tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post895585284409067600..comments2024-03-28T01:36:10.408-04:00Comments on Dancin' Dan On Film: Thursday Movie Picks - Movies adapted from a Young Adult NovelDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-56511744310497830842015-03-23T09:21:50.258-04:002015-03-23T09:21:50.258-04:00LOL at least you can admit it! I fully admit to be...LOL at least you can admit it! I fully admit to being in the tank for the film since I loved the book so much. I didn't find it great, but I still teared up. But that could very well have been residual tears left over from the book.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-11122236067372235932015-03-20T19:53:16.104-04:002015-03-20T19:53:16.104-04:00I love Perks. Still haven't seen your other tw...I love Perks. Still haven't seen your other two regular picks. As for your bonus pick, I'll own up to not having a soul because I hated it. Too sappy, too predictable and way too manipulative. Dellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634519605152190304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-24148351848530770932015-03-20T12:22:27.621-04:002015-03-20T12:22:27.621-04:00If they had been able to get Deanna, a real long s...If they had been able to get Deanna, a real long shot, I'm sure they would have beefed up Meg, I can't imagine Universal okaying her loan-out otherwise, but that would have thrown the whole dynamic of the story off. I actually could see Deanna making a spirited Jo and Judy a terrific Amy with all her drama. <br /><br />I don't know who else was proposed but the idea was floated around around 1941/42 so some casting that could have worked with it being a musical: Kathryn Grayson would have made a good Meg with Jeanette MacDonald as Marmee and Shirley Temple, who was under contract to MGM for a few years about that time, would have been just about the right age for Beth, with maybe Tony Martin as Laurie, he wasn't much of an actor but sang like a dream although the studio would have probably tried to stick that damn Mickey Rooney in there somewhere! Now that would have been a cast of a lifetime!!joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-7099203060834628762015-03-20T10:05:50.564-04:002015-03-20T10:05:50.564-04:00OMG Judy would have been a STELLAR Jo. Damn studio...OMG Judy would have been a STELLAR Jo. Damn studio system! They couldn't have found another MGM star to be Meg (the blandest of the sisters)? Yikes, Jones is an AWFUL choice for Jo - thank God that never got finished!<br /><br />I guess I can see that about Woodley - one person's naturalistic is another person's wan. I find both her and Teller very natural in Spectacular Now. I can also see how that film would be off-putting in the beginning, which is not really "of a piece" with the style of the rest of the film. Plus, Sutter is kind of an asshole character.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-13433827463588157102015-03-19T22:33:37.088-04:002015-03-19T22:33:37.088-04:00FUCK YES, man! It's actually because they were...FUCK YES, man! It's actually because they were indies, I think - although I have no freaking clue why a major studio wouldn't want those properties as they are. If I were a high school teacher, I would show Perks to all my classes.<br /><br />Fault In Our Stars the movie is totally too easy. Fault In Our Stars the book, is not. I felt like they ironed out quite a bit for the movie, which shouldn't be surprising, but kind of was. Have you read the book?Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-78037785151689966632015-03-19T22:25:07.165-04:002015-03-19T22:25:07.165-04:00I actually really want to rewatch Spectacular Now....I actually really want to rewatch Spectacular Now. Haven't seen it since I saw it in theaters and it's grown in my estimation since then. I want to see which opinion was more right lolDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-18709545835729599622015-03-19T22:04:23.914-04:002015-03-19T22:04:23.914-04:00LOVE Saved! And LOVE Mandy Moore when she plays me...LOVE Saved! And LOVE Mandy Moore when she plays mean girls.<br /><br />Perks got a widER release than Spectacular Now, but still not very wide. And it really could have made a killing based on the title alone.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-9549989094766682232015-03-19T22:02:44.391-04:002015-03-19T22:02:44.391-04:00The book is SO MUCH BETTER. Seriously. Definitely ...The book is SO MUCH BETTER. Seriously. Definitely get on that!Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-18319627919108240212015-03-19T20:57:32.585-04:002015-03-19T20:57:32.585-04:00Wow! We got two picks in common---The Perks and Th...Wow! We got two picks in common---The Perks and The Spectacular. I love both of them in terms of narratives and acting. I read the books and watched the movies, I always think that the movies are way too "bright" compared to the book, but they're very classy...