We have already been treated to some fantastic book adaptation movies this year - The Jungle Book and The BFG being two that immediately spring to mind.
Swallows and Amazons
We are now well into the second half of the year and there are so many great films in this genre to come over the next few months. I don't know about you, but there are a whole host of films that I really cannot wait to see.
We take a look at some of the book to film adaptations that you cannot afford to miss. Which films are you looking forward to the most?
- Swallows and Amazons - released 19th August
Swallows and Amazons is one of the book adaptations to watch out for this week and is set to be a great family adventure.
Swallows and Amazons is based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Ransome - it was a series of twelve books that was first released back in 1930 - and sees Philippa Lowthorpe in the director's chair.
Lowthorpe is best known for her television work with Jamaica Inn and Call the Midwife under her belt, but this will mark her feature film directorial debut.
The movie is a mix of established stars and new acting talent as Kelly Macdonald, Andrew Scott, Rafe Spall, Jessica Hayne, Richard Bremmer, Harry Enfield, Orla Hill, and Dane Hughes are all on board.
Swallows And Amazons follows four children dreaming of escape from the tedium of a summer holiday in the Lake District with their mother. When finally given permission to camp on their own on a remote island in the middle of a vast lake, they are overjoyed. But when they get there they discover they may not be alone...
As a desperate battle for ownership of the island ensues, the real dangers of an adult world on the brink of war encroach on their paradise in the form of a mysterious pair of Russian spies hot on the tail of the enigmatic Jim Turner. As the sleepy British summer is turned on its head, the children must learn skills of survival, responsibility, and the all-important value of friendship.
If you are looking for some magical family fun on the big screen this week, Swallows and Amazons is a movie that you cannot afford to miss.
- The Girl With All The Gifts - released 23rd September
The Girl With All The Gifts is one of the September films not to miss and is set to be a mix of drama, horror, and thriller.
The Girl With All The Gifts is based on the book of the same name by Mike Carey and has been adapted into a screenplay by the author himself - it is always interesting to see a writer return to their own work to adapt it for the big screen.
Colm McCarthy is another director who has worked in television a lot in recent years with success with Peaky Blinders and Sherlock. This is only the second feature film of his career and comes six years after he made his debut with Outcast in 2010.
The movie will introduce us to young actress Sennia Nanua, who makes her feature film debut in the central role of Melanie. She is joined on the cast list by Gemma Arterton, Glenn Close, Paddy Considine, and Dominique Tipper - it really is an exciting cast list.
The near future; humanity has been all but destroyed by a mutated fungal disease that eradicates free will and turns its victims into flesh-eating 'hungries'. Only a small group of children seem immune to its effects. At an army base in rural England, this group of unique children are being studied, subjected to cruel experiments by biologist Dr. Caldwell. Despite having been infected with the zombie pathogen that has decimated the world, these children retain normal thoughts and emotions.
And while still being subject to the craving for human flesh that marks the disease these second-generation 'hungries' are able to think and feel making them a vital resource in the search for a cure. The children attend school lessons daily, guarded by the ever-watchful Sergeant Parks. But one little girl, Melanie, stands out from the rest. Melanie is special. She excels in the classroom, is inquisitive, imaginative and loves her favourite teacher Miss Justineau.
When the base falls, Melanie escapes along with Miss Justineau, Sergeant Parks, and Dr. Caldwell. Against the backdrop of a blighted Britain, Melanie must discover what she is and ultimately decide both her own future and that of the human race.
The Girl With All The Gifts is a book that I am not familiar with but I am looking forward to this post-apocalyptic horror - the first trailer did promise much.
- Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - released 30th September
It is always exciting when a Tim Burton film is on the horizon and Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is set to be his next film project.
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is Burton's first film since the success of Big Eyes and is a movie that is based on the book of the same name by Ransom Riggs.
The book has been adapted into a screenplay by Jane Goldman, who has written scripts for Kingsman: The Secret Service, Stardust, and Kick-Ass in recent years.
Eva Green takes on the title role as she reunites with Burton for their first project together since Dark Shadows. She is joined on the cast list by Samuel L. Jackson, Allison Janney, Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell, Judi Dench, Chris O'Dowd, Rupert Everett, and Terence Stamp.
When his beloved grandfather leaves Jake clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers... and their powerful enemies. Ultimately, Jake discovers that only his own special 'peculiarity' can save his new friends.
Burton is one of the best filmmakers around and I cannot wait to see him put his own unique stamp on this great tale.
- The Girl on the Train - released 7th October
Of all of the autumn movies that are heading our way, The Girl on the Train is one that I am looking forward to the most.
The Girl on the Train is based on the novel by Pauls Hawkins, which was her debut novel in 2015 - it is amazing how quickly this film has been turned around into a film.
