4 excellent movies and shows you'll enjoy more if you forget everything you know

Published Sep 28, 2026, 12:45 PM EDT After graduating from Marist University with a degree in communications and journalism, Dan Girolamo has over 10 years of experience writing about entertainment and sports. Dan's work can be seen in various publications, including Digital Trends, SportsCasting, and Tom's Guide. Throughout his career, Dan has interviewed several high-profile filmmakers and creatives, including Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Caitriona Balfe, Frank Grillo, Miranda Cosgrove, Jai Courtney, Chris Columbus and James Cameron. Dan joins How-To Geek as a Senior Editor. When he's not writing about entertainment, Dan is either watching a movie or praying for the New York Knicks to win a championship. Adaptations are a tricky endeavor. Many filmmakers and showrunners run into problems when adapting source material from, say, a book. While it can be helpful to have a blueprint for a movie or show, adaptations create numerous problems, especially when it comes to satisfying fans loyal to the book. One minor change to the book can cause an uproar. Just ask Benioff and Weiss about how fans reacted to their decisions in Game of Thrones. Not all changes should be negative. There are several examples of movies and shows that altered or omitted key storylines from the books. In fact, there is an HBO superhero show that has sparked a passionate debate between comic book fans. Sometimes, it's best to forget about what you know from the source material and enjoy the movie or show like you're learning about the topic for the first time. Not all books are better than movies or shows. The best example on this list, and my top selection, happens to be a landmark blockbuster by Steven Spielberg. 4 Lanterns Green Lantern Corps gets the HBO treatment After the debacle of 2011's Green Lantern, the titular character deserved a proper live-action adaptation. In 2026, fans of the Green Lantern Corps got their wish with Lanterns, an HBO drama starring Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. After the first episode, some comic fans were outraged about a crucial decision the writers made involving Hal, which I won't spoil. If you're looking for the space opera and galactic wars from the comics, you'll be severely disappointed. Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King have grounded Lanterns in reality. It's a crime show that mirrors the first season of True Detective. That might not be what comic fans want, but you know what? True Detective is an excellent TV show. Lanterns is a good show that might be great depending on how this season ends. I'll take a better show over a faithful adaptation every day of the week. 3 Friday Night Lights Clear eyes. Full hearts. Different show Friday Night Lights is the rare book to receive both a movie and television adaptation. Buzz Bissinger’s book chronicles the 1988 Permian Panthers high school football team in Odessa, Texas, including Coach Gary Gaines and noteworthy players, such as Boobie Miles and Mike Winchell. The book explores how football is a way of life in Texas and the problems that come with it, including parental pressure, class warfare, and systemic racism. The movie is more faithful to the book than the TV show, as it dramatizes that same team and season, though it takes some creative liberties. The TV show has the same title as the book, and that's probably the biggest similarity. Friday Night Lights, which has more appeal to general audiences, is more of a melodrama set in the world of high school football. Wins and losses matter, but the drama with Coach Taylor, Tim Riggins, and the rest of the team happens off the field. Plus, Friday Night Lights features one of my favorite pilot episodes of all time. 2 The Godfather Here's an offer you can't refuse ​​​​​​​ When I first watched The Godfather, I had no idea it was based on a book. Published in 1969, Mario Puzo’s crime novel introduces the Corleone family, including patriarch Vito and his four children: Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and Connie. The Corleones are one of the Five Families that make up the New York Mafia. The novel covers 10 years in the family's history, which includes Michael’s rise to power as the new head of the Corleone family. As for the movie, Puzo co-authored the script with director Francis Ford Coppola. The classic movie mirrors the plot of the book, but it’s more condensed and cuts out much of the characters’ backstories. Considering The Godfather is one of the 10 greatest movies of the 20th century, it’s safe to say the adaptation succeeded. If I’m being honest, The Godfather is great, but I prefer The Godfather Part II, which includes a generational turn from Al Pacino and an Oscar-winning performance from Robert De Niro. 1 Jaws We're gonna need a bigger boat ​​​​​​​ Another movie, another instance where I didn’t know it was based on a book until later. When looking into Peter Benchley’s book, you’ll see that Steven Spielberg made the correct decisions to cut out several prominent storylines. In the book, Ellen Brody has an affair with Matt Hooper, and Mayor Larry Vaughn keeps the beaches open post-shark attack due to pressure from the Mafia. Mr. Spielberg, thank you for omitting both of those nonsensical plot points. Instead of channeling the book’s gritty tone, Spielberg shot Jaws like a tense thriller. The second half of the movie becomes a chase movie as Brody (Roy Scheider), Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and Quint (Robert Shaw) hunt the shark at sea. Once the trio gets on the boat and heads to sea, Jaws levitates—that’s how special this movie becomes. For my money, it remains the poster boy for summer blockbusters. Jaws Release Date June 20, 1975 More movies and shows to add to your watchlists If you need more recommendations, I've got you covered. Head to Prime Video if you love action movies and enjoy Die Hard and One Battle After Another. Plus, Netflix is the king of true crime, and The Death of the Pastor's Wife should be your next binge-watch.