Chris Columbus & Some Other Guys: The Title Thief...
I have probably made it pretty clear in the history of this blog that I love books. I also love movies but books definitely are my number one media with movies a very close second. I am the guy who most of the time has already read the book when the trailer comes out but if I haven't there is a good chance I'll read it before I see it. I love the written word. Being able to see a story from the point of view of the author's choosing. With a movie it is only third person. The only way we get inside someone’s "mind" is with a voice over. I appreciate a good book to movie translation but I absolutely loathe a mediocre one and feel like a rewrite is akin to murder.
As an example of a small change take "The Runaway Jury" a John Grisham book turned into a movie back in 2003, the movie was very similar to the book only really changing the company being sued from a cigarette company to a gun manufacturer. Both are companies that produce a product who can harm but a person has to use the item to cause the damage. Not bad, same general story different bad guy in name and product only. An example of a cardinal sin of screen adaptation was "The Lost World" by Michael Crichton, Crichton by the way may be in the hall of fame of bad movie adaptations, "Sphere" and "Congo" were atrocious. In a little defense of "The Lost World" some of the issues were caused by changes in "Jurassic Park" but the beauty of Crichton was that most of his what-ifs were sooo close to reality they were an imaginable escape while reading. But seriously a T-Rex attack, Godzilla style, on San Diego. BOO Stephen Speilberg, shame on you. But I digress, back to the original point of this post.
My friend, Coach Mac, and I went to see "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" a couple weeks ago. I had recently read the book, which I will review below, on recommendation from said Coach. To say I was angry and frustrated during the movie would be an understatement, the characters names and movie title were the only things that were the same. The movie had a completely different story line containing a few choice events from the book that were so backwards it actually made the heroes look like idiots. Why would you travel the U.S. looking for three items to help you escape the underworld when three people were going down there to save a fourth. Simple addition says you need four, that is unless you are trying to contrive an event that happens accidentally in the book. I have never left a movie before it was over and I was literally contemplating it. The people behind me seemed to be enjoying the movie but I couldn't get over the changes. I don't even want to go into the injection of sex into a story that is supposed to be about 12 year olds because I need to review some books.
The Lost City of Z - David Grann (4.5 out of 5) An awesome "travel" book. The author follows in the footsteps of many who are trying to find mythical explorer, Colonel Fawcett, who along with his son disappeared in the Amazon in 1925. Grann goes through the history of Fawcett as well as the preparations for his own attempt to find "Z" a mysterious, large civilization that was rumored to have existed back in the days of the conquistadores, the mid 1700s. So well written and researched and about one of the most interesting and still unexplored areas of the world.
The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis (4.5 out of 5) A great allegory written in 1946 by an amazing Christian writer who has a knack for putting everything in perspective. It's the story of a man who travels through heaven and hell meeting all kinds of people and supernatural beings that help him understand the consequences of his behavior on Earth. The fact that we must choose one or the other we cannot serve both is the central theme. "If we insist on keeping Hell we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (3 out of 5) Classic novel about Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with life at the turn of the 19th century. It is an interesting book dealing with social pressures of class and upbringing. I felt like the books focus on the female character is a big reason for its popularity among women, especially at the time of publication when most women had their lives chosen for them by their fathers. Elizabeth bucks tradition and goes after Mr. Darcy despite her father's wishes.
The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan (3.5 of 5) The first three books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians pentalogy were good. I enjoyed the update of the old mythology stories that I haven't read since 8th grade. The idea behind the stories is that the gods are still cavorting with mortals and making demi-gods like Hercules. One of these demi-gods is Percy Jackson who shows up as a twelve year old that may decide the future of the gods. He is forced into action first when his father (Poseiden) is framed for stealing Zues' lightning bolt and he tries to retrieve it to protect him. The second book follows the same crew as they try to retrieve the Golden Fleece from a cyclops to save the camp they half-bloods call home. The third book follows Percy and his friends who are trained and now try to save new found demi-gods and find themselves trying to avert a war in which the ancient titans are trying to bring down the gods of Olympus. These books aren't as enthralling as Harry Potter but are a good, quick read.
