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The 10 Nerd Movies Most Superior to Their Books
- Thread starter spiderman123
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Lance Bone Path
Member
I liked the Kick-Ass movie better than I liked the book. Ditto with the Wanted movie.
To some extent both books are satires of the super-hero genre, but they are so self-aware of what they're parodying that those satires seems even more juvenile than the source material. The movies cut that graft.
To some extent both books are satires of the super-hero genre, but they are so self-aware of what they're parodying that those satires seems even more juvenile than the source material. The movies cut that graft.
By "better" I mean no more utterly-destroy-your-suspension-of-disbelief-with-a-"creature-from-outer-space"-retarded-ending.Ikael said:
and instead replaced it with a "BETTER" ending that sensibly included a character you were invested in.
to quote a better writer:
http://www.chud.com/articles/blogs/1608/Why-the-Watchmen-Movie-Ending-is-BETTER-Than-the-Book.html
Now, on to what I imagine will be controversial. Why is this BETTER than the book's ending? Here are my four reasons:
1. The book's ending planted a dead "alien" in New York. You could imagine that alien body would eventually be taken by scientists, poked, prodded, and possibly proved a fraud. In the book Veidt dropped a specimen in New York, and who knows if it could stay "real." Now, the idea that Dr. Manhattan bugged out to Mars, is a bit off his rocker, then struck the Earth out of displeasure is scary because there is no way to know where he's striking from, or if and when he'll stop watching Earth. Veidt may need to do one of these fake alien attacks every decade or so to keep people on their toes, but the unseen overseeing wrath-filled God that everyone now believes in goes a lot longer. In the movie, Nixon closes his televised address not with "God bless America" but with "God bless us all"...that summed up the global shift in thinking in a fantastic and subtle way.
2. Less mess. This was in a way a more graceful ending from a plot perspective. Sure, in a way the "squid" really took the book to yet another level of strangeness that is actually quite remarkable, but the movie succeeds is creating an ending that is centered more around the characters already in play. In other words, instead of something coming in at the ending from left field, this is coming from the psychology of a world dealing with an entity like Dr. Manhattan. Dr. Manhattan...er...GOD is watching...behave.
3. How many different explanations of the squid do Watchmen fans give? If you really quiz some fans, you realize quite a lot can't really re-explain how the "alien" actually killed the people in New York. For as much as people love the ending of the book, I don't think many can explain it very well. A good example of this is a slashfilm.com audio review I heard in which Kevin Smith asks three others on the review to explain specifically how the "alien" killed so many people. No one on the review got it right. There are some great things about Moore's ending, but that was a good illustration on how confusing it is.
4. It's all in the journal. I would argue the "alien" trick in the book could be proved a fake two ways: by people closely inspecting the dead "alien" and by Rorschach's journal. And in the movie ending, with people believing Big Brother Dr. Manhattan is watching from who knows where, it really comes down to Rorschach's journal alone to reveal the truth.
Drinky Crow
Banned
harry potter
although the movies weren't that good, either
although the movies weren't that good, either
Zoramon089
Banned
The Scott Pilgrim comics are FAR superior to the movie. If you disagree, you are wrong
CajoleJuice
Member
Yep. Also the entire murder mystery aspect of the comic was pathetically telegraphed. Fuck. It was fun to see some of the scenes of the comic done really well up on the big screen but as a cohesive whole it just did not work nearly as well.Ikael said:
Alx
Member
G.O.O. said:
the Starship Troopers book has very interesting parts in it. There is a chapter dedicated to explanations about their military system, and it makes sense. The instructor explaining it even admits that it's not the most "fair", or "right" system, but that it worked. Mainly because giving power to those who went to the army means giving power to those who proved that they valued the interest of the community more than their own. And that democracy was giving power to people who don't want it.
ZephyrFate
Banned
I totally disagree. The Road is much more evocative of the true dystopia of the world moreso than the film. Plus, the added dialogue/backstory was totally unnecessary. Nothing compares to McCarthy's prose.woodypop said:
Zonar said:
Dramatic tension, subtle message and grey morality >>>>>>>>> suspension of disbelief
- By placing the blame on Dr.Manhattan, Ozymandias appears as a comic, cuboard villain willing to betray his friends and trow his personal responsability onto others which is pretty much the very opposite of what he is and what he does on the comic. The movie version destroys its character and it paints on a way darker light his actions. The use of a character that we are already sympathethic towards it only reinforces the animosity of the spectator towards Ozymandias without giving an ounce of dramatism back.
- The squid was far from a Deus Ex Machina, it was insinuated during all the duration of the comic and in fact, it does a better way in order to show the scale and dettail of the Ozymandias plot.
- The exact process of how it worked is not dettailed because guess what: it is completely irrelevant on the big scheme of things. And still, if you payed more attention, it is pretty clear what they did: built a colossal squid and teleport it into New York using a faulty teleporting technology, causing an explosion and a subsequent massacre.
