The great think about being an insomniac – the only good thing, in fact – is that it gives plenty of time to pursue my heart’s true passion: reading. If I had to pick between movies and books, it wouldn’t even be a contest. No hesitation: give me books or give me death (and actually, losing the ability to read is the thing I fear most about aging).
Some of my favourite books inevitably get turned into movies. Sometimes it’s a good thing (The Martian was great!) and sometimes it’s a goddamned travesty (The Golden Compass – ugh). This month you can see two movies based on books that for once, I can actually get behind.
Room, starring Brie Larson, is a revelation. It was deemed “unadaptable” but director Lenny Abrahamson delivers a unique cinematic event with a powerhouse performance by its star. The novel, by Emma Donoghue, is smart, taut, and emotional without sentimentalizing. It’s told from the perspective of 5 year old Jack, held captive in the room where his kidnapped mother conceived and gave birth to him, who has no knowledge of the outside world.
Brooklyn, written by Colm Toibin, is simply beautiful. I fell in love with Eilis, the young Irish immigrant, and her voice – so truly and honestly written. She is brought to life on the big screen by Saoirse Ronan in a feature directed by John Crowley. It debuted at Sundance to such appreciation that it sparked a bidding war that landed the biggest Sundance deal ever. I think it’s worth checking out.
When the cool weather arrives, there’s nothing I like better than curling up by the fire with a glass of wine and a good book…except maybe relaxing in the hot tub with a cigar and a good book. In any case, you need a good book. So here’s your chance to win a book and maybe get inspired to see the movie. Enter the contest and let us know which one you’d rather win – Room or Brooklyn – either way, you can’t lose.
Contest closes at midnight EST November 24 2015. Winner will be announced and notified by email November 25 2015. Anyone can enter in the following ways:
- Like us on Facebook (1 entry)
- Follow us on Twitter @assholemovies (1 entry)
- Tweet this contest to your friends (1 entry)
- Check out our review of Room, and leave a comment (1 entry)
- Leave a comment on this post and tell us which book you’d like to win (1 entry – mandatory)
Be sure to check our Contests! page often – we’re giving lots of stuff away to celebrate 365 days of Assholes Watching Movies.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Oops! I left my comment in the wrong place. Sorry!
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Ashley, your name was drawn this morning! We sent you an email, so please watch for us!
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Oh, lovely! Thank you! 😀
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If it gets to the point where you can’t read, there are always audiobooks.
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I think it’s a great idea, Jay!
I wish I could get my reading mojo back… Now, I can barely read short posts and sometimes I need to read the same paragraph 10 times to understand what’s written! It sucks! 🙂
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well i can share your koolness on fb.. but i dont tweet, and never will . good luck with the contest Jay
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thanks 😉
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Thanks for all the likes on Facebook, you are awesome!
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Well I like you Assholes😂😂😂👍
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My arthouse theater is getting both of these in the coming weeks, I just hope they hold on to them long enough for me to see them. (Their show times suck)
I read Room, and I’ve had Brooklyn on hold at the library for about a month because some asshole is a slow reader. lol
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Ha, that made me spit!
I know, our little arthouse theatre is like that too. It’s just a one-screen old fashioned place, really great actually, but the movie will play once in a day, maybe a couple of times in a month, so you’re really a slave to THEIR schedule.
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Brooklyn. Only because I’ve already read Room (and was one of the people who wondered how on earth it would work as a film).
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Yeah, it’s astonishing what a good job they did. The author worked on the script herself and it ends up translating beautifully, but it was really hard to see how during the reading!
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Room seems like such an exiting story.
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I would like to win Room
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Don’t fret if you’ve already read them both, there are tonnes of great books out there. The Martian, maybe? Or Drew Barrymore’s autobiography?
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The Room sounds fun.
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Not sure how I missed this one. I don’t think I can read Room, but Brooklyn sounds really good. Off to like your Facebook page now. Which I didn’t even realize you had. Because I’m always a laggard.
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Oh no, Sean just invented it like a month ago. 🙂
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I like the sound of “Brooklyn,” since I like the place, have known s sweet girl with this name and the plot, character development and I liked “Angela’s Ashes” and the other 2 books in an Irish trilogy. 🙂
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