39 Must View Movies Based on Books for Summertime (Prepping for Summer #3)

Summer officially hits the US on Tuesday, June 20th. Are you ready for summer reading? If you're not and you need some recommendations, I've put together a series of posts to help you out (I'm friendly like that).

Welcome to the third post in my Prepping for Summer Series! (If you missed the first post where I shared about favorite reads, check that out here, and find out what new releases are on my to-read list here.) I'm going to switch gears a little today and talk about something else that I do a lot of during the summer... watch movies.

What's summer without watching some fabulous movies? There are always some great blockbusters being released, but I'm going to keep this list bookish by including movies that are based on books (while also sneaking in a few new releases that I just need to geek out about). Yep. Got to have books related in some way.

So, here we go...

MOVIES FOR SUMMERTIME

Old Classics

Summer has longer days and I tend to have more time to watch long movies, like the classic Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice. I love all the Austen movies though, so you'll see those here:

 

 

I can't mention Austen movie adaptations without also mentioning other favorite period pieces, North & South, Gone with the Wind, Jane Eyre, and Rebecca:

 

Then there are two classics perfect to watch as a family, Anne of Green Gables and Little Women:

 

Soon-To-Be Classics

Some of these are pretty old and some of you may consider them classics already, but these are a mix of fairly recent to ten or twenty years old. Again, I'm starting off with Austen-inspired movies:

 

Now, I didn't want Austen to be the only one to get different versions, so I'm including three more recent versions of Jane Eyre as well. Do you have a favorite version?

  

There are two musicals that I both loved as books and movies, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera:

 

We're going further back for these two, but both are favorites and for very different reasons. The Hunt for Red October is just really good with some decent suspense. Sean Connery is also a plus. Around the World in 80 Days is comical and corny, but we love watching it as a family.

 

How about some more recent Young Adult film adaptations? I actually really liked The Hunger Games. It stayed true to the story for the most part and I liked it better than the book (don't hate me for that). There was less violence and it was shorter than the book and I thought they did a good job. I also thought Divergent was well done. Plus, Theo James... Need I say more?

Now I know you staunch Sherlock Holmes fans may not like these film adaptations (if so, just re-watch the TV series), but I loved these crazy, complex, humorous, and dangerous versions. The cast is also awesome!

 

Now we get to some serious shows. Bourne and Harry Potter. Both have several movies, while Harry Potter is much truer to its book version than Bourne is. They both in the re-watch over and over categories.

 

I have to include The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies. The cinematography is breathtaking and those who love the books love that the movies were done so well. Summer is a great time to marathon with these as well.

Now onto another almost-classic (a definite classic in my book) and a more recent release. I didn't realize until I put this post together that there are quite a few similarities between these, covers included. The guys are both considered the enemy, the girls are both considered prized, there is a somewhat motley crew, and there is a fabulous mix of romance and humor with a touch of danger.

 

New Releases

Now on to movies that have or will release in 2017. I have yet to see either, but am planning on watching these two Young Adult book adaptations:

 

I  have heard marvelous things about both of these movies. Hidden Figures is one that I'll be watching soon and Wonder I hope is as good as everyone professes the book to be.

 

These are two suspense movies based on two of my favorite classic suspense authors, Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier. I am a huge fan of the Poriot series ran on PBS for years and I'm hoping they did justice to Murder on the Orient Express. Of course Johnny Depp should do quite well.

 

And last, but not least... These aren't based on books, but comics. I'm a huge super hero geek and will be seeing all of these in the theater this year:

 

 

Which of these have you seen, which of these will you be seeing, or what some of the movies that you watch during the summer?