Making a great book into a movie is often the kiss of death. Fans of the book criticize the movie to no end, critics shame the director for fouling such a work of art, etc, etc. Everyone and everything surrounding a book-to-movie production seems very, well, dramatic. And unsuccessful. However, there are a few movies out there that got it all right, enhancing the book and even telling the story even better than the book itself.

And this is coming from a self-proclaimed reading snob.

I’ve created a list of my top 4 books made into movies. Granted, I have not seen every movie ever made that is based on a book, but I think I have a pretty good base to choose from. Let me know if you agree or add your own to the list

#4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy

I know that I’m probably going to get flack for this one from the hard-core fans, but making “The Lord of the Rings” novels into movies was not only one of the best financial decisions ever made (raking in a cool BILLION on ticket sales and rentals alone), but also a smart pop culture move. Before the movies, the books and whole “culture” of LOTR were fairly underground; some people read the books in school, but other than that, they weren’t terribly popular. And I’d like to think I know why.

I tried to read the books. I barely got through the first one and had to give up. I’m not a detail person so I found several pages describing the movement of grass in a valley to be WAY too much. But then I saw the movie – which obviously eliminated all that need for boring description – and it. was. awesome. The story, the drama, the imagination that went into coming up with all those characters and details. Good move with the movie, LOTR people. A good move, indeed. Read More »

Remember that weird day in December, 2001 when pretty famous actress Winona Ryder was arrested for grand theft and drug possession?

It’s okay if you don’t. It certainly wasn’t the biggest incident of that year. Still, the event garnered a lot of press, a lot of speculation, and no answer from Ryder.

Today, she’s breaking her silence.

Sorta.

Winona told People magazine recently that she didn’t “have [a] tremendous sense of guilt” about stealing a little less than $5,000 from Saks in Beverly Hills because she didn’t “hurt anyone.” She goes on to say that during the whole courtroom drama, she consciously stopped herself from making a statement and “just waited for it to be over”.

As to the reason behind her behavior, Ryder claims “Two months prior to [the arrest], I broke my arm in two places, and the doctor, a sort of quack doctor, was giving me a lot of stuff and I was taking it at first to get through the pain. And then there was this weird point when you don’t know if you are in pain but you’re taking it.” Read More »

Breaking up sucks, so you might as well get a good story out of it. None of this civil shit — I want tears in the eyes, blood on the walls, buttons off the shirts.

Unfortunately, most of my breakups have been rather tame. I keep my grudges to myself. Depending on the magnitude of the schism, I cope by going the patented Jennifer Aniston route (yoga, weed, Smart Water) or taking a ride on the pie highway to drown my sorrows. Either way, slander and slaughter are kept to a minimum; the only victim is me.

So, I don’t really understand crazy, dramatic breakups, but that doesn’t mean I can’t revel in them (read: laugh at) when they happen, especially in Brad-and-Jen Land. There are the sad ones, like Reese and Ryan and Jake and Kirsten which leave you a little deflated but ultimately make you feel better about yourself — because if they can’t make it work, who can? Read More »