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-72743019208592475182015-03-19T17:03:23.740-04:002015-03-19T17:03:23.740-04:00Ok. You are so right about Perks and Spectacular N...Ok. You are so right about Perks and Spectacular Now, man! These are movies that ALL TEENAGERS should see. It should be required viewing actually, if you ask me. These movies could make money at the multiplexes, yet they are shooed away for, dare I say it!, being too smart. Intelligence scares the powers that be. Honestly, I teach middle grades kids, and I know hundreds of kids currently in high school. They would love both of these movies and are totally capable of "getting" them. That's the thing I didn't like about TFIOS. It's more pandering. It's too easy in the end. It's not a bad movie, but I just resented it because of the system's refusal to release great movies to the masses. <br /><br />The Princess Diaries I haven't seen. Kevin Powershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04219017960488448934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-57092867881333146172015-03-19T13:48:10.010-04:002015-03-19T13:48:10.010-04:00The Princess Diaries and TFIOS make my list too, b...The Princess Diaries and TFIOS make my list too, both are wonderful movies. I think I need to revisit Spectacular Now some time, maybe after I read the book! Great picks!Big Screen Small Wordshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15047376725272000920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-69122972253736035782015-03-19T13:23:15.795-04:002015-03-19T13:23:15.795-04:00Enjoyed The Princess Diaries...it was super cute a...Enjoyed The Princess Diaries...it was super cute and Mandy Moore was great; I think she excels playing mean girls. Have you seen Saved? She's one in that too. <br />I thought The Perks of the Wallflower got a pretty wide release didn't it? Didn't its cast got some MTV movie award...which tend to happen to teen movies the kids go to watch.<br /><br /><a href="http://wanderingthroughtheshelves.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Wandering through the Shelves</a>Wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02942463921185187112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-18845554587551131402015-03-19T12:26:46.945-04:002015-03-19T12:26:46.945-04:00I really loved TFIOS, although I haven't read ...I really loved TFIOS, although I haven't read the book yet. I need to get on that!<br />- AllieAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10938589355281359827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-41483719730472913442015-03-19T11:50:57.846-04:002015-03-19T11:50:57.846-04:00I dislike Woodley because to me she's so wan a...I dislike Woodley because to me she's so wan and monotone. She practically evaporates in her scenes. Spectacular Now I just couldn't connect to from the first and I really hated the main pair. I try and finish a film if I start it and I did make it through this one but I was close a couple of times to shutting it off.<br /><br />I picked the Liz Taylor version of Little Women because I was pretty sure everyone would have seen the Winona Ryder and to a lesser extent the Kate Hepburn ones and I try to pick more obscure films to perhaps shine a little light on them. This was Taylor's last role transitioning her out of her teens after her next film Conspirator she was unquestionably a woman. <br /><br />This version had originally been proposed several years earlier as a musical with Judy Garland as Jo and Deanna Durbin as Meg but it never gelled, a major stumbling block would have been Universal's resistant to lending their golden goose Deanna especially to MGM which had let her slip through their fingers but would have been a fascinating film. After that David Selznick actually started filming a version with Jennifer Jones as Jo but abandoned the project, probably realizing that Jones was all wrong for it and sold the rights back to Metro who promptly put this one into production.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-52588197252386752242015-03-19T10:40:44.886-04:002015-03-19T10:40:44.886-04:00...yeah, the film of Stars is definitely on the sy......yeah, the film of Stars is definitely on the syrupy side. The book, though. LOVED IT. It has just the right amount of sour to balance out the sweet.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-70825694852867867172015-03-19T10:39:52.569-04:002015-03-19T10:39:52.569-04:00I love Julie Andrews in Princess Diaries so much. ...I love Julie Andrews in Princess Diaries so much. The movie is just cute as a button.<br /><br />I'm curious as to why you find Shailene so irksome (LOVE that word, BTW - so underused) and why you hated Spectacular Now so much. I'll admit I didn't LOVE it when I first saw it, but I've found it has a lot of staying power, and the good stuff really, REALLY stands out in my memory. I didn't care for her in The Descendants (but then again, I thought the movie was pretty awful on the whole, so....), but thought she was great here, and possibly even better in Stars.<br /><br />Definitely see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I've heard it likened to "misery porn" for teens because it deals with pretty much every awful thing that has ever happened to any teenager ever, but I think it does so very realistically, and the performances are so, SO great.