Monday 10 June 2013

Review & DVD Giveaway: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion


Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies #1)
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Publisher: Atria
Publication date: April 26th 2011
My rating:  4 stars


R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse. Just dreams.

After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a burst of vibrant color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that R lives in. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world...

Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead and the blurry line in between.



I read Warm Bodies not long after it released back in 2011, so it’s been quite some time ago. When I heard there was going to be a movie I was really excited because I enjoyed it so much. I watched the movie just a few days ago.  So I thought this would be a perfect time to do a mini review mash up of both the book and the movie. 

The movie as far as book adaptations was surprisingly good.  I’m always waiting to be disappointed by movie adaptations, but this was not the case here.  There were some omissions in the movie, like R having his zombie wife and kids, but to be honest I didn’t care for that part of the story anyhow, so I was good with that.

When the story opens up we’re introduced to R and the story is told through his eyes, as a zombie barely remembering anything of his past when he was living. We’re not sure what exactly brought about this post apocalyptic world because R can’t remember, and we only get what comes through his perspective, which at first is pretty limited being a zombie and all!  His “life” is basically monotonous and he’s finding it harder and harder to form coherent thoughts. This all changes when on R’s on a hunt for “food” (yes, unfortunately we’re talking about brains) and he comes in contact with Julie, a human trying to survive.  Julie and her group are looking for provisions when R’s group attacks.  As soon as R sees Julie something wakes up in him that causes him to save her.  The more he’s around her the more his mind clears and the more he falls for her.

I remember when I first heard Warm Bodies was a zombie love story I was skeptical because, I mean gross, right?  Who wants to think of kissing a corpse?  But trust me, this works. It’s a wonderful build of romance, filled with longing and sweetness.

As with any zombie tale there were some frightening scenes and those were provided by the zombies but mostly from the creatures called the Boney’s; zombies that have descended far past humanity. Horrifying, fast, and intent on one thing: eating flesh!  These were excellently portrayed in the movie and provided exciting suspense filled scenes. 

All in all, I felt the film adaptation of Warm Bodies was satisfying and pretty true to the book.  




Today we’re giving away a DVD copy of Warm Bodies.  Entries open to US residents only.  Just fill in the rafflecopter below for a chance to win.  Good luck and thanks for visiting The Readers Den.


 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

45 comments:

Nicole Mainardi said...

I loved the Warm Bodies movie, and I have the book for review so I'll definitely have to get to it soon. I'm not sure what my favorite adaptation is, but I loved the new Great Gatsby. It might not encompass the book perfectly, but I thought it was phenomenal and Leo was just so good. He made me fall in love with him again and reminded me of his roles in Titanic and Romeo + Juliet.

Anonymous said...

ahh, I want this movie so bad. I haven't read the book yet though. My favorite book to movie adaption is Breaking Dawn 1 & 2.

Keertana said...

I saw the movie and though it was good, I wasn't overly impressed. I'm glad it sticks true to the book, though, so I doubt I'll read it. Great review, Rachel!

brandileigh2003 said...

I haven't read the book yet but I want to both read and watch

Unknown said...

I haven't seen this one yet so my favorite adaptation so far is the Hunger Games. Thank you for the chance to enter

The Teen Book Guru said...

Oooh the movie seems hilarious! I remember seeing the trailer a while back in the cinema, and LOLing at the slightly creepy sense of humour. It's really rare to find a funny Zombie book. :) I'm so happy it stays true to the book, with so many book-based movies coming out, such as The Fault in Our Stars, Divergent, The Mortal Instruments, etc., I'm really scared I'm going to despise all of them! :/ Thanks for sharing, Jasprit, I think I'll read the book before picking up a DVD of the movie. :) <3 x

The Teen Book Guru said...

Oh, and thanks so much for the generous giveaway, lovely!

