Over the years, we’ve seen Hollywood take a few different avenues when adapting pulpy, bestselling phenomenons. David Fincher has displayed a couple of different techniques, putting his chilly, authorial touch on “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” and embracing the camp of the high-wire story in “Gone Girl,” while Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books have been turned into a star vehicle for Tom Cruise.

Continue reading Joyless ‘The Girl On The Train’ Could’ve Benefitted From Going Off The Rails A Little More [Review] at The Playlist.

In early 2015, Paula Hawkins published her second book under her real name. She’d written a few others using the pseudonym Amy Silver, lightweight comic romances that hadn’t gone anywhere; her first as Hawkins was a book of financial advice for women that she “wouldn’t urge anyone to go out and buy” according to an interview with the New York Times. But “The Girl on the Train” was different. It went straight to the number one slot on the NYT bestsellers list and stayed there for 13 weeks.

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Let’s face it, 2016 has so far been sort of a crappy year for movies. It’s been a particularly bad summer blockbuster season, with almost everything coming up short. But even the indie world has been quieter than usual, with some dizzying highs — “The Witch,” “Embrace Of The Serpent,” “Green Room,” and “The Lobster” are among featured on our list of the best of the year so far — but some disappointments too.

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