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Tuesday, March 19
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

COLUMN: New movies adaptations of books show potential

Harry Potter is one of many book series that have been turned into movies. Movies based on books like "Wonder" and "Murder on the Orient Express" will be released soon. 

Welcome to chapter 13 of the book column. In the coming months, there are two movies hitting theaters that were originally books. A lot of criticism often surrounds books made into movies. 

The problem many people have with movie adaptations of books is that they leave out readers' favorite moments, change characters or alter the plot to make it better suited for the big screen than the bookshelf. 

The most common complaints seem to circle around "Harry Potter," “The Hunger Games” or the recent and popular Netflix original series, “13 Reasons Why.” 

Of course, readers realize it's unrealistic for directors to include every detail from a novel. Sometimes, I think a five-hour movie created exactly how the book is written sounds amazing. 

Already this year, movies like “It” based on the novel by Stephen King and “Everything Everything” by Nicola Yoon have been hits in the box office. Even the popular memoir, "Glass Castles" by Jeanette Walls was released as a movie in August 2017. But they haven’t always stayed true to the story the author intended. 

These movies cut out major moments from the books. They change characters and twist the plots as well. I was sad to see some of these changes take place, as they were some of my favorite aspects of the books. 

With these movies behind us, I have higher hopes for the next two highly anticipated releases. 

First up on the list to be released is the movie, “Wonder.” This movie is based on the book “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio. It is about Auggie, a little boy with a disfigured face who is the victim of bullying every day. 

I hope they stay true to the lessons and values that were in the book, like anti-bullying. Readers also learn the value of friendship and familial love to help get people through tough times. This movie has the potential to become a great feel-good film. 

The film comes out Nov. 17, and it stars big names like Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts. 

On Nov. 22, “Murder on the Orient Express” will come to theaters. It is based off the book with the same title by Agatha Christie. This movie reminds me of Clue and will star Johnny Depp. "Murder on the Orient Express" should continue Depp's reputation for acting in haunting movies. 

It incorporates mystery and suspense as passengers on a train attempt to discover who is responsible for the murder of one of their fellow passengers. Viewers will follow detective Hercule Poirot as he attempts to discover who the murderer is among the highly stereotype-driven characters. 

I have always respected mystery writers. They have to know the ending of their story before they begin writing. I find "Murder on the Orient Express" a particularly good mystery story, so I hope the movie lives up to the book.

Regardless of how well the movies have done at creating visual representations of literature in the past, the movies coming to theaters this holiday season look as though they will entertain viewers as promised. Some may even do a great job at representing their original books.  

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