Books Vs. Movies - Part 3 (update)

I've finished the 2nd book, Catching Fire and halfway through Mockingjay, the 3rd book and past where the 3rd movie ends and the 4th movie begins.  The books are really good, with lots of action but really sappy, which makes them hard to put down to write my reviews so I guess I'll do them all when I've finished the book series.  I get compulsive and just keep going sometimes and don't want to stop what I'm doing to do what I should be doing.  But it's really not like anybody is really reading this.  If anybody does, then thank you.

Book vs. Movies, Part 3 (1st in a Series of 6)

The Hunger Games

Most everybody has seen the movies and probably a quarter of those that have seen it, if not lower have read the books. I've read them once (and the 1st 2 books twice) and now I plan to read them again.

It's funny how things trigger your mind.  I walked into a room where my wife was watching TV and the 1st Hunger Games movie was on and it reminded me of how much a fan I was of the movies and of Suzanne Collins trilogy.  To me, this was the first really successful adaptation of a modern YA book to movie.  I could never get into the Twilight series, it just seemed over-acted.  I think the movies stayed true to the books, with a little deviation and were very entertaining.  A great list of actors was on this movie project and some were big names, like Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Stanley Tucci, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. It made the career of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth.  When I read the books I see the actors acting out what you are reading, adding faces to the words.  The movies had great CGI, bringing life to the books and color to the scenes.  At this time Wikipedia has The Hunger Games Listed as the 20th highest-grossing film series of all time.  All four movies won major awards in various categories.  

What I will be doing is just a comparison and probably not any real review because you can find them all over IMDB and Goodreads and my favorite site, Booklikes.

So in this post, I'll just list the movies and link them over to Wikipedia.  Descriptions are plagiarized from Wikipedia The Hunger Games Film Series site, also.

The Hunger Games (2012)

Every year, in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its 12 districts to send a teenage boy and girl, between the ages of 12 and 18, to compete in the Hunger Games: a nationally televised event in which 'tributes' fight each other within an arena, until one survivor remains. When Primrose Everdeen is 'reaped', her older sister Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her place to enter the games and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts when she's pitted against highly-trained tributes.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Along with fellow District 12 victor Peeta Mellark, Katniss Everdeen returns home safely after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Winning means that they must leave their loved ones behind and embark on a Victory Tour throughout the districts. Along the way Katniss senses a rebellion simmering - one that she and Peeta may have sparked - but the Capitol is still in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Hunger Games - the Quarter Quell - that could change Panem forever.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)

Katniss Everdeen finds herself in District 13 after she destroys the games forever. Under the leadership of President Alma Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta, along with other victors and a nation moved by her courage.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)

Realizing the stakes are no longer just for survival, Katniss Everdeen teams up with her closest friends and allies, including Peeta, Gale, and Finnick, for the ultimate mission. Together, they leave District 13 to liberate the citizens of war-torn Panem and assassinate President Snow.

So pick up your reader and download the books with your Kindle Unlimited account, which at this time is free to borrow and enjoy your read.  The books are written in a simple YA style, easy to read and since they are YA they are written for teens but us adults can enjoy them too.

Books vs Movies, Part 2

Vs.

Mortal Engines the book is written by Philip Reeve is a pretty good book. I've read the first and look forward to the next three.  These are YA books so they are simply written, easy to read and even though there is a lot of war and the carnage of cities eating cities the gore is left out.  Hester is shy about her looks and keeps her face hidden or rarely holds her head so Tom can see her scars.  Katherine Valentine and Bevis Pod really should have been used way more in the movie since they had really big parts in the outcome of the book.

Mortal Engines the movie has Peter Jackson attached to the producer's names and a couple of big names like Hugo Weaving and Colin Salmon along with a cast probably more well known in England than here in the USA.
The movie starts out kinda sorta like the book but then the direction of the movie takes a turn and becomes just a movie with really good CG and turns it into something that comes up with the same ending.  Characters like Pod are dropped are dropped into nothingness, deaths are changed and to me, Valentine's part is changed probably just because of having Weaving attached to the project. The actors also appeared to be older than I pictured them in the book.  You would really think that with Jackson's name so prominent on the movie poster the movie would at least tried to be closer to the book.

I think the best thing captured from the book is the CGI.  The cities and airships really came out looking like what I imagined in the book.  The CGI was realistic and didn't come out like a 2D cartoon in so many movies out recently.  The movie makers seem to think they have to change the story to make an eight-hour book into a two-hour movie.  Maybe a screenplay can't be done that way and that's why so many movies based on books just don't make it.  Or is it the people that write a screenplay think they know more than about the book than the book author.

Variety states that Mortal Engines lost more than 100 million dollars and Peter Jackson was hoping to turn 'Mortal Engines' into a new fantasy movie franchise.  In his defense, the YA fantasy franchises just aren't working.  Maybe the people making these movies are trying to hard and should stay closer to the books.

In all honesty, I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't just read the book.  The IMDB rating is at 6.3 at this time and can change direction after the DVD and on-demand releases.  Which way is the question.

Books vs Movies

VS

I know this is kinda off subject but I just watched 'The Girl in the Spiders Web' and I don't remember the book being anything like the movie, just the movie was blah.  Nothing except a different world and nothing like the book.  The Jack Reacher movies I can live with like they are a Jack Reacher from another dimension, just a foot shorter. I realize why it's done but why are some just so inferior? 

Now I gotta read that book again.  It's not like I have a hundred other books I want to read or re-read.