Water For Elephants

Today I watched the movie Water For Elephants after finishing the book this morning.  I started reading the book while I was on vacation 2 weeks ago.  I had no interest in reading this novel because it seemed like nothing I was interested in.  I've never seen the trailer for it, so I didn't really care.  While my wife was reading it on the beach, she said that I have to read it.  She told me that Francis Lawrence was directing the film and he is one of my favorite directors.  I believe visually, he creates one the most fascinating landscapes on film.  The other director who does this well and is also one of my favorites is Tarsem Singh who directed The Cell and the upcoming movie Immortals.

After reading the book (which I enjoyed by the way), I wanted to see how it translated on film. The way the book was written reminded me of how The Notebook was placed on film and I was hoping the screenwriters were smart enough not to use the same formula.

The book and the movie are very different. My wife enjoyed the book better while I enjoyed the film instead. I enjoyed the movie better cause it cut out alot of the fat that didn't need to be in the book, more of a straight read BUT the book gives you more character and relationship building. I don't think I would've enjoyed the movie as much if I didn't read the book due to the fact that I knew these characters already and how each of them meant to each other, which I found the movie was lacking. Nevertheless the combination of both introduced me to a wonderful story line, great acting and a life of a nomad.