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Movies and Life - by Tracy

 
'A good story should surprise you as it unfolds. Then afterwards it should seem the story could only have unfolded that way.’ Ken Loach

Movies and Life - October 2006

Which book do you think should never have been made into a film?

October 26th 2006 07:00
Tell me which film really grates on your nerves so much that you wish it had never been made into a film…and why?

Here’s a few ideas of books that have been made into films:

Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
About a Boy - Nick Hornsby
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The Devil Wears Prada – Lauren Weisberger
Dracula – Bram Stoker
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Any Harry Potter films…
Lady in the Water: A Bedtime Story - M. Night Shyamalan
Last Temptation of Christ - Nikos Kazantzakis

Any of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.....
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Comment by Cibbuano

October 27th 2006 00:56


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I reviewed Memoirs of a Geisha.. I thought it was mediocre at best...

I think Battlefield Earth was the worst adaptation... in the hands of a talented production crew, it could be epic.


Comment by Tracy

October 27th 2006 01:29


Movies and Life
I didn't see Memoires as most of the reviews and comments I read/heard were negative. Only one of my friends said it was good, so I think it's a DVD viewing for me.

That's a pity about Battlefield Earth not being that great. I haven't seen that either.

Amazing what a difference it makes with the adaptation being in the right hands. It can really work or go pair-shaped.

Comment by Lizard68591

October 27th 2006 03:05


The Blog Formerly Known As Saturday Morning Movie Club
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I didnt read the book but I know that the movie version of Lady In The Water sucked!

Comment by Tracy

October 27th 2006 03:14


Movies and Life
Hi Lizard

I haven't read that book either and I thought that the trailer for it looked dodgy. I haven't talked to anyone that's seen it so your opinion is really interesting, thanks.
I guess it wasn't scary?

Tracy

Comment by Ragin Cajun

October 27th 2006 06:56


Observer's Post
Death By Myopia
I wish they never made Catch-22 into a movie. The film was so lame. It failed to fully capture the satire of the book.

Comment by Tracy

October 27th 2006 07:44


Movies and Life
Hello Ragin

I haven't read the book yet, even though it's on my 'to read' shelf. I know it's supposed to be very good. What a pity the same can't be applied to the film.

Tracy

Comment by Tracy

October 27th 2006 07:46


Movies and Life
think the Da Vinci Code film shouldn't have been made. I didn't read the book by Dan Brown, but I sat through the first half an hour of the film and it was appalling. The acting was weak, the accents dodgy and it was so gloomy and not at all suspenseful. Thank goodness it was a copy and I didn't pay good money to see it....all in all, it was abysmal.

Comment by Yolanda

October 30th 2006 00:22
I thought About A Boy was a movie then a rip off book came out afterwards? The book adaptation was exactly like the movie? I remember flicking thru it and the wording was just horrendous.

Comment by Tracy

October 30th 2006 00:31


Movies and Life
Hi Yolanda

The book came first in 1998 and then the film in 2002. I really liked both the film and the book, but I know many people read the book and enjoyed it and thought the film wasn't up to scratch. Different tastes.....

Byee

Comment by Yolanda

October 30th 2006 00:45
Oh well, perhaps I got the dodgy book...

Comment by Tracy

October 30th 2006 00:49


Movies and Life
Maybe you did! Ah well...

Comment by MelissaA

October 30th 2006 06:23


Fun Facts
For me it definitely has to be "The Bourne Identity" and "The Bourne Supremacy".

You couldn't get much more off the plot in those two, especially the 2nd one. The actual character of Jason Bourne was the only thing the same in the movie from the entire book.

Total waste of time and effort - if they're going to make up a completely different storyline, then they should rename the character and call it something else!

Comment by Tracy

October 30th 2006 06:33


Movies and Life
Hi Melissa

Thanks for your comments. I haven't seen any of the Bourne films so I can't add anything useful. I can't believe they were cheeky enough to use the titles and name from the book and basically nothing else, what a rip-off! Did you like the films even though they were so different from the books?

Tracy

Comment by MelissaA

October 30th 2006 06:44


Fun Facts
No, I thought they were ridiculous. Of course I may just be biased having read the books, but I truly did try to sit down and enjoy them regardless.

Let's just say that the books had so much unused potential - I am clueless as to why they went the way that they did. If it wasn't for Matt Damon I don't think I would have watched them at all. ; )

Comment by Tracy

October 30th 2006 06:56


Movies and Life
Hello, that's a pity that the films weren't that good especially as you found the the books so interesting. It sounds like the producer missed the vital essences from the books. It definitely sounds like they were films made from books that should not have been....thanks for the insight

Comment by Tracy

October 30th 2006 07:00


Movies and Life
I'm going to answer my own question, well sort of..The Devil Wears Prada, both the book and the film weren't much chop, but the film was better than the book thanks to the excellent choice of actors but in general the storyline was pretty clichéd, predictable and not that funny. So I think I answered my question in reverse....ah well....


