Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Favourite Sci-Fi Films

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s theme is all to do with films. I thought about making it bookish related but then I realised hey, I’ve already done a post like that! So if you’re interested, here are some of my favourite book-to-screen adaptations.

For this post, I’m going with my favourite Sci-Fi films. As you’ll know, I love Sci-Fi, and it’s a much bigger and more encompassing genre than some people think. They hear ‘science fiction’ and they think ‘oh god that’s so geeky. Isn’t it just spaceships?’. But Sci-Fi has so many subgenres, like dystopian and apocalyptic a la The Hunger Games and Mad Max. Or Superhero films, those are Sci-Fi! Time travel, alternate history, cyberpunk. Sci-Fi is everywhere.

I’m not going to include superhero films in my list because pretty much the whole thing would just be Marvel movies, so, without further ado, here are some of my favourite Sci-Fi films:

1. Star Trek (2009)

I had never been interested in Star Trek. I’d watched all the Star Wars films but Star Trek just didn’t seem as cool. Which is ironic, because I now think Star Wars is the geekier of the two franchises. But anyway, Star Trek just didn’t float my boat, until they rebooted it and oh my god. This film blew me away.

I watched it at home one day on Sky Movies because it was free and I was bored and I’d heard it was good, so why not? After watching it, I immediately bought the DVD and then waited impatiently for the DVD release of Star Trek: Into Darkness because I’d just missed it in cinemas.

Now I’m just waiting for Star Trek: Beyond as I didn’t have time to go watch it at Vue, but I am a little sad about seeing it as it was one of Anton Yelchin’s last films and he was such a great actor. Hopefully the film is good though.

2. The Martian

This film was so tense it gave me a migraine. The climactic end just made me unbelievably stressed. However, I still want to read the book (and risk another possible migraine) because the film was so enjoyable and moving. Plus, Sebastian Stan.

3. Mad Max: Fury Road

Now, for all my talk about loving post-apocalyptic fiction, I was hesitant about Mad Max: Fury Road. From all the trailers it just looked like a real man’s film like yeah lads cars guns yeah lads. Don’t get me wrong, I like action, but I hate those films that are just all about blowing things up and have zero plot. However, because it was post-apocalyptic, I decided to give Mad Max: Fury Road a go.

And just like Star Trek, it totally exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen for one moment in case I missed something. In all honesty, it is just one big car chase, but it has so many crucial underlying themes revolving around feminism and humanity and the environment. It’s so much fun too, and the world-building is fantastic. Honestly, this one is a total gem, and Charlize Theron steals the show from Tom Hardy, which is a difficult thing to do because normally it’s Tom Hardy who steals the show in pretty much everything he’s in, main character or not. I highly recommend this one.

4. Sunshine

Now this is a real hidden gem. Danny Boyle is one of my favourite directors and pretty much masters whatever genre he takes on. Whilst most of his films have made it quite big, Sunshine has stayed in the shadows as a cult film loved by the critics but not really known by the general public. I’ve never really understood this because it’s such a brilliant film. It has well known actors like Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Hiroyuki Sanada and Mark Strong. Yet somehow it never really took off.

If you’re a fan of Gravity with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, then you’ll love this, it’s along the same kind of vein and just as tense.

5. District 9

There’s a line from this film my Dad quite often likes to repeat in his rather good South African accent because it makes him laugh. It’s when the main character, a man in charge of evicting the malnourished aliens from their South African slum, approaches a small alien – labelled a “prawn” – and says, “Hello, little guy! It’s the sweetie man coming!”. It’s funny and unsettling all at once. Because the irony is, whilst these aliens came to Earth seeking help, they are vastly more intelligent. I mean, they were able to leave their planet and travel millions of miles through space for a start, something we’re nowhere near close to doing. Yet we haven’t assisted them at all. The novelty of extra-terrestrial life has worn off and we’ve confined them to an impoverished slum and oppressed them.

This film, whilst humorous, is a social commentary on man’s treatment of the ‘other’ and is really hard-hitting. Definitely a modern Sci-Fi masterpiece.

6. Children of Men

I’ve featured this film before in my best book-to-screen adaptations, which I linked to at the top of this post, because both book and film are brilliant pieces of dystopian fiction and film-making. With no baby born for almost two decades, humanity is faced with its own extinction. What lengths would we go to?

