So, I do have a fascination with reading the source materials for movies, if possible before seeing them. I know I am not alone, So, here are THE books you need to read before going to the movies this year.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: This short story by the Grimms is generating two movies this year: Mirror Mirror (3/16) and Snow White and the Huntsman (6/1). Can't wait to see all the stuff the producers and writers throw in there to fill out a couple hours. These movies, being based on such a short story, are reminiscient of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Something tells me the results will not be the same.
The Hunger Games: (3/23) This literary phenomenon has now been made into a blockbuster from Hollywood. I just saw the preview a couple of days ago and it looks interesting. I really liked Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone, so this should prove to be a good one for a Saturday rental after it comes out on DVD.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: (6/22) While not really up my alley in terms of literary choice, I am intrigued by the fact that it is directed by Tim Burton. -D is a big fan of Burton, but I do think he makes a misstep every once in a while. What I am looking forward to more is his version of Dark Shadows later in the year (he does odd camp best).
The Hobbit: (12/14) The prequel to the Lord of the Rings is finally getting the full Hollywood a la Peter Jackson treatment. I will be forced to see it with the hubby, so I might as well get to reading this one. I tried once before, but I struggled in the first chapter and put it down. We shall see...
The Great Gatsby: (12/25) So if I get dragged to the theater to see the previous two picks, I will get to turn the tables for this one. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Baz Luhrmann and cannotwait to see what he does with this one. I will have to refresh my memory because 11th grade English was not kind to Fitzgerald.
and last but not least:
Team of Rivals (Lincoln): (December, I hope) Rarely do I get all tingly whilst reading the actor list on IMDB for an upcoming movie, but I did on this one! I ablsolutely loved Dorris Kearns Goodwin's masterpiece on the Lincoln presidency (it is hand's down my favorite Lincoln book), so I cannot tell you how excited I am that it is coming out this year! I won't force Drew to go see this one with me. I loaned the book to my dad after I read it and he loved it as much as I did, so sounds like a dad-daughter outing is in the offing!! Yea!
Are there any books that are being adapted for the screen you are excited about this year? Oh, I just realized I left off Twilight (how could that have happened? I wonder). If Twilight is the movie you are most excited about, please do not let me know; I will mock you mercilessly inside my head.
-L
Showing posts with label books into movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books into movies. Show all posts
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Help: A Rumination on Civil Rights and such
So, I have a small timing issue (previously discussed on this blog) in which I do not read according to current bestseller lists. I wait a little while, try to give a book some time to breathe (for me to forget all the spoilers I think I have heard through my stopped up ears), and then I read.
The latest read to fit into this category of books for me is The Help. The ubiquitous read was EVERYwhere last year and the year before: book blogs, newspapers, morning television, etc. The furor was renewed with the creation of the motion picture adaptation. Which is what brought me on board.
I like to attempt to read the source materials for most of the movies (that have source materials) before I see the movie. In fact, I tend to refuse to see movies until I have read the book...yes, still waiting on The Maltese Falcon. So, since The Help (the movie) has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and I am going to the AMC Best Picture Showcase in a couple of weeks, I found myself with some reading to do!
Thankfully, the book is of the page-turning sort. It is a well told story, even if the dialect gets in the way a little bit.
I couldn't help thinking of my summers in Mississippi with my grandparents in the late 80s. Many of the vestiges of the racism that formed the struggle at the center of The Help, were still evident. A trip to the Piggly Wiggly with my grandmother was still included a chance to hear the n-word used, to see the lines drawn subtly between classes and races. My grandmother had a black woman to help her around the house on a weekly basis and this was still pretty common. My grandmother looked down on her, but also showed her kindness and a concern for her family that was palpable to a child under the age of ten. The contradictions inherent in these kinds of relationships were easily recognizable and equally infuriating.
I grew up with a strong aversion to racism and had a real-life struggle with friends at a young age that left an impression on me forever: that the lines drawn between people are often not drawn by others for us to see, but are drawn by suggestion. Some of us can overcome the power of that suggestion and shrug off stereotypes to examine people as individuals. Some of us cannot overcome the power of those persuasive influences and are doomed to follow in their opinions and actions. What it comes down to in the end is the question: are you going to follow or ar you going to lead?
The characters who form the center of The Help are of the latter group: leaders. They don't stand up and make speeches or try to force others to see things their way. Instead they live quiet lives of conviction and wait for others to catch on. I think it is this portrait of a leader in the midst of the civil rights era that has made The Help the phenomenon it is. There is something that resonnates in the queitly done everyday activities that change the way others think. It is leading by example, even if it looks like no one will follow. This is the type of person who really accomplished civil rights reform in America and Kathryn Stockett paints their portraits sharply and beautifully.
