Top Ten Tuesday, as always, is hosted at my other blog — The Broke & the Bookish
This week’s topic: Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations
I limited my best & worst book to movie adaptation list to ones I’ve read the book for. I have seen a few movies without realizing they were books first and they could totally been on my best adaptation list but decided to do it this one. I am so excited to see your picks because I know some of my best have been adaptations others have hated and some of my worst I know some people LOVE.
Perks of Being A Wallflower: One of my favorite books and the movie was PERFECT.
The Hunger Games: Sure there were things that I wished were different about the movie but overall I was really pleased with it!
Fight Club: One of my favorite movies ever.
Everything Is Illuminated: I actually watched the movie before I read the book interestingly enough. I actually think I liked the movie better but I really did love the book.
Water For Elephants: I know some people thought this adaptation was terrible I brought the gritty circus scene I pictured to life really well.
The Time Traveler’s Wife: I reallyyy loved the book and I thought the movie just meh. A friend I watched it with, who had never seen the movie, thought it was confusing and boring and couldn’t really feel the love between them.
Twilight: Ok, hear me out. I thought the other movies got better but the first one? TERRIBLE and awkward lol
Never Let Me Go: Considering the fact I loved this book and how much the movie trailer affected me I would have thought I loved this one.
Eat Pray Love: I know a lot of people hated this book to begin with but not me! I really loved the book and thought the movie didn’t do it any justice.
The Lightning Thief: MEH.
So tell me…what are some great book to movie adaptations I NEED to see?? Have you seen any of these? Disagree with any of my picks?? 🙂
Natalie says
Haha I actually watched Never Let Me Go yesterday and I didn’t know it was a book adaptation! Either way, I wasn’t a fan of it. It seemed like it had a good concept, it just didn’t pan out very well. Maybe I’ll give the book a shot!
Gaby @ Queen Ella Bee Reads says
Okay. I hear you on the Percy front. But I HOPE you’re still going to go see the second one. Because I’m pretty sure I’ll be at the midnight showing. I feel like this might be a Potter films take 2 for me (where the movies consistently let me down and then I eventually give up in tears) but AT LEAST THERE WILL BE LOGAN LERMAN. He is WAY cuter than Dan Radcliff. That is for sure.
Anne says
I completely forgot about adding The Hunger Games. I thought they did a very good job with the movie but I still like the book better. I also forgot about The Perks of Being a Wallflower. What a crazy good book and well-done movie.
Sara (of The Page Sage) says
Our first two picks are in the same order! haha I ADORE Perks and THG. Water for Elephants is actually on my worst list. I just couldn’t get into the movie. Percy is on my worst list, too. That movie… just, ick.
My TTT
Laura says
Arg! I loved Never Let Me Go and cried when I watched the trailer. I’m vicariously disappointed.
Bonnie says
hahaha YES… The Lightning Thief was one of the worst adaptations… I doubt I’ll watch The Sea of Monsters when it comes out. Fight Club was totally on my list too! 😀
Bonnie @ Sweet Tidbits
Lauren says
The Lightning Thief is also on my list as a TERRIBLE adaptation! Good list! Check out my TTT @ http://bookblogzilla.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/top-ten-tuesday-5/?preview=true
Michael Ray says
Fantastic Mr. Fox! Actually, I’ve never read the book. But the movie really was fantastic. It took me three attempts to read Never Let Me Go. I always have a hard time getting through Ishiguro’s books for some reason. But I did love it once I finally finished it, and I also really liked the movie. I wasn’t disappointed at all. As for a book I love made into a movie I hate: The English Patient always tops my list of disappointments.
Cee says
The Hunger Games was really good. It makes me want to read the book, but idk if I’d enjoy it as much as the film.
Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader says
I absolutely love the way you’ve set up your post this week, Jamie! I really liked the incorporation of both the book cover and accompanying movie poster. Very neat 😀 I can’t really speak to your choices as the only adaptation that you’ve listed that I’ve seen is The Hunger Games, which I did enjoy to an extent, although I wasn’t happy with the way Peeta was portrayed and I absolutely hated the unnecessary shaky cam footage in the first ten to fifteen minutes of the film. It made it almost unwatchable at times. That said, I did think Jennifer Lawrence was the perfect choice to play Katniss, and I’m really looking forward to Catching Fire as I think that was my favourite book in the series.
Alexia says
I actually agree with most of yours. However I would switch Water for Elephants & The Time Travelers Wife. Loved both books with a passion,however I could NEVER understand the casting of RPatz in Water for Elephants.Terrible pairing with Reese Witherspoon. So I was REALLY disappointed in the film (though my mom loved it) On the flip side I liked The Time Travelers Wife in film. I didn’t love it (and it was never going to beat the amazingness of the book) however Eric Bana & Rachel McAdams were adorable.
