Top Ten Best Movie Adaptations

This week's topic: Top Ten Best(or Worst) Movie Adaptations

We've all watched a film adaptation of a novel and hated it - and let everyone know it - so, this week, I'm going to give shout outs to the adaptations I loved! Also, you'll notice I'm kind of obsessed with Keira Knightly films... she just does so many novel adaptations... and she does them so well! 

Link your TTT post in the comments and I'll stop by your blog as well!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the fabulous blog The Broke and the Bookish!

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1. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Keira Knightly & Matthew Macfayden

Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice? 

I love the older version of P&P as well - Colin Firth was one of my first crushes after I first saw him as Darcy! - but I love Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett. And Matthew Mcfayden is definitely as swoon worthy as Firth… I think, now, I might actually prefer him!

2. Now Is Good (2012)
(Based on Jenny Downham's Before I Die) 
Dakota Fanning & Jeremy Irvine

A girl dying of leukemia compiles a list of things she'd like to do before passing away. Topping the list is her desire to lose her virginity. 

I’m not sure I’ve ever cried so hard while reading a book as when I read Before I Die. Therefore, I should have known how much I’d cry while watching Now Is Good. Word of advice: have tissues handy.

3. Blood and Chocolate (2007)
(Based on the novel by Annette Curtis Klause)
Agnes Bruckner & Hugh Dancy

A young teenage werewolf (Bruckner) is torn between honoring her family's secret and her love for a man (Dancy). 

I actually wasn’t a huge fan of the novel, but I loved the movie version. This is one of those that really doesn’t faithfully follow the book, which is actually what made me like it!

4. The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)
(Based on the novel by Karen Joy Fowler)
Amy Brenneman, Emily Blunt, Hugh Dancy, Maria Bello

Six Californians start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships -- both old and new -- begin to resemble 21st century versions of her novels. 

I love, love, love this movie. It’s perfect for girls night and for fans of Jane Austen! Plus, Hugh Dancy is adorable, as usual.

5. The Painted Veil (2006)
(Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham)
Edward Norton & Naomi Watts

A British medical doctor fights a cholera outbreak in a small Chinese village, while also being trapped at home in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife. 

The Painted Veil is most definitely one of my all-time favorite films. It’s gorgeous and atmospheric and just so, so incredibly heartbreaking. I never get tired of watching it. Also, I'm in love with Edward Norton, so that might make me a bit biased.

6. I Capture the Castle (2003)
(Based on the novel by Dodie Smith)
Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Henry Cavill

A love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle. 

I’m not sure I even have words to describe how much I adore this film. It’s beautiful and emotional and romantic and just absolutely perfect. It’s the first film I saw Romola Garai in and it basically cemented her as my favorite actress. I watch absolutely everything she’s in now. Plus, Henry Cavill!

7. Atonement (2007)
(Based on the novel by Ian McEwan)
Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan

Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. 

This is another one to watch when you need a good cry. I felt that the characters perfectly cast for this film. Also, there is a undeniably steamy scene between McAvoy and Knightley in a library… Yeah, you don’t want to miss this one!

8. Anna Karenina (2012)
(Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy)
Keira Knightly, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. 

I know that there were quite a few people who didn’t like this movie, especially the way the story was told (almost completely from a constantly changing theater stage), but I adored it. Granted, I haven’t read the actual novel, but I’m definitely a supporter of this film’s execution and the story it tells.

9. Beautiful Creatures (2013)
(Based on the novel by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl)
Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Emmy Rossum

Ethan longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town. 

I have to confess, I didn’t love the original novel as much as many other readers did… but I did love the film version. It actually made me want to read the rest of the novels, which is not something I was motivated do after actually reading the first book!

10. Water for Elephants (2011)
(Based on the novel by Sara Gruen)
Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz

A veterinary student abandons his studies after his parents are killed and joins a traveling circus as their vet. 

I was actually surprised by how much I loved this film adaptation… and how much I enjoyed Robert Pattinson in it! I knew I’d love Reese Witherspoon, I always do, but Pattinson really excelled in this role. It’s a beautiful love story and the sets and costumes are gorgeous as well!