I am glad I read The Help and I really am looking forward to seeing the film. I am also interested in getting the audio version. Has anybody seen the movie or heard the book? Please let me know what you think.
Rating: 6 out of 7
-L
The latest read to fit into this category of books for me is The Help. The ubiquitous read was EVERYwhere last year and the year before: book blogs, newspapers, morning television, etc. The furor was renewed with the creation of the motion picture adaptation. Which is what brought me on board.
I like to attempt to read the source materials for most of the movies (that have source materials) before I see the movie. In fact, I tend to refuse to see movies until I have read the book...yes, still waiting on The Maltese Falcon. So, since The Help (the movie) has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and I am going to the AMC Best Picture Showcase in a couple of weeks, I found myself with some reading to do!
Thankfully, the book is of the page-turning sort. It is a well told story, even if the dialect gets in the way a little bit.
I couldn't help thinking of my summers in Mississippi with my grandparents in the late 80s. Many of the vestiges of the racism that formed the struggle at the center of The Help, were still evident. A trip to the Piggly Wiggly with my grandmother was still included a chance to hear the n-word used, to see the lines drawn subtly between classes and races. My grandmother had a black woman to help her around the house on a weekly basis and this was still pretty common. My grandmother looked down on her, but also showed her kindness and a concern for her family that was palpable to a child under the age of ten. The contradictions inherent in these kinds of relationships were easily recognizable and equally infuriating.
I grew up with a strong aversion to racism and had a real-life struggle with friends at a young age that left an impression on me forever: that the lines drawn between people are often not drawn by others for us to see, but are drawn by suggestion. Some of us can overcome the power of that suggestion and shrug off stereotypes to examine people as individuals. Some of us cannot overcome the power of those persuasive influences and are doomed to follow in their opinions and actions. What it comes down to in the end is the question: are you going to follow or ar you going to lead?
The characters who form the center of The Help are of the latter group: leaders. They don't stand up and make speeches or try to force others to see things their way. Instead they live quiet lives of conviction and wait for others to catch on. I think it is this portrait of a leader in the midst of the civil rights era that has made The Help the phenomenon it is. There is something that resonnates in the queitly done everyday activities that change the way others think. It is leading by example, even if it looks like no one will follow. This is the type of person who really accomplished civil rights reform in America and Kathryn Stockett paints their portraits sharply and beautifully.
I am glad I read The Help and I really am looking forward to seeing the film. I am also interested in getting the audio version. Has anybody seen the movie or heard the book? Please let me know what you think.
Rating: 6 out of 7
-L
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Sweet Jane
As I promised in a recent post, I have thoughts on Jane Eyre. And here they are:
This was a reread for me. The last time I read the book was my senior year of high school, when I thought I understood everything there was to know about life. Apparently my 31 year old self would tell my 17 year old self: "Yeah, right!" As with other rereads I have done since starting this blog, there was so much more to see than a young person could see at that point in life experience. Namely, the distinction between a mutually respectful, sacrificial relationship and a mutually respectful, selfish relationship. Also, I did not remember most of the second book (not a surprise, because most of the second book is boring until you get to the end).
Jane discovers through various relationships what true love looks like. This is not erotic love necessarily, but a filial type of love, based on mutual respect. But respect can only take one so far down the road toward true companionship. There must also be selflessness, even sacrifice. As the reader watches Jane throughout the book, we see a growth of understanding of these things. It can be compared to a painting Jane describes the process of designing. She first knows what love is not, establishing the parameters of love like the outline of a painting. Then she discovers that love is respectful, then gentle, then forgiving, then forbearing, each of these qualities like the brushstrokes of the painting using different shades and techniques. Then she discovers that love can in fact break your heart through disappointment. She builds upon that foundation a final understanding that for love to be fully realized it must be returned. When she has finally discovered love, she has the completed painting before her in the picture of her chosen husband.
Jane Eyre is not so much a romance novel as a coming of age story in which the main character seeks, ultimately, respect. She seeks a place among society that is not questioned. She seeks companionship based upon the quality of her character and one's enjoyment of her person. In this way, it could be considered feminist literature (because those feminists love to take every strong female character and use her for their cause), but it is a human story of growth in love.
Other things not observed by 17 year old self:
The overt "Christian-ness" of the book.
The mega controlling nature of the relationship between Jane and St. John (some of the things he said to her were doozies!).
The slowness of the plot unfolding. I don't remember the story taking quite so long to tell.
P.S. Has anyone seen the recent remake of the movie? I am interested to check it out and see what they left in and left out of the St. John story line. I am also interested to see how Mia what's her name plays Jane.