Chrissi Reads says
Great list Jamie. I completely forgot about adding The Hunger Games to my list. I think that adaptation was particularly good!
Debby @ Snuggly Oranges says
YAY Perks and THG are on my best list as well 🙂 I agree, I loved everything about Perks, it was so perfect. I didn’t actually know Fight Club was based on a book until a little while ago. Might need to read it, because that movie is awesome. 🙂
Sadly, I agree on The Lightning Thief. Awful. Don’t get why they made some of the changes. *sigh*
Sharon @ The Book Barbies says
The people who hate the Water for Elephants adaptation make me so sad. 🙁 It’s so amazing!
I didn’t think of The Time Traveler’s Wife when making this list, but it’s definitely up there on my least favorite ones. For one, it just didn’t capture the magic. But my biggest problem was that it showed almost nothing of her childhood/teenage years with him. And those were some of my favorite parts of the books. I did love Rachel McAdams, though.
Amanda @ Hell-Bent to Read says
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU ON PERCY. Honestly, I love it as its own film, but as an adaptation? GROSS. I also didn’t like the first Twilight film. I think Catherine Hardwicke completely butchered it, and I’m still heartbroken over it. Haha.
Andrea Payan (@payanar) says
I loved the movie Everything is Illuminated and need to read that book. I still haven’t seen The Perks of Being a Wallflower but I really want to see it. Many people say it is really well done. I agree about the Percy Jackson movie. I really wanted The Lightning Thief to be a good movie.
Alisa Selene says
I loved Perks..saw it on a airplane recently and thought it was so good! With you on Twilight..bleurgh..SO disappointed by the time traveler’s wife!
Christianna says
I haven’t read Never Let Me Go, but I do remember really liking the movie. I totally agree with all of your other picks though!
My TTT
Lola @ Reading by Lamplight says
I NEED to watch Perks of A Wallflower! Time Travelers Wife was SUCH a disappointing movie!
Wendy says
OMG, Time Traveler’s Wife. I adore the book. I have reread it countless times. I was ecstatic when I heard it would be made into a movie and even braved going to see it by MYSELF because no one else wanted to see it. I was that excited. And then it just SUCKED. I was just sitting there, fuming by myself in the theater.. haha.
tabithasbookblog says
Ah! The Time Traveler’s Wife. I remember that was one of my first big reads in terms of branching into the adult genre, and then I heard there was a movie. And I was SO excited. And then it was so different and I just couldn’t enjoy it.
But Perks! That ones amazing. (:
Shannon says
Loved your list. The Percy Jackson movie was just awful..hopefully the second one will be better.
Check out my TTT here: http://adventuresofateenagebookworm.blogspot.ie/2013/07/top-ten-tuesdaytop-ten-bestworst-movie.html
kit says
Definitely agree with the Perks of Being a Wallflower – it was one of my choices too. I watched it recently not expecting it to be great, but I was happily proved wrong!
CeCe says
I completely FAILED this weeks TTT. I can’t believe I forgot Fight club
Caroline says
Great picks, and great graphics as well! Perks was such a good adaptation, can’t believe I forgot that one. I still haven’t seen Never Let Me Go, and I was kind of looking forward to it but now I’m worried about it!
Asheley (@BookwormAsheley) says
Definitely the Percy Jackson movie although I will still see the second one because it has Nathan Fillion in it and I’m a HUGE RAGING fan of the Firefly series. Plus, it’s Percy Jackson. I don’t watch that many movie adaptations so I had to kind of tweak my list a little bit: Eat Pray Love is one that I put on there that I want to read and then watch the movie, haven’t done either yet! And I loved the Twilight stuff even though they’re nothing but cheese BUT I DON’T CARE. Team Edward forever. And I felt the same way about The Hunger Games – good, could’ve been better, but pretty good. Nice list, lady. Several on here that I need to read and then see. Actually most of them. xo
Kristin says
I agree that The Perks of Being a Wallflower was PERFECT. It was so well cast and any deletions were not enough to make a mark on the overall story. I was enraged by The Percy Jackson adaptation. There was no regard AT ALL for the original plot. I actually like The Time Traveler’s Wife. I thought they handled the jumping back and forth in time well. I’m also just a fan of Rachel McAdams. Great list – I love your graphics!
DeniseF says
Everything is Illuminated is on my list too! I absolutely love that movie (I even like it a little better than the book).
Book Girl from South Carolina says
Great pic on “Water for Elephants” – it totally skipped my brain when I was thinking of this and I loved the movie too.. Not sure how I could forget since R Patz was in this..shame on me! Great list and I agree on the Twilight too – i included it as a series on my list to save space for other pics, but the first movie was kind of dark and awkward – the other 4 were done in a much better manner!
Alice says
I actually never watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief simply because so many people were telling me about how awful it was and how much it simply ruined the book I knew I would just sit there fuming as I watched it. I’m really hoping that Sea of Monsters is going to be improved though. They look like they’re really trying with it!
