Bridget Jones' Diary, 2001
Book: Bridget is a lonely, desperate, and long-suffering singleton looking for love (and the perfect diet). Far from perfect, she thinks she's doomed to spinsterhood until Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy enter the picture.
Movie: Renee Zellweger put on the pounds and a British accent to play Bridget in a hilarious spot-on adaptation with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant costarring as the hero and the cad, respectively.
Verdict: The movie wins this one, if only because the actors brought the characters completely to life or simply for that pansy fight between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant with "It's Raining Men" playing in the background. V. funny! P.S. Skip the sequel…of both the book and the movie.
Stardust, 2007
Book: Tristan Thorn breeches the wall between his town and the magical world of Stromhold to retrieve a fallen star for the woman he loves. He stumbles across the star, who happens to be a fair maiden, and sets off on a magical journey home with her, pursued by witches and princes.
Movie: Claire Danes stars as the star Yvaine and is paired with relative newcomer Charlie Cox. Michelle Pfeiffer is the scary witch and Robert De Niro is the gay sky pirate, Captain Shakespeare.
Verdict: Read Gaiman's book or his graphic novel version. Get lost in the wondrous world of Stromhold and meet the magical characters that people it. The movie does a bang-on job, but sometimes your own imagination is hard to beat.
