As hosted by The Broke & The Bookish
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was a freebie. And I was being a good little blogger and had planned my topic ahead: I would talk about some of my favorite LGBTQ books. And then… I forgot and already posted that topic last week. So when I realised my little error I had to come up with a new subject pretty quickly. And the decision has been made to do…
My favorite book to movie adaptations!
I love reading and books, but I also LOOOVE movies and tv. Any kind of storytelling actually. And while the saying is that the book is always better than the movie – and I do agree with that 99% of the time – I am also not that huge a critic on book to movie adaptations. Sure, they often miss things that are crucial to the story, or they get the casting wrong or they don’t make the movie a 4 hour spectacle with every little detail in it. But, if the overall concept is good and I can enjoy the movie as a whole… I’m happy with it.
So here are some of the book to movie adaptations I enjoyed THE MOST:
The Harry Potter series
OF COURSE I need to start off this list with Harry Potter. It just is one of the best book to movie adaptations out there today. Though they did not include every little detail from the books, these movies did manage to capture the magic and emotion of all books perfectly and for that they will always have a a place in my heart and they will be marathoned at least once a year.
The Lord of the Rings
Before shorter books were turned into 2 movies, there was Lord of the Rings. They proved that three to four hours per movie is really possible and awesome. They are the books (and movies) that made me fall in love with fantasy and my all-time favorite character ever: the great Samwise Gamgee <3
The Hunger Games
Though the first movie was not perfect (I think it portrayed Katniss a bit too much as a super hero like figure), this series as a whole was amazing and a really great adaptation of the source material. Especially Catching Fire did everything right in my view.
Pride and Prejudice
I know there is some debate over which is better: the 2005 movie or the 1995 tv mini series. I personally enjoyed both of them for different reasons, but I just love the movie that bit more. The acting, the scenery, the soundtrack… it was all perfect.
Me Before You
The latest addition to this list! I just watched this movie last week and it was perfect. Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin are the perfect Lou and Will. I laughed, I swooned, I cried. (though I did not cry as much as I did when reading the book, but I never cry much with movies – it’s like all my tears were spent on the book. I guess that’s because I’m usually a lot more invested in the book – but it doesn’t mean I don’t like the movie)
Warm Bodies
Who knew I could become obsessed with a zombie love story? Not me, that’s for sure. But the story of R and Julie caught me by surprise and I ended up loving both the book and the movie. And I can’t wait for the sequel coming out in 2017!
Love, Rosie
Love, Rosie is actually the one time where I prefer the movie to the book. The story is about two friends who are secretly in love with eachother, but life gets in the way ALL THE TIME. In the book, it really feels like AGES and it just kind of drags on and on. So if you want to spare yourself that frustration, watch the movie where you only have to wait for an hour and a half. And again, Sam Claflin is great and so is Lilly Collins.
A Walk To Remember
This movie has a special place in my heart. I must have watched this a thousand times when I was younger and it started my Nicholas Sparks obsession. The movie is quite a bit different than the book, but it’s one of those movies where I don’t mind. I think I can still quote this movie line by line and I still know the soundtrack by heart as well.
The Fault in Our Stars
Again, a movie that captured the essence of the book beautifully. This story of two cancer patients falling in love is just as gripping and heartbreaking in the book as it is in the movie. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort are the perfect Hazel and Gus and the Amsterdam scenes will make you want to hop on a plane (or train) right away.
The Martian
Meet Mark Watney, one of the best main protagonists a story could ever have. I was hesitant about a story about a guy trapped all alone on Mars, but Mark Watney and his humor made it a must-read. And while I thought Matt Damon was a great Mark Watney, the humor is still just that bit better in the book. On the other hand, the movie excelled in the emotional department, so they’re both equally great in my view.
The Maze Runner
I feel like the story about boys waking up one day to find they are trapped in a maze together and have all their memories wiped was made for the screen. And this movie did it right, perhaps even better than the book (I was not such a big fan of the book, sorry to say). The maze came to life and felt so creepy and real, it was like its own character. Plus, Dylan O’Brien is amazing as Thomas.
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
I’m a sucker for friendship stories and these books and movies are the perfect friendship story. While the books cover a lot more ground (there are after all five of them as opposed to only two movies), but they captured the thrill of friends growing up together and the fear of growing apart perfectly.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
This classic coming of age story tackles a lot of tough subjects and does it in a gorgeously written way. Charlie’s voice is so unique and the story is both funny and heartbreaking, heartwarming and sad. And all those feelings come to life in the movie in such a spectacular way. Logan Lerman is the perfect Charlie and of course Emma Watson and Ezra Miller are a great Sam and Patrick.
So glad to hear that Me Before You is so good. And Love, Rosie. I haven’t seen either of these yet, but hope to.
https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/06/an-absurdly-long-and-quite-random-list.html
I really loved them, hope you’ll enjoy them too! 🙂
Love this topic!! I loved The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Fault in Our Stars, A Walk to Remember and the Hunger Games adaptations. I really want to see Me Before You and The Martian. Love, Rosie is one I haven’t heard of – book or movie – but will have to check out now!!
Thanks! I loved both Me Before You and The Martian, hope you’ll enjoy them! Love, Rosie had a nice concept (the entire story is told through emails, text messages and letters), but I kind of prefereed the movie to the book. Would definitely be interested to hear your thoughts when you read or watched it 🙂
I agree 100% WITH ALMOST ALL OF THESE. Pride and Prejudice the movie didn’t do it for me, but I would still watch it if I ran into it on my TV 😀
And of course Harry Potter is on top of these, GO HARRY!
