Book to Movie....Sometimes We Cringe (May Contain Spoilers)

EVERYONE who's ever had their favorite book made into a movie knows that sometimes the movie DOESN'T deliver. And we as human beings know it isn't HUMANLY possible to put EVERY element into a movie that comes from the book. (Let's face it, America. Our attention spans aren't what they used to be) And, sometimes, the filmmakers feel the need to give the movie some extra visuals that weren't in the book to make it, I don't know, more entertaining. There are so many things that could make a great book into a crappy movie. But there's always 2 sides to every story and there are times when the movie is just as good if not BETTER than the book. And I'll give you some examples of what I feel is the best and the worst.

1. ALL the Harry Potter films
Now, I am somewhat biased because I have loved Harry Potter for a long time but, let's face it. The movies were totally AWESOME!! And there's a couple reasons why. #1 When Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone hit theaters, we were in AWE of seeing Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Dumbledore, our WORLD come to life on screen. When you read a book, it's all about using your imagination to visualize what you are reading. And when I saw the movie, I was SO happy to see the images in my head before my eyes. And #2 not only did Chris Columbus make the world of Harry Potter REAL, he stayed true to the book. Now, as the story moves forward, the books got longer and the directors could no longer keep EVERYTHING intact. So some sacrifices had to be made. And there will ALWAYS be elements of the books that we did not get to see in the movies. For ME, the biggest cut was Voldemort's memories of the Gaunts and the Riddles. HP and the Half-Blood Prince was my FAVORITE book of all of them and I was SOOOOO excited for that movie, yet was a bit disappointed at this part being cut or not even filmed. Some will say they wanted the Maurauder's back story or more of Snape and Lily's childhood but I think mine was a tragedy.

2. The Last Airbender
Ok, I know a LOT of you hated The Last Airbender movie but I liked it. I liked it because I LOVE Avatar:The Last Airbender and I liked it for the same reason I loved the Harry Potter movies. Because I saw the cartoon come to real life. Now, I was happy that M. Night Shyamalan stayed true to the storyline and that Sokka was just as dreamy in real life as he is in the cartoon. Zuko..not so much. At least for me. For one thing, he isn't even Asian which I would have preferred. And Uncle Iroh was not fat and jolly and drinking tea. Instead he was tall and thin and not as gray. Another tragedy.

3. Stand by Me
A movie version of a freaking SHORT STORY written by Stephen King and starring Will "He's our Nerd King" Wheaton, River Pheonix, and Keifer Sutherland. TOTAL WIN!! *dreamy eyes*

4. The Help
Great book. I laughed and I laughed and I guessed and I laughed some more. The movie: totally on par. It was long at over 2 hours but it was so good. I was disappointed that they left out the part where Minnie gets attacked by the naked guy. That would have made me laugh more :)

5. My Sister's Keeper
Here's what I LOVE about this book so beautifully written by Jodi Piccoult. EVERYTHING! The plot twists, the differents POVs, the tragic ending. Here's what I HATED about the movie. It stars Cameron Diaz. I don't like her. She's really annoying to me. Tragic ending, not so tragic. (Spoiler Alert)
 In the book version, Anna (played in the movie by Abigail Breslin) leaves the trial with Julia (her guardian ad litem) and Campbell (her lawyer) after winning the trial to have control of her own body so she doesn't have to undergo any more surgery to save her sister who has cancer.
(It was announced during the trial that Kate (the sister with cancer) put her up to the lawsuit so that she can die in peace.)
 In a very beautiful twist, Anna, Cambell, and Julia are in an auto accident after leaving the courthouse and Anna is killed and her kidneys are given to Kate and this puts Kate into remission. If you read the book, your jaw will have dropped at several moments during the course of your reading sessions and if you saw this movie, you will have been seriously disappointed. In the end of the movie, there was NO twist. Anna didn't even die!! Not in auto accident, not  a plane crash, nothing. Kate dies due to her cancer. Ask ANYONE who's read this book what they remember about it and they will tell you THE TWIST ENDING!!! If you're going to adapt a book into a movie, don't change the BEST part!!! Thumbs down!

Everyone has there best and worst book to movie adaptations. What are some of yours?