The Book Adaptation Tag

I'm pretty sure The Book Nut created this tag, so go check out that post if you're interested. I'm currently in a bit of a rut. I haven't been doing a lot of book reviews lately but that is because I haven't been reading books I've felt the need to review. So I guess bear with me throughout my journey of making lists and doing tags. But if you enjoy these over reviews then I guess it's a win-win.

1. What is the last book adaptation movie you saw?

This one was so hard cause I have not been watching a lot of movies. If we were including TV I did watch part of the first episode of Shadow and Bone before I gave up on it if that counts. I really can't think of a movie so I will have to stick with that. 

2. What book movie are you most excited for?

The Night Circus. I found out they were making this book into a movie and I just hope they can capture the magic on screen. This book was so magical and I want them to get it right. This book holds such a special place in my heart and I want the movie to be perfect.

3. Which upcoming book movie will you definitely NOT see?

All of them? Can I say that? I'm probably not watching any of them. I'm a bit tired of book to movie adaptations. I want original content. If I have to choose though I'd probably go with Dune. I know everyone is so excited about it, but I've never read the book. I don't think I'll watch the movie. I know Zendaya's in it and I love her, but I just don't think she is enough to make me watch that movie. Also, I'm pretty sure it's sci-fi. I don't care for sci-fi. I haven't even seen Starwars.

4. Which book movie would you NEVER watch again?

Jane Eyre. They just sucked the life out of her. I loved the book so much because I loved Jane. The issue is that a lot of Jane's character-building happens in her head. There isn't a ton of dialogue in the book. We get to know and understand Jane through the story she is telling us and there is none of that in the movie. They didn't even try to do a voice-over or anything. Like you got no sense of her personality, there was no connection to her. Also Mr. Rochester was supposed to be ugly. He was not. 

5. Is there a movie you saw that made you want to read the book if you hadn’t yet?

Pride and Prejudice. I was just not interested in classics at that point. I watched Pride and Prejudice 2005 because I think I was just writing in my journal and the movie had just started so I figured why not. I ended up really enjoying it and decided to actually read the book. I can't say I regret it.

6. Conversely, is there a movie that made you never want to read the book?

Girl, Interrupted. I enjoyed the movie simply because of Angelina Jolie, but the movie itself was not very good. I have no intentions of ever reading that book because the main character is a drag. Unless I have to read it for a class or something I am not reading that book.

7. Name an adaptation that has almost nothing to do with the book it’s supposedly based on.

The Princess and the Frog. Now stick with me here while I explain myself. So once upon a time, I read this book called the Frog Princess by E. D. Baker. I read this entire series and loved it and then I found out they were supposedly making a movie adaptation of it. The movie comes out. I watch it. Literally, the only thing that is the same in both is that the princess kisses the frog and turns into a frog. That's it. I'm thinking there was a producer or writer out there somewhere that read this, liked the idea, but then legally had to credit this book because that's where they got the idea. I love the book and the movie separately, but that movie was not an adaptation. I felt lied to. 

8. Have you ever left the theatre during a movie adaptation because it was so bad?

No, I can have fun watching a bad movie. The only time I've ever left a movie in theatres is when my friend and I went to see Joker and she got so sick that we left and I had to refund the tickets.

9. Do you prefer to watch the movie first or read the book first?

I mean I always prefer to read the book, but sometimes I'm full of shit and I'll watch the movie anyway. 

10. How do you feel about movie adaptations that age characters up? (ex. characters that are in middle school, but in the movies, they’re all 18)

Like I get that production studios do this because of child labour laws, but it pisses me off. I don't want to watch a movie about teenage Percy Jackson. I want to watch Percy Jackson with age-appropriate Percy Jackson. Is that too much to ask? The new show is probably one I will watch. 

11. Do you get angry when the actors don’t look like you thought the characters looked?

I mean it definitely takes me out of it a little bit, but usually, it depends on the book. Like one of my favourite books is Practical Magic and the movie characters look almost nothing like how they are in the books and I still loved both. It also really depends on their acting. If a character doesn't look right but definitely acts right then it doesn't matter. 

12. Is there a movie you liked better than its book?

The Princess Bride, but only by a little bit. The book gets a little convoluted and confusing. I like that the movie keeps it simple with the grandfather just reading the book. Also, that casting was so perfect. I honestly don't think they should try to remake that movie because it will never be as perfect as the original. The stars aligned for some of those castings. Like Andre the Giant was perfect. 

13. Name a book that you would love to see as a movie.

Wolfsong. It's an amazing book and has so much LGBTQ+ representation. There's just a little something for everyone. God and if T. J. Klune helped with the screenplay this could be one of the saddest but funniest romantic movies ever. Like I would kill for this to be a movie.

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Top 10 Worst Book to Movie Adaptations

This was a bit of a last minute list I had the inspiration to write. I wrote it then published it just now. I hope you enjoy.

1. Percy Jackson

I could list all the reasons why it was horrible but I won’t because I think it’s better left unsaid. Let’s leave this movie in the past and hope that maybe one day they will make an animated Percy Jackson movie. I would love that.

2. The Vampire Academy

They tried to make it into a comedy. Why?

3. The Fifth Wave

Hollywood needs to stop casting Chloe Grace Moretz in everything. Don’t really like her as a person or an actor and I’m tired of not enjoying any of these movies because she’s in all of them. This is why I didn’t watch If I Stay. 

4. Practical Magic

I love the Practical Magic movie and I love the book, but in terms of accuracy, the movie is horrible. Not even remotely close to the book.

5. Harry Potter Franchise

I love the Harry Potter movies, but once again, they are horrible representations of the books. I am especially angry about the fifth movie. The Order of the Phoenix was the longest book but the shortest movie. They cut out so much important information plot-wise. They took away and character development the characters and there was no Quidditch!. The Order of the Phoenix was probably my favorite book but by far the worst of the movies.

6. Divergent

It was just too long! I had to keep taking breaks while watching the movie because it was so long. 

7. Twilight

I debated whether or not to put this on here because as you know I didn’t like Twilight. However, I thought about it and decided I would because the movies were a lot more horrible than the books. The acting was stale and I understand why because all the actors hated it.

8. City of Bones

The movie just was not good. There were some aspects of the movie I liked more than the show, but really overall it was a horrible adaptation.

9. And Then There Were None

I had to read the book for school and it was love. I loved that book. And then as a class, we watched the movie and as an activity during the movie we had to write down everything that was different between the book and the movie. Man, there were a lot I don’t even know where to begin.

10. Jane Eyre

The thing about Jane Eyre is that a lot of the character development happens while Jane is having her inner monologue. We get of lot of her thoughts rather than seeing what is happening around her. We see memories and her feelings about certain situations. This is very hard to translate into film which is why it was so horrible. Jane in the movie just felt so flat and had no personality whatsoever. Also Mr. Rochester is really attractive in the movie and he’s not supposed to be!

What was a book to movie adaptations you hated?

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