I haven’t read Perks of Being a Wallflower (or seen the movie! eep! shame!) but I certainly plan to in the near future. I mean, hello! Emma Watson, Logan Lerman! It’s a must.
Jade says
The Fight Club is a great film! I’ve never thought to pick up the book though… I always thought it to be one of those plots I’d rather see progress visually as opposed to in my own mind.
I’m with you on The Time Traveler’s Wife, which I’ll be re-reading this week because I enjoy it so much. I put off seeing the film for quite some time as I do tend to avoid the films of books I love – oh how I wish I had just never got round to watching that one.
My Book Bubble
Ashling says
I so agree with Twilight and The Lightning Thief. Especially The Lightning Thief. I was so mad that they changed the entire ending for no reason. So frustrating. And I can’t believe they’re making the sequel. I really hope they do a better job with it because now that Nathan Fillion’s in it, I have to see it.
Ashling @ Reading, Writing, & Anything but Arithmetic
Brittany @ The Book Addict's Guide says
I still need to see Perks! I haven’t read the book since I was an actual teen so I feel like I’d need to do a re-read first and…. that’s a lot of commitment HA 🙂
The Twilight movies are a guilty pleasure for me but yes……. Not so great. The first one WAS very awkward and the only reason we loved it so much was because we were so excited to see it on screen but I remember being very angry because it seemed like there was NO love on screen, so that was weird!
Savannah says
Perks made it on to my list for Best, too, and so, too, did Eat Pray Love make it on for worst! But I just couldn’t condemn my beloved Percy series to the dark side, so I made him a special little place in Limbo. I think I’ll decide on the matter better, when the sequel comes out this summer! 🙂
Milka@AnonymousAficionados says
Yay, we have quite a lot of similar ones. Almost included The Time Traveller’s Wife on the list of bad adaptations as well. 🙂
kimberlybuggie says
Great list.
I am sorry to say that I agree with you for The Time Traveler’s Wife. No matter how much I love Rachel McAdams or Eric Bana, the film didn’t do it for me. I mean, I CRIED LIKE A BABY when I read that book. It’s one of my favorites. Disappointing film.
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Happy TTT!
Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook says
I haven’t read most of these books, and some of the movies I haven’t seen either. But I totally agree on Percy Jackson. That movie could have been so much better.
Ashley says
I’m telling you this again. Your graphics kill me. My tombstone will say “Jamie killed her with her pretty graphics”
No pressure.
Olena says
I agree with you on Twilight. Definitely on the worst list. The Hunger Games is on my best list as well. Thanks for sharing!
Ciska @ Ciska's Book Chest says
Agree on Twilight and Water for Elephants. I actually liked the movie for The Tim Traveler’s Wife better than the book.
YA Book Queen says
The Lightning Thief was so disappointing. I’m hoping they’ll manage to turn things around with the second film, but we’ll see…
Great top ten 🙂
Kaley @ Books Etc says
Time Traveler’s Wife made it on my worst list, too. I forgot about Percy until I saw someone else’s post. I have yet to read Perks (I know) so I haven’t watched it yet. I have my sister’s copy so there’s no excuse! Someone else had Water for Elephants on their fave list too which I find interesting. I liked it, sure, but Reese (surprisingly) just didn’t work for me. Great list overall, though!
Nicolette Anderson says
I LOVED the book THE LOVELY BONES, but I hated the movie. It didn’t to it justice at all. Another book I loved was THE HOST, but I thought the movie was just average. However, I didn’t think that the movie was as bad as all of the horrible reviews that it got!
BarefootMedStudent says
Oh, I just love your graphics on this post! Really nice. I definitely agree with you about the first Twilight movie. I thought the movie for Time Traveler’s Wife was awesome, so I will probably really like the book then, methinks.
StephanieP says
I was really disappointed with Beautiful Creatures. I LOVED the series. I couldn’t put the books down! I was so excited to see that they were making a movie and couldn’t wait to see what I dreamed up in my mind, play out on screen.
I was TOTALLY disappointed with the way they changed almost every detail from the book. They took out characters, changed things that happened, and the whole thing was just confusing. I just hope I am not the only one who felt this way!
Jacque says
Great List!! I loved The Hunger Games, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Water for Elephants. The only reason I didn’t include Wallflower on my list is because I haven’t read the book yet.
I’ve been told countless times that I need to read the Percy Jackson books, but it looks like I should skip the movie….or get it from the library after I read the book.
Here is my TTT: http://jacquesbooknook.blogspot.com/2013/07/top-ten-tuesday-bestworst-books-to-movie.html
Rebecca @ The Library Canary says
The Hunger Games made my list for best and Twilight is on my list for worst! The rest of these I haven’t seen or read yet. Great list!
