BuzzSugar

Buzz In: What Are the Best Book-to-Film Adaptations of 2007?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 07:03:21 -0800

It seems to be all the rage to find fodder for movies within books these days, and 2007 featured a good number of book-to-film adaptations. Aside from the beloved Harry Potter movie, this year's projects were met with varied success. The Golden Compass, based on the first of Philip Pullman's series His Dark Materials was not exactly praised by either those who read the book or those who had not. I Am Legend, though popular at the box office, managed to irritate some fans of Richard Matheson's 1954 sci-fi novel in its transition to film.

There were some success stories, as well. Bridge to Terabithia, for example, will never be as great on screen as it is in one's imagination, but I was pleased with what they did with the movie version. And, of course, I believe Atonement is a fine example of how to create an excellent film that can stand on its own as a piece of art while still honoring the original text.

What do you think about this year's adaptations? Which ones worked the best, and which ones probably should have just stayed on the bookshelf?

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:57:47 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.

Silver Spoons: Season 1
This week I have a very special trip down memory lane to 1982's "Silver Spoons." The first season is (finally!) out on DVD, so you can reacquaint yourself with the lovable 12-year-old Rick Stratton (Rick Schroeder) who surprises his wealthy, "kid at heart" single dad by going to live with him at his estate. Comedy ensues mostly in the form of Dad-acting-like-a-child jokes. Also, it's great fun to see the bajillion now-well-known actors who had recurring or guest parts on the show, including (but not limited to) Jason Bateman, Whitney Houston, Sharon Stone, Matthew Perry and Christina Applegate.

Two more new releases if you read more

Miss Potter
I saw this movie one afternoon in a theater full of older folks, and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, many of them clucking afterwards over how "darling" it is. So, I'm guessing they might be the target audience for Miss Potter, though I liked it well enough, having grown up on Beatrix Potter's stories. Renee Zellweger plays Beatrix Potter, who had a remarkably interesting life: Being home schooled, she looked to her pets for friendship and felt strongly about protecting the environment. She became independently well-off by her own accord, writing and illustrating children's books. She became secretly engaged to her publisher (Ewan McGregor), since her parents disapproved of her marrying a man who worked for a living. The movie has a soft, gentle feel to it and is just the kind of comforting thing for, say, a day full of summer thunderstorms. Another reason to watch this: Ewan McGregor is positively adorable.

Bridge to Terabithia
I still maintain that the book version of Bridge to Terabithia is better than any movie could hope to be, but the movie is sweet enough for what it is. Fifth-grader Jesse Aarons feels lonely at school and at home, being an artistic boy in a family full of girls. When the independent and spirited Leslie moves in next door, however, Jesse's whole perspective changes. He finds a best friend in Leslie, and the two create their own imaginative world in the nearby woods. They call it Terabithia, and through their own creations they find ways to deal with school bullies and Jesse's gruff dad. Everything changes in one day, however, and Jesse has to learn how to re-imagine Terabithia by himself.

Bridge to Terabithia: Good, But Imagination Can Do Better

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:57:42 -0800

In my opinion, no film can ever live up to the magic and poignancy of the book Bridge to Terabithia. Having established that, for what it is, this film is a successful adaptation of the novel. Author Katharine Paterson's son, David, worked on the Bridge to Terabithia movie for 17 years - and it shows. Yet there is something heartbreaking about the film version, because to read the book is to exercise your imagination and envision the world of Terabithia for yourself. In the film adaptation, all of that imaginative fun is neatly handed to the audience, so we are merely passive observers of someone else's fantasy.

Terabithia is the story of fifth-grader Jesse Aarons, whose world changes when Leslie Burke moves in next door. Independent and sure of herself, Leslie stands out from all the other students, though she doesn't seem to mind being a bit weird. She writes beautifully, while Jesse likes to run and draw but has an uneasy relationship with his father who gruffly dismisses Jesse's artistic tendencies. To see how I felt about how everything unfolds,

Jesse and Leslie become fast friends, forming an alliance against the school bullies and discovering a wooded area accessible only by swinging on a rope over a small river. They claim the area as their kingdom, calling it Terabithia, where they escape the pressures of family and the misery of schoolyard taunting. Their "enemies" become exaggerated creature versions of the actual people who cause them strife. The biggest bully at school, Janice Avery, takes the shape of a giant ogre (something that can't be good for the actual actor's self-esteem), and facing the ogre in Terabithia gives them the confidence to deal with the girl in real life. In doing so, they find that this creature is much more human than they'd ever suspected, and the ogre then becomes friendly. Therefore, Terabithia allows them to feel powerful and in control when they otherwise wouldn't.

Curiously, the movie actually does briefly touch on the problem of imagination being at odds with television/film. In class one day, the teacher tells the children to watch a particular TV program and write about it. Leslie explains that she doesn't have a TV, that her father thinks television kills brain cells. When a snotty kid ridicules her with some snide remark, telling her he watches TV all the time, she calmly states, "I rest my case."

There is also a refreshing "girl power" theme woven through the film, which is something that many other kids' fantasy movies lack. Jesse is essentially an empty canvas, easily influenced by the females in his life: Janice the bully can ruin his day, his older sisters push him around, and his biggest role model is his music teacher, the young, beautiful Ms. Edmonds (Zooey Deschanel). And, of course, his life is made full and exciting by spunky, independent Leslie.

The special effects are mercifully subdued. As director Gabor Csupo explains, if people "are anticipating a Harry Potter movie, then we are in trouble." The fantastical creatures become apparent to the children through their imaginations and only as a result of their close friendship. Thus, as Jesse starts to trust Leslie and trust in his own imagination, the creatures gradually appear to him. There is no demand on the audience to swallow some made-up fantasy world as reality, only to accept that these two best friends have built a fantasy world together, and that they believe in it. In that regard, the filmmakers did very well to not ruin the story. Still, the book is far superior, and far more important.

Photos courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

Movie Preview: Bridge to Terabithia

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:46:43 -0800

I was a bit worried when I first saw the trailer for Bridge to Terabithia, the Disney movie opening this Friday and based on the young adolescent novel by Katherine Paterson. But thankfully, the director is now claiming that special effects-heavy trailer, which makes the movie look like a Harry Potter-esque fantasy, isn't really an accurate representation of film's story about friendship and imagination.

I'm relieved to read that, since I was afraid that one of my beloved childhood books was getting too Disney-fied. As director Gabor Csupo told Sci-Fi Wire:

"We don't really think that it's an appropriate way of selling the movie, but they're convinced that that's the way to get kids interested, and hopefully they will be positively surprised. If they are anticipating a Harry Potter movie, then we are in trouble. It is not a Harry Potter kind of a movie."

Look for my review of the movie next week, and until then, you can watch the trailer if you read more

Photo courtesy of Buena Vista Publicity

Movie Preview: Bridge to Terabithia

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 09:16:20 -0800

The young adolescent novel Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a wondrous and poignant tale of friendship, loyalty, and imagination. I read it several times over as a kid, and it still has a place in my heart. So it was exciting to see that there is a film version of the book coming out in February, though I'm not sure how I feel about the special effects-heavy trailer.

As cool as computer animation and special effects are these days, there is also much to enjoy in the story of the two friends, how close they become, the lessons they learn, how much they come to cherish one another. Paterson's novel is a subtle and tender work, and it's good to bring the title into everyone's awareness. I just hope the film is respectful to the work and avoids simply capitalizing on the surge of interest in recent years in children's fantasy worlds coming to life through fancy technical effects (a la Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia). Regardless, I'll probably still go see it. What do you guys think? Did you read this book as a kid?