In my reading through old threads I ran across a discussion of books and the movies based on them and how the former are usually (though not always) better than the latter. I opined that the Lord of the Rings movies were better than the books because I find Tolkein's prose unconvincing and his novel structures clumsy and off-putting.

Another movie that I saw not too long ago was Ready Player One. I enjoyed the movie so much that I went and found a copy of the book while I was on holiday in New Zealand. I found it very disappointing. It was OK but the movie was about a hundred times better.

Any other suggestions for movies better than the books?

I have a small handful:
-- 2001: A Space Odyssey (actually I think the movie came first and the book was an afterthought)
-- Our Man in Havana - Ernie Kovacs and Alec Guinness
-- The Bridge on the River Kwai - Alec Guinness again
-- Black Orpheus - Harry Belafonte

If they remake the movies, as is the modern tendency, all bets are off.

2001 is interesting. It is based on a short story called The Sentinel (I think) which is essentially just the ape-man section at the start. The novel and the movie were then developed side by side which is why they match rather more closely than other movies based on books or novelizations based on movies.

I discovered recently that the Star Wars novel, Splinter of the Minds Eye which was published between the first two movies was the back up plan if the first movie had been a failure. Alan Dean Foster’s brief was to write something that could be filmed easily and cheaply with limited locations and effects. Then Star Wars was a massive success so that movie was never made and the novel became non-canon.

The movie Enchanted April is better than the book.

Our Man In Havana - I enjoyed the book and movie about equally
Bridge On The River Kwai - great movie, haven't read the book
Black Orpheus and Enchanted April - I never heard of either

I have yet to see a wholly satisfactory film adaptation of Alice In Wonderland. Some, such as the Jonathon Miller or Jan Svankmajer versions, are brilliant, dark and disturbing but don't really have much to do with the book. Others, such as Irwin Allen's version, follow the story more closely but aren't actually great movies. I still live in hope that someone will make a proper adaptation.