Comment by Stanley

November 5th 2006 05:44
bonfire of the vanities and i don't need to articulate anymore reasons why the movie sucked compared to the book because that has been overdone.

one flew over the cuckoos nest also but that's because i loved the book so much rather than the movie being bad. i had a different vision of how the movie would play out.

Comment by Tracy

November 5th 2006 05:51


Movies and Life
Hi Stanley

Yes, I agree with you about Your text goes hereBonfire of the Vanities, that didn't do much for me either.

I had forgotten that One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was originally a book. I really liked the film and thought it was well-done, but it sounds like it took a different direction to the book?

Tracy

Comment by KarenC

November 7th 2006 14:19


Genghis Gal
Bridget Jones' Diary. I absolutely loved the book and was horrified by the movie. Hate Renee Zellwegger to begin with, but the whole adaptation was atrocious.

I loved both the book and movie of About A Boy, I have to say.

And I absolutely hated the book of The DaVinci Code and will never ever see the movie. That's one book that should never have been written.

Devil Wears Prada - ordinary book and I have no desire to see the film.

As much as I love the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings and was dreading them being made into films - I absolutely loved the films. Almost all of the characters were just as I had imagined, the story followed reasonably well the original books ... thought they were sensational, in all honesty.

There have been some atrocious adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, but the Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle version was sensational. Hated Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier though.

Comment by The Voices in my Head

November 10th 2006 17:00


The Voices in my Head
The Bridges of Madison County.

The book read so beautifully and effortlessly. The movie was a shredding of my internal movie and I have not been able to read the book since.

Comment by kryzb

November 11th 2006 04:02
Hi,

The book I wish that wasn't made into a film is Lolita - one of the greatest books ever written in my opinion. Forget the Jeremy Irons version, it's crap and definitely shouldn't have been made. I'm taking about the 1962 version. Even though Nabokov adapted the screenplay from his own book (admittedly little of which was used) and Kubrick directed the film, it suffered greatly at the hands of the censors. In a 1972 Newsweek interview, Kubrick said that had he realized how severe the censorship limitations were going to be, he "probably wouldn't have made the film." Ultimately, both Nabokov and Kubrick disowned the film (for different reasons) and we should too.

Having said that, one of the best adaptations would have to be American Psycho. A terrible book but a great film!

kryz.

Comment by Tracy

November 11th 2006 06:23


Movies and Life
Hi Kryz

I've only seen excerpts of both versions of Lolita and they did not look good at all, the 1962 version seemed over-done and cheesy.

I liked both the book and the film of American Psycho, thought they were both great!

Tracy

Comment by Stanley

November 12th 2006 00:55
tracy - yeah there are slight but glaring variations the film took with the book. not only that the physical description of mcmurphy is a polar opposite from jack but the personality fits though. nurse ratched was different from what i envisioned too but i guess you'll always get that with books that become films.

Comment by Tracy

November 12th 2006 04:45


Movies and Life
Gosh, for some reason I would've expected that book to be more like the book than other films...not sure why, maybe because of its themes, maybe because I liked the film...

Comment by Bryn

November 13th 2006 01:58


Horrorphile
I beg to differ on Lolita ... I actually thought Adrian Lyne's version was more faithful to the novel than Kubricks.
I am terrified of what Tom Tywker will have done to Peter Suskind's Perfume. Sure, he's german director directing a German written novel ... but still, the novel has so much stuff that is nigh on unfilmable, without it being truly transgressive cinema ... we're talking about a full-on peasant/artisocracy orgy as well as someone being literally devoured alive ....
Although Roger Avery's adatpation of Brett Easton Ellis' brilliant novel of dysfunctional and decadent uni student life The Rules of Attraction was entertaining, it certainly didn't capture the lusty nihilism of the novel ... and now Avery is making Ellis's Glamorama, one of the finest novels of the past ten years.

Comment by kryzb

November 13th 2006 04:10
Lyne's version of Lolita may be more faithful to the novel, but that's reflecting the change in the 'moral values' of censors over time. For me, Lolita the novel is like an iceberg. Film will only ever capture the small, exposed tip and the depth of the work can only be fully appreciated in the novel.
We sure aren't going to agree on Ellis! - to my mind he is a pulp fiction hack. =)
Another poor film adaption that comes to mind would have to be Troy (which I only watched the other night) based on Homer's Iliad. The adaptation, if you can call it that, is so loose I wonder if is it fair to call Troy an adaption of the Iliad at all?

kryz

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 23:37


Movies and Life
Hi Karen

Thanks for all your comments. I agree with you about Bridget Jones' Diary. I also really liked the book and thought the film was pretty pathetic, they could've made it so much edgier.

I also really liked both the book and movie of About A Boy. Yes, why was The Da Vinci Code written? I was beginning to think that I was the only one that didn't like the book. I tried the first few pages and it just seemed too dull. As I mentioned earlier, I thought the film was lacklustre.