Erin Cressida Wilson has adapted the book into a screenplay while Tate Taylor returns to the director's chair. This is the fourth feature film of Taylor's career and his first since Get On Up back in 2014.
Emily Blunt takes on the central role of Rachel Watson and is joined on the cast list by Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Rebecca Ferguson, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, and Edgar Ramírez.
In the thriller, Rachel (Blunt), who is devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasising about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds.
You really cannot beat a great thriller and The Girl on the Train is a movie that really is promising to keep us on the edge of our seat.
Blunt is one of the best and most talented actresses around and I cannot wait to see her in action in what is another gritty role for the British star.
- Inferno - 14th October
We have already seen Tom Hanks take on the role of Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons... and now he is set to return with Inferno.
Inferno is the latest Dan Brown book to be adapted for the big screen and sees Hanks reunite with filmmaker Ron Howard; this is their fifth collaboration together.
The novel was released back in 2013 and has been adapted for the big screen by David Koepp - we are yet to see The Lost Symbol get a big screen makeover.
Howard has brought together a fantastic cast list as Felicity Jones, Ben Foster, Irrfan Khan, Sidse Babett Knudsen, and Omar Sy all star alongside Hanks.
Inferno finds Robert Langdon (Hanks) on a trail of clues tied to the great Dante himself. When Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks (Jones), a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories. Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to foil a deadly global plot.
The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons were big hits at the box office in 2006 and 2009 and Inferno looks on course to be another big success. I am looking forward to seeing Hanks and Howard working together again.
- The Light Between Oceans - released 4th November
Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are two of the most exciting actors around and they are set to join forces for The Light Between Oceans.
The Light Between Oceans is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by M. L. Stedman and marks the return of Derek Cianfrance to the director's chair - he has also penned the film's screenplay.
This is third live-action feature film of Cianfrance's career and comes after Brother Tied, Blue Valentine, and The Place Beyond the Pines - it is great to see him back.
Fassbender and Vikander are set to play husband and wife, Tom Sherbourne and Isabel Graysmark. And they are joined on the cast list by Rachel Weisz, Florence Clery, and Jack Thompson.
The Light Between Oceans tells the powerful story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Australia who discover a baby adrift in a rowboat. When they decide to raise the child as their own, the consequences of their choice will change their lives forever.
The Light Between Oceans looks like it is going to be a very powerful human drama and is already being tipped as a possible early Oscar contender.
Fassbender was nominated for Best Actor earlier this year while Vikander won the Best Supporting Actress gong for her performance in The Danish Girl - I am looking forward to seeing them share the screen together for the first time.
- American Pastoral - 11th November
It is always exciting when an actor makes the move into the director's chair for the first time... and this autumn, we are going to see Ewan McGregor make his feature film directorial debut with American Pastoral.
American Pastoral is based on the novel of the same name by Philip Roth and has been adapted for the big screen by John Romano, who wrote the script for The Lincoln Lawyer and Nights in Rodanthe.
As well as being in the director's chair for the film, McGregor also takes on the central role of Seymour 'Swede' Levov.
The actor turned filmmaker has brought together an impressive cast list for his debut, as Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning, and David Strathairn are all on board - it really is loaded with acting talent.
American Pastoral follows a family whose seemingly idyllic existence is shattered by the social and political turmoil of the 1960s. Seymour 'Swede' Levov (McGregor), a once legendary high school athlete who is now a successful businessman married to Dawn (Connelly), a former beauty queen, but turmoil brews beneath the polished veneer of Swede's life.
When his beloved teenage daughter, Merry (Fanning), disappears after being accused of committing a violent act, Swede dedicates himself to finding her and reuniting his family. What he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the world around him.
McGregor has always been a terrific actor but I am looking forward to seeing what kind of filmmaker he turns out to be.
- Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - released 18th November
We are set to be plunged back into a world of wizards and magic this autumn as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits the big screen.
The movie is inspired by the book of the same name by J.K. Rowling, which explores the magical creatures of the Harry Potter universe. The movie sees Rowling move into screenwriting for the first time as she has penned the script for the upcoming film.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sees David Yates back in the director's chair for his second feature film of the year - we have already seen him bring The Legend of Tarzan to the big screen this summer.
Yates is no stranger to the magic world of Rowling, having directed four Harry Potter films, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 and Part 2.
The movie sees Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne take on the central role of wizard Newt Scamander and is joined on the cast list by Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Carmen Ejogo, Jon Voight, and Ron Perlman.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures.
Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt's fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is already one of the most anticipated films of the autumn and it really looks like it will not disappoint. A release date for a sequel has already been announced.
Other book adaptations we are looking forward to include Queen of Katwe, Sully, Nocturnal Animals, and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.
Swallows and Amazons is released 19th August.