Monday, March 26, 2012

"i would volunteer for you," and other thoughts from watching the hunger games.


in january of 2011, i spent nearly every free waking moment i had consuming the hunger games series. i literally lost sleep over the books and when i was done, i was so sad and felt like i had said goodbye to some dear friends.

i know, i'm such a nerd.

so, naturally, i was totally, totally, TOTALLY excited about the first movie. i may have even spent some time stalking forums regarding casting speculations. and i may have also stalked youtube looking for clips and trailers of the movie.

i know, serious nerd bomber here.

my parents very generously offered to babysit choi boy after our weekly sunday night dinner so we could go and watch the movie and i giddily accepted (and i may have even squealed and clapped). my sister, who is also a big time THG fan, and the hubs (THG poser -- did not read the books) headed to the theatre while my mom and dad happily whisked cb away, after not only buying us all dinner, but also buying our movie tickets! whohoo! (yes, i'm 31 and my mommy and daddy still spoil me :) )

like a true nerd fan, i wore cargo pants to pay homage to katniss. my sister, who is crazily often on the same wavelength as me, thought the same thing and we were totally twinsies again. this happens so frequently we are now rarely surprised and only slightly amused.
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if only we had worn our hair in katniss-esque side braids.

my sister and i got to the theatre with plenty of time to spare to be sure to secure the good seats. we may have even tested more than one row for optimal viewing distance.

we were straight giddy.
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at this point we had a half hour to spare and the hubs was being a gentleman and waiting for my cousin (also big time THG fan) who was running late. and it was probably a good thing since he would likely have rolled his eyes at the number of self-portraits we took and at our slightly obsessive conversation.

my sis and i had semi-sappy conversations about volunteering for one another if we were called in the reaping, though we agreed that my sister would last much, much longer in the arena and would have a strong chance of winning. i, on the other hand, would likely be one of the first that the cannon would sound for. sad, but true.

finally, FINALLY, the movie started.

and i tell you, i loved all 2 hours and 22 minutes of it. i cried (a lot), laughed, hid behind my hands, sucked in my breath, squeezed my sister's hand...so many emotions. (sidenote: i'm really embarrassing to go to the movies with. i get really into it. yes, i'm that person. thankfully, so is my sister. unfortunately for the hubs, it's twice as embarrassing for him when he's with both of us.)

it was SO good.

SO, SO, SO good.

jennifer lawerence IS katniss. it took me a little bit to get over how tall she was, but man, oh man, she played katniss so well and was able to depict many of the subtleties that are often lost when turning a first person narrative book into a movie.

the other characters were spot-on, too. at first, i was a little skeptical of josh hutcherson as peeta, but he won me over with his charm and winsome nature, just the way peeta would, and just the way josh did in one of my favorite movies, little manhattan.

the movie was just incredibly well done and probably one of the best book to movie adaptations i've seen.

but it also left me feeling really unsettled. the books did, too, but seeing it live action made the dark themes and the social commentary (suzanne collins is a genius) a lot more in-your-face and glaringly apparent.

i couldn't help thinking about the capitol and all its lavish and frivolous niceties and our own lives and luxuries and our first world problems. and all that we often ignore. and about all those people that don't have the luxury of choice.

it really made me remember and think.

which is often what the best movies do, no?

did you see it? what did you think?

10 comments:

  1. EEEK, I haven't seen it yet, but I cannot wait! I have heard only great things about it. I was thinking about our luxuries on Sunday as I sat down and perused recipes and made a mealplan and then went shopping for all the food, only to find that my cabinets and fridge could barely hold everything. Blessed, sister. We are blessed!

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  2. :)))) LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

    Check out my friend's detailed account: http://honeyishrunkthegretchen.com/2012/03/27/the-hunger-games-a-review/#comment-15154 I agree with everything she says!

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  3. Your sister turned me onto your post today, after I posted my HUGE review of the movie on my own blog! I love that you guys ended up matching in your cargo pants -- but can't believe you didn't sport a side-braid a la Katniss! :)

    I LOVED it, and have already seen it twice... so far. :)

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  4. I can't wait to see this!!! Here's hoping I get there next week! (Post-quarantine!)

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  5. Saw it - and LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!! It was so very well done - can't wait for Catching Fire - they left the movie at the perfect spot for #2... Countdown is on until November 22, 2013!

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  6. I have to read it first, it's on my list. I was planning to get all 3 on my kindle for the plane ride to Korea, but now I'm wondering if that's a good idea...(too emotional at an already hyper-emotional time?!?). Anyway, I'm excited to read and eventually see them!

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  7. Covering my eyes to not read because I haven't been able to see it yet - hopefully this weekend!

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  8. I read the books in 3 days in mexico, I was scouring the pool for someone else reading them to talk about it. I drug my husband this weekend. I think he liked it and I was so keyed up from it COULD NOT sleep. Amazing. I am a total dork too, for one min. it took away the pain of the wait for my daughter and I was consumed with the hunger games, she will be home for #2...hopefully she will let me leave :)

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  9. Hi, grace. Read the books, loved them, in that the story line is captivating--disturbing but captivating, too. Saw the movie and thought the movie, as a movie was excellent. BUT, I don't think I'll be seeing the other movies. First of all, I think there are so many worthy points to the books--katniss is a great character with so many wonderful character traits (self-sacrifice, courage, resilience, citizenship, responsibility) but there was something about watching "The Hunger Games." I remember being so disturbed by the fact the people in the book had to watch and here I was, watching it also. Granted, it's obviously fictional, but still, I was bothered by seeing the games in a movie. Not sure I'm making sense.... Joy (forgot to sign in!)

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    1. i totally get it...it *was* disturbing! and i think that was kinda how we were supposed to feel. hopefully, it makes everyone continue to think about the themes that apply to us, too. initially, i wanted to watch it more than once, but i'm not sure i can handle it again. so many emotions...i actually had a terrible migraine later than night!

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