that's a wrap, folks

okay, to be perfectly honest, the sparkle had pretty much worn off on the whole "twilight" brouhaha for both the teen and me.  sure, we knew we were going to go and see the final installment of the movie adaptation of the series.  and yeah, we'd likely hit up the premiere of it at midnight.  but by this point, we agreed that it was mainly out of a need for closure.  we'd been super gung-ho over the first four movies, and we were gonna finish strong, dammit!

and then while i perused the website for our local movie theater, i was a little disgruntled to see that they were treating the premiere of this fourth and final movie as a double feature.  fans were to vote on which movie would be screened at 10pm, right before getting to see part two of "breaking dawn."  blah.  four hours in a movie theater at night?  with the bean's thanksgiving party the very next morning, for which i'd volunteered to assist starting at 9am?  bah!  but like the good mom i am (read: sucker), i bought the tickets online and promised myself i'd suck up a big ass venti coffee from starbucks to stay awake.

with errands taking me right next to the theater earlier that day, i stopped in to pick up the tickets in an effort to save time later.  it was right around noon, and there were already people sitting in line.  for movies that wouldn't start for ten more hours.  good grief.

inside, i chatted a bit with the staffer who checked my confirmation e-mail and printed my tickets.  she said that there were already a whole bunch of other folks already sitting in the theater watching the twilight marathon.

yup.  they were starting with the first movie and barreling their way right through the rest of the series before the rest of us normal people came in to watch BD2.  hey, at least they got a cool keepsake lanyard.

i couldn't even type that without snickering really loudly.

but i guess i can't hate on 'em too hard.  after all, i was holding these:

the teen managed to squeeze in a quick nap before we headed out somewhere after 9:00 that night.  with our local starbucks already closed for the night, i despaired of getting my hands on the much-needed caffeine.  but as we pulled into the shopping center, i remembered something:  the starbucks cafe inside barnes & noble, mere yards from the movie theater.  thank the lord and all his people.

armed with the biggest iced caramel macchiato money could buy (which i promptly tucked into my purse, lest the movie nazis try to pry it out of my cold dead hands), we headed into the theater.  the hordes of folks had already been allowed inside, which filled me with dread as i wondered where we'd find seats.  for the last couple of midnight premieres we'd attended, the teen and i had gone home with neck aches from sitting in the first couple of rows, forced to view the flick with our heads propped way back.

so i was super happy to see that there was an entire row of seats still available to us.  sure, they were the handicap-accessible seats, which probably kept the others from taking them, but we figured if someone came along who needed them, we'd just find seats elsewhere.  because most of the screens were being used for the event, seating was still rather plentiful.

i sucked down that venti coffee as if my life depended on it as we watched the bazillion movie trailers, and then it was finally time.  when the opening credits began, there was much hooting and hollering from the audience.  the teen and i rolled our eyes at each other, but then we focused on the screen and realized something:  this was no replay of one of the other movies we'd already seen.  nope, nuh-uh - this was the main event!  two whole hours earlier than we'd anticipated!  holy shit!

while we were both confused as all hell, neither of us was complaining.  instead of having to sit in that theater till 2am, we were gonna get out at the time we'd thought the movie was just beginning.  hell yes.

although that didn't stop us from cracking jokes and giggling and snorting at the sheer cheesiness of the first half of the movie.  it was so damn corny, although that taylor lautner is still really nice to look at.  and because we were just so over it, we were totally okay with just admitting that it was really a very silly story.

until it wasn't.

in case you haven't seen it and still want to, i won't spoil it.  but when the fight scene began, we were completely gobsmacked.  captivated, even.  and the rest of the movie was all we'd hoped it would be.  i realize that a lot of you hated the last book and refuse to watch the movie version, but i gotta say - i found the ending quite satisfying.  like, it was perfect.  for real.  i loved it.  maybe even enough to call it my favorite of the whole franchise.  and then i was sad.  yeah, i said it.

but fear not.  next november, there'll be another movie that i'll be ridiculously giddy over seeing the minute it's released.  because one of those trailers that they showed us?  yup:

i. can. NOT. WAIT!!

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.

what were YOU doing at 12:01 this morning?

because as for me and the teen, we were here:

standing here (behind a 50ish balding dude who was there by HIMSELF - creeeeeepy):

for this:

oh, yes. the 3rd movie in the high school musical series is out on the big screen, and we were standing in line at 11:30 last night to be among the first to see it. mm-hmmm. and there's a brand new movie theater in town that just opened last week, so i was happy to plant my ass in brand new seats and drop popcorn on a shiny new floor.

we were sort of impressed at the amount of people standing in two separate lines, waiting at that hour on a thursday night for a disney movie - and then we found out that saw V was also premiering at the same time. that explained the hordes of 20-something DUDES sporting rock concert tees and skateboarding attire. i'd been a little cornfuzzled at that one.

and lest you start ridiculing/chastising/judging me for taking the teen to a midnight movie premiere on a school night, you should know that she's kicking some major ass at school so far this year. the first quarter ends today with report cards due next week, and with the magic of online grade/assignment tracking we already know that she's finally going to bring home one of those "my kid is on the honor roll at the teen's middle school" bumper stickers. hell yeah! the hub and i are so dang proud of her, which we've been telling her every single day. and even more fabulous, she's proud of herself. it's an awesome time in the wan house these days.

once we got inside and found the most perfectest seats that ever were, i tried to take another picture of us, but it was just too dark. heh.

and we noticed that old bald dude stroll up and take a seat behind us, way in the back corner that was the darkest section of the theater. gah-ross!

i got up to buy $25 worth of snacks (nachos, a small popcorn, a large fountain drink, a bottled lemonade, and a box of junior mints).

as the theater went dark, the hooting and hollering was damn near deafening while this flashed on the screen:

we sat through a few previews, and then the cheering and clapping got louder.

and louder.

and, yes - even louder. before she discovered the jonas brothers, the teen positively swooned over zac efron. funny, because she's not typically into the pretty boys. but she loves her some troy bolton.

sharpay evans, played by ashley tisdale, is my favorite character. shut your piehole - yes, i have a favorite. i totally grinned when she made her grand entrance.

we couldn't stop giggling every time he dramatically threw his arms out and broke into song at the most obvious, cheesetastic moments. every time there was a pause, i'd whisper "oh god, he's gonna sing again." and sure enough, he'd open his mouth and he'd be off.

there came a point in the movie for good ol' troy to break character and turn angry and rebellious, and i pumped my fist, thumped my chest, and whispered loudly "what NOW, sucka?" the teen sputtered, cracked up, threw up her arms, and answered with a hearty "SUCK it!"

after downing three-quarters of a large coke by myself, i thought i was going to pee my pants, it was so freaking funny. maybe you had to be there.

and then it was over.

and holy shit, it was after 2 am. and i hadn't even had "last call."

the teen gave me a big ol' hug and said "thanks, mom, this was so much fun."

and that alone was totally worth it.