Hello blogosphere!
Welcome to my new weekly feature: Films for Thought on Thursday.
It's a new once a week feature about, if the title didn't give it away, films! I love movies about as much as I love books. My DVD collection actually surpasses by book collection atm, 500+ of one and 700+ of the other. So it's probably about time that I made time to do a weekly film review or a post about movies once a week.
I am going to allow others to link up to this as well. So if you want to do or already review movies over at your blog than you can come link up once a week. I'd absolutely love to find more movies to watch and read your reviews.
This weeks movie review will be for:
I have to admit to loving a good Superhero movie; good being an important word there. I went into the second Captain America film a little bit sceptical, not sure that it was really going to deliver. I had enjoyed the first film a lot when I had seen it in the cinema, but not as much once I had seen it again on DVD. It was still an okay film, but I had seen better films in the franchise since. So I admit that I went into this film with low expectations and really hoping I wasn't left bored or disappointed. I was neither!
The film is set two years after the events of the first Avengers film and good old Captain America, aka Steve Rogers, is still working for S.H.I.E.L.D and still trying to get used to living in the 21st century. His latest mission for S.H.I.E.L.D leads him to one of their ships where the crew is being held hostage. Here he witnesses Black Widow stealing extracting files from the ships computers. This leads him to question what the mission was really for and what S.H.I.E.L.D was trying to accomplish. Whilst trying to figure out exactly what S.H.I.E.L.D is up to, Captain America finds himself going up against a deadly assassin, the Winter Solider.
I don't want to give too much of the plot away because I think less is more before you go to watch a film like this. I hadn't even seen a trailer for this one and it worked well for me as it left me with more surprises to enjoy. I am pleased to say that Captain America: The Winter Soldier might just be one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise so far. It really blew me away and I left the cinema wanting to go straight back in and watch it all over again.
The storyline was solid and I never once felt bored. The pacing was perfect and even though it had all the action scenes we have come to expect from these movies, it also had some great emotional moments and a ton of character development. It introduced some really brilliant new characters as well. The Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie, is a character that I had limited knowledge of going into this but I really enjoyed him. He provided a lot of laughs but also had the coolest suit, it made me super jealous and I wanted it. The Winter Solider was a truly genius bad guy, even if he did have awful hair! Seriously, the guy needs a hair cut, or maybe just a bath so he can wash it. Clearly being a kick-ass assassin means there is no time to worry if you have extremely greasy hair.
I don't read the comic books and so it means that I can't tell how well these movies stick to them, but frankly I don't care. This movie was a million times better than I expected and I absolutely loved it. It provided me with shocks and surprises. The storyline kept me guessing and I couldn't wait to see how it all worked out in the end. The film did feel really long, but I'm shocked nowadays if I go to a film and it isn't over two hours long. I can't wait to see what they come up with next for Captain America.
And now, thanks to the TWO awesome end teasers, I am even more exciting for Avengers 2 and the new characters that are about to be introduced. This is going to be epic.
5/5 Butterflies!
A great plot that kept me guessing and didn't once bore me. It had all the action you expect, mixed with emotional moments and a lot of character development. This wasn't heavy on the romantic love interest side and I liked that about it. It has me even more excited for Avengers 2. If you enjoyed Captain America you won't be disappointed, this is way better.
I have been meaning to take part in both of the following memes for a while now, so it's nice to finally be able to get them done. I will be taking part in Reading is Fun Again's Thoughtful Thursday Feature & Okay, Let's Read's Thursday Thoughts feature. This week I will just be using Okay, Let's Read's topic because I didn't have time to prepare for both.
Today's topic is:
Do you enjoy book to movie adaptations? Do you have any favourites? Does it make you mad when movies do not perfectly follow the book? Do you mind seeing the movie before reading the book?
I love Okay, Let's Read's topic today because it works so well with my movie theme. I adore book to movie adaptations, when they get it right. But, when they get it wrong then I am really disappointed and rage for quite a long time. A few favourite adaptations are:
Harry Potter brought the amazing world of Harry Potter to life. Although I will always prefer the books, the movies will always be special to me and I adore each and every one. The Lord of the Rings trilogy are three of my favourite movies of all time and proof that I don't mind NOT reading the book first. I still haven't read the books, I worry I won't love them anywhere near as much as I love those movies. The original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo adaptation is amazing and I prefer it to the Hollywood version. Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander is one of my favourite portrayals ever. The Road was a perfect adaptation to me, the book blew me away and so did the film - beautiful.
Life of Pi was just visually stunning and took my breath away. It captured the spirit of the book without being anywhere near as long winded or boring. The Perks of Being a Wallflower managed to do something that I thought was impossible and that was that is didn't suck. I was certain they couldn't make an adaptation of that spectacular book and not ruin it. Silver Linings Playbook surprised me because it was very different to the book and yet I still loved it. That showed me that I don't always need the movie to stick 100% to the book in all things. The Notebook is just an incredible romance film, I adore it. The Help... INCREDIBLE!
I don't always have to read the book before I go see the film, but that is rare. Lord of the Rings is one of the very few exceptions because most of the time I have to read the book first. I can't help myself, I just have to. If I am going to see a movie based on a book that I love then I need it to stick quite well to the book. If it changes or cuts out a large portion then I am usually really angry and disappointed. I also hate it when they get little things wrong about a character like hair colour, how hard is it to get the hair colour right. If I see a trailer/poster and a main characters hair colour is wrong then I despair. How can I trust them to do a great adaptation when they get something like hair colour wrong?
What are some of your favourite book to movie adaptation? Do they need to stick to the book 100% for you to really enjoy the film?
