Thank you The Broke and The Bookish for this wonderful Tuesday Meme
This week’s topic is Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations. Since there aren’t too many book to movie adaptations that we have both read and seen, we decided to do it a little differently. We’re splitting up the list to movies we’ve both seen and then to movies we’ve individually seen.
Movies in Common:
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Veronica– Best: Many fans were upset about how THG turned out. I myself am not one of those. While I was sad how Gale was portrayed and the shaky camera was a bit annoying at times, I liked the adaptation we got. I don’t think we could have gotten something better.
Anjie- Best: This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Now I know it wasn’t exactly like the book, but it was still great! I especially loved the first scene at the cornucopia, very suspenseful, and I really liked the effects and graphics.
2. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Veronica– Best: I am very happy with The Host. I thought the voice over was a good move on the director’s part or else she would have just looked like a crazy person talking to themselves.
Anjie- Best: I absolutely love this film and that’s based on a lot of factors. I loved the actors (Hello, Max Irons), the scenery, effects, music, and score. I met the actors and I think that also boosted it up. I know that they cut off a lot, including characters, but I came into the theater expecting that so it didn’t bother me as much.
3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Veronica– Worst: This was a bad adaptation of the movie. Catherine, the director, made very cheesy decisions. I appreciated the film when I watched it because at the time it came out I liked the series a lot and was a Rob Patz fan, but now… I see how lackluster it really is.
Anjie- Worst: Not too sure if this is popular or unpopular opinion but yes, I hated the movie. I loved the books and I guess that expectation fell short once I saw the casting of Edward & Bella. I still decided to give them a chance, but I couldn’t anymore after I saw the acting. It was very awkward and just, not the best.
4. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Veronica– Best: I read A Walk to Remember after I saw the movie, which is why I see the movie and the book as two separate things. I like to think of them as a set, companions if you will. The book is a little more… dull than the movie. Whoever wrote the script for the movie did a wonderful job at making it really good. I love the book and movie equally though. Each gives you something else to add on to this wonderful story.
Anjie- Best: Okay, the novel and the movie have similarities, but how Landon & Jamie came to be partnered up was completely different. Even so, I enjoyed the movie a lot more than the book. It was actually hard for me to pass the first chapter.
Veronica’s List:
5. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
Best: Love Come Softly is a book I wasn’t able to finish because honestly, it bored me. I really wanted to love it, but I couldn’t. The movie though was FANTASTIC. I believe this is where Katherine Heigl first made her debut in the movie world. Her character in this movie is very different from any other she has ever played and its one of the reasons why I love this movie so much. I love the characters, the charm, everything. (I own the complete love comes softly series in DVD. Yup. I’m a fan.)
6. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Best: I know my answer is not the popular answer when it comes to this film but I think that it is the best film that could have been made for this book. How the book is written would be hard to transfer on to the screen because it has 4 main characters, 4 different stories. I love the actors they picked and the movie. Yes, a lot was cut out of it but nonetheless I still love it.
7. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Worst: First of, if The Princess Diaries were just a movie with no book behind it, I would love it, but since this is all about the book to adaptation business, I dislike it. The grandma is supposed to be evil, Michael isn’t supposed to be how they portrayed him to be, Lily, Mia’s best friend is also different from the one in the books, the only one that stayed the same is Mia. Oh and Josh but let’s not talk about that boy. The series has 10 books and there are only 2 movies. The second movie is just an excuse. It can’t even be counted as a part of the book to movie adaptation to me.
Anjie’s List:
8. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Worst: I think that anyone who read and loved this book would be disappointed at the director’s change. They eliminated the main antagonist and a couple of other characters important to the series. They also changed a lot of scenes. It seemed as if the screenwriters hadn’t read the book or something.
9. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Best: Not exactly the best adaptation out there but it’s one of the better ones. They packed in most of the important scenes and I think that it essentially touched bases with the novel.
10. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Worst: Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as The Lightning Thief but it wasn’t good either. They removed some characters and they changed the ending! I understand removing characters, they weren’t as important to the story but to change the ending is like changing Picoult’s writing.
This is a book I think will be enchanted if read at the beach. It just has that summer lazy vibe. (Warning: lots and lots of feels and not all happy and gushy.)
This last book is a book that makes a lot of people cry. It’s bittersweet like chocolate. It’s good, we want it, but oh man does it hurt too. I’m all for reading emotional books at the beach because if you decide to face down, people will think you are taking a nap or tanning. No need to explain that you are a puddle of feels.
The Talking Bookworm 