mjmooney Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 Watched Life of Pi on sky movies. Good movie and I'll recommend it. Some parts will leave you thinking wtf but the story between the boy and the tiger is brilliant. Refuse to watch this, I hate ruining a good book! Surely the book and the movie are their own thing? One doesn't really have anything to do with the other. A bad movie doesn't change the book. No, but it will contain plot spoilers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 18, 2013 Moderator Share Posted November 18, 2013 I assume he has read the book, hence he thinks it's a good book. Me, I'm curious as to how good the film is. It's on my list (read - it's saved on my Sky box). I'm liking the look of Gangster Squad at the moment. I got half an hour into it and then the sports took over (well it was Sunday evening). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 I thought Life of Pi (the movie) was utter bobbins, didn't enjoy it at all. Decent enough book though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 I assume he has read the book, hence he thinks it's a good book. Me, I'm curious as to how good the film is. It's on my list (read - it's saved on my Sky box). I'm liking the look of Gangster Squad at the moment. I got half an hour into it and then the sports took over (well it was Sunday evening). Case in point. The Gangster Squad book was a good read - showed its origins as a series of magazine articles, but it was informative and fascinating to someone like me, who's interested in the whole 40s/50s LA crime/police genre (i.e. James Ellroy fans). The film looks fantastic - the whole LA Noir thing present and correct. But for me it failed in every other respect. I didn't like the casting (the real Mickey Cohen looked more like Danny DeVito than Sean Penn!), the acting, or the screenplay. And, having read the book, I know it completely messed with the facts - and there was no need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 18, 2013 Moderator Share Posted November 18, 2013 the real Mickey Cohen looked more like Danny DeVitoTrue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 Watched Life of Pi on sky movies. Good movie and I'll recommend it. Some parts will leave you thinking wtf but the story between the boy and the tiger is brilliant. Refuse to watch this, I hate ruining a good book! Surely the book and the movie are their own thing? One doesn't really have anything to do with the other. A bad movie doesn't change the book. It does to an extent. If I do 'the double' and I try to remember a part of the story it is inevitably the film that comes back strongest. For instance in LOTRs I cant remember any of the parts of the book that are not in the film. I assume he has read the book, hence he thinks it's a good book. Me, I'm curious as to how good the film is. It's on my list (read - it's saved on my Sky box). I'm liking the look of Gangster Squad at the moment. I got half an hour into it and then the sports took over (well it was Sunday evening). Yep, read it and thought it was a great read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 18, 2013 Moderator Share Posted November 18, 2013 I assume he has read the book, hence he thinks it's a good book. Me, I'm curious as to how good the film is. It's on my list (read - it's saved on my Sky box). I'm liking the look of Gangster Squad at the moment. I got half an hour into it and then the sports took over (well it was Sunday evening). Case in point. The Gangster Squad book was a good read - showed its origins as a series of magazine articles, but it was informative and fascinating to someone like me, who's interested in the whole 40s/50s LA crime/police genre (i.e. James Ellroy fans).As someone who hasn't read the book and isn't a particular fan of that genre or era, I'll be able to watch the film objectively and as a standalone entity. Hopefully I'll enjoy it more than you did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 I assume he has read the book, hence he thinks it's a good book. Me, I'm curious as to how good the film is. It's on my list (read - it's saved on my Sky box). I'm liking the look of Gangster Squad at the moment. I got half an hour into it and then the sports took over (well it was Sunday evening). Case in point. The Gangster Squad book was a good read - showed its origins as a series of magazine articles, but it was informative and fascinating to someone like me, who's interested in the whole 40s/50s LA crime/police genre (i.e. James Ellroy fans). The film looks fantastic - the whole LA Noir thing present and correct. But for me it failed in every other respect. I didn't like the casting (the real Mickey Cohen looked more like Danny DeVito than Sean Penn!), the acting, or the screenplay. And, having read the book, I know it completely messed with the facts - and there was no need to. The beach is another example where the film destroyed the book for me. I cant remember the book without DiCaprios face appearing; He was not the Richard I had envisaged and had built the entire book around...if that makes any sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 18, 2013 Moderator Share Posted November 18, 2013 That's an interesting tangent.I don't think I could read a book after having watched the film. It's always the other way around. Actually now that I say that, I did retrospectively read Jurassic Park and I thoroughly enjoyed it too. It also depends very much on whether the film was based on the book or t'other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 I assume he has read the book, hence he thinks it's a good book. Me, I'm curious as to how good the film is. It's on my list (read - it's saved on my Sky box). I'm liking the look of Gangster Squad at the moment. I got half an hour into it and then the sports took over (well it was Sunday evening). Case in point. The Gangster Squad book was a good read - showed its origins as a series of magazine articles, but it was informative and fascinating to someone like me, who's interested in the whole 40s/50s LA crime/police genre (i.e. James Ellroy fans). As someone who hasn't read the book and isn't a particular fan of that genre or era, I'll be able to watch the film objectively and as a standalone entity. Hopefully I'll enjoy it more than you did! Gangster Squad is completely fine if you take it for what it is - it was always intended to be a fairly lightweight pulpy bit of entertainment and little more. Unfortunately the genre is one that has... certain expectations of it that means the audience goes in with baggage, in part the films fault as it hints towards being something more worthy more than once and also a fault of that look the film has - you end up watching it as almost a parody at times, but then you realise they were never going for anything other than a pulp actioner that just so happens to be set against that backdrop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Yeah, it is hard to return to the book after you've seen the film, which is why I try to read the book first, and if it is good enough I probably won't bother seeing the film e.g. 