Rebecca's Top Ten Book to Movie Adaptations

Taking a book and creating a screenplay out of it is hit or miss. Either they are going to get everything right, capture the essence of the book, or they are just going to totally blow it. I love it when the movies get it right and a wonderful book turns into a great movie. Really, they are the only types of movies I enjoy watching.

So here are my top ten books to movies!

10. Twilight (2008)

I know. It’s Twilight. A terrible book that promotes bad relationships and weird worship love while still in high school. And yes, Kristen Stewert’s lack of emotion, yada yada yada. I hear you. I understand you probably hate the book, movie, or both. But you can’t deny that the casting was pretty much on point for this movie. Nor can you dismiss that the feel of the movie was almost the exact same as the book. For all of the flaws, it was a good book to movie transition.

9. The Great Gatsby (2013)

What a fun, flashy, fantastical movie. However, from book to screen, it just didn’t do it for me. If you’re going to make a period piece, use period music. That’s pretty simple. The acting seemed forced (of course Leo was flawless), and even without reading the book it was predictable. But hey, it was fun wasn’t it Old Sport?

8. Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

If you haven’t read this book, you should. If you haven’t seen this movie, you need to. Both are wonderful on their own, and together they make an okay pair. The fear of the prisoners is damped in the movies, and the father comes across as less harsh. The ending is not what you’d expect if you read the book, as the book goes a bit farther, but if you just watch the movie, it’s okay.

7. Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Props must be given where props are due. This two and a half hour long movie gave us everything we could want from Jane Austen’s world. The costumes, the houses, the props- beautiful and period correct. The acting was sometimes stiff, but hey, they were portraying people from a time where everything was proper.

6. The Maze Runner (2014)

This movie had it all. The action, the characters, the story. My only challenges were with the lack of esp, the grievers didn’t look like how the book described, and the escape. But hey, they got a ton of the content in and made it seem super real and plausible. All of the male actors were perfect, and the script seemed to come straight from the book. The main beef with this movie is that it is two and a half hours long. That could have been two movies, and more detailed.

5. The Hunger Games (2012)

While this book to movie adaptation was pretty spot on, there were some really big issues. The biggest one of all was that we went through an entire movie without ever learning Effie’s name! Who does that? She’s a main character who was never named in the first movie! The whole Peeta-Katniss-Gale love triangle also just seemed so forced. We get it, she’s torn between the two, and doesn’t know who to love. You don’t have to shove it on us. Over all it was a beautifully shot movie, with great effects. It was just mid rung for me.

4. Beautiful Creatures (2013)

This movie follows the book so closely, that when I watched it, it felt like deja vue. Every detail, down to the over done southern accents is exactly as you’d picture it as you read the book. There are a few differences involving the locket, but all in all, beautiful movie. And the effects? Seamless.

3. Divergent (2014)

Oh man. Divergent. This is a great book to movie adaptation. It brought everything it could from the book and didn’t disappoint. All of the little details were there, and the world looks just as you think it should. The actors capture their book characters wonderfully and portray them as if they had lived those lives.

2. The Harry Potter Series (2001-2011)

I lumped them together, because let’s be real had I not, there’d be eight slots taken up just by this series. The movies took our dearly beloved books and breathed new life into them. Sure there were a few details left out, but with so much in the books, it’s forgivable. Casting was perfect, the effects were wonderful, and the scenes were beautiful. This is one of the few series that holds up over the course of time and one can never tire of watching them.

1. The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

This book of John Green’s made a flawless transition to the silver screen. That probably is because Green was heavily involved in the screenplay, was almost always on set, and was so enthusiastic about it that the cast and crew wanted nothing more than to make this the best movie possible. The movie was brilliantly executed, and it was completely believable acting wise.

Do you agree? Disagree? Tell us your top books to movies in the comments below!