I’ve read the trilogy viciously. They were gripping and they departed from the series of inter-species (a.k.a. bestial) romances from teenage bestsellers. Again, the story is barely a love story.
While on the plane to Iloilo, I promised myself to watch the movie as soon as I landed. And so I did, after a quick lunch, with my mom. My mother slept through most of the film as she finds the dimness and the cushion in the movie house suitable for rest.
I, on the other hand, was watching everything come alive on screen. Everything was off the book. It felt like my imagination was shot in HD with a supreme cast (another thing, I was disturbed when I found about the cast but they were really good!). The movie is good. But then again, the curse still lives on: the book is better.
But there was no murder, the movie didn’t destroy the book. In fact, it just rendered my imagination of a few key scenes with real-life visuals.
The Hunger Games is a must watch - but try and watch it in lesser known cinemas which will consequently have less people. Watching it in a theater filled with people in Iloilo was a buzzkill. Squealing teenagers who are obviously fans of Twilight piled in a corner. They let out squeals. They must be silenced, turned into Avoxes!
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They released the movie two days before the worldwide premiere here in the Philippines which I interpreted as a recognition for the interest in film our culture carries. But unfortunately, it is not. It is because it would be too easy to distribute pirated copies in DVD here in the Philippine which could potentially break a big chunk for opening night revenues. Sad.
