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Hobbits and wizards and orcs, no problem. But when Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson turned his attention to the story of a 14-year-old girl, he lost his way. Alice Sebold’s bestseller “The Lovely Bones” held good potential for a screen treatment, but Jackson squanders it on a schizoid film that largely misses the point of the novel.

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CalMatters is a Sacramento-based nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. It works with more than 130 media partners throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences, including Embarcadero Media.