My Favorite Books Turned into Movies…with @meganslayer #movies #books #meganslayer

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This week’s post is about my favorite book and how I’d cast it.

I’m not going to lie. This one is hard. Many of my favorite books have already been made into movies and the casting was spot on. No kidding. To Kill a Mockingbird couldn’t have been cast any better. I mean Gregory Peck IS Atticus Finch. Or how about Shoeless Joe. I can’t imagine anyone else besides Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella or Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe. They just fit the parts. I can’t see anyone besides Jack Nicholson as Jack in The Shining.

So I’m trying to decide what book I loved that would have made into a movie…. Hmmm…

I can think of at least one that was cast beautifully, but wasn’t a movie I would’ve made. For one, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I finally read the short story. I like Capote, but I really didn’t like Holly in the story. I liked her fine enough in the movie, but how can you not like Audrey Hepburn?

Then there’s Doctor Sleep. I loved the book. I did. I liked the Shining, too. But I don’t think Ewan McGregor was the right casting for Jack’s son. I didn’t see him as an older version of Danny. I also didn’t like the dirty old man slant to him. I got more of a vibe that he was broken, but strong. The movie made him out to be more broken and dilapidated – IMHO.

But this is about my favorite book and how I’d cast it. I’m honestly not sure. I like envisioning the characters in my head, rather than seeing how a casting director fills the role. I’d rather leave it to my imagination.

Then what are some of my favorite books? Besides the ones listed above?

• Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
• Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
• Old Possom’s Book of Practical Cats by TS Eliot
• A Time to Kill by John Grisham
• The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Notice these have already been made into movies? Yep. I would suggest skipping the film version of Cats because it was just…yuck. The Broadway performances are better.

I struggled with this one. What about you? What would you suggest for a favorite book that should be made into a movie? You have to have a better idea than I did. I’m all ears.

Thursday Flix with @meganslayer ~ Shrill #TV #hulu #originals

I realize this isn’t a movie and is a tv show. I know that. I also know that it felt like a movie played in bits – as in the chunks of episodes I watched since I couldn’t binge all at once. Shrill is its own animal. I don’t say that in a mean or nasty way. I mean it’s original. Annie is a big girl trying to shed all of the rotten big girl wrinkles in the carpet. Big is also in the eye of the beholder – one woman might see a size 2 woman as big where as someone who is size 20 might not think they’re big – but all women have to deal with the wrinkles in the carpet. We never feel good enough, we jump to conclusions that make us believe we’re unworthy, we try to be more no matter what. That’s what I liked about this show. Annie is trying. She can be a bully and take no prisoners one minute, then capitulate to her dirt bag boyfriend at other times. I liked how she grew through the story. I wish the ending hadn’t felt so…clunky and abrupt, but that’s life. Check it out.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8962130/

A woman seeks out ways to change her life without changing her body.

Thursday Flicks with @meganslayer ~ Hemingway: a film by Ken Burns #movies

I had high hopes when I saw this would be on PBS. I love the films of Ken Burns and didn’t know much about Hemingway, so I thought this would be a great introduction to the author. Sadly, I didn’t get past the second episode. I’m all for the first episode because it taught me about the author, but the second one featured too much death and the killing of animals. I understand that’s what made him who he was, but it didn’t have to be so violent or stomach churning. Sorry. I couldn’t stomach it. Maybe someone else can, but not me.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13129360/

Explore the painstaking process through which Hemingway created some of the most important works of fiction in American letters.

Thursday Flicks with @meganslayer ~ Mutiny on the Bounty #clarkgable

I watched this while waiting on my Dh to have a procedure done at the hospital. I hadn’t seen it before and never read the book, so I was a little lost at first, but I did enjoy the movie. It’s definitely dated, but it’s interesting as a period piece. Gable was good, but slightly odd as Fletcher Christian. I did enjoy Franchot Tone. I wish he’d have been used more. Still, worth at least one watch.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026752/

First mate Fletcher Christian leads a revolt against his sadistic commander, Captain Bligh, in this classic seafaring adventure, based on the real-life 1788 mutiny.

