Writer's Block: Book based

On another journaling site, they have a daily "Writer's Block" question, and today's was interesting, so I present the questions and my answers.

Is there a book you really loved that was subsequently turned into a movie? Did it live up to your expectations? Why or why not?


For the most part, movie adaptations of my favorite books have been EXTREMELY disappointing, e.g., Misery or Pet Sematary by Stephen King, The Lost World or Congo by Michael Crichton. There are, however, a couple of notable exceptions.

The Stand by Stephen King. First, they didn't try to cram a 1000+ page book into a two hour movie. Second, the actors they picked were amazing as their characters, with the exception of Molly Ringwald as Frannie Goldsmith. ::shiver:: I've never liked MR, and she did not fail to disappoint. However, Gary Sinise (Stu Redman), Rob Lowe (Nick Andros), Corin Nemec (Harold Lauder), Laura San Giacomo (Nadine Cross), Jamey Sheridan (Randall Flagg), Miguel Ferrer (Lloyd Henreid), Ruby Dee (Mother Abigail Freemantle), and of course Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen ("M-O-O-N. That spells Tom Cullen.") were fantastic. I could watch this mini-series over and over.

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I've heard a lot of people complain about stuff being left out, but I would disagree. I think the screenwriters did a great job of putting all the important bits in. With that said, I do wish the film makers would have gone with their original plan to make Half-Blood Prince in two parts so as to focus a bit more on the topic of the HBP.

The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien. I don't care what anyone says -- these three movies were BRILLIANT. Enough said.

Some books I have read/plan to read whose movies I also want to check out -- Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.