We've got a tag here on our new website of better than the book. The subject is...movies, of course.

Here's a look at upcoming book-based films coming to theaters before the end of the year (and there's a slew(!)).There's still some time to get the book under your belt before the popcorn's on your lap! Then, you can judge for yourself...is it better than the book? If so, come back here and tag it!       

 

 

 

Comments

If you see the movie first....

If you see the movie first, are you more or less likely to think that it is better than the book? Or do you ever read the book if you have already seen the movie?

If you see the movie first...

That is a difficult question to answer. Usually I have read the book first. In fact, I can't think offhand of any movie made from a book, where I haven't read the book first. That being said, I do have high hopes for "The Secret Life Of Bees". Sue Monk Kidd is one of my favorite authors, and the story is so enchanting. There are two movies that come to mind when I think about how much I disliked the movie having read the book: "The Devil Wears Prada", and "Oil". "Prada" the book, though fluffy on the surface, had some darkness and conflict that was absent from the movie. And "Oil" bore only a passing resemblance to "There Will Be Blood". When the movie starts to mess around with the basic characters and their motivations, and completely changes or eliminates other important characters and plot twists, I'm no longer interested. One movie that I thought did well with the book-to-movie transition was "Gone With The Wind". The characters stayed true to their motivations, the plot did not vary from the book, and the missing parts were peripheral to the main events and characters in the movie. ~goatini~ Friend of a Friend of the Darien Library :-)

If you see the movie first...

I think I was most disappointed in the movie Mary Poppins after reading the book. I read the book as a child, and had an image of Mary Poppins that definitely was not Julie Andrews. When I saw the movie when it first came out, I was so disappointed. However, I've grown to like the movie.