Author Topic: Movies & Books Into Movies (Read 790521 times)

marjifay · « **Reply #3560 on:** December 10, 2013, 12:59:12 PM »

How many of you have read a book,
then watched a movie that was based on that same book?

Were you disappointed?
Or elated that they hadn't made any significant changes?
Or even surprised to discover the movie was even better than the book?

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Your Discussion Leader: pedln

Has anyone seen the movie, THE BOOK THIEF? A friend recommended it to me saying it was very good, very tense. The book was a DNF for me, too long and did not keep my interest. So I have doubts about the film.

Marj

PatH · « **Reply #3561 on:** December 10, 2013, 02:05:04 PM »

We read the book here, and though I had some issues with it, I thought it was good. I'm not sure how a movie would capture the spirit of the book, though.

Frybabe · « **Reply #3562 on:** December 10, 2013, 03:18:34 PM »

I wonder if the movie captures the narrator (death, grim reaper?) or if it is ignored. I couldn't tell from the trailer I saw.

I liked the book. It was written in what I thought an unusual manner, like scraps of thought or "sidebars" added to the general flow.

dbroomsc · « **Reply #3563 on:** December 10, 2013, 04:33:56 PM »

I saw "The Book Thief" this past Sunday. I can't say I enjoyed it, but I was certainly moved. Death was the narrator, but whether it captured the book narration, I don't know since I have not read the book. The young girl, the book thief, was excellent, as were the other characters. It still boggles my mind that the fear, the violence, the inhumanity as depicted in the movie actually happened. But we know it did.

salan · « **Reply #3564 on:** December 10, 2013, 05:52:09 PM »

I read The Book Thief. It was very memorable. I liked?? the book. One of my best books of the year (several years ago). Don't know what books I will chose for my favorites for 2013. It seems like it is going to be a hard choice for me this year.
Sally

PatH · « **Reply #3565 on:** December 10, 2013, 06:52:48 PM »

In the book, not only the fear and violence are present, but also the stifling feeling that everybody is watching everybody else, a kind of gossipy PC policing of all your neighbors.

Something I disliked about the book was his tendency to want a sort of "get your attention, 'aha' " remark on each page. That probably got lost in the movie.

Frybabe · « **Reply #3566 on:** December 11, 2013, 07:56:09 AM »

Thanks for the report, Dean69. I am glad that the "death" narrator was not cut out.

marjifay · « **Reply #3567 on:** December 11, 2013, 11:02:58 AM »

I see that the film 12 Years a Slave received the most nominations for an award from the Screen Actors Guild. We saw this film and thought it was excellent.

I saw Tom Hanks named, but not the Somalian man who played Muse, one of the pirates who spoke English, in the film Captain Phillips. He should be nominated -- excellent performance and the interaction between him and Captain Phillips was electrifying.

Marj

marjifay · « **Reply #3568 on:** December 13, 2013, 07:58:02 PM »

I was happy to see that Barkhad Abdi, the Somolian man who played Muse in the film Captain Phillips, was nominated for a Golden Globe award for supporting actor. He certainly deserves it.

Marj

pedln · « **Reply #3569 on:** December 14, 2013, 12:29:12 PM »

Marjifay, I'm glad to see your comments about Nebraska. I'd seen clips of it on TV and thought it would be a good one. The name Bruce Dern is unfamiliar to me, but looked him up and he's had quite an acting career and has received awards for his work. It's on my Netflix queue. As are Philomena and The Book Thief.

Two others I"d like to see are The Wolf of Wall STreet -- not released yet and August: Osage County. I don't hear well enough for plays any more, so am really glad to see that they've made a film of the latter, which won the Pulitzer for drama about five years ago. The author, Tracy Letts, is the son of Billie Letts, who wrote the novel about the baby born in a Wal-Mart store.

marjifay · « **Reply #3570 on:** December 14, 2013, 09:34:15 PM »

I'd also like to see those films you mentioned, Pedln.

The first film in which I remember seeing Bruce Dern was Coming Home (1978) a very good movie with Dern, Jon Voight, and Jane Fonda. It's available at Netflix. The picture won an Oscar, as did Voight and Fonda for leading roles, and Dern for best supporting actor. I read that Dern runs every day to stay fit, which surprised me as he was such a physical wreck in the Nebraska film - great acting.

