This past weekend I went with my best friend to see Annihilation. Directed by Alex Garland and starring Natalie Portman, this sci-film film is based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. I’ve been curious about the book for some time, but decided this would be one of those cases where I saw the movie first. The story is about a place cut off by a mysterious biological hazard and the group of female scientists sent out to investigate it. Overall, I really enjoyed it as it has some very disturbing scenes along with a few twists.
My bestie informed me later that the movie’s ending is very different from the book, which is actually a trilogy. Sometimes people avoid seeing the movie before reading the book for fear that the screen adaptation cannot possibly live up to the original work. In the case of Annihilation, it made me want to read the books even more. So I thought it might be fun to explore some of my best (and worst) experiences with films adapted from popular books.
It
The Dark Tower
This one was not quite as spectacular of a King adaptation, but I still found a lot to like in this little movie. The trick to enjoying this one is to just not think about the books and treat the movie as its own entity. I particularly loved Idris Elba as Roland, and I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t totally hate the performance by Matthew McConaughey. It was a nice little piece of sci-fi that could never capture the grandeur of the books. Read my full review here.
Murder on the Orient Express
I must confess that I went and saw this one without having read the book. In this case, I think that’s a good thing. Wow, what an amazing corker of an ending to finish off a great film with an unbelievable cast! I’ve only read one novel by Agatha Christie, and I wonder if I had read this one if the ending would have held as much impact. My plan is to read the book later this year to see if I can spot clues along the way. I highly recommend this film!
The Hunger Games
I’ve read the trilogy, but at this point have only seen the first movie. Yes, I’ve heard the rest are quite high in awesomeness. For Hunger Games, I feel I enjoyed the book and film equally. Don’t worry Jennifer Lawrence. I will watch the other ones soon.