Best and Worst Book Adaptations

With the recent releases of “The Book Thief” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” it seems as though most popular books today are accompanied by their movie counterparts. Some adaptations, like the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, garner widespread popularity and critical acclaim while others, like the “Lord of the Rings” prequel “The Hobbit,” are profoundly unimpressive. Here are some of the best and worst book-to-film adaptations:

The Good

“Holes”

Admit it, we all watched and rewatched Disney Channel reruns of the movie adaptation of Louis Sachar’s stellar children’s novel “Holes” starring Shia LaBeouf.

“Schindler’s List”

The only thing that’s different in the movie adaptation is that it’s named “Schindler’s List” while Thomas Keneally’s original novel is called “Schindler's Ark.” Steven Spielberg’s beautiful film adaptation will make you cry just as much as the book will.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe”

It’s apparent that director Andrew Adamson stuck close to his source material and created a faithful adaptation that captured the humor and wonder of C.S. Lewis’s classic children’s novel. But then Disney decided to make “Prince Caspian,” the sequel, where everything went down the drain.

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

The movie version of Stephen Chbosky’s young adult novel accomplished what the book is best known for: capturing the angsty early teenage years that we now refuse to believe actually happened. It could have done without Emma Watson’s awful American accent, though.

“Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”

This childhood classic can make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, just like Roald Dahl’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” did as a kid. Why did Tim Burton have to soil its memory with his 2005 adaptation, again?

The Bad

“Eragon”

While the pre-teen fantasy series is exciting and intricately crafted, the only thing that the movie has in common with the series is that there is a dragon thrown in just for good measure.

“Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”

With its humor and wacky plot, Lemony Snicket’s book series was charming and unique. The movie, on the other hand, takes itself too seriously and bears almost no resemblance to the books. Audiences must have felt pretty unfortunate watching this.

“Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief”

This movie tried way too hard to be like “Harry Potter” (even down to the fact that it was directed by Chris Columbus, director of the first two “Potter” films), and failed miserably.

“Romeo + Juliet”

Baz Luhrmann’s modern adaptation of the classic love story tries too hard to be cool, and ends up a laughable and awkward mess. Shakespearean English just doesn’t work with Romeo driving around in a convertible.

“Sherlock Holmes”

The classic detective stories served as the basis for Guy Ritchie’s adaptation, which completely butchered the wit and originality that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels are known for. I think I can actually hear Doyle rolling over in his grave with Robert Downey Jr.’s every line.