Books into Movies: The Winners

     You know that feeling when you're watching a movie and some annoying, pretentious kid in the corner mumbles "The book was better."  I'm that annoying, pretentious kid.  I'm hypercritical of movies that were developed from books because I view it like this: dude, it's all laid out for you.  No one has to put any time into coming up with original plotlines or characters, no cool, new places have to be thought up or created.  You just gotta stick to the text- cast some good people and maybe even mix in some special effects and whatnot, if you're feelin' tricky.  I love when movies accurately represent the books they're based on, so I decided to compile a list of movies that did the job well.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S Lewis

Sweet special effects, no major changes to plot, and a hottay with a boday cast as the oldest brother.  The Chronicles of Narnia receives my full approval- I enjoyed the movie just as much as I did the book.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

I agreed with literally every casting decision made.  Dumbledore was perfect- wise and intelligent yet a little freaky, Harry was freaking adorable and, in my fourth grade mind, quite a lil hunk, Hermione was as bossy and bushy-haired as described, and Ron ideally completed the trio.  The music was epic, the special effects not overdone, and afterwards I found myself waiting for my Hogwarts letter. I actually still find myself waiting for my Hogwarts letter.  Thanks, JK Rowling.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

This book was trippy and a little crazy but I absolutely loved it, and the movie made me love it more.  Seeing the characters come to life made me appreciate their complexity in a physical way that the text couldn't provide.  Kirsten Dunst rocks in this indie film, and the book is a must-read.

Pet Sematary and The Shining by Stephen King

The movies were just as spooky as the books, if not more so.  The casting was flawless and the music added insane suspense.  Not to mention Jack Nicholson in The Shining- dude blew my mind.  Amazing, amazing performance based on an amazing, amazing book.

So, what about you guys? What movies-based-on-books have you seen that you thought did justice to the original work?

Branching Out: Some Good*ss Poetry

     I have always loved poetry.  I view it as one of the most powerful and effective mediums to convey emotion.  Poetry is like music to me- reading a good poem has the same euphoric and exhilarating effect on me as hearing a new song I really like.  I was one of those Dr. Seuss fanatic kids- my mom always tells the story of how one year I sat on mall Santa's lap and, instead of asking for a Barbie doll or American Girl like a normal girl, recited the entire contents of the book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and was eventually ushered out of the plastic winter wonderland set-up by some very disgruntled elves.  Fortunately, my taste in poetry has matured, as has the audience I choose to share my findings with.  Which is why I figured you guys would be the perfect audience to share with :)

My Favorite Poem of All Time:

My favorite poem of all time is by ee cummings, who just happens to me my favorite poet of all time.  ee cummings is a weird dude- his poems are trippy and take some getting used to.  He completely shuns all grammatical norms and instead chooses to write choppy, nonsensical phrases with random capitalizations and punctuation marks.  And I love it.  How refreshing to break away from iambic pentameter, from those poems we read and write in English class with every third line rhyming and so on.  So, here it is:

i carry your heart with me by ee cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) Damn.  You've probably heard that before, and it still gets me every time.  I love everything about it- I love the emotion, the passion the poet feels made tangible to the audience.  It blows my mind. Next poem: XXXV by Emily Dickinson. I love Emily Dickinson.  Homegirl's a little crazy, but hey, she's an amazing poet.  I once read she didn't leave her house for like three years in a row.  And I'm okay with that, because she had some amazing poetry to show for it. PROUD of my broken heart since thou didst break it,   Proud of the pain I did not feel till thee, Proud of my night since thou with moons dost slake it,   Not to partake thy passion, my humility. There you go :) Hope you guys enjoyed these two gems.  And if not, stick to Dr. Seuss.