patros ("Duck Season") from Mexico (#x2605;#x2605;#x2605;) and "Waltz With Bashir" from Israel (#x2605;#x2605;#x2605;#189;).Tickets cost $7.50 per film (but $30 buys admissions for all five movies) and can be purchased at classiccinemas.com. Call (815) 338-8555.