7. Edge of Tomorrow

I’m not a massive Tom Cruise fan, and it annoys me that he seems to play the same role in every film. However, Edge of Tomorrow breaks this mould. Cruise is a bumbling, haughty Major who has never seen combat, until he’s suddenly thrown into a suicide mission battling the war against superior alien forces. Yet the real hero of this film is Emily Blunt as hardened veteran Rita Vrataski. She shows Cruise how it’s done and he never quite gets up to her level.

Overall, this film is a solid effort with some great moments of comic relief (at Cruise’s expense). It’s also based on the manga All You Need Is Kill. I was a bit disappointed to find out about this afterwards and see that they had changed the central character from Japanese to American. Whilst it may have been refreshing to see Cruise play someone other than the macho hero who can do everything, the studio obviously wanted a big name to try and attract an audience. The usual Hollywood white-washing.

8. 28 Days Later

I told you I liked Danny Boyle. And Cillian Murphy, for that matter, and it seems Danny Boyle agrees. There’s no need to explain this film because if you haven’t heard of it then you’ve been living under a rock; it’s a zombie sci-fi horror classic. But instead of the dead coming back to life, it’s actually a virus known as Rage, and these ‘zombies’ are some of the scariest you’ll ever see on screen.

9. Inception

This film was a total mind-bender but oh so good, and definitely one of a kind. Great acting, amazing plot, and a brilliant soundtrack from Hans Zimmer, this is one that will always stay with me.

10. Star Wars

Just all the Star Wars. The old, the new, and the even newer. Whilst the script for the originals and the prequel franchise were extremely corny, they’re still total classics and made Sci-Fi mainstream. Plus I’m so excited for Rogue One this December.

What are some of your favourite Sci-Fi films? Do you agree with my picks? Disagree? Let me know in the comments below!

The Sunday Post #18

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer in which book bloggers recap their week and look at what’s to come.

My boyfriend came to visit on Friday and just went home today so I was busy all this weekend and haven’t done any blog hopping. I’ll try and catch up next week! However, it was lovely seeing Mark as we’re currently doing long-distance after uni ended. It’s difficult but we’re managing it!

Anyway, that’s my little update. Here were the posts this week:

• It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #2 + Update On My Week-Long Absence
• Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Horror Novels On My Wishlist
• Halloween Read-A-Thon Review: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
• Stacking the Shelves | Sequels and ARCs

I finished my last book in the Halloween Read-A-Thon, The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich, which was sadly a bit of a disappointment. After that, I started my ARC of Gilded Cage by Vic James. I’m only a few chapters in but I’m really liking it. The atmosphere is great and the characters are intriguing, not to mention the opening was especially good.

After that, I was planning to start A Darker Shade of Magic but An Ember In the Ashes has been looking at me from the bookshelf. I’m really tempted to start that instead. However, I’ve had A Darker Shade of Magic longer.

I also got Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) this week and whilst I’m itching to read it, I’m going to be patient and read some books I’ve had for longer first. Whether I can actually be that patient is another thing entirely!

Instead of music this week, I’m going to post a film trailer! Specifically, the new teaser for Guardians of the Galaxy 2. I am so so excited for this film, and even more excited for the Avengers Infinity War films when the Guardians will meet up with the Avengers. That’s going to be one strange encounter.

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Let’s Wrap: September

Is it just me, or did September go really quick? I can’t quite remember what I did for the entirety of September except read, go to training at Lush, and visit my boyfriend. And that’s it. What else even happened?

However, I am officially halfway through writing my novel which is amaaazing. I’m hoping to have the first draft done by Christmas and it’ll be the first novel I have ever completed, despite writing the beginnings of dozens of novels for years. Fingers crossed!

I’m also at 239 followers overall (WordPress and Bloglovin combined) which I am so happy about so thank you everyone who has followed this little blog of mine, it means a lot!

