Mandylubug Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Oh my, we just finished Disney's A Wrinkle in Time based on the book. It was horrible. So bad that my kids wanted to stop watching it. My experience is typically the book is best, movie slightly cheesy pattern. However, this movie was HORRIBLE and it even through in evolution snippits that were not even in the book. The book painted a masterly planned universe battling evil. I have no issue with evolution being included in stories texts etc. I do have an issue when you make a production and change one context of a story to make it more politically correct. Maybe P.C. isn't the correct terminology. IDK Any other book to movie's we should skip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xuzi Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Clan of the Cave Bear. (not that that's a children's book in the first place...) Amazing book. Horrible, horrendous, should-never-see-the-light-of-day-again movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Eragon is a terrible movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Starship Troopers. I almost didn't read the book because of the movie. The book is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Starship Troopers. I almost didn't read the book because of the movie. The book is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read. I didn't realize that was a book! That movie is so bad, you can't NOT watch it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 World War Z. The movie was completely unrelated to the book, except that both involve zombies. It was also just an all-around bad movie; one that is difficult to enjoy even if you manage to forget that it is supposed to be based on a book. It was so pitiful that by the middle of the movie people weren't being scared by the zombies; when they appeared on-screen in a scene that was supposed to be frightening and suspenseful, the audience in the theater laughed at the zombies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleJumper1 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The third in the Anne of Green Gables trilogy with Megan Follows. Absolutely nothing to do with the books really. The second - Anne of Avonlea - took some deep rabbit trails but the subject matter of the third is nowhere to be found in the books. It's not horrible just not true to the books. I actually enjoy all three movies - the third least of all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Secret of Nimh. As I recall It has random supernatural/magical elements and bears little resemblance to the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Firm. The only movie I have ever walked out of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The third in the Anne of Green Gables trilogy with Megan Follows. Absolutely nothing to do with the books really. The second - Anne of Avonlea - took some deep rabbit trails but the subject matter of the third is nowhere to be found in the books. It's not horrible just not true to the books. I actually enjoy all three movies - the third least of all. I love the first two movies though I know they deviate dramatically from the books. I am OK with them because I believe they do a good job of capturing the spirit of Anne. I refuse to watch the third movie because from the previews I saw it was just too far from the books and didn't seem "right" to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Firm. The only movie I have ever walked out of. I've read the book but not seen the movie. Is it a major departure from the book? Runaway Jury, another Grisham novel, has a completely different premise in the movie version. I love the movie version of The Client though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Starship Troopers wins the award hands down. Not only were the worthwhile themes of the book lost, so was the cool scifi battle suit stuff that would have been a much better use of special effects budget than making aliens with energy blasting butts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Waterworld with Kevin Costner. One of only two movies I've ever walked out on. Major, major snoozefest. Painful to watch. Although technically, it falls outside the scope of this thread. The book was based on the screenplay for the movie - not the other way around. However, the book came out about a month before the movie opened. It is supposedly better than the movie (I have not read it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Hobbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Johnny Tremain - Disney did the movie and it was sooo terrible we couldn't finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Dark is Rising. I refused to even entertain the notion of watching the movie when I read they'd made Will Stanton an American. The trailer sealed the deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Hobbit. Really? Sadly, I haven't read it but my son has. He says there are some changes but he still really liked the movie, too. He is anxious for number 2 and 3 to come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Firm. The only movie I have ever walked out of. Waterworld with Kevin Costner. One of only two movies I've ever walked out on. Oooh, spin-off thread alert -- what movies have you walked out on? Off to start it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The 7 Harry Potter Movies Narnia Prince Caspian Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Secret of NIMH Dragonball Evolution (Based on the manga/graphic novel Dragon Ball) The Page Master <---just a horrible movie in general Disney Movies based on fairytales tend to be pretty awful, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Daddy Long-Legs. The book was delightful (one of those old-fashioned girl-at-a-boarding-school books where the protagonist has a secret benefactor who she eventually falls in love with, and he her) -- and the movie just plain awful. It was a 1950's musical with Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron that had these horrible ballet dream sequences throughout. Ugh. If you saw the movie first, and weren't aware of the book, maybe (except for the horrid b.d.s). But only maybe, and the book is SO much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Dark is Rising. I refused to even entertain the notion of watching the movie when I read they'd made Will Stanton an American. The trailer sealed the deal. Seriously? How does it even work if he's an American? Swiss Family Robinson. The movie is a disneyfied disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Daddy Long-Legs. The book was delightful (one of those old-fashioned girl-at-a-boarding-school books where the protagonist has a secret benefactor who she eventually falls in love with, and he her) -- and the movie just plain awful. It was a 1950's musical with Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron that had these horrible ballet dream sequences throughout. Ugh. If you saw the movie first, and weren't aware of the book, maybe (except for the horrid b.d.s). But only maybe, and the book is SO much better. Oh, yes! Actually I thought the movie was sort of charming in its own way, but completely divorced from the book. In fact, some time a few months ago, I was trying to recall the movie that we had seen about a rich man and a girls' school and dancing, and I couldn't remember the name at all. Daddy Long Legs never came to my mind, presumably since it so different from the book. So you have helped me remember the movie now! I don't particularly want to see it again, but I hate when I have forgotten the name of something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 My sons favorite book is the BFG Against my advice he order the movie(Netflix). He was so mad he was crying. He can't believe how bad it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Seriously? How does it even work if he's an American? Swiss Family Robinson. The movie is a disneyfied disaster. Seriously. Look at this review: Our young hero is Will Shanton (Alexander Ludwig). Will is your average awkward teen struggling to fit in after his father's job forced the family to move overseas from America to England. He's just turned 14, and has also just discovered that he's part of a prophecy that he never knew about. Supposedly, thousands of years ago, there was a great battle between the forces of Light and Darkness for control of the world. Light won out in the end, but Dark is vying to make a comeback. The Dark is represented by a villain called The Rider (Christopher Eccleston), named so because he rides around on horseback. The Rider keeps on appearing before our young hero, and sending demonic mall security guards and evil grannies who can summon snakes after him. He claims to be looking for "the Signs", but Will doesn't know what he's talking about. Fortunately, there are some people to help explain Will's destiny, and explain the plot (but do little else). They represent the "Light", and inform Will that he is the "Seeker", and that only he has the power to seek out six Signs - powerful artifacts from the past that hold the fate of the world. As the Seeker, Will gains various powers including super strength and traveling through time, of which only the time travel one seems to be of any use to him in his search. All the ingredients are here for a fun fantasy adventure, but The Seeker: The Dark is Rising doesn't even seem interested in itself. This movie has such a shocking lack of wonder and whimsy, two things all fantasy adventures must have. The incredible keeps on showing its face throughout the story, but the movie forgets to allow the characters to react or even respond to it. At one point, Will's younger sister discovers her brother's power first hand when she accidentally travels through time with him. How does she react to this? She doesn't. She finds herself transported thousands of years in the past in the middle of a battle, and all she cares about is that she rescued a kitten from the battlefield. She doesn't even ask her brother what's going on, nor does she ever bring it up again in a later scene. She does, however, keep on clutching to that little kitten she found for the rest of the movie. I guess time travel, super powers, and the fate of the world itself just can't hold a candle to the adorableness of a kitty cat. It's like they just kept some of the names and left off, oh I don't know, the entire plot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I enjoy the movie Mary Poppins, but it does not at all represent the real character of MP. Walt sapped her up, and she didn't need sapping up. I also know DVD's 'cockney' accent was a crime, but his awesome dancing helped make that movie great. Feed the Birds gets props as well. My youngest actually cried during The Lightening Thief she was so disappointed. At one point she shrieked in disbelief because it was so awful (and was then mortified by her behavior). I wanted to cry for her. SFR? Horrible. I'm not even a fan of the book, but the movie was a sham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The third in the Anne of Green Gables trilogy with Megan Follows. Absolutely nothing to do with the books really. The second - Anne of Avonlea - took some deep rabbit trails but the subject matter of the third is nowhere to be found in the books. It's not horrible just not true to the books. I actually enjoy all three movies - the third least of all. The third movie is just bizarre. It is as if a director suddenly decided they were going to film a AU fanfiction rather than the actual book. Wrong time period, added characters, and a completely different plot. I have never seen anything so strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The movie with Jody Foster...the sea wreck? Lovely children's book, very bad movie adaptation. ETA: Mim's Island. Loved that little book. Jody, why did you ruin it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Waterworld with Kevin Costner. One of only two movies I've ever walked out on. Major, major snoozefest. Painful to watch. The book is way better. Wait, I was thinking of The Postman. Another book based on screenplay better than the movie: The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein. He wrote the screenplay, but the way the story went in the book just wouldn't fly in the movies back then--too much nudity. Although technically, it falls outside the scope of this thread. The book was based on the screenplay for the movie - not the other way around. However, the book came out about a month before the movie opened. It is supposedly better than the movie (I have not read it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 ...some time a few months ago, I was trying to recall the movie that we had seen about a rich man and a girls' school and dancing, and I couldn't remember the name at all. Daddy Long Legs never came to my mind, presumably since it so different from the book. So you have helped me remember the movie now! I don't particularly want to see it again, but I hate when I have forgotten the name of something. Glad to be of service :D (and make sure to read the book!