happy hunger games!

i first read the hunger games series at least a year ago, maybe more.  like the twilight books, the storyline wasn't necessarily something i would've been drawn to on my own, but all my friends were reading them.  i'm pretty easily influenced, and peer pressure doesn't end at high school, you know.

anyway, as much as i loved the vampire-falls-in-love-with-human-and-vice-versa saga, the story of katniss everdeen totally surpassed it in my eyes.  i love a strong heroine, and the books were so riveting that i couldn't put them down.  so of course, i was super stoked when i heard that a movie was being made.

i didn't really know the actress who was eventually chosen for the lead role, but i recognized josh hutcherson from the hollywood knights basketball team that played a charity game at the teen's school.  and of course, miley's boyfriend (although after this movie, hopefully he'll be known for more than that).

because of an event at school that night, the teen got to come home a day early - which also gave us the golden opportunity to hit the midnight premiere of the hunger games movie.  i happily prepaid our tickets online and headed to the theater to pick them up after watching the teen do her thing at the event (more on that later).  and then i scrambled to reread the book so i could refresh my memory on the details of the storyline, finishing just hours before showtime.

i wasn't really prepared for the crazy lines that had formed outside.  in sleepy ass glendora!  on one end:

and right across from that:

damn.  i was just hoping we'd still be able to get seats together at that point, but at least i knew we weren't completely assed out since i had these in my hot little hand:

by the time she got home (after grabbing some dinner with her friends and then picking up a coffee for yours truly), it was already 11.  yikes.  it was 11:30 by the time we found a parking spot and made our way inside, where people had already claimed seats and were lined up at the concession stands.  now, a yay!/boo.: we got seats.  in the very front row.  but i didn't let this put a damper on my excitement.

the teen was tired and groggy after her fun-filled evening, but she perked up considerably as this flashed onscreen:

i'd given her a rundown on the basic storyline, since she hasn't read the books, but the movie people helped too:

i snapped this, and then i was done taking pictures so i could focus.

just in case you're one of the 6 people in the country who hasn't yet seen this movie, i'm not going to spoil anything for you.  all i can say is that the folks who did the casting did a phenomenal job - particularly with cinna and haymitch.  as i continued rereading the rest of the series, i pictured the actors playing the characters and it somehow made the books even better than they already are.

i hear they're already working on the sequel - with a scheduled release date sometime this fall.  the very same month as the final "twilight" movie.

eeeeee, november is going to be a fantastic month for midnight premieres!  i canNOT wait.