Skip to main content

Books on Screen

Each month, our Books on Screen feature spotlights movies, television shows, miniseries and specials that are based on books of various genres --- including novels, memoirs, comics, children's books, short stories and poetry --- along with the latest DVD releases.

October 2016

Welcome back, Books on Screen lovers! We find ourselves together in this very October-y October, when the leaves are starting to turn and pumpkin spice once again resumes its delicious reign of terror! For those of you who aren’t exclusively watching scary movies or The Rocky Horror Picture Show on repeat this month, here are some great entertainment alternatives.

September 2016

Hello, Books on Screen lovers! At long last, September is upon us, which means there's a reason to visit theaters besides their indefatigable AC: fall-quality movies. What a time to be alive! Where do we even begin? Like a '90s boy band, there's something for everyone this month. Instead of our usual dense, paragraphs-long roundup, we're going to go with a different approach and break some of our movies down by target demo. You ready? I'm ready!

August 2016

Welcome back, Books on Screen lovers! Technically, we’re not even halfway through the summer, but it sure feels like things are winding down. As Howard Schultz always says, the best thing about August is that it’s almost fall. Whether you love the summer or would rather stay in and marathon Michael Bay movies for the entirety of August, one thing we can all agree on is that it’s never too early for subtle pumpkin spice latte jokes.

July 2016

Hello, Books on Screen readers, and welcome back from your sun- and domestic beer-soaked holiday weekends! As things heat up on screens and off, July couldn’t be a better time to celebrate our national rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of AC. Those rights are right, right?

June 2016

Welcome back, Books on Screen lovers! Our headliner this month is a real tearjerker, but all you June bugs out there need not worry: No tear ducts, no tears!  

April 2016

Happy “Game of Thrones” month, Books on Screen readers! Can you feel it in the air, as thick as Jon Snow’s hair? That’s not early spring humidity; it’s excitement! It feels like a lifetime ago that the season five finale aired, and now we’re finally going to learn the fates of our favorite characters (JON SNOW JON SNOW JON SNOW), come hell or Ramsay Bolton. I was strictly told that I couldn’t devote this entire column to “Game of Thrones,” but --- as someone who, against all odds, was able to write about GONE WITH THE WIND in every single ninth grade English paper --- there are always loopholes. So welcome to Books on Screen, Thrones Edition! And sorry in advance, Tom.

March 2016

Well, well, well! The Oscars have come and gone, and --- much like our waning winter --- awards season this year was a mild one, marked by an unexpected snowstorm or two. I may be mixing my metaphors here; let’s blame it on the ever-eco-conscious OSCAR-WINNING ACTOR Leo DiCaprio. But March is here now, and soon the colder months will be just a pesky, unwelcome memory --- kind of like “The Cobbler” must be for Tom McCarthy.

February 2016

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a bestselling zombie novel must be in want of a silver screen adaptation. So it’s no surprise that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s Frankenstein of a novel --- which plops hordes of the walking dead into the Austen classic --- is now in theaters. More respectable reviewers are saying this one is as soulless as the Bennet sisters’ antagonists, but I say leave your braaaains at the door and enjoy some good February fun!

January 2016

Happy New Year, Books on Screen lovers! Hopefully, your resolutions include getting better at managing your expectations; considering the mediocre crop of movies this month, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to flex those fledgling cognitive muscles.

December 2015

Season’s greetings, Books on Screen lovers! If you’re at all worried about appearances when Santa comes to town, it might be best to avoid the dim and dismal movies that hit theaters this month. The entertainment itself is brilliant, but I bet there will be plenty of crying and pouting in theaters nationwide.