I would have to say my favorite movie that was adapted from a book has to be Interview with the Vampire. It did a good job getting the novel except for the casting. Tom Cruise was a good choice since the first choice for Lestat passed away. Brad Pitt...meh. He was okay. Kristen Dunst to do Claudia was perfect. People were complaining about the age but really how can you get a five year old to speak like a thirty year old woman or more? XD

Antonio Banderas for Armand. Well Armand in the books is viewed as a baby face with red hair. And as sexy as Antonio was as a vampire he just didn't fit the role as Armand. He looked too old for the part. But he still did an amazing job for Armand.

But Queen of the Damned was horrible. Lestat was NOT made by Marius. He did NOT know how to play the violin. And Lestat was an actor in his human years not a musician. Also, Jesse wasn't at all a major role in the book and she was not a love interest of Lestat's. I may have not finished the book yet but I definitely know that this movie did not live up to the adaption skills of Interview with the Vampire.

One movie I'm really looking forward to seeing is Coraline. I know that it'll be different and some of the British humor will be lost. But funny thing is I'm still excited for it. So I'll be looking forward to it and I'll try seeing it on opening day.

I would have to say the Harry Potter series or Eragon.

I loved the Lord of the Rings series, but I have never read any of J. R. R. Tolkein's novels.

I can certainly think of some absolutely awful books-made-movies but good ones....
that's hard. At this moment in time the good ones I can think of that were good movies AND didn't move too far away from the book are;
The old version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the new one just Creeps Me Out not johanny depps best performance)
Holes
The Lion, the Witch and the Warderobe (the new one not the BBC series one)

actually that wasn't too hard too think of *now musing*

It has to be the one and only! *Dramatic Pause* TWILIGHT! xD

Pride & Prejudice is already my #1 all-time favorite book. The version of movie I like best is the one that came out most recently, with Keira Knightly. It has to be the one movie I've seen that has stayed the most true to the text in the book.

Almost all of my favourite books have been made into movies at some point in time. Practical Magic is probably the one that stands out the most to me, just because the movie did such a good job representing the ideas in the book. :) Various manifestations of Jane Eyre and things like that are always fun too.

Twilight. 8D
I really liked the movie. They stuck to the story as much as a movie could. ^^
In my opinion, it was a very great movie 8D

Hmm...good discussion. I have quite a few though the plots they introduced may have strayed far from the novel's own.

The movie Shooter (2007) with Mark Wahlberg was originally a novel called Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter who does a fabulous job of recreating a soldier with post traumatic stress disorder but also being historically accurate with settings and other personalities.

That and the Bourne Series, originally Robert Ludlums trilogies which have since been continued by some other author who's dragged them on. The novels are entirely different yet both trilogies are very well done.

Twilight Movie = Sucked, sorry. D:

I really liked Inkheart, but I have yet to see the movie. I am in the middle of the last book in that series.

What I really do wish would make an awesome, but extremely hard to make movie? The UGLIES series. Very good books. I enjoyed them alot.

Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight"

My favorite book in the series is "Breaking Dawn" so I can't wait to see that one :3

Of course Twilight, like so many people have already said. On top of that there is Inkheart, and The phantom of the opera. Although the way the book ended and the way the movie ended were kinda different. So there, I know there is another one that I had on my mind but what's sad is I do't remember what it's called. Oh well, I'm sure it will come to me.

I think though there were a few changes, Coraline was fantastic. The movie adaptation of the Shawshank redemtion short story by Steven King was one of my favorites (usually films made from king's books suck.) 30 days of night was a great retelling of the graphic novel too. Being originally from Alaska might be why I thought it to be disturbing, the premise is just awesome.

Coraline is on the list for sure. Last Quarter was a great one too. Little different than the books, but since it was only 3 volumes long, there wasn't much left out. =D The second Vampire Hunter D was fairly accurate. (the first one made me sick). There's also Fern Gully. I need to re-read that book. And last, though not in the least bit forgotten is The Neverending Story. <3

Soon, hopefully anyway, Darren Shan's Cirque saga will join the list....we'll have to see how the movie does first though :)

I love Harry Potter. (:
But the movie isn't as good as it could be. .___.
I hate it when they change the storyline. -sighs

The Princess Bride. Hands down. That is one of my all-time favorites. I absolutely adore the movie ~<3

I'm pretty pumped about Inkheart - haven't seen it yet, but looking forward to it. Harry Potter, naturally (The biggest fanbase I've ever been in .___. I tend to avoid big fanbases...)

If Robin Hood counts, I'm throwing that in too. Best version is the one with Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman, and the very random but awesome Sean Connery appearance at the very end xDD

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991.
I also love the comedic version by Mel Brooks, with Cary Elwes and Patrick Stewart.
LOVE it.

The newer version of Pride and Prejudiced.

Absolutely Amazing!

I can't really complain about either of the Pride and Prejudice movie versions!
I read Slumdog Millionaire and the Last Gift after I saw the movie of both and while I liked the book Slumdog was based off of, but not the Last Gift, both of the movies were soooo different from the book!
And I love the Princess Bride. After all, the actual writer of the novel wrote the screenplay. Hence amazingness.

Inkheart, definitely, and Memoirs of a Geisha.

Watchmen, hands down.

It's not one of my fav. books ever- but they are making a movie based on the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" and I'm kinda stoke to see it (although the monster's remind me of H.R. Puffinstuff lol)

but stuff already made: LOTR was pretty decent and (agreeing with Rapid Rainbow) Memoirs of a Geisha was pretty good too... I know there are more, but I'm drawing a blank lol

I know its old but, To Kill a Mocking Bird. I liked the book better, though. The movie cut a bunch of things out. The original book took place over a span of two years, the movie took place over the span of a few months. Also, cutting out some of the things from the book made some of the things left in the movie not make much sense. Like how its never explaned why Tom Robinson couldn't use one of his arms, its mentioned in the movie, but not explained like it was in the book.

I don't intend to rant on, the film was very good, but the book was so much better.

It would have to be Memoirs of a Geisha. I saw the movie first, and I have to say, it was the best thing I could have done. Watching the movie first helped me to visualize the parts in the book much better, and it was like i could hear the actresses reading their lines to me, even though the adaption wasn't exact.

I read the book before the movie (I refuse to do it any other way), loved the book, but the movie experience for me was ruined by a bunch of tipsy women who gabbed and laughed the entire time.

My favorite book is Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (hell, I love everything by Bradbury), but SWTWC has the best movie adaptation, in my opinion.
It was a live action film made by Disney in the 60's, very dark by their standards even today. But the actor who played Mr. Dark was amazing! The scene in the library with Will's father where Mr. Dark is offering him his youth back still gives me chills whenever I watch it.
It gets kind of screwy near the end, and some of the things were slightly off, but overall it was a great tribute to the book.