November 2013 Movie Prequel Guide: A Checklist

Halloween on Thursday and the turn of the calendar to November makes it about time for another Prequel Checklist. If you’re unaware of this monthly post, it’s a compilation of all the things you might want to catch up with before you see a non-original movie. Since its inception, there hasn’t been a month quite like this November. To my count, 17 different movies are inspired by something (whether it’s a book, article, remake, or what have you).

There are varying levels of importance; therefore, each film has materials broken up to be either Essential, Useful, or Extra.

Check them all out below…

Useful:
‘Big Sur’ by Jack Kerouac – Since Michael Polish’s limited release of Big Sur is adapted by the 1962 novel by Jack Keuouac, it might be best to check out the book first.

Extra:
‘Buying Time’ by Bill Minutaglio (article) – If you’re interested in the Dallas Life Magazine article that inspired the real-life adaptation of Ron Woodroof’s life, check the link here. It’s an interesting background to what could amount to be a very good film when it releases this Friday.

Useful:
‘Diana: Her Last Love’ by Kate Snell – Olvier Hirschbiegel’s Princess Diana biopic, titled Diana, is also based on a book. Kate Snell’s source material is probably more in-depth, so it could be a good thing to check out.

Useful:
‘Ender’s Game’ by Orson Scott Card – It’s been a movie 28 years in the making because the popular military drama novel by Orson Scott Card has somehow never been adapted into a film. That’ll change this Friday. If there is one book you should power through before the movie, this one is definitely it. I’m skeptical on how they’ll be able to advance time like the novel does, so I expect major differences in the film version.

Extra:
‘Ender’s Game’ series by Orson Scott Card – Card continued to expand the series after its initial success. If you’re looking for more, there are a total of 12 books, 12 short stories, and 47 comic book issues with the ‘Ender’s Game’ stamp on it.

Useful:
‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak – Zusak’s 2005 New York Times bestseller is yet another book probably worth reading before the film adaptation. The movie most notably stars Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech).

Useful:
‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickins – Another adaptation of Charles Dickins’ popular novel is hitting the big screen soon. If you feel like trudging through the book, you’ve got about a week and a half. Good luck.

Extra:
Film adaptations – There are six other film adaptations before Mike Newell’s releases, the latest being in 1998. I’d only watch them if you were really interested in comparing the different versions.

TV – Same goes for the 1981 TV Serial and the 1989 miniseries.

‘How I Live Now’ by Meg Rosoff – The independent film How I Live Now becomes the sixth movie based on a book this month. Same idea as the others here.

‘The Motel Life- by Willy Vlautin – Like How I Live Now, The Motel Life is based on a book. This one released in 2006 and was credited to Willy Vlautin. It tells the story of two brothers in Reno that are put in a terrible situation when they accidentally hit and kill a bicyclist.

Necessary:
Thor (film) – The first “necessary” prequel materials go to the original Thor. Thor: The Dark World will take place after the original movie, and you’d really be doing yourself a disservice if you skipped the first one…even if it isn’t that good of a movie

The Avengers (film) – I would also consider The Avengers a very important movie to watch before The Dark World. Loki’s circumstances in the latest Thor movie really depend on seeing The Avengers. This is why the Marvel Cinematic Universe is so awesome.

Extra:
Comics – There are various ‘Thor’ comics that you could refresh on before seeing the movie adaptation. I haven’t really found a good starting point, but it can’t hurt to read something Thor related.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe – If you have time, I would also watch the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which includes the The Incredible Hulk, the three Iron Man movies, and Captain America: The First Avenger). Again, this can be done to help appreciate the whole thing.

Useful:
The Best Man (film) – The Best Man Holiday is a sequel to 1999’s The Best Man, but we shouldn’t let that fool us too much. A lot of actors, like Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Terrence Howard, and more are back, but the stories don’t seem all that connected. My guess is you could see Holiday without the original and be just fine.

Extra:
Starbuck (film) – Before Ken Scott did Delivery Man, he did a French-Canadian comedy called Starbuck. I happened to have seen it last year and reviewed it when it released earlier this year. In true Hollywood fashion, Delivery Man is an English-language remake of a successful film. It’ll be interesting to see how different they are. In order for you to know, check out Starbuck.

Extra:
‘The Snow Queen’ by Hans Christian Anderson – It seems pretty fitting for an animated Disney movie to be based on a fairy tale, right? That’s the case with Frozen (which voice stars Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Alan Tudyk). For those clamoring for the movie, check out the 1845 fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson.

Essential:
The Hunger Games (film) – With sequels, it always seems important to have seen the first one. However, it is definitely essential that you’ve seen the first Hunger Games movie before seeing the second one (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) given the plot. Unless you want to be lost, check up on the first movie.

Useful:
‘Catching Fire’ by Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is based on the second book in the franchise. As a fan of the franchise as a whole, I would recommend reading the book (simply titled ‘Catching Fire’) before seeing the movie, especially since it’s generally considered the best book in the series.

‘The Hunger Games’ Book Series by Suzanne Collins – Along the same lines, it’s probably worth mentioning the whole series could help when watching Catching Fire. The book series obviously is more in-depth compared to the movies, so hardcore fans should check this out.

Useful:
‘The Lost Child of Philomena’ by Martin Sixsmith – Yet another book adaptation will be coming in the movie Philomena. It’s based on Martin Sixsmith’s novel ‘The Lost Child of Philomena,’ so check it out if that sounds like something up your alley.

Useful:
‘Homefront’ by Chuck Logan – The tenth movie based on a book goes to this month’s Homefront. The movie will star Jason Statham, who plays a DEA agent disrupted by a band of drug traffickers.

Useful:
‘Long Walk to Freedom’ by Nelson Mandela – If anyone deserves to have a movie made after them, it’s Nelson Mandela. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which stars Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) and Naomie Harris (Skyfall), is based on Mandela’s autobiography. The book, I’m assuming, is a very insightful look into his storied life.

Useful:
Oldboy (film) – The second English-language remake of the month belongs to Spike Lee’s (Inside Man) version of Oldboy. The 2003 South Korean film by Park Chan-wook is supposedly a brutal tale (one which is somewhat polarizing) and I’m especially excited to finally catch up with the movie.

Extra:
The Vengeance Trilogy – Besides Chan-wook’s Oldboy, there are two other films that makeup The Vengeance Trilogy. The other two movies are Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and they probably don’t have much to do with Spike Lee’s version, but it’s still worth mentioning.

Manga Series – A lot of people don’t know that Oldboy was actually based on a Japanese manga series that ran from 1996 to 1998. It wouldn’t hurt to check these out either.

That does it! You’ve got a lot of things to check off the list if you’re hoping to be caught up for these films!

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