The Blind Side

Vs.

As I sat down to read a bit tonight before bed, I decided I just might try to watch The Men who Stare at Goats, as I'm very intrigued by it and want to see it badly. I searched the movies on the On Demand menu of my cable box and was saddened to see that it wasn't available yet. The Blind Side on the other hand was. I've also been wanting to see this movie for a while.

Now, I must let you all know that one of my biggest rants these days is about every book under the sun being made into a movie. There's two ways to look at this, my way, and the more...open way. My view point is that people are just plain lazy and would rather go watch a movie than take the time to sit down and enjoy a good book. Most people agree that a book is always better than the movie made after it, but they still won't go buy the book, or get it from the library and read it. Instead they pay outrageous prices at the theater and watched a cut up version of it that takes very little imagination. That being said, the more open view is that books made into movies may just cause people to start reading a bit more. For example, after The Time Traveler's wife was made into a movie I was at Wal-Mart and a young couple was in the book section and the girl picked up a copy of the book and said "Here it is, the movie was good, now I want to read the book" or something to that effect. It still irritates me though, and unless the movie has actors in it that I just love, I try to refuse to see the movie until I at the least read the book, if not at all. The only exceptions are if I just never had interest in the book for example, Marley and Me and My Sister's Keeper.

I don't know how I was so out of the loop, but honestly until I sat down and started to watch The Blind Side and saw in the opening credits that it was based on a book, I never knew. I had already added the 3.99 to my cable bill to watch the movie and I sure as hell wasn't going to stop then. (I'm very inconsistent, it's a downfall of mine). So I went about watching the movie, and I loved it. I was on the brink of tears by the end, a nice lump in my throat. I love Sandra Bullock in just about anything she's in, and the kids in this movie were excellent.

Now, I've looked up the book and I will eventually own the movie I think. I have to ask though, dearest readers, what are your thoughts on this whole, every book that even thinks about being a best seller becoming a movie? Does it irritate you as it does so me? Or can you just forgive and forget? Do you find yourself drawn to movie versions of books you couldn't care less about like I am? Do tell...