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 My Side of the Mountain. By far the worst. If you know the book, you know that Frightful is a peregrine falcon befriended by a boy. There are two books following the first one, both featuring Frightful. However, in the movie based on the first book, Frightful dies. My kids were completely traumatized by this movie. We had to reread all 3 books after watching it to erase the abomination from their minds. More than 10 years on, though, they remember it. Second runner-up is Stuart Little. Ugh. We couldn't even finish watching that. But at least it wasn't traumatizing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Glad to be of service :D (and make sure to read the book!). Oh, goodness. I have, dozens of times! It's a childhood favorite of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Starship Troopers. I almost didn't read the book because of the movie. The book is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read. I always thought this was a spoof intending to make fun of science fiction movies by being totally overdone and overplaying the worst stereotypes of sci-fi movies. I did read the book but I don't really expect movies to match the books anymore. Dh really liked The Hobbit movie and the LOTR movies, and he's a big fan of the books as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Firm. The only movie I have ever walked out of. Funny you should say that. I despised the book The Firm. I thought it was so boring & really hate Grisham's writing style (way too simplistic, like he's writing for 1st graders to read it). I ended up seeing the movie because the book was so boring, figuring Hollywood would have to do *something* to make it interesting since there was nothing to work with from the book (imo). So, I found the movie better than the book, just because the movie was slightly less boring than the novel. (Both were bad, though.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The Man Without a Face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 101 Dalmations. Love the book; dc would not allow the movie into the house (we actually paid good money to see it in the theater). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Pollyana. Oh, what a travesty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Really? Sadly, I haven't read it but my son has. He says there are some changes but he still really liked the movie, too. He is anxious for number 2 and 3 to come out. There was a cartoon version of the book. Perhaps that is what she meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 All of the Harry Potter movies. I'm re-reading the books (third time through) and watching the movies as I finish each book. Yeah, I'm disappointed in the movies, although I appreciate some of the visuals, KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Dune by Frank Herbert. (I'm showing how old I am, aren't I?) I liked Starship Troopers because of it's over-the-top campyness. I was disappointed by the book. I also liked Costner's The Postman, and was also disappointed by the book. The book seemed anti-climactic. You guys aren't going to let me pick the movie on movie night, are you? (I must have no taste in movies). :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Watership Downs, V I Warshawski. I try and avoid movies based on books I like but I don't mind the harry potter movies too much and I like the BBC dramatisations of the Ruth Rendall mysteries, Inspector Morse etc. I won't even try any Narnia adaptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Disney's adaptation of A Ring of Endless Light was awful, too. Worse than A Wrinkle In Time IMO. They seemed to go out of their way to drastically change the core personalities of all the characters, in addition to the basic premise of the story. Real stupid changes that just didn't fit - Rob mounting butterflies with needles, Grandfather taking the kids for the summer without the parents there and hiding the fact that he had leukemia, the parents trying to force Vicky into some science school. Really messed up. Girl, Interrupted was bugged me similarly. But I agree that Starship Troopers is probably the worst. And probably Cheaper by the Dozen, which I admit I haven't actually seen, but it doesn't look like it could bear anything more than a passing resemblance to the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 The Lightening Thief and now that it's out Sea Of Monsters. TLT was so riddled with creative license there was just no way to redeem it in Sea of Monsters. My kids and I LOVE the Percy Jackson books and after seeing the Lightening Thief, I got a 45 minute diatribe from my oldest son about how bad they have screwed it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 [quote name="ocelotmom" post="5246538" timestamp= And probably Cheaper by the Dozen, which I admit I haven't actually seen, but it doesn't look like it could bear anything more than a passing resemblance to the book. The newest Cheaper by the Dozen is really terrible. Other than the correct number of children, it has nothing to do with the book. There is a movie from 1950 that I thought was a good representation of the book. It would be worth checking out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Ella Enchanted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 I think it's perfectly fair to like some of these movies if you haven't read the book. I like the original Dune (though the syfy miniseries was better in many ways and definitely truer to the book), and Ella Enchanted. But I never really got into Frank Herbert's writing, and never read Ella Enchanted at all. The animated Hobbit was so bad it was good. "Frodo of the nine fingers, and the ring of dooooom!" Starship Troopers really spoke to me when I was young and serving my country. The movie was just a wretched mangling of a book I valued for its themes and a total letdown on the effects side--where were the Battle Suits!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Eragon is a terrible movie. Truly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Heidi with Shirley Temple. The boys absolutely loved the novel when I read it to them a couple years ago. Usually after we read a book, we will often watch the movie adaptation. Heidi was horrible. We were all "yelling" at the screen; I wanted to turn it off but the boys wanted to see if there was any redemptive value in it. Nope. None. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Johnny Tremain - Disney did the movie and it was sooo terrible we couldn't finish it.I was about to mention the same. It is bad bad bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 The 7 Harry Potter Movies . There were 8. :) For me it was a huge mistake to watch an HP movie right after reading (or re-reading) the book. I enjoyed them much more when a lot of time had passed between reading and watching. I usually try to wait at least a year before watching a movie adaptation of a book I've read; otherwise, I'll just get mad and it'll be a complete waste of time. I just remembered another one. The BBC version of The Woman in White was terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Anything by Nicholas Sparks. I've learned to either read the book or watch the movie, but never both. I get beyond annoyed at the discrepancies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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