Rating: 4.5 out of 7
-L
This was a reread for me. The last time I read the book was my senior year of high school, when I thought I understood everything there was to know about life. Apparently my 31 year old self would tell my 17 year old self: "Yeah, right!" As with other rereads I have done since starting this blog, there was so much more to see than a young person could see at that point in life experience. Namely, the distinction between a mutually respectful, sacrificial relationship and a mutually respectful, selfish relationship. Also, I did not remember most of the second book (not a surprise, because most of the second book is boring until you get to the end).
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| If you hvae a nook reader, you can get Jane Eyre for .99 here. |
Jane Eyre is not so much a romance novel as a coming of age story in which the main character seeks, ultimately, respect. She seeks a place among society that is not questioned. She seeks companionship based upon the quality of her character and one's enjoyment of her person. In this way, it could be considered feminist literature (because those feminists love to take every strong female character and use her for their cause), but it is a human story of growth in love.
Other things not observed by 17 year old self:
The overt "Christian-ness" of the book.
The mega controlling nature of the relationship between Jane and St. John (some of the things he said to her were doozies!).
The slowness of the plot unfolding. I don't remember the story taking quite so long to tell.
P.S. Has anyone seen the recent remake of the movie? I am interested to check it out and see what they left in and left out of the St. John story line. I am also interested to see how Mia what's her name plays Jane.
Rating: 4.5 out of 7
-L
Friday, August 19, 2011
One Day
Many days long, long ago I read One Day and never got around to telling you about it. Now that the movie is making it's American debut, I was reminded of it and thought my first post-baby post would be about it. Apparently it was some sort of phenomenon in the beach read world some time back; thus making it a candidate for the Hollywood treatment, complete with Anne Hathaway playing a British girl and Jim Sturgess playing a British toff (new word I remembered I had learned whilst watching Top Gear the other day on BBC America...how very Anglophilian of me).
Anyway, I don't usually read anything that could be considered beach reading, nor do I read romance novels; but I got a copy of this book as a prize in an Oscar trivia contest and pregnancy does crazy things to one's brain. So, like I said, I read the book.
How did I feel about it?
At first I didn't really have any connection with the characters. They seemed to be hackneyed characters for a romance novel: the brainy, middle class girl secretly pining for the upper-crust, aloof guy stunted in the emotional maturation department. The only thing I found interesting about the book was the structure of it. Each chapter is set on the same day, each year for a number of years, begining with the day after college graduation for both characters. I think the structure is what kept me coming back. It was like some soap opera I couldn't turn my back on even though the characters do everything predictable soap opera characters do. I guess I was hoping they would go all Passions on me and have a witch with a little person who creates lots of mischeif.
No such luck.
The story remains predictable through most of the book. What wasn't predictable was my reaction to the end of the book. Either the characters had grown on me so much that I feel in love right along with them OR I was so overloaded with hormones whilst reading it, that I bawled for an entire afternoon as I finished the book. I think it must have been the latter because when I look back on it now, there is no way it was the characters.
So, the age old question: Should I read the book or see the movie first? Well, I don't think I can answer that for you, because I haven't seen the movie. But, having read the book and having seen other romantic movies from Hollywood, I can tell you: there's not much special to see or read here. I think you might be better served saving your money on both the book and the movie. How about Pride and Prejudice instead?
Rating: 3 out of 7
-L
Anyway, I don't usually read anything that could be considered beach reading, nor do I read romance novels; but I got a copy of this book as a prize in an Oscar trivia contest and pregnancy does crazy things to one's brain. So, like I said, I read the book.
How did I feel about it?
At first I didn't really have any connection with the characters. They seemed to be hackneyed characters for a romance novel: the brainy, middle class girl secretly pining for the upper-crust, aloof guy stunted in the emotional maturation department. The only thing I found interesting about the book was the structure of it. Each chapter is set on the same day, each year for a number of years, begining with the day after college graduation for both characters. I think the structure is what kept me coming back. It was like some soap opera I couldn't turn my back on even though the characters do everything predictable soap opera characters do. I guess I was hoping they would go all Passions on me and have a witch with a little person who creates lots of mischeif.
No such luck.
The story remains predictable through most of the book. What wasn't predictable was my reaction to the end of the book. Either the characters had grown on me so much that I feel in love right along with them OR I was so overloaded with hormones whilst reading it, that I bawled for an entire afternoon as I finished the book. I think it must have been the latter because when I look back on it now, there is no way it was the characters.
So, the age old question: Should I read the book or see the movie first? Well, I don't think I can answer that for you, because I haven't seen the movie. But, having read the book and having seen other romantic movies from Hollywood, I can tell you: there's not much special to see or read here. I think you might be better served saving your money on both the book and the movie. How about Pride and Prejudice instead?
Rating: 3 out of 7
-L
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