Marj

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #3571 on:** December 15, 2013, 01:25:56 PM »

Had the absolute privilege to see "The Book Thief" yesterday. Talk about a movie that followed the book. And the filming was lovely,even with the eventual profusion of Nazi flags, etc.
A two or three tissue movie, easily. Casting - superb. cinematography A+. I highly recommend this film, (and the book).

Frybabe · « **Reply #3572 on:** December 16, 2013, 06:52:35 AM »

Great to hear that the movie sticks close to the book, Tomereader.

I woke up to the news this morning that we lost both Joan Fontaine and Peter O'Toole. RIP

marcie · « **Reply #3573 on:** December 16, 2013, 10:17:44 PM »

There are several actors who really stand out in my memory; Peter O'Toole is one, especially in Lawrence of Arabia. There is an interesting article at http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/16/opinion/peter-otoole-fitzwilliams/

MaryPage · « **Reply #3574 on:** December 17, 2013, 07:38:04 AM »

I thought Peter O'Toole was sexy as all get out.

And I remember Joan Fontaine in many things, but especially REBECCA. Oh, my!

Frybabe · « **Reply #3575 on:** December 17, 2013, 08:18:34 AM »

Oh yes, Becket and Lord Jim. He was great opposite Burton in Becket. Lord Jim was so "dark" I only watched it once. The article said O"Toole was criticized for that role, but I don't know why; I never read the book.

Although I probably saw other of Fontaine's movies, Jane Eyre is the only one I remember seeing.

MaryPage · « **Reply #3576 on:** December 17, 2013, 02:43:47 PM »

Oh my, did you miss the original REBECCA? Great though Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier were, it is Mrs. Travers, the housekeeper, whom I always remember first and foremost. Judith Anderson. Scariest thing I ever saw!
It WAS an Alfred Hitchcock!
Made in, Get This! NINETEEN FORTY ( 1940 )
Seems like, sob, yesterday!

pedln · « **Reply #3577 on:** December 18, 2013, 09:47:55 AM »

Oh boy, the latest media terminology -- "binge watching" -- really applies to what Netflix is doing with its new in-house series. (What's the plural of series -- they have more than one), but just reading the posts here provides lots of material for "binge watching." We could do Peter O'Toole, Joan Fontaine, or just something like Rebecca or Jane Eyre or even Alfred H.

Re: binge watching again. Has anyone seen Lily Hammer, another Netflix series starring Steve Van Zant(?), set in NOrway. Discussed on Morning Joe this am.

I just finished the first Netflix disc of Last Tango in Halifax (missed/overlooked) the TV broadcasts. Loved it. Ready for more.

Dana · « **Reply #3578 on:** December 18, 2013, 01:12:54 PM »

Haven't seen Lillyhammer...did you like it Pedln? Just watched The Fall on Netflix. Really super. Will probably watch it all again. It's a BBC N Ireland 5 part detective series about a woman police superintendant, a serial killer expert ....she was in, I think, the X files, blonde and beautiful, but I have never seen the X files...who is in charge of a manhunt for a weird serial killer in Belfast, lots of twists, interesting story, beautifully done. Apparently the serial killer actor is quite well known too, (but I can't remember his name).. As good as the Swedish Wallender. I love a certain kind of detective series, a bit gritty I think is the word and not too cosy, but not too horrible either. Another example would be Waking the Dead, or the Swedish one about the crime reporter....Annika Bengtsrom But not Spiral (French).
I can't do binges tho. An hour is enough and I love to be able to watch them again. I guess that's why I don't really like going to the movies, or even theatre. Too long. But netflix is made for me!!

marjifay · « **Reply #3579 on:** December 18, 2013, 01:14:41 PM »

Thanks, Marcie, for the really good article on Peter O'Toole. I see I've got some of his movies that I missed and want to watch. Thank goodness for Netflix.

I agree, MaryPage, Mrs. Travers in Rebecca was really scary.

