THE HUNGER GAMES: OPENING DAY!!!

The Hunger Games has set a non-sequel midnight record! The film opened to an estimated $19.7 million at the midnight premiere, ranking seventh all-time behind the last three Harry Potter and Twilight movies. Find out more HERE.


Here is a video compilation of my experience at the midnight premiere:

I went to see the movie again with two friends who didn't go to the midnight premiere. We went around 3 PM before kids got out of school, and we were lucky because after we walked out the movie, all showings for the rest of the day were sold out. I enjoyed the film again. It was just as good as the first time I saw it. I guess I'm kind of a freak for seeing it twice within a span of 24 hours. But that's what fans do. At least I didn't have to wait in line or scramble for good seats like I did at the midnight premiere. I was less stressed this time around, and I felt more capable of enjoying the movie more this time.


I guess I didn't catch some things in the movie the first time around. The second time I saw the movie, I caught some things that were different from the book. Here are some things I didn't catch the first time around or I forgot to post in my previous blog post:


Many citizens of District 12 looked considerably healthy in the movie. They didn't look malnourished or underfed like they are described in the book. Haymitch wasn't present at the Reaping Day ceremony. The internal thoughts of Katniss were not as emphasized as they were in the book. The parachutes included messages from Haymitch, which differed from the book because Katniss had to figure out for herself how to get Haymitch to send the parachutes and what Haymitch's intentions were in sending the parachutes. I thought Rue was speared when she was in the net, but I may be wrong on that one. Rue didn't take the spear out of her in the book, but she did in the movie. Katniss didn't receive the bread from District 11. Peeta wasn't brutally attacked by the dog muttations. Peeta also did not lose his leg in the movie, which is understandable because it would be difficult to present his lost leg as a prosthetic in movie sequels. That would take a lot of special effects. There are probably many other things that were different in the movie, but I can't recall them right now.


One addition I extremely enjoyed was the rebellion in District 11 after Rue's death. I had chills during that scene, and the funny thing is that I had chills both times seeing the movie. It was inspiring and motivational. It made me feel like I do when listening to the song "Dare You To Move" by Switchfoot.


I enjoyed the film both times I saw it, especially because I caught things in the movie the second time around watching it. I guess I was too excited and stressed out during the first time I saw the movie because I missed some things which flew over my head the first time around. 


I do not have a sonnet to share with you all, but I will post some more funny parody videos of the Hunger Games:

Have a great day and live life!

THE HUNGER GAMES: MIDNIGHT PREMIERE!!!

Three words. THE HUNGER GAMES.

Wow. I am almost speechless. I just watched the Hunger Games movie at a midnight showing. I waited with friends for 5 hours in line. Waiting in line was an adventure in itself. But let's avoid that craziness. I was already jumpy throughout the entire day. I woke up and wished myself and millions of fans out there a "HAPPY HUNGER GAMES!" The night before, I went through important parts in the book to refresh my mind. After we got our seats, I could not wait any longer for the movie to start! We had to wait an hour inside the theater for the movie to begin. And once it began, everyone was silent. It was a wild adventure. I cannot type everything I thought about it on here. But it was unforgettable. Right after the movie, I searched "Hunger Games" on Google and looked for the news results. I found a post by E! Online. The link is HERE.


The post asked viewers of the movie what they thought about it, and here's what I said in the comments section:


"Michael C. Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 12:54 AM


I thought the filmmakers did well for the first movie in the series. Of course the movie can never be the same as the book, but they did a good job editing the film and still including the important parts. Jennifer Lawrence did a stellar job on portraying Katniss. I enjoyed the chemistry between Haymitch and Effie. It eased some tension during the scenes. Josh Hutcherson also did well in portraying the very likeable Peeta. Gale got the sympathy card, of course. The "girl on fire" outfit was not what I expected it to be. The special effects were satisfactory with the "girl on fire" outfit, but they weren't perfect, which is still okay. I am a huge fan of the book series, and I very much enjoyed the movie. The Capitol attire was done very well. I thought the Capitol would be an Emerald City like in the Wizard of Oz. Some filming in the arena reminded me of Cloverfield, but it added to the action and suspense. The mockingjay pin change-up was more heart-warming between Prim and Katniss."


Fans need to understand that the books will never match up perfectly with the movie. If they did, the movies would last for days. Sometimes, you have to separate the book from the movie as different works of art. I think doing this allows you to appreciate both the book and the movie. I've already heard from friends that the movie wasn't as good as they expected it to be, but I'm fine with that. For the first movie in the Hunger Games series, the filmmakers did extremely well.


At the start of the movie, I already heard people whispering during parts that didn't match up with the book. Prim's goat cheese was left out. Buttercup the cat wasn't as ugly as I thought he would be. The fence that surrounded District 12 wasn't a chain link fence. Peeta and Katniss didn't gorge themselves on the train in front of Effie. Where did Madge go? The Avox girl wasn't included. The prep team for Katniss wasn't as emphasized. There are many things that were left out of the movie. And there were many changes as well. Katniss bought the mockingjay pin from the Hob and gave to Prim who gave it back to Katniss before she went to the Capitol. I thought the movie did a good job in allowing people to make sense of the matter because Prim giving Katniss the pin is more sentimental that Madge giving Katniss the pin. Prim and Katniss are very close sisters, and you felt the bond between them grow when Prim returned the pin to Katniss. The Cornucopia was a lot different from what I pictured it in the book. Rue's death was a little bit different from what I thought it was going to be like, but of course, it was a tearjerker. I heard people around me sniffling for at least fifteen minutes after Rue's death. I think that's a bit funny because people who read the book knew that was going to happen. The muttation dogs were a lot large than I thought they would be. They were horrifying though, but I wished the movie put more emphasis on the muttations' eyes. But anyways, the movie ended differently than in the book. Cato's death was different. He didn't have his armor. And he didn't die in the Cornucopia in the movie. I appreciated the way Seneca Crane died in the movie. That was intense. If the movie did end in the same way as the book, I think non-readers of the book would end up angry at the movie's end. I'm kind of glad viewers didn't see the final scene between Katniss and Peeta.


Overall, I enjoyed the film. I cannot wait for the next movie to come out. In the meantime, I need to reread the book series so I can pick up on things that I did not pick up on before. I'm going to skip posting a sonnet tonight, so I have time to think and write well-developed ones about the Hunger Games as well as my Spring Break trip to Colorado and my trip to New Mexico before that.


As a side note, I did watch some funny parodies of the Hunger Games on YouTube before heading to the theater. I'll post two of my favorites here:

Have a great day and live life!