Our hosts agree that the story and writing of Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave are outstanding and kept them on the edge of their seat. But they also agree that Rick could use some help writing from a teenage girl’s perspective and there are some problematic moments in the book.
Jenn and Kendyl discover what the real meaning of “based on the true story” according to Hollywood and despair at the twisting of the story that In the Heart of the Sea (2015) is based on. An enjoyable film? Sure. A generally true story? Not really.
Jenn and Kendyl love The Peanuts Movie, but come to some distressing realizations about the characters. Still, the movie did a great job refreshing this iconic crew.
Jenn and Kendyl discuss the first nonfiction narrative that we’ve covered on Adaptation, Nathanial Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea. While sometimes confused by the many names to remember, their enjoyment is obvious in the fierceness with which they’ve become Team Whale.
Dorin and Kendyl pick apart Victor Frankenstein (2015). They hoped for something closer to the novel but got an confusing and occasionally interesting take on previous adaptations—an origin story that takes it too far.
Wrapping up this series is a true accomplishment for our hosts, having covered The Hunger Games novel on episode #6. And now they’ve made it to the final film, Mockingjay Part 2, screaming names in despair and drooling over JLaw’s performance.
Other episodes in the series:
The Hunger Games – novel and film
Catching Fire – novel and film
Mockingjay – novel and film part 1
Just in time for Christmas, a room full of hosts watches A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965).
Kendyl and Jenn are back to discuss the film Brooklyn. In some ways more satisfying than the book, they don’t have many negative things to say about this adaptation. Great chemistry, hilarious dinner scenes and beautiful visuals are all they need to give this one a thumbs up.
The hosts don’t exactly have a glowing review for Pan (2015). While they liked the visual elements, the plot just gave us another “chosen one” and changed everything that we’ve come to know about Peter Pan.
Check out our episode on Peter Pan by JM Barrie and our commentary on Peter Pan (2003).
Dorin and Kendyl watch A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) along with you, talking about why the original is better than the remake and drooling over young Johnny Depp.
Kendyl struggles to pronounce the Irish names in Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn, while Jenn patiently corrects her and they talk about moving away from home, memories that fade, and choosing between futures.
Our hosts commentate their way through Peter Pan (2003), finding all the ways that it could be a very dark story and wondering at the parallels between the lost boys and the pirates.
Jem fans Dorin and Kendyl and newbie Jenn watch the first 5 episodes of this 1985 television show along with you while commenting on the technical aspects of Synergy and the awkwardness of the Jem/Rio relationship.
Kendyl and Jenn discuss the second book in the Maze Runner series, The Scorch Trials. There’s good. There’s bad. There’s nervousness about the upcoming film. And there’s more advice about surviving these books by endearing yourself to the main character.
Check out our episodes on The Maze Runner novel and film! And on The Scorch Trials film!
Our hosts think that the Paper Towns film was a fun adaptation of the John Green novel, much lighter than the book and with a few unresolved plotlines. They’ve also decided that no one is good enough for Lacey and we really need to find a story that properly deconstructs the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, preferably from her perspective.
This time around the hosts discuss the film Dark Places based on the novel by Gillian Flynn. They admire how accurate the plot was, but wonder why the characters seem to be more likable than in the book.
The Adaptation hosts were not too happy with Fantastic Four (2015). This probably doesn’t surprise you. Bad balance and pacing, no character development, and awkward moments consisting of “Hey! I noticed you look different than your familial relations! What’s that about?” all led to a movie they were really upset they spent money on.
Our hosts find a lot of tropey things in Ant-Man (2015). But despite the issues, they still enjoyed the humor and the action.
Adaptation Podcast 