I think Harry Potter will always be my number one, both books or movie-wise 🙂
These are all great choices! We are all Harry Potter fans in our house. My daughter hasn’t been exposed to the books yet, but hopefully soon. She loves the movies. I am right there with you on The Lord of the Rings. I have so much love for those books and movies. I still need to read Warm Bodies and see the movie. I’ve heard both are really good. Same with The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Thanks for sharing!
I love how Harry Potter can really be enjoyed by almost anyone, no matter the age 🙂 And Lord of the Rings will always have a place in my heart, both the books and the movies. Hope you’ll enjoy Warm Bodies and Perks of Being a Wallflower!
Pride & Prejudice is one of my all time favourite classics, but I have never seen the film adaptation… I tend to avoid adaptations of classics, but I’ll have to check out the 2005 film.
Cecelia Ahern is an auto-buy author of mine, and I agree with you – I preferred the film over the book! I love the concept of the plot overall, but the film is a favourite of mine I watched this year…. And I love that its available on Netflix because it means I can rewatch 😛
Great picks!!
I did really like the movie, mostly because of the beautiful cinematography and the soundtrack, but the tv mini series does resemble the books more closely… so depdening on what you prefer, both may be worth checking out 🙂
So glad you agree about Love, Rosie! The book was okay, but the movie was just fantastic 🙂
I love that adaptation of P&P 🙂 My TTT
It’s so gorgeous! Glad you love it too 🙂
Lord of the Rings and the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice- totally agree. I’ve never read P&P but I liked that movie- it did a lot of things right. Nice cast. And Maze Runner! Another one I haven’t read (heard mixed things) but I thought the movie was good- and I’m looking to watch Scorch Trials soon. 🙂
I only read the first Maze Runner book and thought it was okay, but I have no desire to continue reading the series. I do however, LOVE the movies and am patiently awaiting the next one 🙂
Great Top Ten!
I really LOVED A Walk To Remember, when I was younger! I remember reading the book afterward, and crying like a baby! Hah!
Glad you loved A Walk To Remember too! I was obsessed with that movie when I was younger as well! I cried my eyes out with every re-watch or re-read 🙂
This is such a great top ten, and I agree with a lot of these! I haven’t read the LOTR books, but I am a huge fan of the movies 🙂 A Walk To Remember was perfection, both the book and the movie adaptation. I am SO impatient to finally watch and read Me Before You! 😀
I love the LotR books A LOT, but honestly they were a bit tough to get through at some parts. Maybe I just need a re-read though 🙂 The movies however, I could watch over and over again! Same with A Walk To Remember. I hope you’ll enjoy Me Before You (the book and the movie) 🙂
Ahh! So many good movies! I’ve seen (and love), but haven’t read the book for: 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice,” “Warm Bodies (LOVELOVELOVE), ‘Sisterhood’ (always in style), and “Love, Rosie” (I thought the romance of the film was really good).
I’ve seen and didn’t care for “The Maze Runner.”
I’ve read and seen, TFIOS (better than I anticipated) and THG (Jennifer Lawrence is amazing in this role). My next DVD rental will be “Me Before You” and hopefully I’ll have read the book by then too!
Thanks! I hope you’ll enjoy Me Before You (the book and the movie) 🙂
I really enjoyed a lot of the movies on this list too!
Great, I’m glad you like a lot of these movies too:)
Great topic! I loved the Harry Potter, Warm Bodies and Perks adaptation so much! I’ve yet to read the books for LOTR, The Martian and the Travelling Pants but I LOVE the movies so much. I enjoyed The Maze Runner (except the last book) but haven’t seen the movies haha.
Thanks! Glad to hear you also enjoyed these movies. I only read the first book in The Maze Runner series and I don’t think I’ll continue, but I do like the movies a lot 🙂
The second book was my favourite, but I hated the ending and it almost made me wish I hadn’t read any of the books so not continuing might be the best option ?
I’m going to watch Me Before You soon, but I’m so happy to see it on your list! Now I’m even more excited to watch the movie. The Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite adaptations, and always will be I think. It’s not all-including, yet it’s perfect on its own. And I really loved The Martian too -both movie and the book. I actually ended up liking the Maze Runner movie more than the book..
Amazing list!
Thanks! I hope you’ll enjoy Me Before You! Lord of the Rings is as close to perfection as movies can go – there are of course differences but I kind of love them too 🙂 And I also liked the Maze Runner movie more than the book. I only read the first book and I don’t think I’ll continue but I am excited to watch the movies 🙂
I actually enjoyed the first movie of The Hunger Games more than the book. I know, haha. And I am one of those people that really prefers the mini series over the movie, a whole lot to be honest. But that might be because I grew up with seeing the mini series every few years on tv and I also own it on dvd and have watched it too many times to count. It has actually been a while. Maybe I should rewatch it again. 😀
I totally understand 🙂 I feel like the movie is more of a modern interpretation of the book, while the tv series feels like a much closer adaptation. Both are great, but I just really love the look and feel of the movie. Then again, maybe I just need to rewatch the tv series 😉
I have to agree with all of these (well, except for the few I haven’t read or watched… yet).
Thanks! 🙂
What! I didn’t know the Martian was a book. Ugh…I hate seeing the movie before reading the book!
I’d still recommend giving the book a try, as it is super funny 🙂
This is a great list. My favorite P&P will probably always be the Colin Firth version. I actually liked the Warm Bodies movie much better than the book. And, of course, LOTR is in a class all its own
My TTT
Thanks! I love the Colin Firth P&P too, I think they’re both great in different ways. I saw the Warm Bodies movie before I read the book, and I also kind of liked it more. Though I’m still excited to read the sequel when it comes out! 🙂