Category: Media

any media that was adapted from one of the books I’ve reviewed

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) TV adaptation

bly manor

based on the Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Review

This is not a book review. This is a review of the TV adaptation of Henry James’s book, the Turn of the Screw. If you’re looking for the book review, please follow the link at the end of this post. This review will follow a different structure than the book reviews. Similar to the graphic novel adaptations, this review will discuss the portrayal of the characters and scenery, the faithfulness to the original work, and the quality of the film in general.

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK, THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Portrayal:

Generally, the portrayal of characters in this adaptation is spot on. Obviously, seeing as this is a nine-episode-long series based on a book that was less than 100 pages, they took a little liberty. But I think they made the right choices here. In almost every case that is. Just like I saw in the book, the relationships between females characters in the show are so strong and important to this story.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t really a huge fan of Victoria Pedretti in this show. I loved her in the Haunting of Hill House, but I found some of her mannerisms to be a little off-putting here. Her acting is pretty perfect for the role she plays though. She obviously has a lot of issues in her past from the very beginning and addressing those problems was on oof the best underlining bits of the show. Mrs. Grose was absolutely amazing in this. Her role is much more important in the adaptation and I just love the diversity they wound in here.

dani

Another adjustment they made for the adaptation was to the previous governess and Peter Quint. In the book, these characters are 100% portrayed as bad guys. They were the ghosts and they were there to be feared. In this adaptation, they’re fleshed out with backgrounds and stories of their own. I love that Miss Jessel is a career-driven woman trying to better herself. Peter Quint (although a lot of his actions contradict themselves I think) feels like he’s stuck in life because of where he was born. This really makes you invest and hang on to the characters.

Faithfulness:

I think it’s important to note here that this adaptation and book are telling very different stories. There is so much more information in this show and the inclusion of these details really changes the plot and feel. Where the Turn of the Screw thrives on vagueness, the Haunting of Bly Manor uses explanations and backgrounds to really delve into this idea and dig out what made readers uncomfortable in the original.

I think the biggest adjustment for me was how romanticized everyone was in this adaptation. I don’t think that necessarily made the adaptation bad, but there were really no villains. Peter Quint and Miss Jessel were evil and tainted in the original book, but here we’re seeing them as people who are relatable and flawed. Again, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, but it was a little jarring to see the change after having read the book.

Quality:

Overall, the quality of this show is phenomenal. The acting is excellent. The scenery and sets are beautiful. The lighting, music, camera usage are all perfectly moody. There are a few discrepancies that don’t fit or sit well with me, but that’s bound to happen when expanding an adaptation to this extent.

I wanted to address the LGBTQ+ inclusion down here in this section. All the relationships felt really natural. I feel like a lot of lesbian relationships are forced in other types of media, but this show didn’t do that. It also really served to bring the show to a great conclusion that was very different from the book. For me, it was a really good addition to the story in general and I love that they added this.

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Rating: 9 out of 10 would play ded™. would watch again.

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The Haunting of Bly Manor is a Netflix original series and can be streamed there.

book review: the Turn of the Screw

links: IMDB

Inkheart (2008) movie adaptation

inkheart

based on Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

The Review

So, this review will be very different than what I’ve done previously on this page. Obviously, this is not a book review. This is a review of the movie adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s book, Inkheart. If you’re looking for the book review, please follow the link at the end of this post. This review will follow a different structure than the book reviews. Similar to the graphic novel adaptations, this review will discuss the portrayal of the characters and scenery, the faithfulness to the original work, and the quality of the film in general.

If you have not read the book, this review will contain spoilers!
Portrayal:

Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany are pretty much the best things that happened in this movie. I thought Elinor was a little dull in the book, but Helen Mirren portrays her amazingly. Elinor is crazy in this movie and I love it.

Dustfinger was always my favorite character and Paul Bettany really brings out that duality of his character in this movie. Plus…

dustfinger

Now, don’t get me wrong. I acknowledge that they made Dustfinger’s ugly, disformed face and completed dismissed that…but I’m okay with it haha. The problem, for me, with Dustfinger in this adaptation was not in Bettany’s portrayal, but in how the movie changes his decisions around. In the book, I could really sympathize with Dustfinger’s character and understand (although not approve) of his choices. In the movie, his actions are much more harmful to those around him. He clearly has the opportunity to better the situations that they’re in and chooses not to. Most of these parts are unique to the movie as well.

Meggie’s actress is pretty good. She wasn’t really memorable to me which…she’s supposed to be the main character so I don’t know what that really says about her. Although, it would be hard to shine amongst a cast like this.

Brendan Fraser, on the other hand, certainly looks like Mo but his acting was spotty and flat. I was so disappointed with him. He doesn’t really read aloud too well, which is kind of the whole point of the book/movie?

I was really excited to see Andy Serkis as Capricorn but it just wasn’t what I wanted. He was a fine enough villain, just not Capricorn. In the book, I thought Capricorn had this horribly intimidating presence, but Serkis didn’t portray him that way.

We shouldn’t talk about Basta and the Magpie. They’re atrocious.

I liked the idea of Jim Broadbent being Fenoglio but he wore on me as the movie went on.

Faithfulness:

The general story is faithful. It’s obvious what book this is based off of. However, because of the adjustments they made to “pick-up” the pot, the story feels weak. This is especially true once they escape Capricorn’s village. All the characters just end up bouncing around and filling in parts of the plot like weird, unfitting puzzle pieces that don’t really match up.

My biggest issue with this adaptation is how reckless they were with Mo and Meggie reading things out of the books. The book spends pages and pages emphasizing how harmful it was to the characters to be read out of their stories, yet this movie attempts to up its actions sequences by ripping things out of their stories without a second thought. What is the Wizard of Oz going to do without Toto or the tornado? This was the most egregious “error” in my opinion because it completely went against the lesson the book was trying to teach.

Resa’s whole character is very odd in this adaptation. The movie makes it seem like her and Dustfinger have known each other for years, but somehow Resa only asks him about her family during the events of the movie. It’s very confusing and doesn’t fit right.

The ending was woefully different. I understand that they wanted to emphasize Meggie’s part in the ending, considering she’s supposed to be the main character, but I thought it made the story collapse in on itself. Meggie was the main character in the book and I liked that she wasn’t responsible for everything in the end. Meggie literally fixes everything in the end by writing a few words on her arm??? It felt corny and made the “rules” of the Inkheart world feel fake. However, Helen Mirren riding in on a unicorn was the best part of the movie.

elinor

Quality:

A lot of this movie felt hokey to me. I get that this is a children’s movie, but its got a PG rating. They could have made the Black Coats and Capricorn m much better. This really had potential. The CGI is good, the acting is decent. I just — how could they make something so bad with a cast like this?

Rating: 4 out 10 wish I was actually ded™ instead of watching this

ded

book review: Inkheart

IMDB