Books to Movies: Angels and Demons
Basic info. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown was released in 2000. The movie came out in 2009, a couple of years after The Da Vinci Code came out. The movie brought back Tom Hanks and also starred Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, and Stellan Skarsgard.What’s the story? Renowned cryptologist Robert Langdon is called to decipher a mysterious symbol that was branded on the chest of a physicist murdered inside a research facility. He discovers that the symbol points to an ancient underground brotherhood called the Illuminati. It seems the secret organization has surfaced to do some damage to their supposed adversary, which is the Catholic Church. To make things even worse, someone planted a bomb somewhere in the Vatican, where cardinals of the world are gathered to choose a new pope.Which one did I experience first? I saw the movie first and later on I decided to read the book so, you know, I’ll know the real basis for the movie. By that time, The Da Vinci Code was already out for two years and everyone already knew the Robert Langdon character, and I think everyone was just curious about the ‘new’ Dan Brown book-based movie. So you know, me included. I wanted in on the bandwagon. Hah.
Books to Movies: The Da Vinci Code
The basic info. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown was published in 2003 and became a bestseller all over the globe. Of course they decided to make a movie out of it. The movie came out in 2006 and starred Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Paul Bettany, Jean Reno, Ian McKellan, and Alfred Molina.
What’s the story? Robert Langdon, a symbologist, gets called to the scene of the murder of the curator of the Louvre. The curator left a clue that led to more clues found in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. With the help of French cryptologist Sophie Neveu, Robert discovers that the curator was part of a secret society dedicated to protecting a religious relic. Robert and Sophie follow the clues while trying to evade an unknown danger that seems hell bent on getting their hands on whatever it is the secret society is protecting.
Which one did I experience first? I read the book first and it was during the time when it was already very popular and everyone was mostly raving about it.
Books to Movies: Pride and Prejudice
The basic info. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was first published in 1813 and is one of the most well-loved classics. There have been several films and TV series made based on the book. In this post, I’ll be talking about the only adaptation I’ve seen (so far) and that’s the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.
What’s the story? The description on Goodreads calls this a “comedy of manners” and it really is since it’s a witty and satirical novel about life in a society of different classes back in the day. The story revolves around a young independent woman, Elizabeth, her four sisters Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lydia, and the men who enter their lives, most notably Mr. Darcy and his best buddy Mr. Bingley.
Which one did I experience first? I saw the movie first on DVD and since then it’s been on my list of go-to movies. During the time when I was just starting out as a freelancer, I would watch this movie over and over. I just liked having it on while I worked on my laptop. It was also around that time when I decided that I should read the book (and I did, of course).
31 Days of Books to Movies
I like books and I like movies and I’m not one to make a big fuss when books are made into movies. I like seeing the differences between a book and its film adaptation. Sometimes I like the book more and sometimes I like the movie version more. It’s not that big of a deal for me when a movie (or the book for that matter) fails miserably to meet expectations. Sure, I get disappointed but I try to be cool and be all “my hair don’t care” about it. Honestly, it’s much easier to move on from a bad movie than when a movie turns out to be just as epic (or more) than the book or the other way around! Now, epic things like that stay with me for a long time. You know what I mean. ;)
So, for the next 31 Days, it’s all going to be about books and their movie adaptations. Every. Single. Day. Hopefully. That’s the plan. I hope I don’t miss a day. Yayyyy..
Books to Movies: Safe Haven
First, the basic info. The book Safe Haven was written by author Nicholas Sparks. The movie came out in 2013 and starred Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough, Cobie Smulders, and David Lyons.
What’s the story? A woman on the run finds herself in a small town and decides to stay a while. She finds a place to stay, gets a job as a waitress, and meets some of the townsfolk – including a tall handsome store owner and his two kids. Things seem to go pretty well until her past catches up with her.
Which one did I experience first? The movie, which I watched in the cinema with my sister. I didn’t even bother asking Carpet Head if he wanted to watch it with me. When I told him I was going out with my sister to watch it, he was just like, “Meh, okay. Have fun.” LOL.
Music Monday: Bullet Dumas
Man, I had this post drafted up months ago, but didn’t have (or make) time to finish it. Well, lookie, it’s finally up. So, have I told you about this guy yet? Wait, I did. I wrote about this guy back in 2012 right after I saw him perform live for the first time. Well, guess what?…
A letter from May 27th 2012
So just got an email from myself from May of last year via futureme.org. I completely forgot about writing this letter and it just made me smile right now. Here is what the Me in May 2012 had to say to the Me today.
Well, well. I sent this around the time when I was just starting out with the whole freelance thing. I love that I was so positive and eager! Looking at the five points mentioned in my letter, I assess my current score to be about 2.5 out of those five. I don’t feel so bad about that though.
Rambling about Iron Man 3
I know, the movie’s been out for a while, but I had to post something movie-related again.
Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark a.k.a Iron Man NEVER. GETS. OLD.
Boom. That’s it. That’s my review of Iron Man 3 right there.
Right, so maybe I should say more. Okay, this is going to be very ‘rambly’ and probably chock-full of punctuation errors (em dash spree!) and ditzy expressions, so brace yourselves. No spoilers though, so no worries. You’ve seen the trailer, right?
So, the movie was pretty great. I think most people agree with that. Even those who haven’t seen it yet will agree to that. It was entertaining and funny and full of Robert Downey, Jr. goodness. If you didn’t like the movie, I don’t know, maybe it’s not your thing, that’s fine. Anyway, it was great, but I would just like to mention three things that always amazes me to bits everytime an Iron Man movie comes out.