<br /><br />Geography Club has been recommended to be a few times and is on my list. I grew up with the '93 version of Secret Garden and it is one of my All-Time Favorites. The book too, but I always thought it leaned more Children's book than YA (I definitely read it before I hit double-digit ages). The '49 Little Women is the only version of that story I haven't seen, but my favorite remains the '94 version. Ryder and Sarandon were very worthy Oscar nominees, and Claire Danes is the first actress to make me cry in a movie.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-79769578745046090632015-03-19T10:33:56.838-04:002015-03-19T10:33:56.838-04:00Save Fault for when you need a good cry.Save Fault for when you need a good cry.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-5759735911461532032015-03-19T10:33:25.275-04:002015-03-19T10:33:25.275-04:00If you can believe it, the book (Fault in Our Star...If you can believe it, the book (Fault in Our Stars) is even WORSE in terms of how much it makes you cry. I was openly, loudly SOBBING on my commuter train home when I got to the end, not even caring what everyone around me must have been thinking.<br /><br />You MUST see Perks of Being a Wallflower. NOW. Especially if you've read the book. It is really special.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480863610135936930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-39187407227457125642015-03-19T10:22:48.401-04:002015-03-19T10:22:48.401-04:00I agree that both Wallflowers and Now are great a...I agree that both Wallflowers and Now are great and should be seen. But Stars really bugged me. Too syrupy. I hate movies/books that beg for tears.<br /><br />www.assholeswatchingmovies.comJayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13158409505328990008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-84975300105123900752015-03-19T10:11:40.854-04:002015-03-19T10:11:40.854-04:00The Princess Diaries is a really cute movie especi...The Princess Diaries is a really cute movie especially with that added bonus of Julie Andrews, I wouldn't say I hate Anne Hathaway but a little of her goes a long way for me, still in this she's fetching. <br /><br />I can't say the same for Shailene Woodley who I find irksome beyond pretty much any new young actress I can think of. Haven't seen The Fault in Our Stars yet but I absolutely hated The Spectacular Now and her in it.<br /><br />When I worked in a bookstore The Perks of Being a Wallflower was wildly popular but because it was YA I never got around to it so I've never been drawn to the film but you make it sound worth checking out.<br /><br />Two of the ones I picked this week are tough to classify, they could be considered something for younger kids or adults but they were always shelved in the YA section of the bookstore, if not classics, so I used that as my guide. The first though is YA without question. My three are:<br /><br />Geography Club (2013)-Closeted teen Russell has a crush on jock Kevin, whom he discovers is also in the closet. So they can spend time together without others becoming aware of their involvement they form The Geography Club with a few other friends who have secrets of their own, figuring it will sound so boring no one else will want to join. All goes as planned at first but peer pressure and outside forces change them all and the club in unexpected ways, some good some bad. Not perfect but deeply felt.<br /><br />The Secret Garden (1993)-A young British girl orphaned in an Indian earthquake is sent to live with her distant, severe uncle on his estate. Left to her own devises she eventually stumbles upon a garden locked away and forgotten. She discovers as she tends it that it holds the key to the happiness of everyone in the manor. Maggie Smith plays the housekeeper of the manor.<br /><br />Little Women (1949)-Candy colored version of the stalwart Louisa May Alcott classic of four sisters and their tower of strength mother's struggles while their father is away fighting in the Civil War. Great collection of actresses, Elizabeth Taylor, June Allyson, Janet Leigh and Margaret O'Brien as the sisters-Mary Astor as Marmee and Lucile Watson as Aunt March make this worth seeing. The 1933 Katharine Hepburn and the 1994 Winona Ryder versions probably have more heft but this is an entertaining take with that Golden Age MGM sheen. <br /><br />joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-33635336773155267252015-03-19T08:50:56.479-04:002015-03-19T08:50:56.479-04:00I have Fault on my DVR, I haven't gotten aroun...I have Fault on my DVR, I haven't gotten around to it yet though. I love Perks and Spectacular Now though. Those are fantastic little films. Brittani Burnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07975067259283007280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5507748677937404511.post-21680124141283171952015-03-19T08:41:22.147-04:002015-03-19T08:41:22.147-04:00UGH, The Fault in Our Stars left my wife and I in ...UGH, The Fault in Our Stars left my wife and I in puddles. It was the hardest movie I think I've ever watched. Crushing.<br /><br />I'm constantly reminded that having not yet seen The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a bad thing. I need to rectify that soon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com