No, Pedln, I have not seen the Netflix TV series. Lilyhammer looks good -- I put it on my Netflix queue. (Gosh, I now have 200 movies on my queue.) Have 5 Easy Pieces here waiting to see, one of my favorite movies. Wanted to see it again because as many times as I've watched it I didn't realize that Fannie Flagg played Stoney in it.

Marj

marjifay · « **Reply #3580 on:** December 18, 2013, 01:30:20 PM »

Oops --another one for my Netflix queue. Thanks, Dana, I added THE FALL. Gillian Anderson was really good in the X-files, with David Duchovny (who I think is sexy).

Marj

pedln · « **Reply #3581 on:** December 19, 2013, 11:17:58 AM »

Quote

But netflix is made for me!!

I agree, Dana. I get too sleepy when I watch in the evening, no matter how much I want to see the whole thing. Maybe mornings would work better, but that seems so decadent. (Hard to break some of the habits of our upbringing.)

The Fall is on my queue, along with the comment "very long wait."

Has anyone watched Amour, the French film that received some Oscar nominations last year? I just finished watching. My daughter had told me it was brutal, and I think she was correct with that. I have a question about the ending if any of you have seen it.

marjifay · « **Reply #3582 on:** December 22, 2013, 03:06:57 PM »

I haven't seen Armour. I don't know why, but I thought it sounded boring.

Does anyone remember the name of a movie or the actors in it, maybe from the 1970s (not Fantasy Island), about an entertainment place where people could go on a paid vacation and live just like they were really in, say, the old west, or ancient Rome, etc. But something went wrong with one of the robot fictional characters in the western one and he started shooting at the vacationers-actually determined to kill them.

Marj

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #3583 on:** December 22, 2013, 03:39:13 PM »

Yes, marjiefay, I saw that movie, but don't remember the title.

marjifay · « **Reply #3584 on:** December 22, 2013, 06:41:17 PM »

You're no help, Tomereader. LOL. I can picture the actors, especially the one who was the villain, but darned if I remember their names.

Marj

PatH · « **Reply #3585 on:** December 22, 2013, 11:14:10 PM »

Sounds like my kind of thing, but I didn't see it.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #3586 on:** December 23, 2013, 08:05:26 AM »

All right, Marjifay. You're going to be skeptical about this, but during my sleep hours, closer to this morning, it came to me that Yul Brynner was in this movie, and also James Brolin, although I could only picture his face and not his name at that time. When I woke up about 5:00, the name of the movie popped into my mind. Made in 1973, Writer is Michael Crichton, the movie is "WestWorld". Richard Benjamin is also in it.

marjifay · « **Reply #3587 on:** December 23, 2013, 01:26:16 PM »

Hooray, Tomereader! That's the movie I was trying to remember. Westworld with Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin and James Brolin. Good 1973 movie -- gets a 7/10 rating at IMDB. Didn't realize that Michael Crichton wrote and directed it. Was just reading about Yul Brynner at IMDB, a very interesting man. Am going to get his biography written by his son, Yul "Rock" Brynner.

Thanks Tomereader. Amazing how it came to you in your sleep. Tho' I've had that experience too after thinking really hard about something.

Marj

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #3588 on:** December 23, 2013, 02:01:12 PM »

I could "see" Yul Brynner's face with part of the robotics showing, and remembered it had a Western theme. I could also "see" James Brolin. The title came to me in parts: First West, then West World. Upon arising, I went to ImDB, and typed in West World, and there it all was. I have watched this movie a couple times, and enjoyed it. And at the time, I couldn't have told you "who" Michael Crichton was, especially if he had written and directed this! Wonder if Netflix has this one?

marjifay · « **Reply #3589 on:** December 24, 2013, 10:48:20 AM »

Yes, Netflix has Westworld. I just added it to my queue.

Marj

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3590 on:** December 25, 2013, 11:57:48 AM »

Hi all,

I've been off air for a while, so forgive me if I'm covering ground you've already discussed, but wanted to say that we recently watched 'Nativity', a light but very funny film about a primary school putting on a show of the Christmas story. Martin Freeman is excellent as the lovelorn teacher, but the star of the show was Marc Wooton, who was just hilarious. The plot is pretty ludicrous really, but it was a nice film to watch with my (almost grown up) children in the Christmas week.