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

I've been dying to see this movie! I think my favourite book-to-film adaptation of all time would probably have to be Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix...mostly because it absolutely destroyed me. I'm definitely intrigued to see if TMI series looks as good as it sounds in theatres, too! Thanks for the great giveaway :)

Jenni said...

Such a neat giveaway! I haven't read the book but I did see the movie and I just didn't get the charm in it. The girl reminded me a lot of Kristn Stewart in the first Twilight movie, I felt so awkward when she was on the screen. I did like the guy who played R though, his eyes, those are some piercing eyes. I actually watched another movie the other night that he was in and I liked him in that too.... oh! Jack the Giant Slayer! Yeah he's Jack and those eyes got me again!

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

I have a copy of this one for review, and even though I requested it, I was a little bit sceptical. And I know, romance with a zombie sounds really gross, but it worked for me in Dearly, Departed so I thought, why not? I didn't go see the movie, I'm not a big movie watcher anyway and I'd rather read the book first. And like you, I'm always a little wary of movie adaptations.

Unknown said...

I had mixed thoughts at first like you did thinking that it would be gross, but now I want to read this because of your review! I still have yet to see the movie either. I'm glad it didn't disappoint and exceeded your expectations!

Also, movie adaption? I have no idea. Maybe The Hunger Games? But it really can't ever compare.

All the Ups and Downs said...

Battle Royale =)

Unknown said...

Hmmmm I think I'm going to have to go with the whole Harry Potter series as being my favorite adaptation. Though the books are, of course, far far better, there's something pretty awesome about how the movies alone garnered a huge fan base.

Unknown said...

the only thing that comes to my mind would be the twilight series.. there was another book that they made into a movie -called Blood & Chocolate by Annette Curtis-Klaus- the book was awesome but they messed up the ending big time didnt even follow the book at all.. thanks for the giveaway im looking forward to seeing this movie!!

Bystander said...

I love both the book and the film so much! Seriously, I thought it was just great!

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

Hm, I'm not sure how I'll feel about these changes, especially R having a wife (a zombie cheater, really?!), but I really liked the book and hopefully will like the movie too.
Thanks for the review, Rachel!

Unknown said...

My favorite book to movie adaption is The Hunger Games(:

Shooting Stars Mag said...

I never did read this book, but I'd always wanted too. However, I saw the film and found it quite enjoyable. I do love Nick Hoult though. He's a great actor.

I really like the Harry Potters books/films. No, they aren't totally accurate...but I don't really worry about that. I love the actors and I think all the directors did a wonderful job.

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I just watched this movie on Friday night and really enjoyed it. I haven't read the book yet but I want to. I am kind of disappointed to hear that R was married and had zombie kids. I don't like that. Anyway great giveaway. Thanks for the chance!

Unknown said...

The first four or so Harry Potter movies were my favorite book to movie adaptations. I'm sure there are others but those stick out most in my mind! Really enjoyed reading Warm Bodies so I'm looking forward to seeing how well the movie measures up. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity you two! :)

RIN said...

Hmmm... I was pretty impressed with The Hunger Games adaptation. I thought they did a fantastic job of keeping the feeling of the book and most of the content. I mean, there certainly were changes and I didn't picture everything like it turned out int he movie (most notably the cornucopia), but overall, I thought ti was a huge success.

Brynna

Unknown said...

It's going to have to be The Hunger Games:)

Aneeqah said...

I have yet to read either the book or the movie of Warm Bodies, but your double/mash-up review makes me want to go read and see this book/movie! I'm always expecting the worst with movie adaptions, so I'm glad to see that you enjoyed the movie for this book, despite some things being taken out.

Lovely mash-up review, Rachel!! <3

-Aneeqah @ My Not So Real Life

Sara @ Forever 17 Books said...

I have not seen this movie yet! I'm glad to hear they left out the zombie wife and kids too. I think they toned it down to be more YA than the book was, which was a good move. Can't wait to finally see it! :)

Sara @ Forever 17 Books said...

