So I made
this and have been considering what to put into a sequel post and now I have.
Again, be mindful of spoilers, especially in the second entry.
The Hunger Games (Specifically, Catching Fire) by Suzanne Collins
Accuracy: Another 80%. A few small things were ignored;
Bonnie and Twill; Two runaways from District 8 who Katniss finds in the woods, were omitted. These characters do drop hints at the growing rebellion. Haymitch’s games weren’t shown, while the Quarter Quell games in this were extended far more than in the book.
And of course, Katniss shouldn't be played by a 100% white actress, but Suzanne Collins didn't care, and the films have been made. Moving on.
📚
The House With a Clock In Its Wallsby John Bellairs
The book was written in
1973 - I'm surprised it took this long for a film adaptation. Seems like it would have been ripe for around the early 00's.
Spoilers; As the movie just recently came out!Accuracy: 95% (? I saw the movie and skimmed the Wiki page)
In the book, Lewis is an overweight kid, while in the movie, he’s not.
In the movie,Lewis raises the evil magician Isaac Izard, on a non-specified evening in the film, while in the book he raises Selenna, his wife, on Halloween night.
It's a really entertaining little movie. And apparently, there were another ELEVEN books in the series after this! Plenty of sequel fodder.
📚Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Accuracy: Your Mileage May Vary.
The books were funny. This was not.
Book Annabeth was blonde, and here, Alexandria Daddario is not.
Book Grover was a white guy, and Brandon Jackson is not.
But the biggest crime is, again, this movie
wasn't funny. The story beats are fairly accurate, but who cares if the movie doesn't have the spirit of the book?
Surprisingly, this got a sequel three years later in 2013 based upon the second book. Which is amazing considering how much Riordan hated the first one. I wouldn't bet on us seeing
The Titan's Curse any time soon.
📚Cirque Du Freak [A Living Nightmare] by Darren Shan
(Also titled "The Vampire's Assistant" Depending on Global Location)
Accuracy: What Accuracy?
Ooh, I
hate this movie.
Bad book adaptations are nothing new. I don't expect perfect translations, but the incompetency of the script and writing here? Far, far too much.
Because it shoved together three books, It's hard to pin down
exactly how poorly it was adapted.
This movie encompasses books 1,3, and 11. And even then, it's book 3 in name only, as they've eschewed Darren going to school and meeting Debbie Hemlock, a black girl who loves reading, and replaced her with a white girl with a monkey tail. So it's not really book 3, I guess?
The first book is adapted accurately enough. The eleventh was just a horrendously bad choice for this conclusion. Not only does this mean that 90% of the vampire shenanigans are completely ignored, but the 11th books is almost the culmination of two warring factions of Vampires, reduced to.... that.
The good points were the production design and value and the talented cast of veterans and semi-newcomers - All except the actual lead himself.
Fun fact; It was also adapted into a manga series - all twelve books. I never did find
#12...
📚Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Accuracy: 20%
Another 'In Name Only' entry - but one wholly to the film's benefit. Instead of a bunch of word-vomit masturbation over obscure 70's and 80's games - Also, roleplaying Wargames - the challenges are completely reworked for the film, making them visually interesting and not so much of a slog to get through.
Also, Wade was an incel-y Nice Guy in the book - basically a creep. The movie slightly improves that by having everyone tell him to wake up and get real, that this is all fake, you don't know us (There's a stronger teamwork aspect in the film), and you need to unplug.
I liked it better than the book, but that bar was six feet underground to overcome.
source: Me, watching more movies and reading more books.