• Review: The Fireman by Joe Hill
• YA Series I Haven’t Finished (And Probably Never Will)
• The Sunday Post #13
• Review: Soundless by Richelle Mead
• Entertainer Blogger Award
• Review: The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent
• The Willoughby Book Club Unboxing #2
• The Sunday Post #14
• Top Ten Tuesday: Ten ALL TIME Favourite Books of the Sci-Fi Genre
• Why Diversity Is A Good Thing
• Stacking the Shelves | YA Fantasy
• Review: The City of Mirrors (Passage #3) by Justin Cronin
• The Sunday Post #15
• Waiting On Wednesday: Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
• Diversity Spotlight Thursday #1
• The Sunday Post #16
• ARC Review: Goldenhand (Old Kingdom #5) by Garth Nix
• Review: Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
• Film Review: The Girl With All the Gifts

I’m currently reading Nevernight by Jay Kristoff and I’m about two thirds of the way through. I am really really enjoying it. However, at the moment I’m thinking of a 4.5/5 rating rather than the full 5/5. Why? I hate to say it, but the protagonist of Mia annoys me a little. I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t connect to her as much as I’d like to; she kinda gets on my nerves and I prefer some of the side characters to her. Anyone else found this or am I in the minority? From what I’ve seen, I’m thinking it’s just me with this problem.

I still have the likes of these YA Fantasy bad boys to read which you can see above, so I’m excited to get my teeth into them.

However, I’m considering taking part in a Halloween Read-a-thon towards the end of October so I may be bypassing the Fantasy and reading some Horror instead. I’ve read a lot of Fantasy recently so a change would be good I think, as well as maybe some Historical fiction I’ve had sitting in my TBR for a while.

How was your September? Have you read any of the books above? Let me know in the comments below!

Film Review: The Girl With All the Gifts

I read the novel The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey about two years ago now and it’s definitely a book that has stuck with me. Excellent writing, lots of tension, great characters, and a unique twist on the zombie genre. If you’ve followed my blog for a while now, you know I love all things zombie, so to find such a well-written addition to the genre was great.

Understandably, I had high expectations for the film adaptation, especially after seeing some glowing reviews from the likes of Empire.  Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed!

I dragged my boyfriend along to see the film and, strangely, we had an entire screen to ourselves. This was good in the sense that no one would be talking or texting, but bad in the sense that when Mark left to go to the loo, I was sat in a big screen watching a zombie movie all by myself with surround sound. Needless to say, it was creepy.

Anyway, onto the film itself:

The film itself is very, very true to the book. A couple of scenes were dropped, along with the concept of the “Junkers”, but the vast majority of the major plot points are pretty much identical, which was amazing.

For those of you who don’t know, The Girl With All the Gifts tells the story of Melanie (Sennia Nanua), a young girl kept in an army base along with other children. Each day, she is strapped into a wheelchair by guards who treat her like she’s dangerous and taken to a classroom for lessons from the kind Miss Justineau (Gemma Arteton). That’s when we discover that, outside the army base, the world has been ravaged by a zombie virus, specifically a fungal virus that turns people into “Hungries”. Melanie and her fellow kids in the classroom are Hungries, but they’re different. They aren’t mindless and feral, but instead act like any other average human child. I won’t say why, but be prepared for a very unique zombie story.

And then, one day, it all goes wrong and the army base must be evacuated. Only a handful escape, including Melanie, Miss Justineau, Sergeant Parks (Paddy Considine), Dr Caldwell (Glenn Close) and a couple of soldiers. Will they make it to safety? Can the calculating Dr Caldwell develop a cure? You’ll have to wait and see.

The heart of the story is Melanie. A kind and courageous girl, you can’t help but become deeply attached to her whilst almost slightly fearing her, and I thought Sennia Nanua did an excellent job of portraying the complexities of Melanie on the big screen. Interestingly, in the novel Melanie is white and Miss Justineau is black, but it’s been reversed in the film. I think it’s great that a young black girl has been given such a big part as the main protagonist here, and she was definitely the best actress to play Melanie.

Aside from that one change, I thought all the characters were very true to the book in terms of personality. Helen Justineau’s kindness and protectiveness, Sergeant Parks’ bravado hiding a softer interior, Dr Caldwell’s determination, Private Gallagher’s innocence. It really is a very true adaptation, keeping the core values of the book and much of the plot.

However, whilst this is a film about zombies, it is truly a film about humanity. Some of the best zombie films and books are the ones that look at humanity, not just the blood and gore. I can’t explain too much without revealing the ending, but there are some huge moral dilemmas in The Girl With All the Gifts. Me and Mark had a long conversation about it all afterwards, with differing opinions on morality. It’s definitely a bittersweet story.

