December and January will bring quite a variety of movies for the book lover to choose from. Whether it is a lighthearted flick like One for the Money or a disturbing tale like We Need to Talk About Kevin there is a book/movie combination for every taste. Read on to see what to put on your reading list so that you can be prepared the next time you go to the theater or turn on the TV.
Opens December 9th
A spy adventure starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy John Hurt Toby Jones and Mark Strong; directed by Tomas Alfredson
Based on: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre
Opens December 16th
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
A tale of mystery and adventure featuring the iconic detective and his sidekick Watson. Stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Stephen Fry and Jared Harris; directed by Guy Ritchie
Loosely based on: “The Final Problem”, one of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featured in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Opens December 21st
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (English language version)
A mystery with a dark edge set in Sweden and starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Plummer, and Robin Wright; directed by David Fincher
Based on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Opening December 23rd
The Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The first of 3 movies planned about the fanciful adventures of young TinTin and his marvellous dog Snowy. Stars the voices of Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, and Simon Pegg; directed by Steven Spielberg
Based on The Secret of the Unicorn by Herge….and be sure to check out his other TinTin adventures as well.
Follows the journey of a remarkable horse and the man who loves him through the battlefields of World War I. Stars Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan, and Benedict Cumberbatch; directed by Steven Spielberg
Based on War Horse by Michael Morpugo
A family themed movie about the experiences of a father and his children as they adapt to their new home–a zoo. Based on a true story it stars Matt Damon, Scarlett Johannson and Elle Fanning; directed by Cameron Crowe
Based on: We Bought a Zoo: A Memoir by Benjamin Mee
Premiers January 8th
For those of you booklovers with Showtime, you might want to set your
DVR’s to record the new series House of Lies. This series about the money grabbing ways of corporate culture is based on the book House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time by Martin Kihn. It stars Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell, Ben Schwartz, Josh Lawson, and Dawn Oliveri
Opens January 20th
Set in ancient Rome, a banished soldier turns on his former city in this adaptation of a Shakespearean drama. Stars Ralph Fiennes, Gerald Butler, Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain, and Vanessa Redgrave; directed by Ralph Fiennes
Based on: Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
A nine-year-old searches for the lock that matches a key left by his father when he was killed in the September 11 attacks. Stars Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, and Max Von Sydow; directed by Stephen Daldry
Based on: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Opens January 27th
Follow the adventures of Stephanie Plum in her new job tracking down not-so-good men who have jumped bail. Stars Katherine Heigl, Daniel Sunjata, Jason O’Mara, John Leguizamo, Debbie Reynolds, and Patrick Fischler; directed by Julie Ann Robinson
Based on: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
The mother of a teenage boy who went on a killing spree at his school tries to come to terms with her forever changed life. Stars Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller; directed by Lynne Ramsay
Based on: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
This list is gleaned from information gathered from EarlyWord blog. Be sure to check IMDB and our local theater listings for updated release dates on all of these. Enjoy reading and watching and feel free to share your thoughts about these movie adaptations in the comments below.
Deborah Bryan
Some of my many roles at the Library include: Tax Form guru, Collectibles collection promoter, Inspirational fiction evangelist, Adult Literacy promoter, Book Group in a Bag cheerleader, So Many Books book discussion group leader, Reader's Advisor and many more.
I also just noticed that A&E is airing a mini-series based on Stephen King’s novel Bag of Bones. The four part mini-series starts December 11th.