'Never Let Me Go' or 'Remains of the Day', both work perfectly as books so I've no intention to watch the films, however good they may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 I assume he has read the book, hence he thinks it's a good book. Me, I'm curious as to how good the film is. It's on my list (read - it's saved on my Sky box). I'm liking the look of Gangster Squad at the moment. I got half an hour into it and then the sports took over (well it was Sunday evening). Case in point. The Gangster Squad book was a good read - showed its origins as a series of magazine articles, but it was informative and fascinating to someone like me, who's interested in the whole 40s/50s LA crime/police genre (i.e. James Ellroy fans). As someone who hasn't read the book and isn't a particular fan of that genre or era, I'll be able to watch the film objectively and as a standalone entity. Hopefully I'll enjoy it more than you did! Gangster Squad is completely fine if you take it for what it is - it was always intended to be a fairly lightweight pulpy bit of entertainment and little more. Unfortunately the genre is one that has... certain expectations of it that means the audience goes in with baggage, in part the films fault as it hints towards being something more worthy more than once and also a fault of that look the film has - you end up watching it as almost a parody at times, but then you realise they were never going for anything other than a pulp actioner that just so happens to be set against that backdrop. I think that's right. And it would have been better with a completely fictional plot, rather than using real characters' names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginko Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I read The Beach after I watched the film but became so engrossed in the book and how much better it was than the film (not that I didn't enjoy the film) that I soon forgot about it and stopped seeing DiCaprio's face. It helped, if I remember correctly, that the way Richard is described in the book is vastly different to what DiCaprio looks like in the film (at least initially), but I just got so much more into the book than the film. I agree with the point in general though, I prefer to read a book before watching the movie, but as I love books and movies equally, it's not always the best thing. I'm sure there are plenty of movies I would have enjoyed a lot more if I wasn't thinking throughout it, 'Damn, I can't believe they changed that! That's not how it happened in the book.' It happens all the time with me and Game of Thrones now. I get that some things just don't translate to screen well though, or that unfortunately the producers get way too involved and just turn something you love so much into something they think will sell. It's not preferable but it's business at the end of the day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) Is reading game of thrones much better than watching it then? (Because its pretty good on screen) Edited November 18, 2013 by Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginko Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) Depends what you're into really. I'd say yes, but if you're not massively into reading or much into dark fantasy fiction then perhaps not. I know that theoretically if you like the TV show you should enjoy the books, but they can be pretty heavy-going at times. I watched the first season before reading through all the books and personally found it difficult to keep up with who was who and where was where. The books help with that sort of things and are so much more detailed. The first season was pretty faithful to the first book, but since then there have been deviations here and there, some understandably so, others not so much. Most of the stuff that is changed or left out is done so because of the budget. Despite this, the TV show does a pretty damn good job. I don't think there will ever be a time where a production company will put forward a budget big enough to truly do A Song of Ice and Fire justice though. Edited November 18, 2013 by Ginko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) ...unless its Peter Jacksons next project, he could make it into 400 installments! Edited November 18, 2013 by Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted November 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2013 Is reading game of thrones much better than watching it then? (Because its pretty good on screen) I watched the first 2 series of Game of Thrones before picking up the Song of Ice and Fire books (the books that the series is based on). I've tried, and tried, but I simply cannot read them. Part of it is a dislike of GRR Martin's style, which I find pretty dull, but there is a significant part of me sat there going 'I know exactly what's happening here and theres 600 pages before anything particularly new is going to happen'. I don't know if I were able to shoot through the bits I already know and get onto the new stuff I'd find the books a revelation, but I'll never know it seems. It is odd - I can watch a film based on a book or comic and know exactly where everything is headed and thoroughly enjoy it. I regularly do it with comic book films because I know the story lines and I end up sat there with my mind running through all the stuff thats coming and waiting to either a) see how they translate it, or see how they change things and surprise me. I knew the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit like the back of my hand and watched those first time round with a kind of awe at seeing my imagination brought to life on screen. But I struggle to go the other way, and in fact I've found I struggle to read the book after watching the film - I used to read LOTR on an annual basis but I can't anymore, as the book seems almost tedious. I do think it depends on the source though. I adore Pratchett's books, I've read them all time and again, and while we've never had a movie made they did do some TV movies for Sky and I found that I could enjoy those adaptations and still return to the books unsullied. Saying that, if ever a proper big screen adaptation of the Discworld books, or perhaps worse Good Omens, came to pass I would be watching with baited breath... especially after Gilliam wanted to adapt Good Omens and shift it to America, where the fundamental character of the entire novel wouldn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginko Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Well, George R. R. Martin has said that various production companies have been trying for years to secure the movie rights to A Song of Ice and Fire but he didn't see how a 3 hour movie for each book could do them justice, and I think he's right. TV is the only way really, but even a ten episode season isn't enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Reading all this makes me wonder: Will they ever make a series of films or a TV-show based on The wheel of time? Anyone heard anything about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I am now very much looking forward to reading the count of monte cristo after having seen the french tv mini series with gerard depardieu. I know it will be a different experience and cerain characters from the book were marginalised in order to condense a version of the story but im ok with it. It's got me looking forward to reading the book earlier than I would have so it can go both ways i think ( i am aware of some of the changes they made so do expect a different experience ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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