Oh, and my favorite book to movie adaption will always be The Lord of the Rings. Never have I seen such epic movies that so closely resembled the books. Harry Potter is up there too but SO MUCH was left out. :)

Sophia said...

i haven't read the book, but i hope to soon because i've heard really good things about it! i've also heard that the film is a little different, but of course, that's expected in a book-to-movie adaptation. i watched this earlier when it came out and i loved it so much! it was hilarious and heartwarming, which i wasn't really expecting. lovely review, rachel! glad you liked the book and the film. as for book-to-movie adaptations, i think my favorite might be les miserables (does that even count?) or to kill a mockingbird (loved the film, but loved the book even more).

Flannery Anderson said...

This movie was so much better than I was expecting it to be and I'm happy to hear that it's pretty close to the book in terms of quality. I didn't expect it to be funny and I was skeptical about the zombie "love story" aspect like you were, but it worked:) I have TOO MANY favorite book to movie adaptations but some of the ones I watch the most are The Shawshank Redemption, the Harry Potter series, some of the Roald Dahl book movies (Matilda, The Witches, etc.), and I am really excited to see how Ender's Game will be, when it's released this fall.

Unknown said...

It's great that you thought the movie was a nice adaptation. I haven't read Warm Bodies or watched it. I just can't see a zombie as a love interest at all. BUT...I said the same thing about vampires years ago!

purpleshadowhunter said...

My favorite which isnt out til Aug. is City of Bone...ok so as right no I think Beastly,Red Riding Hood,and LOTR.

purpleshadowhunter said...

*now

Juana said...

My favorite is The Notebook.

jmesparza821 at gmail dot com

Siiri said...

I'm glad it's something you found true to the book, but the parts that weren't didn't bother you as a fan of the book. I am well aware that books are mostly better than movies/TV-shows, but since I haven't read the book and I definitely want to watch this one sometime soon, I'm so so so very happy that you found the movie satisfying as well. I can't wait to watch it and hopefully I'll have only good thoughts to share as well:)

Unknown said...

Great review! I haven't read or watched Warm Bodies, but I will have to soon! It sounds great! :D I love The Great Gatsby movie. It's probably one of the only movies I love as much as the book.

Stephanie said...

Alice in Wonderland...hands down!
nurse_mommy(at)live(dot)com

Amanda said...

Oh I really, really want to read Warm Bodies soon! I saw the movie in theatres a few months ago and was surprised at how much I ended up enjoying it. It is a crazy premise - who would ever think of telling a zombie apocalypse story through the eyes of a zombie, after all - but it works really well! And I've heard wonderful things about the book. I also love the fact that it's basically a Romeo and Juliet retelling. I'm always down for reading some retellings. :)
And my favorite book to film adapation is LOTR.

Texas Book Lover said...

I have not seen the movie or read the book but my daughter has read it and we both want to see the movie!

The Notebook is my favorite...it is the only movie I like better than the book!

Thanks so much!

Margay Leah Justice said...

I still like Twilight.

Cassandra! :D said...

I really liked this one.
Also, if you don't actually compare the two, Ella Enchanted.
I love both, but...only if analyzed separately, because they're completely different

Sayomay said...

Def Harry Potter! :D
Mary G Loki

Unknown said...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

the notebook-i thought the movie improved on the book!

Christine said...

The Harry Potter movies for sure!! :D
Also To Kill a Mockingbird, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder IS Willy Wonka), The Princess Bride, The Wizard of Oz, and Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version).

Two Tall Tales said...

I loved the notebook! I actually have many..I love movies!!

Thanks for the giveaway

usagi, said...

I just saw Joss Whedon's version of "Much Ado About Nothing" and aside from the original Swedish version of "Let the Right One In" and the David Fincher remake of "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", it's come in at a close third as my fave book to film adaptation.

Esined615 said...

That is a hard question because I think movies are never as good as the book but the Harry Potter movies were done really well. I'm hoping Mortal Instruments is done well too

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