Books, Blogs, and Movies

I recently stumbled across two trailers of movies I dearly want to watch. Naturally, they're book related.

Here's the first:




Finally, they've released the trailer of Time Traveler's Wife! Been waiting for it since last year, and now, I see it on the horizon.:)

Except I'm a bit disappointed with this trailer. Sure, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams look extremely attractive, and the cinematography is immensely charming. But I feel the trailer doesn't have much narrative force. It's as if it was intended for existing fans of the book. I'm not sure how it'll draw in people who've never heard of the book before or have no background into the story. Where's the dramatic build-up? Where's the hint to the story's most crucial moment? Or am I expecting too much? I sincerely hope the actual movie does it more justice.

In contrast, here's another movie that, I think, does a better job with its trailer:




I had never heard of the Julie/Julia Project blog before. After watching this trailer, I actually went by to take a look, and I found myself charmed by the voice of Julie Powell. She makes fun of herself in a wry manner, and yet she's taken on a project which she hoped would free her to be who she wants to be. And though she's ended that project, I think we can all say that she's been very successful in her creative expression. The blog did spawn a book, which in turn spawned a movie.

What a thing for bloggers to aspire for! Except, I don't see how interesting a movie on a book blogger will be, do you?=>

Comments

ning said…
i've read julie and julia.

it's light, really sweet reading until you get to the last part. you've been laughing—and suddenly something catches in your throat.
fantaghiro23 said…
Oooh, can I borrow that, too?:)
Suzanne Yester said…
I absolutely love The Time Travelers Wife! Thank you so much for the post and the trailer. I guess I may be a little selfish about the movie, because I really was worried that it would not live up to my high expectations, but from the trailer I like the actors they have chosen and I felt the frustration by the end with Henry's disappearing. Of course this is because I read the book, and I think you may be right that this may be a fan based movie.... Thanks for the great post! Suzanne
fantaghiro23 said…
My pleasure, Suzanne! I really hope we both enjoy the movie.:)
Anonymous said…
Oooh! I can't wait to see the movie (Time Traveler's Wife). Hope it doesn't disappoint those who've read the book.
I found the trailer for teh Time Traveler's wife to be very interesting and attractive, and this despite having only evry little knowledge of the novel. If anything, even if Raissa and I thought about reading it before, but never quite got to doing it, now I am even more intrigued by the story and will definitely try to borrow one and read it. If it is a movie made for the fans, then maybe that will be a good thing even if that may not make it as much of a commercial success.

By the way, Loyola Book club is preparing a list of books for our Book and Film contest this coming February. Please send me a list of any movies that are coming out this year that are based on books that you absolutely want to see in the contest. It would be a big help!
-joel

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