tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post6627661557706736541..comments2024-03-28T08:51:47.164-04:00Comments on Patricia Abbott (pattinase): Worst Adaptation of a Novelpattinase (abbott)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-22817693594370235252012-03-29T15:24:14.008-04:002012-03-29T15:24:14.008-04:00I just saw COBRA (1986), and noticed that it was b...I just saw COBRA (1986), and noticed that it was based on a novel. This movie is so bad it's good. Really, it is. It has the look and feel of a hair metal video from the era, but it makes even less sense. I'm pretty certain it was not intended as a parody. Astounding.Anders Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06164550847416446757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-1471570729882422492012-03-27T14:25:09.524-04:002012-03-27T14:25:09.524-04:00Patti, I would agree that BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES ...Patti, I would agree that BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES and THE BLACK DAHLIA are two of the worst movie adaptations of excellent novels.<br /><br />To those I would add MILDRED PIERCE (1945), in which Joan Crawford spent all of her time mugging for an Oscar and the novel was torn to shreds.<br /><br />You could also make a case for VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967), although that movie has actually gained a reputation as being a favorite guilty pleasure. The novel could've been better, too.Mike Dennishttp://mikedennisnoir.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-74817355546220474802012-03-26T16:54:15.764-04:002012-03-26T16:54:15.764-04:00Glad to hear that since we will probably take Kevi...Glad to hear that since we will probably take Kevin to it. <br />HA! I have yet to eat squirrel and hope it doesn't come to it.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-62514351357328068832012-03-26T16:54:03.926-04:002012-03-26T16:54:03.926-04:00However, what little I've seen of the Jim Carr...However, what little I've seen of the Jim Carrey GRINCH and the Mike Myers CAT would be difficult for THE LORAX to...bottom...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-25412287076496512162012-03-26T16:52:03.927-04:002012-03-26T16:52:03.927-04:00Alice liked THE LORAX a lot...I didn't see it....Alice liked THE LORAX a lot...I didn't see it.<br /><br />It does seem that Jennifer Lawrence is the go-to woman for roles in which squirrels are skinned.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-81435246134632970052012-03-26T14:10:39.307-04:002012-03-26T14:10:39.307-04:00So glad I missed that one. It is infamous. Looks T...So glad I missed that one. It is infamous. Looks The Lorax isn't much better.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-28314872264795666032012-03-26T13:20:21.142-04:002012-03-26T13:20:21.142-04:00The Bonfire of the Vanities is an interesting case...<i>The Bonfire of the Vanities</i> is an interesting case in that an excellent book led to a horrible film, which in turn led to an excellent book (<i>The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood </i>).<br /><br />For me the hands down winner is <i>The Cat in the Hat</i>.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-23193986233419057442012-03-26T11:43:37.585-04:002012-03-26T11:43:37.585-04:00Jeff mentions AND THEN THERE WERE NONE in two comm...Jeff mentions AND THEN THERE WERE NONE in two comments, but he still forgot the 1945 B&W version, which, though it has a slight ending change, I happen to like. As for bad adaptations, I'd say STARSHIP TROOPERS was about the worst I can think of.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-65553580158519006052012-03-26T11:12:36.770-04:002012-03-26T11:12:36.770-04:00It is amazing when they get it right. Boy, THE HUN...It is amazing when they get it right. Boy, THE HUNGER GAME reviews are all over the place. But I wouldn't miss it.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-26432877340817791652012-03-26T05:43:07.276-04:002012-03-26T05:43:07.276-04:00The TV show Murphy's Law, based on the Trace/D...The TV show Murphy's Law, based on the Trace/Digger novels by Warren Murphy, was awful. They took everything that was good about the books and changed them. <br /><br />Nightmare Alley could have been a great movie, but they tacked on a warm fuzzy ending and ruined the impact the book created.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-26287756927686218602012-03-26T04:04:45.785-04:002012-03-26T04:04:45.785-04:00Two of the worst movies I've ever seen were bo...Two of the worst movies I've ever seen were both based on novels, and good ones at that; BLUE CITY (1986) and the 1990 remake of DESPERATE HOURS. Both movies are so dumb they need to be seen to be believed.Anders Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06164550847416446757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-81988206913301038172012-03-26T03:12:39.947-04:002012-03-26T03:12:39.947-04:00And I AM LEGEND was the third sorry misconstructio...And I AM LEGEND was the third sorry misconstruction of the novel directly to film, leaving aside the influence on Romero films and others, after THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and THE OMEGA MAN.