The kids had read the books already, but Cheryl purchased the trilogy at Costco anyway so the rest of us could catch up before we went to see the movie.
Naturally, I still didn't get the chance to read the books until after the movie. Because everyone in my household is a voracious reader, and any sign of "new" books, even if they have already been read, is a signal to make a grab for it and run. To their rooms, under their covers, wherever they can hide and remain undisturbed.
It's very weird to come home from work to a silent house. Because everyone is reading. It's even worse when we come back from the library. You might as well cancel all the plans for the rest of the day when there's a fresh stack of books to read at the Meyer household!
The girls had been making plans to see the movie for weeks now; they and their friends were figuring out all the details, and (I think) they were planning on letting us parents in on it eventually. The boys were making plans, too, and it just made sense to us that perhaps we ought to put the plans together and kill two mockinjays[1] with one stone (as it were); so we made all the arrangements, bought the tickets ahead of time, and headed down to Hastings to the teeny-weeny theater near where our friends lived, to meet up with them and their clan, so that we could all see the movie together.
We got there right on time for an early matinee show (at 1 p.m.) with hardly anyone else in the theater. Feeling somewhat generous due to the fact that we had spent so little[2] on the tickets, we splurged and bought popcorn and sodas as well. Hey, we're supporting the local economy! And then we walked through the doorway into utter darkness and found our seats, and were treated to several trailers[3] before the main event began.
The Hunger Games was a bit slow in the beginning, action-wise, but there was a lot of implied backstory. The girls were a bit disappointed that so much had to be left out of the movie, but they understand that it is quite difficult to cram so much book into the span of a two-and-a-half hour movie. I thought it rather well done; it was easy to figure out what was implied just from the scenery. Some things had been done before, so that a passing acquaintance with stories of this genre was sufficient to clue one in. Overall, it was easy to get into the story and into the minds of the characters so that it all made sense. Mostly.
I was a bit puzzled by some of the actions and dialogue of the boy character, Peeta; but since most of them were resolved by the end of the movie, it didn't bother me too much. The lead actress played her part well, although for some reason she kept reminding me of the Susan character in the C. S. Lewis series. I really enjoyed the part played by Woody Harrelson; his story arc interested me from the moment he appeared on-screen as the drunken Haymitch.
Some of the action scenes were confusing due to the use of the ShakyCam style of shooting; some of the fight scenes really didn't reqire it, and a couple of them so blurred my vision that even after they were done, I couldn't tell what had happened. And the hallucinatory scene was, in my judgement, too long and could've been cut a bit.
But overall, was a very good, thought-provoking opening for the trilogy. The ending was intentionally open-ended, as there is much left to be resolved, and I look forward to seeing the rest when the appear in time.
Meanwhile, I have to find who's got the first book and pry it from their fingers so I can read it, too. What happened to the rule where parents get to read the books first, to make sure they're OK for children??
[1]A mutant bird which figures heavily in the first book.
[2]If $39 for 6 people is considered "little"...
[3]The best one was Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp
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