The film has also clearly taken inspiration from Danny Boyle’s amazing 28 Days Later so, if you enjoyed that, you should enjoy this. I don’t think it’s as scary as 28 Days Later (Cillian Murphy in the church? The infected at the window? Terrifying), or even as scary as the novel, but it’s not trying to terrify you with jump scares; it’s about so much more than that. It’s about terrifying you with the prospect of the end of humanity.

In addition, I have to give a special shout out to the score for this film. It’s amazing. So creepy and tense and eerie, it was one of the best scores I’ve heard in a long while for a horror film. EDIT: (See link at the bottom to listen to the main theme).

However, there were a few slight negatives to the adaptation. One was that I think the ending was a little rushed. It needed more explanation. This was where me and Mark argued a little as the climax missed out some key aspects from the book and I had to explain it fully to him to make him understand the reasoning behind some of the actions in the finale. There were also a few scenes from the novel I would have liked to have seen included, but there was probably issues with running time. Lastly, whilst most of the big scenes did make it to the screen, some had been changed, and I would have liked them to be the same as the book because I think it would have had more of an impact. But hey, that’s just me being a picky reader.

Overall though, this was an excellent adaptation of the book and I was thoroughly impressed. Excellent acting, very true to the novel and a great score, I couldn’t have asked for much more. I definitely recommend both the book and the film.

Have you read The Girl With All the Gifts? Or seen the film? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

EDIT: I just managed to find the main theme from the composer on Soundcloud, so check it out here.

The Sunshine Blogger Award

A big thank you to Demetra @ bookstraveller for nominating me for this, it’s my first award since I started blogging in March so I’m pretty excited! If you don’t already follow her blog, go check it out!

Questions

1. What Hogwarts house are you in?

I’ve admitted before on this blog that I only ever got as far as Chamber of Secrets so I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to the Hogwarts houses! However, I’ve seen all the films, and I’ve always felt a strange attraction to Slytherin. I’m not quite sure what that says about me…

2. What Ilvermorny house are you in?

I had to google this and I had no clue it was another Harry Potter thing! Sorry, Demetra! I found the houses though and I like the sound of Thunderbird the best as it ‘favours adventurers’ and I’d like to think I’d be an adventurer if I had magical powers and all that.

3. Have you read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child already or planning to?

Seeing as I never made it past Chamber of Secrets, I don’t think I’ll ever read The Cursed Child, although it does sound interesting!

4. Is there a book you own more than one copy of?

I own two copies of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. I read it for fun and loved it, then had to read it again at university, but I needed a particular edition of the book because this one had an introduction. Other than that, I don’t think so, but I’ve almost finished my ARC of Goldenhand by Garth Nix and seeing as it’s my favourite series I want a finished copy too, in case there are any changes! So I’ll probably have two copies of Goldenhand soon.

5. What kind of book or movie related merchandise do you own?

I picked up a bunch of bookish freebies from YALC so I have loads of excerpts and postcards and badges! I have some movie-tie-in editions of books, like my copy of Never Let Me Go and I also collect those 1 litre special edition movie cups from Vue cinemas (this won’t make any sense unless you’re British) because I’m a sad person. They’re giant cups with a movie poster printed on and they have little figurines on top and I feel like such a child asking for a Katniss or Bucky Barnes figurine. (Although I desperately wanted a Bucky Barnes one). I even have a dinosaur one from when I went to see the new Jurassic Park. I used to love dinosaurs as a child, okay. However, I have no shame buying the big special edition cups for Marvel films. Marvel rules all.

6. If you could have personally witnessed anything, what would you want to have seen?

I’ve always had a fascination with the World Wars, but I think it would be much too harrowing to go back and witness any of that. So probably a happier event, like the coronation of Elizabeth I or something. Or, I’d go back to when dinosaurs roamed the planet, as long as someone could guarantee I wouldn’t be eaten.

7. What’s your favourite TV show?

This is really difficult to choose, so I’ll pick a few: The 100, Mr. Robot, The Returned (the original French version, of course), The Bridge (the original Scandi version), Game of Thrones and of course Peaky Blinders. There’s definitely more but my mind has gone blank!

8. What’s your favourite movie?

Once again, how can I choose?! Anything Marvel, especially the Captain America films. And I’ve always loved The Lord of the Rings films, they’re just perfection. I’m not even gonna mention any more because I’ll be sat here forever.

