Summer 2012: Movies Based on Books

Posted: May 11, 2012 11:51 AM

Related Categories: Books into Movies

Wondering what books based on movies will release during Summer 2012? BookBrowse has the answer!

Late May

What to Expect When You're Expecting
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison and J. Todd Smith
Opening: May 18 in USA (release in 30+ other countries between May and Sept).

Based on: The bestselling non-fiction guide of the same name, with more 30 million copies in print.
About: The lives of five apprehensive couples become intertwined by the challenge of impending parenthood. No reviews as yet at RottenTomatoes, but considering that a rather stunning 91% of those who've cast an opinion (over 8000 people) say they want to see it, it looks like it could be quite a hit!
Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, thematic elements and language.

The Intouchables
Starring: Francois Cluzet, Omar Sy and Anne Le Ny
Opening: Limited release in the USA from May 25 (with subtitles). Opened in France and Belgium in Nov 2011.
Based on: A Second Wind by Phillippe Pozzo di Bargo (memoir), which is publishing in USA on May 22.

About: A French aristocrat becomes a quadraplegic after an accident and hires a hot-headed Algerian immigrant to look after him. The book was a #1 bestseller in France and the movie is considered a huge success in France where it took in about $14 million in its first week from just 508 screens.
Rating: Not rated at time of writing

June

Snow White and the Huntsman
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron
Opening: June 1 in USA (release in 60+ other countries between May 21 and early July)

Based on: The fairy tale
About: This is the second Snow White movie this year, following the release of Mirror, Mirror which got a lukewarm reception.
Rating: PG 13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality.

Bel Ami
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas
Opening: Opening on limited release in the USA on June 8. Opened in parts of Europe, including UK, in March.

Based on: Bel Ami, or the History of a Scoundrel by Guy de Maupassant (1903)
About: According to IMDB.com, this is the ninth movie inspired by de Maupassant's novel. The book chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor ex non-commissioned officer to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy mistresses.
Rating: R

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Coming Soon!

Posted: April 23, 2012 12:29 PM

Related Categories: Books into Movies

In the past couple of months, the young have enjoyed Dr Seuss' The Lorax; teens have piled into The Hunger Games; now it's the turn of the rest of us - the chronologically challenged but still young at heart - to elbow our way into a seat to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which opens in USA movie theaters on May 4.

Based on: Deborah Moggach's 2004 novel, These Foolish Things, which has recently been retitled and republished as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the movie has already taken other countries by storm, including the UK where my friends and family report sell-out performances, even at the usually quiet mid-afternoon showings.

If you've missed the build up for this movie, in essence it's a feel good "rom-com" in which a group of retired Brits decide to outsource their retirement to Bangalore in India, where a little money goes a long way, where the climate is better, and where a former British hotel converted into a run-down retirement home can create a little island of Old England in the midst of a throbbing Indian city.

My friends tell me not to expect great depth or complex plot, but instead to sink into a warm and welcoming two hours with some of our best loved actors including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy.

Think Love Actually with more wrinkles. I can't wait!

Davina - BookBrowse Editor

2012 Books To Movies: January to May

Posted: December 30, 2011 9:00 AM

Related Categories: Books into Movies

Wondering what books will be made into movies in Winter and Spring 2012? BookBrowse has the answer!

There's something for all ages and interests in this season's movies based on books. For the younger set, Danny DeVito, Taylor Swift and Zac Efron star in The Lorax. The YA crowd is already anticipating The Hunger Games. While adults with a political bent will likely be lining up for The Iron Lady. Personally, I'm pretty sure I'll be plunking down my money for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel!

January

Norwegian Wood
Starring: Ken-ichi Matsuyama, Kiko Mizuhara and Rinko Kikuchi
Opening: Jan 6 in USA. First released in Japan in 2010 as Noruwei no Mori
Based on: Haruki Murakami's bestselling novel of the same name (published 1987).
Opinion: 23 reviews at rottentomatoes.com, 17 of them positive, but the subtitles and generally languid plot are likely to limit the audience. As Jason Best at MovieTalk says "[Norwegian Wood] was long thought unfilmable, but Tran does an impressive job of translating the author's dense and poetic first-person narrative to the screen."

The Iron Lady
Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent and Iain Glen
Opening: Jan 13 in USA
Based on: John Campbell's two volume biography of Margaret Thatcher, the second of which is titled Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady.
Opinion: The Tomatometer at rottentomatoes.com shows 21 positive reviews and 11 negative. The Hollywood Reporter rates it fresh saying, "playing both the staunch human battleship and the diminished old woman sifting through her past, Meryl Streep is riveting."

Coriolanus
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave, and directed by Ralph Fiennes
Opening: Jan 20 in USA
Based on: Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name.
Opinion: Set in contemporary Rome, complete with tanks and AK-47's. A user reviewer on IMDB suggests that this is only for die-hard Shakespeare fans already familiar with Coriolanus.

A Smile as Big as the Moon
Starring: John Corbett, Jessy Schram and Cynthia Watros
Opening: Late Jan on ABC TV
Based on: Mike Kersjes' 2002 book subtitled A Teacher, His Class and Their Unforgettable Journey.
Opinion: A special education teacher and his class take an inspiring journey through U.S. space camp. I'll probably tune into this one simply for the chance to see John Corbett, perhaps best known for his roles as Aidan Shaw in "Sex and the City" and Chris Stevens in the 1990s comedy "Northern Exposure".

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