Me Before You (2016)

FYI, this post contains spoilers for both the movie and the book!

Well, I finally got around to watching this movie! I just have to say, that the movie made me understand the book so much better! I now understand why Will still decided to end his life, even though he obviously loved Lou.

I love both Emilia Clark and Sam Claflin. Daenerys is my absolute fave on Game of Thrones, other than Arya, of course, and Sam Claflin is so hot in the Hunger Games movies. These two actors really brought the book to life, especially Clark, who portrayed Lou’s upbeat personality perfectly.

Though watching the movie, I was able to gain a better understanding of the relationship between Lou and Will. Will left for himself because he couldn’t take his life anymore. I love how the movie explained this by telling us that in his dreams, he could still walk and run. The moment he woke up though, all of that was gone. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live like that. Will also made his decision for Lou. He didn’t want her to be tied down to a quadriplegic for her whole life. He would have prevented her from going out into the world and figuring out her potential.

I really like how the movie held true to the book. Of course, there were still some differences. The relationship between Treena and Lou is less antagonistic and more supportive. And Will’s parents seem to rely heavily on each other in the movie when in the book, they are basically separated. And lastly, the story of Louisa’s rape wasn’t mentioned at all in the movie. When Will asked Lou why she didn’t end up going to fashion school, Lou clearly looked agitated, but it was never brough up.

Mathew Lewis, who brought us the adorable Neville Longbottom, did so well in his role as Patrick. He was the perfect amount self-centered and douchey, and omg, the necklace that he gave Lou on her birthday was so funny! I was quite literally lmao. Like seriously, who gives someone a necklace with their own name inscribed in it! Lou’s reaction was the best, and so was her family’s.

Through watching the movie, as I said before, I have a new-found appreciation for the book and what the ending meant for Lou.

World War Z (2013)

This movie was a far cry from the amazing book that was World War Z. It wasn’t even the same story. Everything was so different that the movie was just some random story about a zombie apocalypse, and that was the only thing the two had in common.

The 5th Wave (2016)

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE BOOK AND THE MOVIE.

When I first watched this movie, I was in love with it. It was intense, the action sequences were great, and the first few minutes succeeded in capturing my attention. Upon reflection though, I realized that the movie was nowhere near as good as the book. The book’s characters had depth, which was what made it different from many YA books of today, while the movie had no character development, to the point that it seemed like Evan was thrown in just for some romance and Ringer for some sass. The acting in the movie was also sub par, even though I usually really like Chloë Grace Moretz, and both boys were extremely attractive. On that note, I did think that the actor for Ben Parish (Nick Robinson) was better than Evan (Alex Roe), but it was hard to tell which was cuter.

In the movie, we can see that Ben really does like and care for Nugget, and one of my favorite scenes, one of the few ones that really showed the relationships between the characters was when Sam and Ben started singing together. It was so sweet, and it showed that they had a real connection. But we don’t understand why he takes such a liking to him. We don’t get to see that he is guilty about his sister’s death. We also don’t know why he is called Zombie, and the movie makers completely overlooked the training and how he was able to become strong again.

Evan seemed almost like a random add-in. He doesn’t do that much to advance the plot, and the part in the book where he lets Cassie feel his true form is overlooked. So is the part where he gets too close to a grenade and Cassie has to pick out the shrapnel from his ass. (We all know which part is more important). Not to say that there weren’t some moments that I enjoyed. The scene along the railroad tracks when Cassie and Evan were talking was really sweet.

Lastly, we have Cassie. We still know that Cassie is brave and strong. The movie doesn’t really explain much though. We never really see a very deep connection with Sam. We also never see her grow closer to Evan. One minute she was skeptical of him, and the next she was making out with him in the military base. I was like… Dafuq? Of course, Moretz was very good at the actions scenes, she always has been, but I know from past performances that she could have done a much better job with the rest of the movie.

This movie was not terrible, as far as the action and plot went, it was pretty good. It was simply another YA dystopia. I got pretty low ratings though, and I think that the movie makers could have stayed more true to the book to produce a more positive reaction from audiences.

 

Room (2015)

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS (MILD) SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE MOVIE AND THE BOOK

This movie was a stunning adaptation of an already amazing book. The actors of Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and Ma (Brie Larson) really brought the story to life. Jacob especially was able to portray the character of Jack extremely well for his young age. He made me love the character of Jack so much more, and understand what he was going through. I actually thought that the movie was better than the book in some aspects.

Because of the differences between film and literature, I was able to see the room instead of learn about it through descriptions. The escape from the room was also more intense and easier to understand in the movie. And since the book was told solely in the perspective of Jack, the movie also made it easier to understand what Ma may have been feeling at the time.

A change in the movie that was not due to the whole film, literature contrast, was the omission of Ma’s brother and his family. I kind of liked this decision, whether it was due to not having enough time, or dislike of that character, because I didn’t particularly enjoy the scenes with Paul, Deana, and Bronwyn.

On the whole though, the movie stayed true to the book, which is always a good thing in my opinion. It thoroughly deserves the Oscar nominations and awards and 8.3 IMDB rating.