9. If you could be any book character, who would you be and why?

I think Sabriel from the Old Kingdom series, although I don’t know if I’d be very good at fighting the Dead, I’d probably pass out from fear. But then again, if I was Sabriel, I’d pretty much be fearless.

10. What do you look at first: the book cover or the blurb?

Book cover, definitely. I try not to judge a book by its cover but you can usually tell if something isn’t your cup of tea just by the cover. Even still, if the title catches my eye or I’ve heard great things, I’ll check out the blurb.

11. Which book should everyone read?

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix! Or anything by Virginia Woolf! I’m a broken record on this blog.

My Questions

1. Who are your three favourite protagonists?
2. What’s your favourite book cover?
3. Is there an antagonist you’ve ever sympathised with? Or even liked more than the protagonist?
4. Do you write books as well as read them?
5. Do you prefer Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Or do you not like either?
6. Do you like books being adapted for film/TV, or do you hate it?
7. Do you prefer paperbacks or hardbacks?
8. If you could compete in any Olympic sport, which one would you choose?
9. If you could be friends with any character (book, film or TV) who would you pick?
10. Is there a book or series you think is underappreciated?
11. If you could be a superhero, what powers would you have?

I Nominate

• Cate @ Midnight Biblio Blog
• Megan @ Bookslayer Reads
• Laura @ Reading Lust
• Cait @ Bathtime Reads
• Shouni @ Through the Book Portal

Film Review: The Conjuring 2

I have a love/hate relationship with horror. Mostly it’s love – I can’t get enough of it – but I struggle to watch a horror film without having to peer through my fingers. There’s something about scaring yourself half to death that is just so much fun.

I saw the first of The Conjuring films in the cinema when it was released and I absolutely loved it. It was terrifying and hilarious all at once and I vividly remember the scene where the old witch is suddenly on top of the wardrobe due to me shrieking ‘WHAT?!’ at the top of my voice in a packed screening. What was she doing up there?! Like I said, terrifying and hilarious.

The Conjuring refreshed a slightly stagnant horror genre where recent films were just no longer cutting it. Paranormal Activity was only truly scary the first time around, and installments like Ouija and the Insidious films just weren’t freaky enough. So, when I heard there was going to be another of The Conjuring films, I was extremely excited. I dragged a reluctant Mark to the cinema with me a week or so ago, ready to be terrified, and I wasn’t disappointed.

For starters, look at that thing. Just look at it. It really creeps me out. The team behind The Conjuring films really know what they’re doing when it comes to horror. One thing they’re especially good at is camera angles. Ever since I studied Media at A-Level, I’ve been a bit obsessed with camera angles, and The Conjuring team are excellent at them. They make you look in dark corners just in case, and they keep the things that go bump in the night just out of shot to ramp up the tension. They also know when is the best time to reveal what the antagonists – whether it be ghost, demon or witch – look like.

As with The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2 is packed full of twists and dread. The twists in this installment aren’t obvious which is great, because that’s quite often how horror films suddenly lose the scare factor. However, whilst the twists were unique, I found the major twist killed the horror a little bit for me. I still liked it, but there was something about it that just didn’t work; I think it could have been handled a little better. This is a spoiler-free review so I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it just didn’t sit quite right with me; it was almost too convenient.

That being said, the film is still very scary. Not quite as scary as the first, though, as I think one of the antagonists, The Crooked Man, didn’t fit. I still watched a vast majority of the film through my fingers, however, and The Conjuring 2 retained that sense of impending dread that made the first film so creepy.

I also enjoyed the fact that it was set in England. I think horror films set in the UK are always just a little bit creepier than ones set in the US, one reason being because the UK still has so many period houses that I think make a better setting for a horror. Ghosts haunting a Tudor house are a lot scarier than ghosts haunting a semi-detached new-build in the suburbs because its just so much more believable, and also provides a much wider scope for horror – all manner of horrible things could have happened in a Tudor house over the centuries.

The setting of The Conjuring 2 is a relatively modern house, in contrast, but this isn’t your average haunting (as you’ll discover). It sounds like I am completely contradicting myself here, but still a British setting is always just a tad creepier for me, period house or not. Perhaps it’s because it just feels closer to home than an American horror.

I also thought Madison Wolfe as Janet Hodgson was excellent, although her North London accent was a bit off every now and then (she’s American). However, I felt the climax of the film was slightly rushed. The evil plaguing the Hodgson family was defeated surprisingly easily and I would have preferred more time between the major twist and the ending. There was a sprinkling of cheesiness in the film that killed the mood a little but, that being said, it was still an excellent horror film and I did enjoy it.

