To the citizens of Panem, we were once again brought to the edge of our seats as the 74th Annual Hunger Games finally happened in the theaters.
First off, let me greet you a Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!
Photo from rottentomatoes.com
I was fortunate enough to bag some premiere (March 21st) midnight screening tickets in Greenbelt. But actually, I had a little fangirl crisis a day before the event, but I was rescued by my true friend, Abi. <3 Haha! I almost had no one to go watch it with! Can you imagine watching The Hunger Games alone and no one to fangirl before, during and after the movie? Not acceptable. Hence, my love for Abi just got deeper. 
Fast forward to the next day, I watched it again with my sibs, Bigs & Aiah, in Glorietta. Before anything else, can I just say that the Glorietta crowd was more participative? Haha! Perhaps because more non-readers went to Glorietta and the hardcore fangirls watched in Greenbelt. I’m not implying any correlation though. It’s just that, I enjoyed watching with very reactive people.
Enough of my anecdote and let’s get to the “reel” deal. Let’s categorize my fangirl feelings into Liked and Disliked.
LIKED
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1. JENNIFER LAWRENCE. This. woman. is. outstanding! She’s outrageous! She got the grit of a father-orphaned breadwinner, the innocence of a District 12 tribute plunged in the Capitol, the unforgivingness of a hunter and the heart of a sister, a friend and a team player. My nitpicking about her *body* was nothing and was the last thing on my mind when I was watching her shoot an arrow, get broken over a kill and grow anxious about Peeta. SHE. WAS. ON. FAYAH! “I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!!!!” –absolute muhfckn win!
Photo from geekygirlslovescifi.blogspot.com
Photo from tumblr
2. JOSH HUTCHERSON. The Hutch knows how to be Peeta. The true kindness in his heart, the pretend-face in front of the cameras, the charm (made me smile every single fckn time), the jawporn, everything. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Especially those pre-Arena and post-Arena interviews! Damn it, pretty boy, why are you so freakin’ charming?! Oh, and let’s not forget the rooftop scene where you smiled genuinely at Katniss as if she was the world to you! I DIEEEE. HENCE, I VOLUNTEER AS YOUR GIRLFRIEND AND I WON’T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. Haha!
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3. THE FLIRTING OF KATNISS AND GALE. Enough said!!!
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4. KATNISS’ LOVE FOR PRIM. It was exceptional. Tremendously reflected in the movie. Great job!
Photo from thehungergames2012.wordpress.com
5. GALE’S REACTIONS TO THE “STAR-CROSSED LOVERS SHOW” IN THE ARENA. Haha! Definitely uncanny. Made my heart too giddy. LOL
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6. ALEXANDER LUDWIG. Dude. Can I just say that if I was one of the Capitol residents, I would bet on him? This guy knows his sht. A legit tribute. HIS HOTNESS IS TOO MUCH FOR THE CAMERAS TO TAKE. HE SHOULD PROCEED TO MY BEDROOM THIS INSTANT.
7. ISABELLE FUHRMAN. “Where’s lover boy?” –this line sent chills to my spine!
Photo from thehob.org
8. RUE’S DEATH AND KATNISS’ GRIEF. Amazing and heart-shattering. No words for this. All the awards to Jennifer Lawrence!
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9. POST-GAMES. “I DON’T WANNA FORGET.” Peetaaaaaa, why are you doing this to me?! Come to me, Peeta. Come to meeeee!
Photo from hungergamesmovie.org
10. I LOOOOOOVED THE HAPPENINGS OUTSIDE THE ARENA. The dialogue between Snow & Crane, the explanation how Crane played the tributes inside the Arena and most especially–Haymitch’s “star-crossed lovers” suggestion to Crane. Wonderful. Loved it!
11. HOW CRANE DIED. Oh wow.
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12. CRANE’S BEARD.
Photo from thehungergames.wikia.com
13. STANLEY TUCCI. One of the most flexible actors in this generation!
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14. LENNY KRAVITZ. Here’s a public apology for not liking you before. But after seeing you on the big screen, damn Dude, you rocked as Cinna! You’ve given him an undeniably different attitude that I couldn’t even put into words. A-mazing!
15. THE CAPITOL’S FONDNESS OVER THE GAMES. Made me feel rage towards those heartless people. I know you felt that too.
DISLIKED
Photo from thehungergames.wikia.com
1. When did District 12 get that bright and clean? I was thinking of a gloomy place, as if it was your worst nightmare.
2. WHERE THE F WAS THE ALMOST-NAKED PEETA SCENE? WHERE? WHEEEEERE?
3. They should have given more attention as to how Katniss & Rue’s friendship grew. The progression was a bit abrupt for my liking. Tsk tsk.
Photo from hungergamesmovie.org
4. Honestly, the intimacy of Katniss and Peeta, while just for a show, was not established very well. It seemed like cut-out papers all hastily pieced together to form a story. Yes. I demand for more kissing scenes. And Peeta’s humor despite his condition was lost. He was supposed to be naturally teasing Katniss! What the hell did just happen?
5. They obviously balanced the exposure of each scene to be faithful to the plot of the book. While this should be a good thing for the readers, I assume they also did it for the non-readers. Still, I believe that they could have lengthened or given more effort to establish the parts with Rue and Peeta inside the Arena.
6. Another little peeve was they hugely adjusted to the “PG 13″ market. DAMN GUYS. We could have aimed for an R13 or R15! The morbidity of the Games lost its glory.
7. This may be a nitpicking on my part, but the ending should have been heartbreaking for Peeta–that Katniss’ romantic gestures inside the Arena was just a ploy to keep them alive. That she was just ~acting. That scene was essential to my life! Haha!
After a long list of likes & dislikes–
VERDICT: Above Average. Rocks my socks! A pretty decent adaptation of the book. But personally, I feel that it could have been a lot better but yeknow, my hardcore fangirl standards can work with that. Okay, scratch that. I CAN WATCH THE MOVIE ON LOOP FOREVER. Hihi. <3
And now we wait for Catching Fire. On the lookout: WHO WILL PLAY AS FINNICK ODAIR?
Daz it. I’m always open for a movie discussion so we can all pour our fangirl hearts out! Just holler!
Signing off,
Nash Albacea
Irrigator
District 11