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-65500411387402306852012-03-26T03:10:19.173-04:002012-03-26T03:10:19.173-04:00Several more impressive examples: the extraordinar...Several more impressive examples: the extraordinarily bad recentish Disney telefilm of A WRINKLE IN TIME <br /><br />...and WEIRD WOMAN, the first and very loose adaptation of Fritz Leiber's brilliant CONJURE WIFE to film.<br /><br />What have been rereleased as DANGEROUS FEMALE and SATAN MET A LADY are very dire attempts to film THE MALTESE FALCON, and THE BLACK BIRD a similarly dismal attempt at parody.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-43001834565497149992012-03-26T03:02:41.321-04:002012-03-26T03:02:41.321-04:00Alice, my housemate, has read Collins's novels...Alice, my housemate, has read Collins's novels, and found them quick, slightly clumsy reads; she and I both rather liked the film of THE HUNGER GAMES as far as it went (I haven't read the novel or anything else by Collins), but Alice liked it better than I did. I didn't find it profound or terribly convincing at all, but agree the performances were generally good (the shallowness of much of what was going on didn't force too many of the actors to do much that was too tough, but I did get a bit of a frisson in the reaction of the protagonist's sister to both being selected and then realizing that her sister was pushing her aside to die in her place.<br /><br />There has been quite a pile of three-legged dogs here already (any list that includes THE BLACK DAHLIA is certainly on the right track), as well as praise of good work (I think that GARP the film actually improved slightly on the kutenessess of GARP the novel, which is most of why I never read THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE where I can only hope that utterly miserable film isn't a very good representation of the next Irving novel)(though GARP might be the weakest of George Roy Hill's films--or tied with BUTCH CASSIDY [popular opinion of mine, I'm sure]--much the way THE SHINING is the weakest of Kubrick's beyond what I've seen of the inept FEAR AND DESIRE...in neither case did the source novels help).<br /><br />Among the worst adaptations to film and related a/v so far have included:<br /><br />Both the films of Isaac Asimov's short story "Nightfall," which traduce the clever if overrated early story by IA into pretentious, inept piles.<br /><br />The remakes of THE HAUNTING and PSYCHO, which manage to take the examples of brilliant novels and at least very impressive first adaptations and offer exercises in masturbation on the part of latter-day filmmakers, whom apparently are of the opinion, for example, that what was Really Missing was color cinematography...and contempt for the source novels.<br /><br />The AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE (PBS) adaptation of John Varley's "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" is so aggressively inept that it's almost puzzling as to why it was made, particularly by the folks who managed rather better with their adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (though the later theatrical film LATHE OF HEAVEN, with no article, is a strong candidate here too).<br /><br />THE THIN RED LINE was stunningly shot and stunningly inept in every other way.<br /><br />THE COLOR OF MONEY was almost singlehandedly sunk by Tom Cruise's stunningly inept performance, but everyone around him let him do it. Scorsese also deserves a dope-slap for CAPE FEAR, which manages to keep all that was wrong with the initial CAPE FEAR misadaptation of THE EXECUTIONERS and make it more ridiculous. <br /><br />Even very bad novels, such as THE BETSY and CANDY, can be remarkably disimproved by their film adaptations, though John Astin does what he can to save the latter.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-23154964884397545942012-03-25T19:04:37.612-04:002012-03-25T19:04:37.612-04:00Oh, I am disappointed re: THE HUNGER GAMES. I saw ...Oh, I am disappointed re: THE HUNGER GAMES. I saw those Truffaut movies before I ever knew the original texts so they didn't bother me as much as it might a fan.