Spoiler Warning: If you haven’t read the book or seen the trailer, you are best to avoid reading below.

Fans of the book will no doubt be disappointed with Peter Jackson’s interpretation of Alice Sebold critically-acclaimed 2002 The Lovely Bones. He modifies a number of elements, removes various plots and chooses to ignore any mention of rape and dismemberment with the victims. That said, do those things need to be explicitly portrayed on screen? I don’t think so. Also, any filmmaker that has to realize the afterlife is always going to fight an uphill battle. For the most part, The Lovely Bones is all over the place. It’s terribly uneven at times, with performances ranging from the very good (Saoirse Ronan as Suzie Salmon and Stanley Tucci as George Harvey) to the very mediocre (Mark Wahlberg). If you are expecting a drama handled with the care and execution of say Jackson’s earlier work Heavenly Creatures, you will be disappointed. Some of the scenes feel overly clumsy where as others feel rather profound. Jackson’s realization of the afterlife is probably as good as can be expected from the viewpoint of a 14 year old girl (something that many reviewers had issues with and I think Jackson did a pretty good job in relation to the character). In the end however, the film never finds a constant footing and you can’t help but feel let down. Brian Eno did the score though and it’s amazing.

Zombieland (2009)

I wished I saw this in 2009 because it would have ranked in my Top 10 of the year for sure. Zombieland revels in that perfect cocktail of extreme, zombie madness and comedy. Edgar Wright did it back in 2004 with Shaun of the Dead and now Ruben Fleischer has done it, albeit with a definite American twang. What makes this work so well is the chemistry of the four cast members: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. They all seem to gel perfectly on screen. The script is also hilarious and kudos to first-time feature director Fleischer for knowing exactly what it takes to make a damn fun zombie movie. One minor quibble would be the scope as it feels quite restrained. I’m sure in the sequel they will open up the geography. And if zombies and comedy aren’t your thing (shame on you!) at least you can admire the excellent typography work in the film and the greatest cameo I have seen in a very long time (Don’t ruin the surprise if you don’t know who it is).

The Invention of Lying (2009)

The Invention of Lying suffers the same fate as The Lovely Bones: it’s all over the place. This is particularly unfortunate since Ricky Gervais co-wrote and co-directed this star vehicle. It’s no shock to anyone reading this that I’m a huge Gervais fan so it saddens the inner critic in me. The central premise of a man, who lives in a world where nobody can lie and one day discovers that he can, seems intriguing and has potential for comedy gold. However after a while, that premise wears thin. Gervais (a well-known atheist) certainly won’t make the religious crowds happy and you have to give him credit for portraying an alternative point of view about the world in a mainstream, Hollywood production. But leaving that aspect aside, the film goes from romantic-comedy, to drama, to deeper themes, back to comedy, etc… and as a whole, felt uneven. He rounded up a stellar comedy cast though including Jeffrey Tambor, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and Jennifer Garner (who was actually very good). I’m looking forward to Cementry Junction which is written and directed by Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Merchant’s input will hopefully compliment Gervais’s style more.

Samson and Delilah (2009)

I watched this incredible Australia film after all the hype had died down. After it won the Golden Camera award at Cannes and the AFI for Best Film. I’m glad I did because any preconceived notions about the film were removed and I sat back, consuming all that was delivered. In a society where it’s incredibly difficult to define what exactly is ‘Australian’, Warwick Thornton’s Samson and Delilah is a film every Australian (and native) should see. It casts an eye over the Aboriginal youth community in modern Australia in such a frank and realistic fashion that there are no words needed to describe it. There are only a few words spoken in the film and that’s all that is essential. The performances from newcomers Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson as Samson and Delilah respectively, are phenomenal and achingly real. It saddens me when people tell me they didn’t like the film because it was “too slow” or “the characters weren’t likable”. Great films inspire reactions inside us, occasionally make us question the larger things in life and this is one of those films. In fact, I’d love to see this shown in every classroom across the country.

St Elmo’s Fire (1985)

Okay well this film is pretty bad BUT in terms of 80′s style, this is a classic. It’s a slightly older version of a teen John Hughes movie except it was a Joel Schumacher film. Schumacher was the go-to director for when the John Hughes generation reached their twenties. He wasn’t quite as successful with his scripts but there is something to admire about the comrade of the cast. Looking back on the film now, sure it’s aged and Rob Lowe still cracks me up making love with his saxophone but you can’t deny there’s a chemistry between the cast that works. Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Mare Winningham, Andie MacDowell and Rob Lowe. These were the Brat Pack and the biggest young cast back in the day and surely this was hugely influential for the creators of the TV series Friends. And yes believe it or not but they are making a TV series based on this film to capture the Friends market. Why am I not surprised? Side note: Emilio Estevez’s character Kirby probably should have been locked up at the end because I’m pretty sure that what he does constitutes ‘crazy stalker’ many, many, many times.