Books to film: The Fellowship of the Ring

If you’ve been Puttin’ the Blog in Balrog this summer, and taking part in the group read of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, you may have been brave enough to take part in the live-tweeted movie drinkalongs organized by SJ.

Film poster for The Lord of the Rings: The Fel...
Film poster for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film) – Copyright 2001, New Line Cinema (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every Friday, whoever uses the hashtag #PtBiB can join in for an hour of snark (and drinking).  This past Friday marked the third week, so the group is done with Peter Jackson’s version of The Fellowship of the Ring.

It’s often said by readers, “The book is always better.” But is it? Are some works of literature impossible to translate to such a visual medium as film?  Or do they just need some tweaking to let their stories run free on the silver screen?

I wrote this piece some years ago; my opinion still stands, though I’m interested to hear what readers and fans of Tolkien have to say, since I’m well aware opinion is divided on what Jackson did with Tolkien’s work.

Werewolf Wednesday: Underworld

Underworld (2003 film)

I had no idea when I first wrote about Underworld during a stint as movie reviewer for Uptown Magazine that the movie would spawn a four-movie franchise, the latest of which, Underworld: Awakening, hit theatres in March this year.

I’m afraid I never got past the sequel.  This first instalment had its moments (few and far between) but the second, despite Derek Jacobi doing his best Hunt For Red October riff as a sub captain hunting paranormals (if you’re saying “huh?” I say: exactly), was a hot mess.  And that’s kind of unfair to words denoting temperature and chaos.

Monster mashup: Teen Wolf vs. The Lost Boys

“What the? You mean they actually released this movie, just when I’m in a really good movie this summer? Gah!”

There were plenty of cheesy movies made in the ’80s, but some of them still hold their charm.  It seems strange today, when the likes of Twilight rule at the bookstores and in movie theatres, but back then the whole teen-monster meme was a long way off.

But two movies stand out, even if they don’t necessarily stand up today: Teen Wolf and The Lost Boys.