That mid-90s 70's suburban ennui subgenre.

I thought it was more ennui than anything else. And I don't quite mean that as a slam on the book. Just that Ice Storm had a tremendous tension that it lacked -- it felt, even during the "crime-solving" and re-enacting portions much slower.

I haven't see The Virgin Suicides, so I can't compare.

And there is room for fantasy, even if of the mundane sort.

And there is room for fantasy, even if of the mundane sort

Oh, yeah, just make sure the fantastic elements take place "In a setting of clear reality".

It is a very static book, you're right.

A bit more detail in the IMDB summary:

Director Peter Jackson and his screenwriter wife Fran Walsh will follow up this year's King Kong re-make with a screen adaptation of Alice Sebold's best-selling novel The Lovely Bones. American movie trade publication Daily Variety reports the Oscar-winners used their own money to buy the feature film rights to the grim tale from British production company Filmfour. The 2002 book is narrated from heaven by a 14-year-old girl who has been raped and murdered, as she follows the lives of those left behind to deal with the tragedy. Jackson and Walsh will begin adapting the screenplay with their partner Philippa Boyens next January, and will promote the project to studios when it is finished. Jackson says, "It's the best kind of fantasy in that it has a lot to say about the real world. You have an experience when you read the book that is unlike any other. I don't want the tone or the mood to be different or lost in the film."

It's nice knowing the source material, but having no devotion to it, because then I can kick back and crituque unemotionally. Which is my favourite sort of carping.

I find the juxtaposition of these two IMDb news stories amusing:

Foxx Inspired by 'New Jack City'
Wesley Snipes' performance in New Jack City triggered Jaime Foxx's quest for big screen stardom - because it made him realize black actors can succeed in white-dominated Hollywood. The film star, who has received rave reviews for his portrayal of late R&B great Ray Charles in Ray, insists 1991 movie New Jack City inspired his Hollywood career by proving black actors are not limited to stereotypical roles. The 37-year-old says, "My favorite film is New Jack City with Wesley Snipes. This was basically a black version of The Godfather and even though it was a hit it was more like an underground film. A lot of people don't know that Wesley Snipes played opposite Michael Jackson in the Bad video. He's the one who says, 'You ain't bad, you ain't nothing!' He went from that to this movie New Jack City and it was the first time you saw a black kid play a role like Al Pacino in Scarface or The Godfather."

Snipes "Threatened To Kill" Director
Actor Wesley Snipes threatened to kill Blade: Trinity director David Goyer because he felt his all action character had been sidelined to make room for two new ones. The 42-year-old's co-stars, Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel, recently complained he had alienated himself from everyone working on the third installment of the vampire-fest, by remaining in character for the entire duration of the shoot. And movie insiders tell British magazine OK! that Snipes was so furious about his marginalized role, he made physical threats against Goyer. An insider confides, "Wesley made death threats against David. David was scared for his life." But a spokesperson for Goyer counters, "Wesley is a method actor. There's always a lot of tension on set."

It's nice knowing the source material, but having no devotion to it, because then I can kick back and crituque unemotionally. Which is my favourite sort of carping.

Yeah, you're right. It becomes an academic process.

"You have an experience when you read the book that is unlike any other."

Except any late Coupland book...

movie New Jack City inspired his Hollywood career by proving black actors are not limited to stereotypical roles.

He's a fucking crack-dealer! He drives around in a jeep wearing rope gold and listening to Bel Biv Devoe while toting an Uzi! Since when is that not a stereotype?

Since when is that not a stereotype?

No shit. Van Peebles is not playing a stereotype, but Snipes wasn't blazing new paths for black identity.

No shit. Van Peebles is not playing a stereotype, but Snipes wasn't blazing new paths for black identity.

nods in agreement.

Snipes in KING OF NEW YORK, now, would have been a decent example, although a much smaller role.

I love the quote from Ryan Reynolds about Blade 3 when asked about working with Wesley Snipes -- he says he never worked with Wes, just Blade.

Every anecdote paints that man a nutcase.

Every anecdote paints that man a nutcase.

I'm just sad that he seems to have given up on any attempts at non-action roles. He was doing a good balancing act ala Denzel of alternating serious dramatic roles with straight-up action roles for a while there, but it looks like those days are over.