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By Julia Kukiewicz
Editor
15 June 2010
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The Lovely Bones
Out to rent exclusively on DVD and blu ray at Blockbuster from June 11th and on other DVD rental sites from the 28th.
Alice Seabold's novel, the story of a girl watching the events following her murder from heaven, was a word of mouth success.
The Peter Jackson-directed version drenches Susie Salmon's heaven in slightly twee neon CGI - which makes you glad he only had clay to hand for Heavenly Creatures - and is set, almost permanently, is a jarring high-pitched emotional register.
If you read the book as a saccharine, slightly uncomfortable, misery lit - an experience akin to reading Dave Peltzer in a bath of golden syrup - then that's much what you'd expect.
If you're one of Seabold's legion of fans, though, you're likely to be a little disappointed.
Still, there's an impressive performance from Saoirse Ronan - the same self-assured act she gave in Atonement - as well as a few genuinely touching moments that met the book such as the scenes with Susie's chain-smoking grandma.
That means it's a must, even if you only want to have something to complain about at book club.
Note that Blockbuster have the film out to rent before anyone else. Subscribers to other DVD rental sites will have to wait until the end of the month to get their hands on it.
Crazy Heart
Out to rent on DVD and blu ray.
Crazy Heart was nominated for four academy awards, not too shabby for a redemption film following an ageing country music star that many were ready to write off as an attempt to repeat the success of The Wrestler.
The music could make or break a film like this so it's lucky that the songs are both decent - they were written by T Bone Burnett - and decently performed by Bridges.
Jeff Bridges won a Best Actor Oscar on the back of his effortless performance and Colin Farrell and Maggie Gyllenhaall - both actors prone to being more irritating than interesting - give similarly disarming performances.
The Office: an American Workplace season 4
Out to rent on DVD at Blockbuster and Cinema Paradiso.
The American version of the Office surprised almost everyone by being not awful.
National pride, as well as the truth, prevents me from saying that it's actually better than the UK original but there's certainly more of it.
In the US it's now into its sixth season, three times longer than its precursor (more when you consider that there are far more episodes in an American season).
If you haven't seen the American version yet don't expect this to pick up where the UK version left off.
Though the set-up's similar and John Krasinski is a cleaner, better looking (i.e. more American) version of Martin Freeman, Steve Carell is still a long way from a failed pop career and the minor characters have a charm all of their own.
Since this is a Universal Pictures releases it's currently not available from Lovefilm or OutNow. Click through to find out more about the Lovefilm Universal dispute.
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