BEST BOOK-TO-FILM ADAPTATIONS
1. HARRY POTTER – Even with the small differences here and there, the movies still managed to keep that same charm and magic that the books had. Adore these movies!
2. THE HUNGER GAMES – Mostly true to the book. Even with the small changes, they still brought the story and characters to life.
3. THE LORD OF THE RINGS – My memory is admittedly fuzzy when it comes to the books, but I'm still putting this down as one of the best adaptations. I love these movies so much!
4. HOLES – I felt like they kept the same charm of the novel, even with the small changes. Guess it pays off to have the author write the screenplay!
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
5. THE LAST SONG – I love the book, so I was a bit disappointed with the film. A handful of fantastic actors did such a great job as their characters, but even they couldn't keep all of the lesser actors from messing up certain moments.
6. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS – I feel like the film was very close to the novel, but I had some issues with the acting of the two lead characters. Sometimes they were good, sometimes they weren't.
WORST BOOK-TO-FILM ADAPTATIONS
7. THE LIGHTNING THIEF – I watched this movie before reading the books, and thought it was okay. After I read the books, however, my perspective changed quite a lot. I'm very nervous about the sequel, but I'm hoping that they'll stick to the story this time.
8. ELLA ENCHANTED – Oh my gosh. Thanks for ruining one of my favorite novels from my childhood. The novel is fun, charming, and whimsical. The film is not even worth your time, especially if you're a fan of the book.
9. THE SCARLET LETTER – I'm talking about the Demi Moore film, which was a mess. Even Gary Oldman couldn't save this film. It felt like torture when we were watching this film in school last semester!
10. ERAGON – I was surprised by how bad the film was. The books aren't anything special, but they're fun and perfect for film. Yet...it was bad. Saphira looked awesome, though.
Ohh, awesome list :D I loved the Harry Potter movies and the books. <3 The LotR movies are my favorite movies of all time, but I still haven't read the books.. I actually loved Water for Elephants; cause, heh, I just love Robert Pattinson so much. <3 But oh. I hated the Hunger Games movie :\ Just not for me, which sucked, cause the book was amazing. (Just hated the actor who plays Peeta. Not Peeta AT ALL. Sobs. And I hated the way it was filmed. Had a headache the entire time. And my eyes hurt. Sigh.) Anyway! I love your post and your choices :D Thank you for sharing sweetie :)
ReplyDeleteI have a love/hate relationship with the WATER FOR ELEPHANTS movie. Some days I love it, other days I hate it ;)
DeleteI can see where you're coming from regarding THE HUNGER GAMES - I wasn't very fond of the shaky camera used in THG (very annoying), I'm hoping they cut back on that for the sequel.
I was also impressed with the Harry Potter adaptations! Great list.
ReplyDeleteThey were fabulous! Charming, magical...great representations of each book!
DeleteThe Golden Compass could be added to the worst list. I'm in the middle about Beautiful Creatures because I thought the movie was well done, but they didn't stick with the books especially towards the end. I thought The Notebook could be added to the best because that movie was so good.
ReplyDeleteI've heard BC was changed around quite a lot. I still need to read and watch TGC!
DeleteThe Notebook is such a great film! :)
Definitely agree with LotR, obviously. I love those movies so much. I agree on Water for Elephants. The movie isn't horrible, but it's not nearly as good as the book. I never read Ella Enchanted, but the film is seeing lots of hate today, so it was obviously a poor adaptation. Great list!
ReplyDeleteLotR = AMAZING! :D
DeleteELLA ENCHANTED is a fabulous novel, terrible movie. It still makes me sad to watch that movie, since the novel is one my long-time favorites.
Thanks for stopping by!
I completely understand about the Lightening Theif! I am super nervous abut the sequel, but I've heard the director was trying to follow the the book more. Great list!
ReplyDeleteHere's
My TTT
Let's hope the director follows the book more! At least it looks like they made Annabeth blonde this time, so that's a start ;)
DeleteCool List! I love Harry Potter and Hunger Games - both are on my list. I actually didn't mind the changes in Percy Jackson (at least the part in TN - although the statue was completely wrong). Still, I'm hoping the second is better.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Percy Jackson when I saw it, but once I read the books, I was kind of annoyed with the whole movie. It looks like the sequel should be interesting, and hopefully more like the books!
DeleteHarry Potter and The Hunger Games were in my top list too! And I agree with the Last Song...the book made me cry like a baby and the movie was just okay. It made my worst list because Miley just ruined it for me. Great list :)
ReplyDeleteHere's my Top Ten!
Right on for HP & THG!
