Julie my friend was telling me on the Final Destination 3 DVD you can pick who dies or something like that. I haven't seen the third one yet, but I liked the first two. I watched Evil Dead again saturday night. That's a classic. The next movie I am awaiting to come to the theater is Spider-Man 3. I have seen one preview and it looked good. I'm glad that Sam Raimi was picked as the director. He has stuck close to the original story line. Which is something a lot of directors don't usually do. Also Bruce Campbell might have a more promonent role in this one as a villian. Since I'm on film adaptations I always thought it would be cool if the Dragonlance Chronicals (War of the Lance) were made into movies. Of course if it was me I would do 9 movies with the Meeting of the Sextet leading up to the War of the Lance. That would be asking a lot though, so I would settle for The Chronicals. oH someone could do The Legand of Huma, or just about any of the great DL books. Any other Dragonlance fans out there? Tim

I was so anxious to contribute our favorites that I missed the decision for Twilight Zones and ,Addams Family. Have a good time celebrating! We will be at an outdoor performance of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on Saturday night, but tonight will find me watching Ernest....there's a scene in the movie that cycles through all his many characters, including the Miami matron, that I look forward to every year, and Eartha Kitt is at her scariest in this one :-). Happy Halloween, everyone! ðÂÂÂð»

I rented "The Kite Runner." It was as fantastic as the movie! Evoked all the same emotions, the beauty of the story was not just maintained, it was honored. The music fit the mood and the setting wonderfully. The actors were great. You do have to read most of, subtitles for everything set in Afghanistan or Pakistan, which is about 75-80%. I will probably buy it eventually so I can enjoy it over and over. I might even buy it for my mother for Mother's Day (I know she liked the book). It was just... WOW! Next time I get a day to myself, I'll rent "Atonement."

Vee, thanks for the link to the Gallup poll. Whew! It will take me a while to assimilate it. As for "the sad state of affairs": I understand now. I tied it to the wrong paragraph. :-) Woodnymph, yeah, I realize that I'm in the minority about the film of To Kill a Mockingbird. I figure my love of the whole book makes me too critical of the adaptation, which picks out and gives emphasis to a particular part. Which reminds me: June, if you watch the Olivier/Oberon Wuthering Heights, don't expect to see the whole story -- you will only get part of it. Otherwise, it's a quite fascinating interpretation: telling, I think, of what adaptors of the 1930s thought was important and what subsequent audiences have taken in. Woodnymph, I saw The English Patient film first, and then read the book. While the "essence" of the book might have been captured in the film, the two are so different! I like the film better. Another essence capturer, I think, is The French Lieutenant's Woman. Oh gosh, yes, the Polanski-directed Tess is superb, I think, and very faithful. Actually I like nearly all of the film versions of Hardy's books, particularly Tess and Far from the Madding Crowd -- Alan Bates will always be my Gabriel Oak. I also liked most of the Merchant-Ivory productions. I certainly like their adaptations of Forster, though I find Forster's writing insufferably Edwardian. I do like some Edwardian writing but Forster's was even more uptight than most. Knowing his bio and the times, I can understand why he wrote the way he did but the priggishness still exasperates me. Speaking of another Forster -- Margaret Forster, that is -- and Alan Bates: I adore the 1966 adaptation of Forster's Georgy Girl. I loved that book so much as a teenager that I determined I was to live in London. When this subject comes up, I always have to mention two of my favorite short story adaptations: John Huston's "The Dead" (from Joyce's Dubliners) and "Babette's Feast" (from Dinesen's Anecdotes of Destiny). June, you're right: there are so many good films that owe their genesis to a book.