Muggle, I just finished watching the final film of the trilogy and loved it. I don't know how close any of the films are to the books, but from what I've read in the reviews, one and two are close but three is not so close. I would assume that they wanted an ending that satisfied them. Also, from what I've read, the American version of the Dragon is not nearly as good as the Swedish version. BTW, the second film doesn't take place directly from the end of the first film, but the third film goes right into the end of the second. After reading the trilogy, I highly recommend seeing the Swedish versions. You will already know what to look for, but you'll have to read the subtitles.
Muggle, just imagine what it's like to work out in the cold/heat.
Most people I believe think that way. But I'm kinda different. Books are so much more detailed and so much is missed in a two hour movie. Because of that, I much rather watch the movie first and then when I read the book, I can understand what was going on in the movie better. Doing it the other way will almost always disappoint you because it misses so much that you, the reader, believe is important.
Wonder where those books could go. The third film seems to wrap things up, but then again, the lives still move forward. I would of course then go in a different direction, more like into the personal lives...as though it wasn't personal enough.