His Dark Materials (BBC) – His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
His Dark Materials is probably one of the best book to screen adaptations I have ever seen. I’m yet to finish season three, so that opinion may change, however, they have really done an amazing job converting the source material into a show.
I think we all remember The Golden Compass film from when we were younger and at the time it seemed great, but it doesn’t even hold a light to the TV show. The show feels more magical and is definitely more mature than the film.
The casting was also done very well in this and all of the special effects and CGI are amazing. I may not like the BBC very much, but they do know how to make a great show.
Plot-wise the first season is a mix of books one and two, however, if you have never read the series before then you don’t need to worry. Everything is well explained and the pacing is set really well.
Synopsis: Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal–including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.
Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want–but what Lyra doesn’t know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.
Beautiful Creatures (film) – Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Now this is a bit of a rogue one as I know a lot of people didn’t like this film. However, I loved it. I read the book when I was a young teen and that’s also when the film came out. There’s quite a bit of nostalgia involved in it for me and I actually just think it’s great.
The casting was done very well and surprisingly the pacing was ok. If you haven’t read the rest of the books, the end of the film is quite unsatisfying (but does work to an extent for a standalone film) and is it different to the books. I got partway through the second book, but never finished it, so I have no idea where this story goes.
Synopsis: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
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