I do like Books to Movies. One of my favorites is Fight Club. I have DVDs for the HP movies, but yes, the books are way more awesome! How can you cram everything in those wonderful books in less than 3 hours? I also did like Help :)
ReplyDeleteFight Club is such an amazing adaptation! It changes little things from the book but I don't even mind. That film is pretty much perfect to me.
DeleteI haven't seen the first Captain America, but I've been meaning to.
ReplyDeleteAs far as books to movies, I usually read the book first, but there have been a few I didn't. I recently saw The Spectacular Now before reading the book. If I've read the book I usually like the book better. I do understand that they have to cut a lot of things out for time reasons, but when they change main plot points, that's upsetting. I enjoyed City of Bones, but they changed so much that I didn't love it like I wanted to (and I loved the book). Vampire Academy was actually really good, so it's a shame hardly anyone saw it…I don't imagine they're going to keep making them now. Divergent was excellent, although again, the book was better. The secondary characters weren't a big part of the movie (understandable) and other important things were cut, although the main plot stayed the same.
Fun post! ~Pam
I thought the second film was a lot better than the first film. These Marvel films seem to get better as they go along, I am really impressed.
DeleteI usually end up liking the book more too, 9/10 times. Sometimes if I really love the look of the film and I don't even know it's a film until I see the trailer then it leaves me confused about what I want to do first. Reading the book first will probably impact on how much I end up liking the movie. I haven't even seen VA come out here in the UK, I want to see it if it does.
Divergent isn't out here yet, it's this Friday! :'( It needs to hurry up and get here.
I haven't actually read The Help but I've watched the movie SO MANY TIMES. It's freakishly amazing. (Emma Stone is....gah! She's brilliant. Easy A is awesome, but not an adaption, but still awesome. XD) And I agree that Perks is a ridiculously good movie. I was floored with how close to the book it was...and when it deviated and left stuff out it all fit perfectly and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteAaaand, okay, don't spear me, but I honestly have Captain America as my least favourite Avenger. >.< I'm the only one I know who doesn't like him!! But he's sooo annoying. Plus, he doesn't get on with Stark, who is my favourite. Hehe. I want to watch The Winter Soldier, but I'll probably wait till it's out on DVD.
Haha, I am just imagining Sid the sloth now! No spearing here, he's my least favourite Avenger too ;) Stark is my favourite too, how can you not love Iron Man. I just kind of adore Robert Downey Jr. in everything, they cast well.
DeleteEasy A is just incredible! Emma Stone is hilarious and I really love her parents in that film. I have seen that film far too many times but I just can't stop. Perks is such a great adaptation, it's definitely one of my favourites.
Since movies are shorter than books (and that's one of the reasons I love movie adaptations), I don't get too bothered by how much the plot sticks to the book plot. Although, I must admit that it bothers me less if it's been a long time since I read the book, so it's all kind of hazy in my mind. Otherwise, I'm constantly noticing the differences when I watch the movie!
ReplyDeleteJoy's Book Blog
Yes!!!! I just saw Divergent and for the first time ever I decided not to reread the book before I went. So glad I didn't because the things they missed out bothered me so much less. It was a really great film but I know I would have picked at it if I had read the book just before I went.
DeleteI keep meaning to watch The Help - I loved the book so much!
ReplyDeleteIt was a really great adaptation, I was very impressed :)
DeleteI just saw Captain America the other day and it was awesome! I loved it more than the first one, and I love the dynamic between Steve and Natasha. It was such an enjoyable movie and I was never bored, not even once!
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily prefer books over movies all the time. Sometimes I actually like the movie version more than the book. For me, it just depends on how they handled the story. Sometimes both movie and book versions are equally good.
Great post! :)
-Kimi at Geeky Chiquitas
I definitely enjoyed it way more than the first film. It had a lot of action but then it added in some really great moments where you got to know the characters so much more.
DeleteI definitely preferred Fight Club the movie to the book. It definitely depends on the book itself and the movie. Sometimes they just get it right and it works much better on screen.
Thanks! :)
I loved this post as well!! The timing was quite ironic as I just finished watching The Avengers on netflix and it was way better than I expected. Based on that and this review, I'd be willing to give Captain America a try! (I wasn't so sure about it at first, I'm not a fan of the actual character of Captain America).
ReplyDeleteSince going to london Super Comic Con 2014, I have been really eager to start getting into comics again but maaan, my time is already being eaten up by reading books for university. Oh well. One day!
About Book to Movie adaptations...
When I was younger, flaws in the Harry Potter adaptations used to make me soooo mad >=( This was when I didn't yet understand that there are other (worse) things in life to be mad about, lol. I'd never read the LOTR books so I didn't care much about that.
I ADORED Fight Club, but I've never read the book for that either, I want to though.
To be honest, the only one I can think of is The Hunger Games. I was surprised as how accurate they made it (compared to HP). There were little things forgotten or missed out, but I don't think it greatly took away from the experience for me, only because I knew the story. I get the feeling that people who hadn't would be confused at some parts, but because it's visually enchanting, maybe they just wouldn't care.
I'm not the biggest Captain America fan, but this one really impressed me. I think it was just a great movie in general and ranks pretty high when compared to the other films in this franchise.
DeleteOh no, don't worry! I went to every Harry Potter film and I would rant like hell every time about what they missed out or changed. BUT I still loved being able to go see that world come to life on the big screen.
Fight Club is amazing, I definitely loved the film more than the book. It was such a brilliant film in general, never mind in terms of adaptations.
The Hunger Games is especially brilliant, the second more than the first in my opinion. I think Catching Fire was just fantastic, even though they left quite a few things out. It was such an epic movie that I ended up not caring at all lol.