Tag Archives: Opinion

5 Childhood Animated Films (That Are Actually Based On Books)

Almost everyone has seen the movies on the list, but most probably don’t know that they were based on books first. The book to movie adaptation started happening a long time ago, with animated films. There are a couple of things you notice when you re-watch a childhood film you loved. Firstly, the topics were a lot more lenient, and therefore a lot darker. Death, witchcraft, animal abuse, racial stereotypes. It is sometimes hard to believe they were meant for young tiny children. (I am kind of scared to read the books and find out what tales the stories originally told.) Continue reading →

The Movie Was Better: Wristcutters: A Love Story VS Kneller’s Happy Campers

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Every now and then a movie comes along that was based on a book, or a short story or a novella and it turns out that the movie was actually BETTER than what it was based on. Now don’t bite my head off, it does happen. I am not saying in those instances that I didn’t like the book, I am just saying that the movie did it better. However, because it is so rare that a movie was better than its written counterpart, this column was created. In this column we take a moment to look at both stories and explain why the movie was better.

So this time, I am looking at the film, Wristcutters: A Love Story, based on the short story Kneller’s Happy Campers written by Etgar Keret. This short story was featured in his collection called, The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God & Other Stories. Continue reading →

5 Guilty Pleasure Movies You Can Watch Or Read

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We all have movies that we would never admit to loving as much as we do. These are movies that are either particulary girly or silly, but are movies we love to watch over and over and over again. These are movies that we will always love to watch and probably always will. These are my five guilty pleasure movies that also happen to be based on equally awesome books. Continue reading →

A Girl’s Read of City of Bones – Part 2

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Part two of this novel, was crazy long. It was a major section of plot for the story. I made this section super long, because I had to. I got really into toward the end of the section. It got pretty intense. I hope when them movie comes out, they take this part seriously and do it right. Continue reading →

Take A Trip Through The Three Musketeers With Elena and Rachel With Pictures!

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Why are you interested in this adaptation?

Elena-

I actually have a special place in my heart for the Three Musketeers in all iterations. The book was the first piece of “literature” that I read at I think 10 or 11, when I had run through all the SFF in my school’s library and decided to start edumucating myself by reading some of the classics. I am fairly sure it was an abridged version—this is based on my memory of finding the story really easy to read and very fast-paced, which, having suffered through an unabridged version of Count of Monte Cristo I know that Dumas’ writing really isn’t—and I loved it. Continue reading →

The Hobbit: Book to Film: A Jaunty Discussion By Rachel and Elena

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First question to ponder: Why are you interested in this adaptation?

Elena-

The Hobbit was the book that got me into reading, into fantasy, and into wanting to write my own stories. Its influence on my life has been far-reaching and profound. Of course I am going to see this movie when it comes out. (Actually, I take back the “of course.” There is no of course about it…I have yet to see a single film version of Pride and Prejudice because I have yet to see a cast list that I think can pull it off to my standards, which, if you’ve been reading my column for two years, you know are high. So it is not a given that I would see this film; therefore I am making a positive declaration: I am going to see this movie when it comes out.)

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4 Great Historical Films That Were Books First

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I love history. I love movies. And I really like fictionalized novels based on real historical events. So when we put those three items together we get this week’s list of greatness.

All the films on this list were based in some way on a novel that it was in turn based on a real historical event that took place. Continue reading →

What The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Does Wrong

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The one thing I really enjoy about reading the books that we will talk about on Optionated is that for the most part, they are books that people have heard of. You can often find yourself in a group of people and if you want to talk about this book you may have someone to speak with. Well I can tell you due to a power outage I was able to read the book in one sitting from start to finish and I just loved it. It was almost impossible to put down, but now that I go back and think about it I did have a few scenes that just did not feel great to me.
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A Girl’s Read of City of Bones – Part 1

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I, as a young woman, love romantic stories (and yes, even supernatural romantic stories) so I spent my summer reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. It is book 1 of The Mortal Instruments book series and it is currently being made into a movie. The book is separated into three major sections so that is what sections I chose to break up my thoughts on the novel.

::::Spoilers Ahead::::

My first thoughts were, why the hell is a 15 year old going to club called, Pandemonium. That just seems dangerous and scary. I get it, there are bouncers and security measures, but she’s only 15 going to a dance club filled with ravers, goth kids, and the like. I know city life is a little different for teenagers but clubs seem like the something they should wait on. Right?
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The Ten Best Movies (That Were Also Books)

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Ok, so not every book to movie remake is going to be great, or even good yet they keep happening. Now I love to see my favorite books being made in a new medium but only if it isn’t shamed in the process (The Time Travelers Wife I’m talking to you). Either way, there are many great remakes in the world of books to film and you can’t overlook their magic. In my opinion, a good remake is one that takes a story you know and presents it to you in a way that makes you feel as if you are watching a whole new thing. You get emotional at parts you are supposed to and you laugh at parts that are funny even if they are things you’ve seen and heard before. Those are the reasons I picked the films below.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Not only is this one of my favorite films ever but it was also remade by my favorite director, Wes Anderson. The story was actually a children’s book written by British author Roald Dahl. He also wrote “Charlie and Chocolate Factory” but this, in my opinion, is his better story. Wes did a fantastic job adding to the story in appropriate ways to make it a feature length film and brought life to a story meant for children. I love this movie in every way and is my favorite book to film feature. It is heartwarmingly hilarious.

“Mrs. Fox: [to Ash] We’re all different.

[Points to Mr.Fox]
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