Writer of YA Novels

Top Ten Tuesday: The Book or the Movie?

written by Leslie November 10, 2015

Yesterday was the holiday for brave souls like myself. Tomorrow is Veterans’ Day for the real brave souls. And sandwiched in between is Tuesday! And that means time for another scintillating edition of Top Ten Tuesday, brought to you by the wonderful bloggers over at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s topic is about books and their movie adaptations. I love books. And I love movies. Sometimes they are great together. And other times, as the great Norma Desmond once said, those movie adaptations “make a rope of words and strangle this business! With a microphone there to catch the last gurgles, and Technicolor to photograph the red, swollen tongues!”

So, take a trip down Sunset Boulevard with me and let’s check out…

NORMA DESMOND’S MOVIE-ADAPTATION REVIEWS

“Ready for their close-ups”

10. Harry Potter series

True to the books with great special effects and a likable cast.

9. Hunger Games series

Peeta was equally annoying in the movie and the book. Gale was just as hot. And the costumes were better than I’d imagined. Well done.

8. The Help

A wonderful read with equal parts of laughter and serious moments. And the movie made me laugh and cry*. No sign of disappointment.

(*disclaimer: nearly every movie makes me cry. Even Beverly Hills Chihuahua)

7. Water for Elephants

Do I love Robert Pattinson? Yes. Is Christoph Waltz a genius with an awesome accent? Yes. Does it make me feel secretly better that Reese Witherspoon has a pointy chin like I do? Yes. But none of this matters because the movie really brought the book to life.

“They took the idols and smashed them”

6. The Princess Diaries

I hate you. Starting with this ridiculous movie poster and ending with the idiotic way you combined more than one book into a movie. You are a disgrace. Shame on you.

5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Maybe it was your grungy 2012 looks or your wannabe sullen teenager affect. Whatever it was, it didn’t work for me. There were no perks to this movie adaptation.

4-tie. The Tale of Despereaux

There is no ship. The cook is a female. Did you even read the book?

4-tie. Twilight series

I actually enjoyed the books, but you made me hate myself for it. That stupid sparkle and that ridiculous running? And don’t get me started on Kristen Stewart. Robert Pattinson, I’m sorry you had to be part of this. And I’m sorry I had to be part of it, too.

“You there! Why are you so late? Why have you kept me waiting so long?”