Author Archives: feylincook

Home: Book to Movie

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In this particular case, I watched the movie well before I had ever even heard of the book. This could be because: I never paid attention to the credits or because the book is not under the name Home. It is titled The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex.

Having discovered the book, I jumped at the chance to read it and write this review. The concept of alien/human friendship has always been fascinating to me. Let me tell you, it is definitely worth the read. Having watched the movie before reading the book, I went in expecting a heartwarming tale: I got that but in a unexpected way.

Spoilers ahead for the book and movie

The plot of the story is still the same in both. Alien’s come, move the humans to another region, take over the world, and Tip has to take a trip with one of the aliens to find her mom. But by simply explaining this before “move in day,” it changes a majority of the story. Sort of like remixing or twisting a fairy tale.

The character names in the book change a bit as well. Tip still has the same name with more explanation. Our main Boov’s name, the Boov are the aliens, is completely different though. It went from Oh to J.Lo. (He will be referred to as Our Boov to cut down on confusion) Our Boov calls it their “earth name” as their real name is unpronounceable by humans.

One of the biggest differences is the time frame. The movie shows that the Boov arrive on earth, move in, and relocate the humans all in one day. In the book, the Boov arrive six months before they even reveal themselves and their trip takes another couple months. The entire book’s story lasts a little longer than a year. In the movie, Tip’s trip is about three days.

Another big difference is the perspective you get. In the movie we are really seeing it through the eyes of the Boov. The book is from Tip’s perspective. This wildly changes the plot. Through Tip’s eyes we see a more typical alien invasion story. This includes alien abduction, doom’s day looting, and the ”fight” against the Boov.

The villain has changed as well. The Gorg are only one in the movie and they appear towards the end with the intent of catching the Boov and, after that fails, destroying the earth. In the book they are one but have cloned themselves over and over so now there are many of the one. The Gorg also negotiate in the book, instead of immediately destroying the planet which, good on them.

Book Tip’s mom gets a makeover and a bit more of a part to play. In the book her mom is portrayed as a less than stellar parent, where Tip is mostly the adult. In the movie, Tip is more of the kid. Within the year that the book takes place, Tip’s mom changes drastically, much to Tips surprise.

Some minor things that changed between the two:

• The scene where our Boov jumps into water. The book has our Boov jump in to rescue Pig (the cat) as well as the camera Tip has been using to document the trip. Movie Boov jumps in to get away from his body’s reaction to music/dancing.

• In the movie we have a brief scene where our Boov reacts to Pig (the cat). Movie Boov doesn’t know what a cat is, book Boov knows what a cat is and cats adore him because he smells like a fish.

• The book and movie end about the same with the Gorg not destroying the earth and the Boov leaving as well. The book had more cats involved than you would expect though.

All in all, after reading the book, I actually liked it better than the movie. The movie is funny and lighthearted while still having those heart clenching moments. The book, on the other hand, has a lot more emotion throughout. I do feel like its hard to compare the two as they almost seem to be completely different stories with the same baseline.

Either way I encourage you to read the book and watch the movie.

Percy Jackson: Books to Movie

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Let me just start this by saying Percy Jackson was my Harry Potter growing up. So when I heard that a movie was being made. I. Was. Elated. Before I go on, I do want to say that this is only my opinion and I would recommend you watch the movie with an open mind. After all, I’ve heard a lot of good reviews for the movie from people who haven’t read the book. So it can’t be all bad, even from my jaded mind.

So spoilers ahead for the books and the movie Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

First up in this review are the Things They got Wrong.

The directors of the movie seems to have looked at “The Prophesy” and then tossed it out the window. It is not mentioned at all throughout the movie nor is the Oracle of Delphi. To add insult to injury, the actors are way too old to be twelve like they were in the books.

Then comes the big Minotaur scene. Book Percy is devastated when his mom disappears believing her dead. It is referenced multiple times in the next couple of chapters about how sad he is. Movie Percy seems largely unaffected by his mom’s death.

Another thing that really bugged me in that scene was that the Minotaur didn’t return to dust. It was just a dead body. Never mentioned again, luckily, we don’t even get to see another monster die, aside from Auntie Em and that’s just another whole thing.

The next big scene that they royally messed up was the Capture the Flag Stream Fight. Clarisse doesn’t exist in the movie, so instead Annabeth fights Percy. She hurts him and then gloats about it. He doesn’t even get the floating Trident above his head. He was told that in like the first 15 minutes of being in Camp Half Blood by Chiron. Therefore ruining another great scene.

The worst scene in the entire movie is when Percy has to decide who gets a pearl. In the book he decides to save his friends, there by showing his fatal flaw, something every demigod has. Percy is cursed/blessed with how he will do anything to save his loved ones. This scene showed how hard it was to choose between his friends or his mom. In the movie, he leaves Grover behind in favor of saving his mom. Completely going against the book and undercutting what was a major decision.

On a personal note as well as the last con, there is no playing with Cerberus scene. Arguably one of the best scenes in the book.  So that’s a huge mark against the movie.

Now on to the Positives.

The visuals they did for dyslexia as well as for Olympus are quite nice. Olympus looks quite pretty actually.

One of the First scenes in the movie is a new one. It’s a conversation between Zeus and Poseidon talking. Zeus threatens Poseidon. Poseidon denies the theft. It’s kind of nice to have this little family discussion.

Riptide is handed over to Percy with the accompany lines “This will help protect you” “This is a pen… A pen”. Given in this scene he doesn’t know that it’s a sword, it is quite hilarious.

In the Lotus Flower Casino and Hotel, Movie Percy and pals are given some candy shaped like lotus blossoms. We are then treated to what looks like a drug swirly light show. Which is better than the book where they just get sucked into the magic video games.

Another great thing is that you don’t have to risk your money on a movie you might not like because it’s free at the Library!

All in all, from a book to movie standpoint, it didn’t do well.  I’ll probably never see it in a good light, but I hold the books close to my heart. It’s probably better if you watch the movie while having zero knowledge of the books, you will likely enjoy it more