lathe-of-heaven To be honest, I'm not a HUGE fan of Stephen King, although I do favour a lot of his earlier stuff (right now I'm currently re-reading 'The Talisman' :) But, when the film makers get it right, or mostly right, I really do enjoy some of the movie adaptations of his stories. They don't necessarily have to be masterpieces like 'THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION' or 'THE SHINING', but I even really like some of the super cheeeeeezier ones like 'THE MANGLER' (I know... I Know...) and I also really thought that 'NIGHT SHIFT' was a lot of fun.So, without giving too much away, this movie here is basically just an old fashioned, good ol' Ghost Story. So, first and foremost, if you DON'T really like Ghost Stories in general, then there is no particular reason that you would like this one either. BUT... if you DO enjoy Ghost Stories and you don't mind ones that follow a rather older, Classic style, then in my lowly and wretched opinion, I felt that this one was done rather well.Of course, if you already like Pierce Brosnan (isn't that just THE greatest name ever for a guy...?) he does a very good job with his role. A LOT of Horror stories are based on the premise of a man who has just gone through a serious loss, so unfortunately since we are talking about a deeply traumatic experience in their life, a LOT of times the acting just doesn't come across as very real, or usually it is just flat out overdone. But, not in his case. So, since that is a big part of the story, it is a pretty dang good start that the guy here is Pierce Brosnan.Actually, that is one of THE main things about a number of Stephen King adaptations that I usually don't like at all. Many times the acting, particularly the 'Bad' guys just come across as ultra-clichéd, plastic stereotypes. But, not in the case of this film. Most everyone truly does a good job in all their roles. EXCEPT... maybe it was just me, but I really did NOT care for the mother of the little girl at all... talk about 'overdone'... But, other than that, the acting was decent. I must say that the little girl did an amazing job (she is gonna be a SUPER cutie when she gets older, mark my creepy words...)Mick Garris, who has directed a number of King adaptations does a decent job here as well. YES, as another reviewer mentioned (and this was also repeated on the Horror review site 'moria.co.nz', but I don't always agree with him - he is a very good reviewer, but if he doesn't happen to like a director, he hates ALL their films) the movie is indeed filled with jump-scares, but, I think in the context of it being a Ghost Story that that is to be expected and although he did use that a lot, I thought he did it well and it enhanced the enjoyment of the film.Some have said that they felt that since it is a 2 part Mini-Series, that it came across as REALLY padded out timewise, but I honestly did not think so. The running time of each half excluding the intro and end credits was only about an hour & 15 minutes, so it really wasn't that long. I felt that being an old fashioned Ghost Story and with where the story was set, it was kind of nice that it took the time to set the tone and location, mood, and background of the story, which again, I felt really added to the atmosphere.So, since the reviews here are SO polarized for this movie, it is REALLY going to depend on whether you genuinely like old fashioned, Classically structured Ghost Stories, and if you can kind of 'get lost' in them, easily suspending disbelief where you can just sit back and enjoy this kind of story. If so, then I think that there is a good chance that you might like it...

Jane Rose I really wish they had stuck to some of the main(e) characteristics of the book. I don't particularly agree with the actors they chose to play the characters. Mike Noonan was a little younger-looking (not 60 looking), Johanna was an interesting red head and not so sentimental/old (when she tried to act like Jo, it didn't come out right), the whole house is off as it doesn't have the Maine style of early American decor. It was all too modernized (I suppose to appeal to all people, not just readers of the book). The actors of Mike and Jo didn't really have chemistry IMO like in the book. I also couldn't picture Pierce Brosnan thinking like Mike Noonan...all the quirky thoughts. A LOT of things were changed...A LOT. It's not like the book at all. Total hit and miss. For God's sake, Brosnan has a British accent. Should say "Inspired by Bag of Bones"...

Leofwine_draca I love Stephen King novels, and I love the miniseries productions of his work (particularly SALEM'S LOT and IT). BAG OF BONES is the latest addition to the list, a 2011 production which sees Pierce Brosnan playing a thinly-veiled version of the author himself uncovering ghosts and sinister secrets in a rural town.So far so Stephen King, you might think, and this is very much par for the course when it comes to this type of stuff. Director Mick Garris tries to jazz things up with snappy editing and cross-cutting, but when it comes to the 'horror' it's the same old scare tactics: loud noises, sudden movement, a creepy pair of villains. The usual stuff.The production isn't all bad, and I did find that the three hours zipped past as I watched; I wasn't bored, that's for sure. Brosnan gives one of his dependable everyman type performances (and seems to be wearing that same old blue shirt from DANTE'S PEAK) although Melissa George is slightly wasted in a small role. Really, this is the Brosnan show, with him going all Bruce Campbell as he's haunted in his lakeside cabin.There are a few gory flourishes here and there to keep things moving, and I liked the eventual unravelling of the back story which was highly effective. But for every point BAG OF BONES scores it loses one by doing something silly - such as the excruciatingly twee final scene involving some friendly spirits.

Tommy Nicholls I dislike Pierce Brosnan as an actor, for me he just always seems so wooden, and this miniseries is the perfect example of just how wooden he can get. This isn't helped by the damn awful script/directing/whatever that made this so boring. The plot scrambles around like a someone trying to find a needle in a haystack, haphazardly going in whichever direction it chooses and not really explaining anything to the author. After the story finally decided what direction it wanted to take, the ending seemed rushed and forced. I must say though, Anika Noni Rose was actually really great in this and maybe if they got to her part of the story an hour earlier and had more of her in this then it would have been a half decent mini-series. To be honest, Stephen King fan or not, this is most certainly not worth your time.