The Sunday Salon and the Winner Is... 5 Best Picture Nominees based on a Book (with 3 more movies based on books you may or may not want to see)!

Welcome to The Sunday Salon and The Sunday Post! It's that day of the week bloggers from all over the internet get together virtually in a large gathering place called The Sunday Salon and talk books!  And The Sunday Post, which is a weekly meme hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, in which more bloggers share their bookish news!!

I thought we'd talk a little about the Oscars this week. There are so many movies based on books, and it's not surprising. Why not adapt something that's already written. Though it sounds like it may be easy, it's not. Sometimes the results are great, and I put all the Harry Potter movies based on the J.K. Rowling books in this category, and sometimes the movies fall short (this I'm going to have to think further on because I can't think of any that were that bad off hand).

3 Movies based on Books I enjoyed...

             

1. True Grit by Charles Ports... One movie I LOVED based on a book(that I also loved) was the 2012 version of True Grit! Starring Jeff Bridges, this was so well done. The original with John Wayne, I thought more of a comedy, but the 2012 version really held true to the feel of the book. The book was True Grit by Charles Portis, and tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash money. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father's blood. With the one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available U.S. Marshal, by her side, Mattie pursues the homicide into Indian Territory

2.The Reader by Bernard Schlink...  I also LOVED the book AND the movie based on The Reader (although they changed the ending in the movie, the ending in the book was better). The movie was devastating and the book was just as gripping. The Reader takes place in postwar Germany, with 15 year-old  Michael falling ill on the way home from school, and 30-year-old Hanna helping him. They become friends, then lovers and then then she disappears, only to reappear years later on trial for war crimes. When they finally meet again she is an "old" woman.

3. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Gold... And lastly, I LOVED the book Memoirs of a Geisha (can we say how amazed a MAN actually wrote this book one more time!) but I did not really care for the movie. It was beautiful to look at, the scenery, the Geisha's, but I don't think it really brought the characters to life. The book was so wonderful, but the movie didn't do the story justice.

But tonight night are the 2016 Oscars, and here are the 5 movies up for best picture that were based on books...

1. The Big Short based on The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis about the build-up of the housing and credit bubble during the 2000s. This kind of movie (or book) isn't really my cup of tea, so I have not seen it, but hey, it's up for best picture! Have you seen it or read the book?

2. Brooklyn based on the book Brooklyn by Colm Tobin. Set in 1952, the film tells the story of a young Irish woman's immigration to Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within them for her. This is on my list of movies to see. The cinematography looks beautiful! And the book is in my TBR pile. Anyone see this movie yet? How about reading the book?

3. The Martian based on the book The Martian by Andy Weir. About a research expedition to Mars gone wrong. One astronaut gets injured, is presumed dead and left on the planet during an evacuation. When it's found out that he survived, it's a race to see if they can rescue him before he runs out of food and water. I really enjoyed the book, which I wasn't really sure about at first, but to me the movie was not as good as the book. Book was just so much better probably because I was reading about those long periods of not much happening instead of watching them on the screen. Definitely you should read the book. It is science fiction, but so much more than that! What did everyone else think?

4. The Revenant based on the book The Revenant by Michael Punke. About a fur trapper who is mauled by a bear and left for dead, but doesn't quite die and seeks revenge on those that left him. I have heard that this movie is pretty grizzly (no pun intended), but it looks like the movie to see these days. Has anyone seen this and what did you think?

5. Room based on the book Room by Emma Donoghue. About the mother and her 5 year old son who are held captive in a room. The room is all the 5 year old has ever known, but the mother devises a plan to escape.When this book came out many moons ago I had a copy, but just found it so hard to read. Not because of the writing, but because of the story itself. What
did you think? And have you seen the movie?

I'm more curious about how the movies I saw do at the Oscars than what movies get what awards. This year my hubby and I saw a handful of movies up for awards (Bridge of Spies, The animated movie Inside Out,which is absolutely wonderful! (and yes, it was not one of hubby's first choices to see), The documentary What Happened Miss Simone, which if you like Jazz music and like Nina Simone you will love this movie as I did, Ex Machina, and of course The Martian.), but I have a few more books to read before seeing these other movies, because I like to read the book first! Enjoy the Oscars, and enjoy these books!

Question... 

• What movies have you enjoyed that were based on a book?!
• Do you like to read the book before you see the movie?

Weekly Wrap up...
 Last week we started with Mailbox Monday and ended with a feisty little girl and her Dinosaur...

•  Mailbox Monday, and some great books that arrived in the mail.
•  Memoir Monday, all about the Twelve Steps to a more Compassionate Life
•  First Lines Friday, would you continue reading or put it down?
•  Winner Announced! for my Blogiversary Giveaway! (It was Harvee L!)
•  Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur review Marvel comics starts a new series with a strong female protagonist and I love it!

Happy reading... Suzanne