My Favorite Movie Adaptations

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic over at The Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations. I was afraid at first that I wouldn't have enough favorites, but I wound up with way too many. I did my best to narrow it down.

MY FAVORITE ADAPTATIONS

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy



This speaks for itself. If you haven't read the books, they are as beautiful as the movies. Usually the film makers have to add witty dialogue and perfect the timing for the screen. The best lines from the movies are taken straight from Tolkien. This is suddenly turning into a book promo.. you need to read LOTR.

Jurassic Park



I watched Jurassic Park before I read the book. I can guarantee you that made a huge difference in my love of the adaptation. My husband did the right thing and read the book first, but now too many things grate on his nerves about the movie. I simply don't have that problem.

The Firm



I loved reading The Firm, and I was psyched when it came to the theater. Tom Cruise was cast as Mitchell McDeere which was fantastic. The ending to the movie was entirely different than the book, but it really worked. The only change I wasn't happy with was his car. Two other Tom Cruise movies almost made this list, too: The Interview with the Vampire and The War of the Worlds. I know I'm flawed, but you'll learn to love me.

Stephen King



If I were to count all of my favorite Stephen King adaptations, it would take up the rest of this post. Instead, I'm just going to count "Stephen King" as one and post some of my favorite Stephen King movie adaptations. I'm certain I missed some.



The Hunger Games



Right? I imagine I will see this on a million lists today. I hope Lions Gate will do as much justice to the upcoming release of Divergent as they did to The Hunger Games.

Phantoms



If you haven't read Phantoms by Dean Koontz, do it. It's one of my favorite books. The movie was a little goofy, but I loved it anyways. It stars Mr. Ben Affleck and Rose McGowan.

Harry Potter



This list is in no particular order.

Where the Red Fern Grows



This movie is as equally tear jerking as the book. I ugly cry for days. This movie was my grandfather's favorite movie of all time. It has a solid spot on my list.

The Last Man on Earth



Out of all of the I Am Legend adaptations, The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price is my favorite. I do enjoy the latest adaptation starring Will Smith, but the ending to the book I Am Legend is one of my favorite endings and The Last Man on Earth captures it the best.

THE WORST ADAPTATIONS

I had a list of worst movies, too, because I wasn't sure which direction I was going to take my post. Here are my top three worst movie adaptations:

Relic



Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is a fantastic book. I cannot say the same about the movie. Like Jurassic Park, I saw the movie before I read the book. I'm a huge fan of Adventures in Babysitting. Do you remember Brenda? The girl who ran away from home instead of spiking her mother's Tab with Drano? Penelope Ann Miller. She stared in Relic so it was a must see for me back in the day. Wow, that movie sucked.

I Am Number Four



I loooove the Lorien Legacies series. I wish beyond comprehension that Hollywood had waited before doing an I Am Number Four movie. The movie sucked so hard core, and now they will never make another one.

Left Behind



The Left Behind books should have made for awesome movies. Instead we got a couple of movies that are barely fit for TV.

ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE ADAPTATIONSS THAT I'VE NEVER READ

I can't stop myself. Some of my very all time favorite movies were based on books, but I've never read them!

The Princess Bride



Holy hell is this movie quotable. If you put two Princess Bride fans in the same room together, the quotes could go on for hours. Trust me.

The Neverending Story



I love The Neverending Story so hard core. I am waaaiting for the day my kids are old enough to watch it. I've debated for a long time whether I should read the book or not. I'm still undecided. (Have you read it?) For one thing, I don't want to find out what on earth Bastian is shouting out the window. If you know the princess's name, don't tell me. It's probably my most favorite mystery.

Do you have any favorite film adaptations? Do you agree with mine or did you hate some of my favorites?  Do you have any favorite movies you still haven't read?