On Friday we have to be out of the house as the carpet cleaners are coming, so we are all hoping to go to see Sunshine on Leith, which is meant to be another feel-good film. Has anyone seen Saving Mr Banks yet? We saw a great programme about PL Travers and the trials and tribulations she caused Walt Disney re the original Mary Poppins film - it was narrated by Victoria Coren, and if it appears on PBS I would recommend it.

Best wishes to all,

Rosemary

JeanneP · « **Reply #3591 on:** December 26, 2013, 01:07:23 PM »

Yes I saw "saving mr Banks" last week. Fantastic. My favourite of the year.

salan · « **Reply #3592 on:** December 28, 2013, 04:06:22 AM »

My daughter & I saw Saving Mr. Banks. We both loved it and it made us want to see Mary Poppins again!
Sally

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3593 on:** December 28, 2013, 08:52:00 AM »

Oh I do want to see this film! The programme about it that Victoria Coren presented is this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03kk4yv

At least I hope that's the link.

Battled into a wet, windy and absolutely heaving Edinburgh yesterday, only to find that Sunshine on Leith was sold out. Hey ho. We did do a little bit of shopping, went to the library and had lovely coffee & cakes at the Modern Art Gallery - we'll try again re the cinema another day. And I did get some lovely blue shoes in the Accessorise....

ginny · « **Reply #3594 on:** December 28, 2013, 09:28:09 AM »

I just saw it yesterday and loved it. Everybody in the theater got up to leave at the credits and a lot of them missed her own voice on tape at the end, just extremely interesting.

You don't hear much about Tom Hanks when people talk about the movie but I thought he was superb as Walt Disney. They left out at the end what really happened at the Premiere, she told him afterwards of course the animation at the beginning has to go and something like we have a lot of work to do and he replied, famously, "The ship has sailed, Pam."

I thought it was a great movie, loved it. Did not care for the original Mary Poppins movie and won't see it again but I do find Walt Disney fascinating. And the way the movie revealed her story: magic.

I would LOVE to have seen that BBC show, thank you Rosemary, hopefully it will come here. I'll keep looking for it.

ginny · « **Reply #3595 on:** December 28, 2013, 09:32:51 AM »

It's on Youtube!! And it's excellent! If Rosemary had not mentioned it, I wouldn't have known it existed:

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3sqRDqVEBE

The Secret Life of Mary Poppins BBC 2. Watch it before they catch it and remove it.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3596 on:** December 28, 2013, 09:40:34 AM »

So glad you caught it - and enjoyed it - Ginny; my girls and I loved it.

Rosemary

marjifay · « **Reply #3597 on:** December 28, 2013, 10:18:56 AM »

Has anyone seen the new movie THE WOLF OF WALL STREET with Leonardo DiCaprio who played the role of Jordan Belfort who rose to be a wealthy stockbroker living the high life until his fall involving crime and corruption?

I was thinking of seeing it altho' I'm not a fan of DiCaprio (His best film, IMO, was Catch Me If You Can). That is, until I saw that it was THREE HOURS long!

I see where a woman whose father is Tom Prousalis, a man who worked with Belfort and was himself convicted for his own role in their firm's crimes, wrote an open letter to the LA Weekly accusing the film's backers with glorifying Belfort's criminal actions and psychopathic behavior which she said was based simply on obsessive greed. (a film very unlike the Mary Poppins, LOL)

Marj

CallieOK · « **Reply #3598 on:** December 28, 2013, 01:41:10 PM »

I will see "Saving Mr. Banks" this coming Thursday. The local PBS station will have a Special on P.L. Travers later in January. I'm looking forward to both.

Although I loved the Disney movie, I could not relate it to the original Mary Poppins books . I still have the two of them I received as a young girl - when I used to play the prim and proper Mary Poppins with my dolls.

Rosemary, so good to see you back!!!!

marcie · « **Reply #3599 on:** December 29, 2013, 12:22:08 AM »

Rosemary, it is good to have you back. Thank you for mentioning the special, THE SECRET LIFE OF MARY POPPINS, and thanks, Ginny, for finding it online.

Callie, I wonder if your copies of Mary Poppins are worth some money! :-)

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Author Topic: Movies & Books Into Movies (Read 790521 times)