Again, I agree with you about The Devil Wears Prada book. When I started reading it, I thought it was going to be a good laugh, but it tried too hard. The film was amusing in parts but very Hollywoodised.

I'd better go now, that's enough moaning for one post.

Byee

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 23:39


Movies and Life
Hi Bryn

I hadn't realised that Avery was making a film of Glamorama, I'll look forward to that adaptation.

Tracy

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 23:44


Movies and Life
Hello Kryzb

This is going to be an inane response to your comment about Troy and its linkage to Homer's Illiad. I haven't seen the film nor read Illiad, but I just wanted to let you know that I read your comment

Comment by Bryn

November 13th 2006 23:46


Horrorphile
kryzb,
I'm curious, did you make up your mind on Ellis after just one book? Or have you read several ...?
His latest, Lunar Park, is a thoroughly compelling decontruction of himself as both writer and celebrity, written almost as an ode to the stylistics of Stephen King.
Perhaps that will put the final nail in the coffin of Ellis as far as your concerned, but on the contrary, I feel it broadens Ellis's literary horizons as it takcles something entirely new, which I've not heard of any other comtemprary writer doing (writing a novel which is blur between autobiography and horror novel).

Comment by kryzb

November 14th 2006 04:17
Hi Bryn (and Tracy),

Admittedly I made my mind up about Ellis after reading American Psycho. And that was a while ago. I may just l have to blow the dust off and give it another shot. I'm always open to updating my views. If Ellis can expand his literary horizons as a writer I can too as a reader.

When you talk of the writer blurring the line between autobiography and novel I think of William S. Burroughs. Much of his work is semi-autobiographical, in particular, Junkie, which explores his opiate addiction, and Queer, which explores his homosexuality.

Btw, I've got lots of time for Stephen King, I grew up reading his books! But you've reminded me of The Running Man. That's one of my favourite short stories! I have to say, to return to the post topic, that while Arnie delivers some great one liners in the film, I don't think it's half as good as King's story.

=) kryz.

Comment by Kiwi Author

May 1st 2007 08:53


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Everyone seems to have covered most of the books that shouldn't have been made into a film. I would agree with the Da Vinci Code, book was average at best, movie tripe really.
As to books I would like to see made into a film (depending on the director, would have to be Ridley Scott or Peter Jackson) The Devils of D Day, any of the Harlequin series, Pandoras Star/ Judas Unchained and last but not least The Chronicles of Lamora

Hal

Comment by Tracy

May 2nd 2007 00:13


Movies and Life
HI Hal

Thanks for your comments, I haven't heard of the books you've mentioned, I'll look them up....yes, like you said, a lot does depend on how the director does them,

Tracy

Comment by Aimzster

June 27th 2007 12:11


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Hi Tracy - definitely Da Vinci Code - as everyone else seems to think here. I really liked the book and was looking forward to the movie but the movie was a HUGE letdown. I wanted to stand up and boo at the screen afterward. I would have to disagree with everyone else about Bridget Jones. I loved the movie but then again, I saw the movie before I read the book. I think the best books that have been made into movies would be the LOTR and Harry Potter series.

Comment by Tracy

June 27th 2007 22:41


Movies and Life
Hi Aimzster

Yes, I definitely agree with you about The Da Vinci Code. I think I'm one of the few people in the world that didn't read the book, I just couldn't get into it. Not that I really tried, I only read a couple of pages and books generally need a bit more than that. I might try it again in a few more years when the hype has died down. I'm a bit of an anti-hype viewer and reader.

Yes, the film was appalling. I think you should've stood up and booed (if you're that brave, I'm not, so who am I to talk?). I thought the film was lacklustre and really shouldn't have been made. I made it through the first half an hour and it was appalling. The acting was weak, the accents dodgy and it was so gloomy and not at all suspenseful. It showed no signs of getting better, so as it was a DVD I felt no remorse about getting upon and doing something more useful with my time.

Yes, I think the Potter and LOTR films are well-done, those effects are incredible.


Comment by Mike Crowl

August 17th 2007 16:50


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Definitely the top of the list is The Shipping News. Badly cast, (particularly Kevin Spacey, who couldn't play a character with no personality if he tried), wrongly scripted, and losing so much of the original character of the book that it was hardly worth calling it by the same name. Only one shot lingers in the mind: the people pushing a house across the ice.

Comment by Tracy

August 18th 2007 08:11


Movies and Life
Hi Mike

I have looked at that film so many times in the video shop and felt as though I should see it but something always stops me.....if I ever do see it, I will remember what you said and that scene you mentioned.

Thanks,

Tracy

Comment by Mike Crowl

August 18th 2007 08:56


Webitz
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Wow, Tracy, I've influenced someone! LOL

Mike

Comment by Tracy

August 18th 2007 08:59


Movies and Life
Yeppie, you have....other people have said it's good but I wasn't quite convinced....

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