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-72826344051100730172012-03-25T18:06:43.435-04:002012-03-25T18:06:43.435-04:00Your would be mine, as well. One entire horrid ada...Your would be mine, as well. One entire horrid adaptation that one was.le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-26290825808699542502012-03-25T17:43:27.448-04:002012-03-25T17:43:27.448-04:00I thought the Hunger Games adaptation was pretty b...I thought the Hunger Games adaptation was pretty bad. The casting is, for the most part, pretty good, but the directing and editing are just tasteless, and the script is too condensed.<br /><br />Francois Truffaut made some of the worst adaptations I can think of -- Bride Wore Black, Confidentially Yours, and Shoot the Piano Player. His vision is so disrespectful to the original texts, as fans of Woolrich, Goodis, and Charles Williams, I don't like what he did to their work.Cullen Gallagherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14236957954996740924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-81199411350415984812012-03-25T16:57:32.677-04:002012-03-25T16:57:32.677-04:00Interview With the Vampire is two and a half hours...Interview With the Vampire is two and a half hours of my life I'll never get back.<br /><br />Well, so was the book The Vampire Lestat, so maybe I should have known better.Jim Winterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06122822825357026014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-85808192570703196692012-03-25T15:13:52.246-04:002012-03-25T15:13:52.246-04:00It does make one shudder when you hear they are ma...It does make one shudder when you hear they are making a movie from a favorite book. Luckily in some cases, like WINTER'S BONE and DRIVER, things go better.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-21101459146080392502012-03-25T14:28:49.787-04:002012-03-25T14:28:49.787-04:00This is close enough to answering your question, P...This is close enough to answering your question, Patti, I hope. <br /><br />I'm a huge fan of the Jonah Hex comic series, the success of which at the time allowed the making of the movie. Which of course turned out to be NOTHING LIKE the comics and utterly horrible. And probably ultimately doomed the comic too. Unforgivable.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10070278104646895235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-63724611545944251782012-03-25T14:00:19.135-04:002012-03-25T14:00:19.135-04:00This comment will show how far behind I am. I'...This comment will show how far behind I am. I'm trying to decide whether I want to read The Hunger Games in book form.Joe Baronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10275991273751678636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-60327458802912352582012-03-25T13:58:37.318-04:002012-03-25T13:58:37.318-04:00Patti, my sister and sister in law both love JUMPI...Patti, my sister and sister in law both love JUMPING JACK FLASH. I'm surprised to hear there are others who agree.<br /><br />Jeff M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-65260766289452254502012-03-25T13:56:54.798-04:002012-03-25T13:56:54.798-04:00Yes, GARP was bad but BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES was ...Yes, GARP was bad but BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES was much, much worse. And I won't even get into BURGLAR.<br /><br />I forgot, there was yet <i>another</i> version of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, made in 1974 and set in the Iranian desert, starring Oliver Reed and Elke Sommer, which was also terrible. Don't ask why I kept watching these things.<br /><br />Ever seen the 1980 version of William McGivern's NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER with James Brolin and Cliff Gorman? No. Lucky you.<br /><br />Another turkey was WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM, with Bill Murray's take on Hunter Thompson, based on the latter's writings.<br /><br />BEAR ISLAND, the Alastair MacLean book, was made into a lousy movie with Donald Sutherland and Vanessa Redgrave.<br /><br />Jeff M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-74491397499503925732012-03-25T13:43:33.760-04:002012-03-25T13:43:33.760-04:00I have stayed away from Whoopie Goldberg movies al...I have stayed away from Whoopie Goldberg movies although I have friends that claim JUMPING JACK FLASH is one of the best movies ever made. She is always Whoopy and that is not the same as always Cary.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-70971151283423507752012-03-25T13:42:33.074-04:002012-03-25T13:42:33.074-04:00The entire casting of the Great Gatsby was wrong. ...The entire casting of the Great Gatsby was wrong. Mia Farrow was so wan and wistful-you never believed anyone would build an empire to seduce her. RR can be good but not in movies like this one. When I think back to the fifties era actress like Dana Wynter, Lee Remick, even Jane Wyman et al. They had such a delicate womanly touch to their work.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.com