channeling Siskel and Ebert for a moment...

I have GOT to stop reading books before I see the movies they're based on. Tonight I saw Charlie St Cloud. While the movie was really good, I can't help but feel cheated because the book was so much better then the film portrayal of the story. I thought the ending was corny and had nothing on the way they ended the book. Of course the book didn't have this though:

HELLLLLOOOOOOO ZAC EFRON'S ABS!!! seriously though, I'm not a "zefron" groupie, but he was delicious in this movie haha.

Anyway, I'm getting off track here, the point is that I feel like these movies are taking really great books and destroying them on film. Take twilight (I know, I know, another adult Twilight groupie, feel free to eye roll) for example. The books were great, but the first movie was TERRIBLE. thank god for Rpattz's good looks or that movie wouldn't have gone anywhere. New moon got a little better, and Eclipse has been the best so far but they still aren't great. And "The Lovely Bones" was a GREAT book, but a terrible movie! I could go on and on with examples of great butchered novels, but seriously, why does hollywood feel the need to butcher an already great story to make it "better"? Just once I'd like to find one movie that stays really close to the original plot and have it be successful. Is that too much to ask for?

With all of that being said, Charlie St Cloud really was a good movie and I did enjoy it, so all in all it was an enjoyable night at the movies. :) I'll stop my ranting now.