DeleteLAST SONG made me cry too. The movie...not so much. Miley definitely needs to work on her acting. Still, it's a fun movie to watch, but the novel was so much better (which is so weird, because I believe the novel was written after the movie's screenplay)!
I like the movie of Ella Enchanted... but it's so different from the book that I don't really compare the two. I saw the movie before I read the book. I like both, but for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteI've seen Holes on a few people's lists. I haven't read the book or seen the movie. Maybe that's something I should look at fixing!
I read and adored EE first, so that's probably why it bothered me more ;)
DeleteHOLES is so good! Both the book and the film, you should check them out!
Good list, I loved Harry Potter, Holes and The Hunger Games as well. I agree about The Lightening Thief but I'm cautiously optimistic about the second movie after seeing the trailer.
ReplyDeleteThe trailer for SEA OF MONSTERS has me a bit excited, but I'm still worried they'll ruin the story. But, it looks like the sequel has a different director and screenwriter, so hopefully they managed to bring Percy's story to life (and in the way it should have been done in the first film)!
DeletePercy Jackson and Eragon are both on my worst list. One of my biggest issues with Percy Jackson was the age difference. It was like they started off not even trying to make it like the book. Great list! My TTT.
ReplyDeleteVyki @ On The Shelf
The age thing bothered me a bit, but I can usually forgive that, so long as the rest of the story is the same. But there were just quite a few moments in the film that were too different for me. Let's hope the sequel is better! *crosses fingers*
DeletePercy Jackson and Eragon sucked so much! I am like obsessed with The Hunger Games but Harry Potter was kind of meh for me. Holes was a really awesome movie but I didn't read the book. Great list!
ReplyDeleteMy Top Ten
HOLES is such an awesome movie! You should check out the book, it's great, too :)
DeleteCool list. I've seen lots of these but not read them. Shame on me. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking the same thing all day as I read everyone else's lists!
DeleteOMG I can't believe I forgot about Eragon. Probably my biggest book-to-movie-disappointment ever. The books were super fun and could've translated to a movie REALLY well, but the movie was so so so bad. D:
ReplyDeleteAnd I forgot about Holes, too!! That one was seriously amazing though. Now I want to re-watch it!
ERAGON had so much potential to be a great film. I still don't understand how they managed to mess it up!
DeleteHOLES = Awesome. I'm tempted to re-watch it too :)
I am worried about The Sea of Monsters too. I love this series and was really disappointed with the film adaptation of The Lightning Thief. I will be watching Sea of Monsters with really low expectations...
ReplyDeleteI also didn't care for the film adaptation of Eragon and Ella Enchanted was extremely different from the book. I did like The Last Song but then I haven't read the book yet.
I think the Lord of the Rings movies are amazing adaptations. I liked the Harry Potter movies but the later ones really fail to live up to the books in my opinion.
The trailer for PJ&TSoM looks good, so I'm trying to be optimistic, but I'm still very nervous about it. I hope they stick closer to the story this time!
DeleteTHE LAST SONG is an even better novel!
OMG. The Lightning Thief was TERRIBLE!! First off, that kid was way too old. And it just went downhill after that. Most excellent lists, though!
ReplyDeleteI understood the age change (it seems like books featuring young protagonists usually get aged up a bit when it comes to film - Harry Potter is the exception, though), but all the other changes bothered me so much. The bad part about aging up the characters was that they lost some of the charm that the books had...
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
I'm still angry about Ella Enchanted. How could they do that to us, ruin one of our favourite childhood novels?! Ughhh. And I also saw The Lightning Thief and it's one of the main reasons I've been putting off reading the books, because it didn't leave me with such a great impression. I agree with all your best movie adaptations!
ReplyDeleteI know! EE is such a great book, I still do not understand why they made the changes they did in the film. Such a ridiculous movie.
DeleteThe Percy Jackson books are so much better than the film - very charming and fun :)
Ha ha the Demi Moore version of The Scarlet Letter totally reminded of Easy A. LOL.
ReplyDeleteThe Hunger Games is a very good movie adaptation.
I agree with all of them, except the hunger games, that one disappointed me:( thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteevelinesbooks.blogspot.nl
I used to really like the movie Ella Enchanted but I recently read the book and OH MY--it doesn't even come close! The book is just beautiful, no comparison at all. I quite liked the Water for Elephants adaptation. It did stick very close to the book. I tried not to let the Pattinson bring me down. I remember liking the movie for Holes. Still have to read the book (I like Sachar's writing style though). And HP and THG? Agreed.
ReplyDeleteI didn't make a list for this but LOTR would have been numero uno. They were beautifully made movies with great acting and so unbelievably close to the books. I also love the Harry Potter movies though they really left a lot of things out I would have liked to have seen. Loved Water for Elephants too! :)
ReplyDelete