the world will be watching....

last weekend, i went back in time and became a tween. i know, i'm like 14 years past reasonable and plausible tween years, but get over it. the night started as so: around 10PM. i stopped at a bodega and procured the following: vanilla coca cola (i'm a dr pepper drinker, through and through, for the end of time, i should be buried with a pack. but once in a while, i crave a vanilla coke. it's not cheating. and, i never see it in nyc, so it's like a mini vacation for my mouth. but i always come home to my precious DP.), pockey, and harbo gummy bears. as a tween, i must stay on a strict tween diet. as a tween, one would assume a parental unit would take me to the theatre - instead, i have the MTA, and took the subway. i guess i can't always follow the tween life. and finally, i arrived at the theatre where i found my seat along all the other fans, ready to watch, grimace, and cheer as 24 tributes participated in the 74th annual hunger games.

mary kindly printed me her ticket (thanks! slash, i owe you a movie) and i waited with giddy anticipation for the BEST MOVIE OF OUR TIME. that's a little far, but the build-up for this thing has been tremendously well timed AND well thought out. if you don't believe me, take a look at this NYTimes article which is very interesting and discusses the marketing/advertising campaign for the movie. seriously, they did an amazing job and really intensified the whole thing for me - complete with a long roll-out, tease, campaign, etc. overall, the marketing reminded me of 'jaws', which is famous for not showing the shark for about 45 minutes into the movie. it's about the anticipation, and some people forget that. a lot of people forget that. but considering the source material, which is about strategy, while also playing to your people without giving too much away at first, the marketing team did an impeccable job of keeping everyone hungry (pun, not really intended) for more.

anyway, i attended the movie with valerie and brittany, who also joined me in being a tween. we talked about boys, we ate the snacks and gave dirty looks to the girls behind us. clearly, we were on the more popular end of the spectrum. and finally, the lights dimmed. the screen flickered and we were subjected to some of my most favorite things of a movie: the trailers.

long story short, the most important trailer we enjoyed was: TITANIC 3D. i mean, they really know their target demographic. well done, paramount. well done.

so, the movie. it. was. amazing. i loved it. i don't want to give too much away, since many might not have seen it (are you guys not on 'the hunger games' train? because, we've boarded and i'm sorry you can't come play with us at the capitol.). i have a few issues with the film, most notably the camera work, but i understand they were trying to put us in the moment, in katniss's shoes. they obviously had to change some things for flow and pace, and i accepted that.

the most interesting thing to note was the violence. the novel touched on the violence and described it in graphic detail, especially for a YA novel. a couple of reviews i've read stated how they felt the violence was too nice, that it was depicted in a way where a viewer wouldn't leave with a feeling of disgust or remorse; essentially saying the violence was weak for the viewer. i disagree. i found it humiliating, and gross and it bothered me. i'm not a complete girl for violence, and understand the need for it in a story. but the director and his team did an excellent job in showing the violence on screen without making it gratuitous. i mean, they did this for a couple of reasons: one, being the rating by the MPAA. the second (my opinion) is: how much violence is really necessary to tell a compelling and intriguing story for the masses? for those who have read the books, we understand there is violence in the book and will be in the movie. but we don't need to have a complete and exact translation of bloodshed from page to screen. further, these are children. these are school children who, in the context of the film, don't all want to be there (clearly, there are a few who relish in the games...). i'm sorry, but i don't need to have a lingering shot of a harpoon sticking through someone. i'm old enough to imagine the pain and gore that is associated with such a thing and the overall takeaway from the harpoon isn't that she died, but rather the sadness that comes from such an ending to a person.

gary ross and team did an excellent job in taking the most important aspects of the story, dialing it back a tad, and also changing the topic to not just violence, but to "how does violence affect the person committing/witnessing/watching the action."

at the same time, it's interesting to see a film tackle the aspects of violence as sport, while we currently live in an era where we try to fight violence being shown in the media. now, that's a thesis topic.

anyway, go see the movie. and may the odds be ever in your favor.

and my celebrity crush is...

guys (and gals): i have a confession. a very true confession to make. my celebrity crush, and faux boyfriend, is and always will be jake gyllenhaal. i don't know why. i can't explain it. i love him.

i've seen every one of his films. he is probably the one celebrity, out of ALL OF THEM, that if i was so see him walking nonchalantly down the streets of NYC, i would lose my shit, then regain composure, then request a picture with him. i would probably, also, get really close to him in said picture. depending on the situation, i would try to make conversation. i would say i'm a huge fan - a true fan, not some sloozy girl fan who only wants to add a notch in her celebrity belt. i would then never wash my shirt again.

that sounds stalker-like. and probably creepy. but i think he is just awesome. like, he seems like a guy i could get a beer with. someone who i could hang out with - go for a run, play some tennis. we would be best friends. we would talk about girls. we would talk about guys. we would talk about that one time on the red carpet when so-and-so did that one thing, and we all laughed about it at the after-party. but it was a blind item the next day on page six. i mean, we all knew, but we weren't telling anyone.

so, i think he is the one person, the one person i don't even freaking know, who i would be devastated if he was to pass away (no morbidity intended). like, the way people cried over whitney houston, michael jackson, or sonny bono - i would be that person. tears streaming down my face like old yeller was just shot (spoiler alert). i don't know why either. we're not in the same social circle (yet), but on some level, i think - and this might be why celebrities are celebrities - we would be friends. he's accessible to everyone. funny, friendly, outgoing, calm.

anyway, he's also in this music video for this band called 'the shoes' playing a serial killer. weird, right? weird...and hot. even him being all mass murderer, crazy person wearing a fencing outfit doesn't make me not like him. it only furthers my view that he is amazing and when we grabbed coffee, he would tell me all the funny stories about shooting it - how the director farted or how they were taking shots after each take.

view the music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt9wnawn7xQ

we all have that one celebrity crush and this one is mine. forever. stay away, bitches. especially you lohan.