So, if you were a fan of the first film, the second won’t disappoint. Of course, you may like the twist more than I did, but I think that was what let it down a little in comparison with the first film. It just didn’t pack enough of a punch and, like I said, was a little too convenient. Hopefully, the spin-off of The Nun will make up for it. Although I don’t know how I feel about seeing that creepy nun again…

Have you seen The Conjuring 2? Did you enjoy it? Was it scary enough for you? What did you think of the twist? Let me know in the comments below!

The Sunday Post #6

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer in which book bloggers recap their week and look at what’s to come.

My Weekly Recap

So the UK has opted to leave the EU and I am absolutely devastated. I’m not going to go into detail because I don’t want to start a debate, but I’m hearing some seriously frightening stuff about the future of Britain and my own future. I wholeheartedly agree that the vast majority of Leave voters are not racist, but the Leave campaign attracted notable racist and sexist groups such as UKIP and Britain First and now these racists have had their views legitimised by Leave winning. There have already been numerous reports of blatantly racist acts directed at Indians and Pakistanis, as well as Eastern Europeans. I’m struggling to recognise my own country at the moment.

But anyway, enough of that. Here are the posts from this week:

• My Long-Awaited Film Review for X-Men: Apocalypse
• Book Recommendations: If You Liked That, You’ll Love This #2
• Reader Confessions Tag
• A Novel Discussion: How Important Are Characters Clothes?

Some of you may not have seen my discussion post because Bloglovin never displayed it! It’s only just become available on Bloglovin but, being a discussion post, I really wanted it to reach my WordPress followers and my Bloglovin followers so I could actually have a discussion with you guys! This has happened before and I’ve e-mailed Bloglovin about it. Anyone else had this same problem?

So, if you’ve only just discovered my discussion post, please do get involved if you have an opinion on it!

Coming Up

I’m just over halfway through Golden Son so hopefully the review will be going up within the next week or two on Ellie Maloney’s Sci-Fi blog. Once again, I’ll post a link to it on my blog when it’s up!

Next books I’ll get to reading after Golden Son will be The Girls and The Next Together.

I missed Waiting on Wednesday this week so hopefully I’ll get round to posting that in the coming week.

I’ll also be posting a review of The Conjuring 2 so keep your eyes peeled for that!

And Finally

I know I featured one of Tinie Tempah’s new tracks a couple of weeks ago, but he’s just come out with another catchy tune and I’m loving it. It makes me want to go to Nandos. You’ll see what I mean when you listen to it.

Book-to-Screen Adaptations That Actually Work

As a bookworm and film fanatic, it’s great to see characters you’ve connected with on paper be portrayed on screen, whether it’s TV or film. However, a fair bit of the time, the crew behind the screen adaptations of these novels don’t always get it spot on. Of course, you have to accept that they can’t fit everything into an hour-and-a-half film, or 12 episodes, but you don’t have to accept it if they take your favourite novel and massacre it on screen. One such film for me was Inkheart. I adored the books as a kid and when they finally brought out a film adaptation, it just didn’t fit. One main reason for me was that I’d always imagined Basta being a young man in his 20s, but on screen he was old and fat. That killed it for me.

But, on a more positive note, there have been a lot of book-to-screen adaptations that have worked surprisingly well. Here is a list of my favourites:

1. Game of Thrones

I have to admit that I’ve only read the first two novels of the A Song of Ice and Fire series as I just haven’t had time for the others. Whilst the TV adaptation does leave out and move away from some of George R. R. Martin’s plot points, the creators behind the series have passionately recreated Martin’s world and characters. I adore Game of Thrones.

2. The 100

I started series 1 of The 100 before the books but, when the TV show had undeniably hooked me, I went out and bought the novels. Now, this may be a bit of a controversial selection, as The 100 TV series deviates heavily from the novels. However, this is one of those rare times where I actually think the TV adaptation is better. It’s more exciting, with better plot twists and an improved story-arc involving the Grounders and Mount Weather. However, if you call yourself a fan of the TV programme, you should definitely check out the books to see where it all began.

