Book --> film summer
Wow, I haven't blogged in a long time. Summer is in full swing, and I've barely had time to read, much less blog about reading.
One thing I'm busy doing this summer is seeing movies. My husband is a movie buff, and I'm usually happy to tag along for the ride.
A bunch of my favorite books are hitting the big screen this summer. "My Sister's Keeper," based on the touching novel by Jodi Picoult, came out last week. I loved the book, but I'm not sure I can handle seeing the movie. It's a pretty emotional storyline. One of my co-workers saw the film over the weekend and said it's a little different from the book.
One of my favorite all-time novels, "The Time Traveler's Wife," is coming out in August. I'm kind of nervous about this one. I love the book so much that I'm afraid the filmmakers will screw it up. I do like the cast though -- Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.
Last but not least, the sixth Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," comes out July 15. Harry Potter fans have been waiting for this one since the fifth movie came out in the summer of 2007. Now, I haven't ordered tickets yet, nor do I intend to go to a midnight showing, but I am excited because it will be the first time I see the movie after reading the book. My mom thinks our whole family is going to go wearing Gryffindor scarves. I'm not so sure about that. (Gryffindor is really hard to spell by the way. Thank you, Wikipedia.)
What do you think of books turned into films? At their best, I think they add something to the story or make you see the story in a whole new light. At their worst, I just pretend like they don't exist. What are the best and worst film adaptations you've seen?
Jul 7, 2009 at 12:13 p.m.
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Any Raymond Carver anthology would be a good choice.
Jul 7, 2009 at 11:11 a.m.
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Cable TV folks, beware the "sneak peek" of the Harry Potter movie. It shows so much of the movie that I fear it will ruin the experience. Looks good, though. I still think the actor playing Ron Weasley is the best member of the cast, which is high praise in a group that includes Maggie Smith and the fabulous Alan Rickman. Red-haired Ron is played by Rupert Grint, who, according to some Googling results, is the first celebrity to fall victim to H1N1, also known as swine flu. Article says he's gonna be OK.
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Recommended book: "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," by Junot Diaz, which probably would be ruined if they made it into a movie. It's R rated but helluva a read and opens doors into a culture -- Dominican Republic immigrants -- I knew next to nothing about.
Jul 7, 2009 at 10:41 a.m.
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I really do prefer to read books too. Although I have gone and seen some that were made into movies. One of my favorites is the book by John Grisham "Skipping Christmas". Now that movie captured the whole book, even though it was small. It was a great fun read and then when it came out I really didn't think they could do it but they did! I loved both! Really though all of Grishams books/movies were good. Two movies I really liked this year were "Dan in real life" and "New in Town" They weren't books that I know of but they were fun movies anyway! But I do love Books!!
Jul 7, 2009 at 9:49 a.m.
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I prefer reading the books. When reading, your imagination can run free. Although the movies can be very entertaining, they have to cram 1200 pages into 1:45. This often leaves us missing something. I rarely will see films, based on books, until I have read them first. Stephen King books and films are another prime example of movies not living up to the books. Enjoy your summer Stacy...perhaps I will run into watching "My Sisters Keeper".
Jul 7, 2009 at 8:43 a.m.
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I can't wait for "New Moon" from the Twilight saga. Although, the books are amazing, I was disappointed in the first movie compared to the book, so hopefully the second movie is great!
Jul 7, 2009 at 7:13 a.m.
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With the Harry Potter movies, I just keep telling myself that they capture the essence of the book, and that's good enough. One of my friends is a big fan of The Prisoner of Azkaban, since it's the last "small" book in the HP series and therefore makes a decent feature-length film without cutting out too many scenes.
Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the various Pride and Prejudice movies? I like the recent Keira Knightly version, but it's very light. I think PBS adapts Austen well.
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