I have probably made it pretty clear in the history of this blog that I love books. I also love movies but books definitely are my number one media with movies a very close second. I am the guy who most of the time has already read the book when the trailer comes out but if I haven't there is a good chance I'll read it before I see it. I love the written word. Being able to see a story from the point of view of the author's choosing. With a movie it is only third person. The only way we get inside someone’s "mind" is with a voice over. I appreciate a good book to movie translation but I absolutely loathe a mediocre one and feel like a rewrite is akin to murder.
As an example of a small change take "The Runaway Jury" a John Grisham book turned into a movie back in 2003, the movie was very similar to the book only really changing the company being sued from a cigarette company to a gun manufacturer. Both are companies that produce a product who can harm but a person has to use the item to cause the damage. Not bad, same general story different bad guy in name and product only. An example of a cardinal sin of screen adaptation was "The Lost World" by Michael Crichton, Crichton by the way may be in the hall of fame of bad movie adaptations, "Sphere" and "Congo" were atrocious. In a little defense of "The Lost World" some of the issues were caused by changes in "Jurassic Park" but the beauty of Crichton was that most of his what-ifs were sooo close to reality they were an imaginable escape while reading. But seriously a T-Rex attack, Godzilla style, on San Diego. BOO Stephen Speilberg, shame on you. But I digress, back to the original point of this post.
My friend, Coach Mac, and I went to see "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" a couple weeks ago. I had recently read the book, which I will review below, on recommendation from said Coach. To say I was angry and frustrated during the movie would be an understatement, the characters names and movie title were the only things that were the same. The movie had a completely different story line containing a few choice events from the book that were so backwards it actually made the heroes look like idiots. Why would you travel the U.S. looking for three items to help you escape the underworld when three people were going down there to save a fourth. Simple addition says you need four, that is unless you are trying to contrive an event that happens accidentally in the book. I have never left a movie before it was over and I was literally contemplating it. The people behind me seemed to be enjoying the movie but I couldn't get over the changes. I don't even want to go into the injection of sex into a story that is supposed to be about 12 year olds because I need to review some books.
The Lost City of Z - David Grann (4.5 out of 5) An awesome "travel" book. The author follows in the footsteps of many who are trying to find mythical explorer, Colonel Fawcett, who along with his son disappeared in the Amazon in 1925. Grann goes through the history of Fawcett as well as the preparations for his own attempt to find "Z" a mysterious, large civilization that was rumored to have existed back in the days of the conquistadores, the mid 1700s. So well written and researched and about one of the most interesting and still unexplored areas of the world.
The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis (4.5 out of 5) A great allegory written in 1946 by an amazing Christian writer who has a knack for putting everything in perspective. It's the story of a man who travels through heaven and hell meeting all kinds of people and supernatural beings that help him understand the consequences of his behavior on Earth. The fact that we must choose one or the other we cannot serve both is the central theme. "If we insist on keeping Hell we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (3 out of 5) Classic novel about Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with life at the turn of the 19th century. It is an interesting book dealing with social pressures of class and upbringing. I felt like the books focus on the female character is a big reason for its popularity among women, especially at the time of publication when most women had their lives chosen for them by their fathers. Elizabeth bucks tradition and goes after Mr. Darcy despite her father's wishes.
The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan (3.5 of 5) The first three books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians pentalogy were good. I enjoyed the update of the old mythology stories that I haven't read since 8th grade. The idea behind the stories is that the gods are still cavorting with mortals and making demi-gods like Hercules. One of these demi-gods is Percy Jackson who shows up as a twelve year old that may decide the future of the gods. He is forced into action first when his father (Poseiden) is framed for stealing Zues' lightning bolt and he tries to retrieve it to protect him. The second book follows the same crew as they try to retrieve the Golden Fleece from a cyclops to save the camp they half-bloods call home. The third book follows Percy and his friends who are trained and now try to save new found demi-gods and find themselves trying to avert a war in which the ancient titans are trying to bring down the gods of Olympus. These books aren't as enthralling as Harry Potter but are a good, quick read.
posted by John III @ 6:50 PM
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