In short: you are concerned about suspension of disbelief, but it is the message of the comic what should take absolute prevalence, more than any nerdgastic theologic discussion about the exact mechanics of giant squid teleporting. The utter destruction of the Ozymandias character and of the moral greyness of his actions is not worthy of that.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
My biggest problem with Watchmen wasn't any story changes (though removing scene where Manhattan tells Ozzy that "nothing ever changes" I think totally killed the ending) it was that they cast everyone in that film to look very close to the graphic novel. Except Ozzy and that came off as very jarring to watch. Everything looked right, except him.
Not a Jellyfish
but I am a sheep
Completely disagree with Scott Pilgrim being on this list, I enjoyed both but the books are by far better.
now that i think about it, the one movie they missed was the fellowship of the ring
not the two towers or rotk, mind you; just fellowship. the later two movies get weaker as the later two books get stronger; fellowship just happens to stand on that place where the movie is superior to the book. it's the strongest movie of the trilogy compared to the most boring of the three novels.
not the two towers or rotk, mind you; just fellowship. the later two movies get weaker as the later two books get stronger; fellowship just happens to stand on that place where the movie is superior to the book. it's the strongest movie of the trilogy compared to the most boring of the three novels.
T.M. MacReady
NO ONE DENIES MEMBER
CajoleJuice said:
Not a "nerd book" IMO
terrdactycalsrock
Member
i think their wrong about Scott pilgrim. Sure the movie was good, but envy's story might have been the best character out of the comics. I also feel like scott and company lived a fairly average life, excluding the kung fu fights of course, so i feel like portraying their life over volumes of books represents that better.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Fellowships 2nd half was good (book). First half of the book is the most boring thing I have ever read. Didn't need half the book to tell how the hobbits got to Bree.
Zoramon089
Banned
CajoleJuice said:
You say that because you already knew what was going on from having read the comics...
disappeared
Banned
brianjones said:
Definitely. Film was basically everything the book was, minus Marla's mother b-plot and changing where the narrator and Durden first met. Even Palahniuk comments on how great the adaptation was.
EmCeeGramr
Member
Let's not argue about whether the JP book or movie is better.
Let's just agree that both the book and movie of The Lost World were terrible.
Let's just agree that both the book and movie of The Lost World were terrible.
GDGF said:
Ted Hughes was an enormously cool man, which made it rather tragic when unhinged feminist types who believed that he'd been lethally beastly to Sylvia tried to chisel his name off her gravestone and tried - in academe, in journalism - to utterly deface and destroy his image. It makes me furious; goodness knows what it did to him. Radically fucking unfair.
He was also terrifically handsome (one of the great looming, dark brows) and a glorious poet.
MaximusNeo701
Member
I don't know if I agree with that list. Some of those books where much better.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
EmCeeGramr said:
Well, I'd say The Lost World book wasn't very good, and that's mostly because of them resurrecting Malcolm. But the movie was on a whole new level of suck than the book may have been.
Johnlenham
Member
coldvein said:
Yeah I didnt read much into it, just thought it was awesome at the time I watched it
Count Dookkake
Member
coldvein said:
You should try watching it as an adult.
Ducky_McGee said:
2001 the book and the movie were written together - at the same time - as a collaborative art piece. Thus, the movie isn't based on the book and the book isn't based on of the movie. Also, I don't actually think one is better than the other. Both use their particular strengths - book: description and film: audiovisuals - to describe as best they can a Singularity moment.
The only "problem" with the film is that it's very rarely shown in the theatre anymore. I got to see it in a theatre last year, and it was far and away the most impressive thing I've ever seen on the big screen. It boggles my mind that it was made it came out in 1968. Audiovisually it may be the most impressive film to ever come out.
JimtotheHum said:
Fuck you! In the politest way possible
I dunno. DAD was a pretty straight-forward detective story. thought I BR did a better job of questioning what is means to be considered "human". Just the thought that Deckard could be an android in the film ads a layer of complexity missing from the book.
Count Dookkake said:
i probably saw it five or so years back, at which time i was an adult..don't remember that much, but i recall the military propaganda stuff. is that what passes for good social commentary these days? eh. if i can find it on a budget bluray shelf somewhere i might pick it up.
edit: looking at the post above me. perhaps i'm one of the people who just didn't GET starship troopers.
afternoon delight
Member
Jaws by Peter Benchley really is absolutely nothing compared to the film. It's so very bad.
The Godfather book also pales in comparison, but that's not a surprise to most people.
The Godfather book also pales in comparison, but that's not a surprise to most people.
I disagree with you on everything but the marketing. It was marketed incorrectly, no doubt, and there were people who I'm sure felt cheated by that. That's intentional misleading though, not a lack of understanding..Dead Man said:
The producers and cast knew what was going on. Well, maybe not Van Diem and Richards. They might have been legitimately confused. :lol If they were, it just added to what Verhoeven was going for.
cubicle47b
Member
Starship Troopers deserves to be #1. It is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
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