Les Miserables -- December 2012
Okay, this isn't a 2013 release, but I did finally see it last week and it was incredible. If you haven't had a chance to read Victor Hugo's book, I highly recommend it. The stage adaptation of Les Mis is one of the most successful musicals ever, for good reason. While the French Revolution does not seem a likely topic for song, the crux of Les Mis is the humanity and the lengths we will go to in desperate times. At times gut-wrenching and heart-breaking; the story also manages to inspire. This is a long film, to be sure, but I loved every minute of the escape it provided and left feeling hopeful.
The Great Gatsby --May 2013
Baz Luhrman. Leonardo Dicaprio. Jay-Z. This is either going to be awesome or awful, there will be no in-between. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel of the American Dream captures the excess and indulgences of the upper crust in the 1920s and highlights the sharp contrast between the haves and have-nots. It is a tragedy and a love story and a book that has become a staple of high school classrooms everywhere. While I didn't love Gatsby in high school, a re-read shortly after college let me see what all the fuss was about and finally see what I had been missing. The trailers for this adaptation tell me that, if nothing else, director Baz Luhrman has done a great job capturing the visual spectacle that is Gatsby. Add Leo DiCaprio who, I'm fairly certain, has never turned in a bad performance and Jay-Z on score and I'm sure this will at least be entertaining.
Beautiful Creatures -- February 2012
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's sweeping southern Gothic is lush and dark and beautiful. I'm re-reading the series in anticipation of the movie. The casting seems dead-on and the trailer sucked me in just like the first page of the book. This may be the release I'm most excited about this year.
What about you--what books are you looking forward to seeing on the big-screen in 2013?
I'm so excited for The Great Gatsby! And I completely agree, it'll either be the best book to movie ever or the worst. I'm a little nervous about it though cause they pushed back the release date. Hopefully that's not a bad omen because I want it to be awesome.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for these! They look so good :)
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