3. How I Live Now

How I Live Now is one of my favourite novels. Beautifully and uniquely written, Daisy’s voice is strong and fraught with emotion. This book had me in tears and so did the film. The movie adaptation stays true to the book and captures the anguish and isolation Daisy and her cousins experience as Britain is invaded by foreign forces. This is both a novel I wish I’d written and a film I wish I’d directed. The only most obvious difference is that Eddie is not younger than Daisy in the film, as he is in the book. But how can anyone complain when you get to look at George MacKay’s face? Not to mention he’s an exceptional actor; this film was brilliantly cast.

4. Never Let Me Go

I read Never Let Me Go before I saw the film. Another of my favourite novels, I was in floods of tears at the end; to me, it’s a modern masterpiece. So, when it came to watching the film, I was sobbing my eyes out at the first scene! I couldn’t handle it. The film is just as moving as the book and I especially loved Andrew Garfield as Tommy. Even Keira Knightley (who can be a little hit-and-miss) was excellent.

5. Warm Bodies

I got Warm Bodies many a Christmas ago and couldn’t put it down. Witty, philosophical and very touching, it is yet another of my all-time favourite novels (do you see a pattern here? I’m kinda lucky that so many of my favourite books have had good adaptations done!). As for the film, it’s sweet and funny and I loved Nicholas Hoult as R. My only gripe is that they left out R’s somewhat-telepathic conversations with Perry. There’s a moment near the end of the novel (no spoilers, I promise) where Perry is speaking to R and sometimes I go back and re-read that passage because it is some of the most heartfelt prose I’ve ever read. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. But overall, I really enjoyed the film adaptation and I think they did the book justice.

6. The Children of Men

Whilst the film does deviate substantially from the plot-line of P.D. James’ novel, the film is a triumph in its own right. It perfectly captures the fear and desolation of James’ world where no baby has been born for nearly two decades. Both the book and the film explore the horrors of that world and the lengths humanity will go to when faced with its own extinction.

7. Love, Rosie

I heard about the film adaptation of Cecelia Ahern’s Where Rainbows End before I’d actually heard of the book. But, upon learning it was a novel originally, I read the book whilst waiting for the release of the film. Yet again another novel and its subsequent film adaptation that had me in floods of tears. Both were hilarious and moving, excellent rom-coms and, whilst the film didn’t span quite as many years as the novel, I actually preferred that. Not to mention I really like Lily Collins.

Have you read any of these books and their on-screen adaptations? Did you enjoy them? Do you think the film/TV does the book justice? Let me know in the comments below!

Monday Musts #2

Monday Musts is a meme hosted by Lovin’ Los Libros where you showcase your Must Read’s, your Must Listen’s and your Must See’s.

Must Read

I read Lauren DeStefano’s The Chemical Garden trilogy a few years ago after my high school English teacher introduced me to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. 

The trilogy has a lot of similarities to Atwood’s classic, such as women being used as baby-making machines, and the forbidden romance. But just because it draws inspiration from The Handmaid’s Tale doesn’t mean it’s not unique and harrowing in its own right. I adored this trilogy, the bleak world DeStefano had created, and the protagonist of Rhine. Headstrong and passionate, you couldn’t ask for a lot more from her. Also, the book covers are really captivating, with items from the plot appearing there just to tease you.

If you haven’t read The Chemical Garden trilogy and need some well-written YA dystopian, definitely check the books out.

Must Listen

From Gold by Novo Amor is an atmospheric song I’m really liking at the moment. The rest of their stuff is pretty good and chilled out so give them a listen.

Must See

I watched In the Heart of the Sea on the plane back from New York. I didn’t have mega high expectations but it looked like some good escapism; plus I wanted to save films like The Revenant and Hateful Eight (I worship Quentin Tarantino) for a proper television screen.

But, I was pleasantly surprised! Based on the classic Moby Dick, it was really gripping and quite traumatic. The acting was brilliant, but then how could it not be with actors like Cillian Murphy and Ben Whishaw? Chris Hemsworth was good as always, but if you’re planning on ogling his muscles, think again; he’s not looking too brilliant after the inevitable whale attack…

I’ve never read Moby Dick and I know it’s supposed to be a bit of a difficult read, but after watching this film and it getting recommended by my ‘Great American Novella’ course seminar leader, I might give it a go.

And that’s my Monday Musts for this week! Have you read The Chemical Garden? Or, better yet, have you read Moby Dick? Let me know what you thought in the comments!