My Top Ten
Jenny @ The books, the art and me says
First of all, love your blog name! 🙂 Also – great list! I haven’t see The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I really loved the book though, just it was so devastating and perfect and I’m not sure the film could live up to that. I think I will watch it though…
Check out my TTT if you have a chance! 🙂
Janita (Book, Interrupted) says
I wasn’t actually a fan of Perks the book, but I loved the movie. I’m surprised to see Never Let Me Go on your worst list. I really liked the movie, but then again, I didn’t read the book. Percy Jackson movie haha. It tanked. So terrible.
Christina (BookTasty) says
I actually enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love the movie but I haven’t read the book so I’m sure I’d feel differently if I loved the book. The Perks of Being a Wallflower made my list this week too, but that’s because I did my list on adaptations I still haven’t seen yet. 🙂
Sash says
OMG YES. I love love love Percy Jackson but the first movie was pretty bad. Though I still watched it 🙂
Jennifer aka YA Book Nerd says
Hunger Games was on my list too. I didn’t mind Percy. I really liked the movie Perks of Being a Wallflower, but I never read the book.
Rachel says
I LOVE that I loved Twilight and you hated it bahahahha This is why we are friends.
Christy says
The Hunger Games made my best list too 🙂
I’m the opposite with The Time Traveler’s Wife, the book was a DNF for me but I really enjoyed the movie.
Amanda @ Late Nights with Good Books says
I really want to read the book Fight Club, but I kind of feel as though it will be ruined now that I already know the ending of the film. Oh well. I still think it would be interesting. I also included Perks on my list. 🙂
And wow I didn’t think of it, but The Time Traveler’s Wife was pretty horrible. I liked the book okay, but I remember watching the film with my boyfriend and both of us were bored and he was confused as well. And haha I mentioned the same thing in my TTT about Twilight – it just emphasized all the awkwardness that was already there in the book.
Rosie says
LOVED Perks and Hunger Games movie adaption, could not agree more with those choices. Water for Elephants is on my to-read list this summer and I have not seen the movie yet.
I HATED the first Twilight movie and agree they got better, but the books are way better. I saw the Time Traveler’s Wife, but the book is ALSO on my to-read list this summer.
Audrey says
Aw, I loved both the book and movie for Never Let Me Go. Worst movie adaptation has to go to Eragon, I don’t even I was disappointed, just horrified.
Sarah says
I am totally with you on the Percy Jackson front! I forgot to include The Time Travelers Wife on my list, but I think I would have called it even on the book/movie adaptation…
Now that I’ve gone through your list I’m adding several movies to my TBW list!
Julia @ That Hapa Chick says
I actually really liked Never Let Me Go. I’ve never read the book though, so maybe that’s why. *shrugs*
My favorite book to movie adaption is The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I love, love, LOVE those movies! 🙂
Kate says
I loved everything is illuminated- both the book and movie. The book is a hard one to adapt because of JSF’s style, but I thought the movie, though not a totally faithful translation, really kept with the spirit of the novel.
And I totally hear you on Twilight. I love to hate that first movie- it’s so campy, so poorly directed and acted- it’s just laugh out loud terrible
Nnenna says
A friend was just telling me that she finished The Time Traveler’s Wife and really liked it. I’d seen the movie and only thought it was ok, but now I might just have to go back and read the book!
Alexa Y. says
I really loved Eat, Pray, Love too! It’s such a good book, and it actually really made me think about a lot of things when I read it. I wasn’t a big fan of the film though. This same thing applies to Percy Jackson which was an AWESOME read, but not-so-awesome movie.
I love that Perks is first on your list! I only got to watch the movie recently, and loved it. It was really well-done!
Taylor says
I adore The Hunger Games, both the books and the movie! I completely agree that there are some parts that changed/weren’t included in the movie that I missed, but overall, it is one of my favorites!
One movie that was such a disappointment was HP and the Goblet of Fire. It was the worst movie adaptation of the series, and that’s such a bummer because it is one of my favorite books in the series!
Sana @ artsy musings of a bibliophile says
Pretty graphics!
I need to watch more book to movie adaptations. Also, The Perks and The Hunger Games: love!
Stephanie Sinclair says
I cried during The Time Traveler’s Wife movie. Like. A. Baby. It was not cute in the slightest! But I’ve never read the book, so I wonder if that’s why…
tiffany says
Perks of Being a Wallflower is so great! My friends and I watched it on impulse one weekend and it really blew my mind.
chantelle laurel says
No way! The first Twilight was great. A movie really well done. Catherine Hardwicke did a great job directing. I thought the whole thing came out really well (albeit creating a slightly different feel to the book). Now the subsequent movies however…I could understand if they were up there. Total train wrecks. I could basically taste the contempt the actors had for the roles they were playing. Nothing but awkwardness all around.