Teaser Tuesday, and Thoughts on 'The Hunger Games'

Happy Teaser Tuesday, everyone!

First things first, then we'll get to the release of "The Hunger Games" film.

Teaser Tuesday rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"What a complicated, delicate business it was going to be to love him. We were the stuff of fairy tales -- vampires, witches, knights in shining armor."

Yep, I'm re-reading "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness. Indulgent, I know, especially considering the amount of books on my to-read list, but I just. can't. help myself.

So then. Who saw "The Hunger Games" this weekend? I went on Friday evening and was, overall, quite pleased. It's always hard to take a beloved book and translate it onto film. What elements and aspects do you keep? Which do you alter? And what do you cut while still maintaining the integrity of the story?

I thought the casting was spot-on, though I was troubled by Josh Hutcherson's bleached-out hair. I know, I know, it was supposed to be blonde, but it was disconcerting to me. Distracting almost. But, want to know what was even more distracting? The throng of screaming teenage fangirls.

Let me just say this about that: knock. it. off. Seriously. I know you're excited, I was excited, too! Though, to me, excitement does not include running around the Majestic without shoes on - especially in an eating establishment. And, hey, if you want to chatter and giggle and scream before the movies, during the previews and even during the post-film credits, I have nothing to say to you. However, during the film, please keep quiet. On no less than five separate occasions, the aforementioned throng of teenage fangirls erupted into applause and squeals of giddy excitement during the film. Heck, I know the film was great - I agree with you there - but save the cheering and shouting for after the final fade-to-black, please. It's just rude and inconsiderate to disturb the entire theater. Even more so when there are dozens of "shush battles" erupting after the cheering, applauding and giggle-screams.

Now, then, back to the film itself. Like I said, great casting and I think the writers did an excellent job of keeping the integrity of the novel. Sure, some things were different, but nothing that really jumped off the screen. It did seem a little slow in some parts, but I could deal with that just fine. Peeta's character seemed a little one dimensional on screen. He was so ardent and so good and so kind that it seemed odd when Katniss was snippy with him. In the book, you see more of him that rounds him out better. Conversely, you don't really see a lot of Gale or spend a lot of time getting to know him - so you don't really invest in the love triangle aspect. I'm hoping those things will resolve in the second film.

What did you all think of the movie?