The Lovely Bones' lovely potential (Directed by Peter Jackson, 2009)

Pre-teens who are fans of CGI, passing notes to boys in class and learning about life after death through the eyes of a 1970s 13-year-old girl who has been raped and murdered, will flock to watch the 2009 film “The Lovely Bones.” 

The film, which is an adaptation from the 2002 bestselling book from Alice Sebold, certainly had lovely potential, but fell incredibly short. It’s narrated through the eyes of character Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) after she was lured into an underground “playhouse,” and killed.

Viewers find themselves experiencing a world that is supposed to be limbo, which looks like it came straight out of a tweens dream. Colorful fields full of flowers and picturesque beaches and space-like settings are Salmon’s world as she watches her family, friends and murderer living on earth after she has passed.

Yes, director Peter Jackson portrays limbo as a liberating, harmonious experience for a teenage girl who has just been raped and murdered. Moments shot in the “unknown” seem to justify and almost glorify what the creepy neighbor next door, Mr. Harvey (Stanley Tucci) has done to his victims, such as when Susie is joined by all of young girls who have been killed and they skip and run around toward heaven.  Perhaps getting killed is a ticket out of growing old and facing the hardships of adulthood, or at least this is what the film suggests.

Salmon’s parents, played by Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz, are the perfectly good-looking type of parents. They are so ideal they come off feeling fake and insincere during scenes of familial bliss over bacon and eggs in the morning.

Then enters the grandmother character, played by Susan Surandon. She’s the perfect archetype a drunk woman who acts as if nothing has happened while she tries to keep the family together, joking about being immortal and completely clueless as to how a household functions. She’s too harsh while she tries to brush the memories of Susie under the rug, as there is a scene of her literally doing that while cleaning the house in the movie.

The most honest moment in the film, and quite possibly the best moments of acting come from when Salmon’s parents have learned that the knit hat Susie had, which was given to her that very morning of her death, was found in the field with large amounts of blood. It’s quite possibly the only time that will instill any heartfelt and pure moments of sympathy for the family as Weisz and Wahlberg are sobbing on the bed, the room looking cold and grey, wondering how they will move on.

Additionally, Tucci’s solid performance of the neighborhood creeper was spot on, as he was simply awkward and uncomfortable to watch

This film is preachy unrealistic in the sense it’s entirely too certain there’s indeed a heaven and makes light of the act of murder, something Sebold’s written creation never possessed. The story could have been told in an entirely different fashion, and it seems as if the Jackson, strayed from the novel and went straight into portraying his own ideas about what it’s like to lose a child in the family.

The reason the film is a failure isn’t because of the cast--the phony moments are created by director and not cast--it is because Jackson seemed to have a hard time figuring out if this movie was going to be a glorification about a teen finding heaven, or watching the parents live through hell on earth. Maybe if he had stuck to the novel, he would have been successful.

Watching “The Lovely Bones,” will leave you confused and searching for an explanation of why you feel uplifted after watching a young life get taken by rape and murder by a killer was never caught, but died alone after falling off a cliff. What heaven did Mr. Harvey go to? Doubt it was the same one as Susie Salmon. 

Cougar, “Patriot” (Counter Records, 2009)

A post-modern rock album laced with instrumental electronica serves as a narrative for the brain packed in 11 tracks and only 45 minutes. It’s complicated percussion meets smooth horns and heavy guitar infused with unforgettable beats. It’s “Patriot,” the 2009 sophomore album release from Madison, WI based band, Cougar.

Teetering on the edge of a jamband, fans of long, drawn-out instrumentals will be disappointed although some tracks on “Patriot” leave one begging for more. Cougar is precise and never fails to layer hard guitar sounds onto loops that artists such as Four Tet and Caribou haven’t ventured into yet.

The absence of lyrics will double as a soundtrack to life. Basically, whether listening to this album while driving away from college graduation or driving away from a significant other’s apartment after walking in on their first threesome, the crisp composition of sound will assent to one’s needs.

The opener, “Stay Famous,” is rather ambitious but precise as it fluctuates between an anthemic head-banger to unraveling guitar melodies that slowly build up suspense and end with an explosion of percussion. It’s enough to make you dress in all black, call yourself Danny Ocean and rob the biggest bank you can find.

When seeking motivation to save the world, or maybe just motivation in general, the hauntingly epic “Rhinelander,” uses choir echoes and smooth guitar to create a sense of purpose and invincibility. It’s a hero’s theme song, providing the sense that while listening to this song, you can step off of a bus and suddenly rip off your shirt to expose a giant “S,” perfectly toned abs and the ability to catch the bad guy and get the girl.

The serene and rather cosmic song “Pelourinho,” is the one song that would better serve as a 15-minute track of created chaos that ends with a sense of clarity. It possesses classical guitar, airy synth and ends in a fast, rhythmic frenzy. It’s a trip that will send you deep into the caverns of your own mind exposing raw truths you didn’t even know existed.

Leaving the meditational realm are songs “Thundersnow,” and “Heavy Into Jeff,” which are by far the heaviest tracks on the album. Both with serious electric guitar licks that lend themselves well to an “I don’t give a fuck,” mentality.

The album immediately lifts spirits with “Endings,” “This Is an Affidavit,” and “Appomattox,” with clear inspirational undertones that work for the well-thought-out roadmap of the album.

“Daunte v. Armada,” is the second to last track on “Patriot,” feels like the last 30 minutes to a film, where the conflicts have been presented and then conclude with a bit of lucidity and insight followed by the last serene and resolute track, “Absaroka.”

Listening to this album in its entirety provides a sense of completion. The fluidity alone will bring one to a better understanding of themselves just because of the instrumental moods created on each track. Pack this album on an iPod and make sure it travels with you everywhere as it is the best soundtrack to everyday life.