Thursday Flicks with @meganslayer ~ Young Frankenstein #movies #laughter #youngfrankenstein

I love Mel Brooks’ sense of humor. It’s divisive and naughty, but always smart. This movie, co-written with Gene Wilder, is no exception. There are the obligatory naughty jokes, but there is a sense of heart and intelligence to this story, too. I love the scene where he gets the monster to dance on stage. It always makes me smile. This is one movie guaranteed to make me happy when I’m down.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/

An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.

Thursday Flicks with @meganslayer ~ Love Potion, No. 9 #movie #review #moviereview

The swan aspect of this story is cute. Sandra Bullock’s character is the ultimate swan. Once she gets the right clothes and a little help with makeup, she’s a knockout. But she’s fallible. She gets a little too high on the attention. Then she ends up being romanced by the ex who is a total sleeze. I’ll admit it. The best part of this movie was Tate Donovan and his clueless, hapless, but means well character. I wasn’t a fan of Sandra Bullock’s character in that she started out being relatable (who hasn’t wanted to look better or wanted a little help when it comes to being savvy in public?), but she lets it go to her head a bit fast. I liked the romance aspect the best when she and Donovan are together. It’s a cute movie and should be watched at least once.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102343

Two scientists who are hopeless with the opposite sex experiment with a substance that makes them irresistible to anyone who hears them speak.

Thursday Flicks with @meganslayer ~ Someone Like You #Movie #Review #meganslayer

I have to start with this movie is cute, but it’s not super memorable. Thankfully, Hugh Jackman saves the film. Honestly, I didn’t like Ashley Judd’s character very much. She got so into her own head about men and what was wrong with her that it got annoying, BUT it’s relatable. She wants to find love and thinks she does, then realizes she’s been used. It happens. It’s so normal. But some of the ways she handles things is aggravating. There is a very 2000s feel to the movie. Her hairstyle is the obligatory cute girl cut of the era. But it worked. I liked the movie. It is cute. Greg Kinnear is good as the jerk and I liked the reformed jerk in Hugh Jackman. Check it out.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244970/

After being jilted by her boyfriend, a talk show talent scout writes a column on the relationship habits of men which gains her national fame.

Thursday Flicks with @meganslayer ~ The Legend of Tarzan #movies #moviereview

I wanted to like this movie. I did. I wanted to say this was the best action-filled movie I’ve seen in a long time. It’s got action, but it’s sort of labored. It’s long and slow moving in parts. The CGI is pretty cool, but it didn’t keep my interest. Maybe this will be a great movie to others, but for me, it was meh.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918940/

Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.

Thursday Flicks with @meganslayer ~ Reign Over Me #movies #reviews

I like movies where comedians show they’re ready for dramatic roles, but I had a hard time with this movie. I couldn’t get into the almost Bob Dylan-esque way Adam Sandler played his character. I get that he was traumatized and he might have had some other issues, but the violence he leapt to so fast was too much. I wanted him to warm to Don Cheadle’s character and reconnect, not hit him. Maybe this movie is for some people, but it wasn’t for me.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490204/

A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.

Thursday Flicks with @meganslayer ~ RIPD #movies #review #suggestions

I can’t lie. I picked this up because of Ryan Reynolds. I rather like watching him in films and thought this one might be fun. It’s interesting, but sad and funny at times. I understood Nick (Reynolds) being upset, being he’s just been killed. I liked the idea that they come back and help the living by getting rid of the riffraff dead (monsters), but I wasn’t a fan of him having to die in the first place. Not in the way it happened. The special effects are a tad dated (it was made in 2013, so it should be a bit dated), but it’s a good enough view. Check it out.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790736/

A recently slain cop joins a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department and tries to find the man who murdered him.