Movie time

It is rare that I go to the movies anymore.  With 4000 channels on cable, Netflix and streaming movies, why go pay $7-10 to watch a big screen?  Normally, I wait the 4-6 months afterwards for it to hit Netflix.  The last one I saw in the big house was the last Harry Potter movie.  I've followed that series (both in book and on screen) since my son got hooked on it years ago and kind of had to watch the last movie to wrap up the saga.  I was going to go see the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in the theaters, but I just waited until it was available from Netflix.  I read the books and even watched the original movies that were made in Sweden (with subtitles).  The Swedish movies were a good rendition of the books and I wanted to see how Hollywood did.  Not sure I would have cast Daniel Craig in the Mikael Blomkvist role, but he kinda makes it believable.  As you might surmise, I like to read the stories before I watch a movie.  I prefer to understand the story before it gets boiled down into a 2.5 hour visual saga.  Sometimes it helps explain the gaps, or gives more details than the story provides, but some times it turns out disappointing.  To me, it is a crap shoot going to see a movie when you've read the book  - not how I would have imagined the story to unfold or they leave out key subplots or they cast some big name actor who in no way looks or sounds like the main characters or, even worse, they change the ending.  


With those thoughts in mind, I fell in line for the latest movie trend - I went to Hunger Games.  I've been reading all the hoopla building up to the release and the stories of the characters.  Heck, with as much press as this one's been getting, you almost don't even have to go to the movies to see it, you almost get the whole story.  Still, I wanted to invest 2.5 hours of my life to see how this plays out on the big screen.  Before I went, I decided to get the book at plow through it.  Since I don't have a Kindle or iPad, I typically buy a paperback version and start reading.  Usually, I reserve these reads for when I am traveling and get stuck in the airport or on a long flight.  This one was a fairly easy/simple read.  Good narrative, good character development, nice plot lines.  Hooks the reader early and keeps a fast pace.  I have not been a Suzanne Collins fan, but I might have to look up some of her books for future reads.  The movie was, IMHO, an excellent representation    of the book.  They pretty much stuck to the story line with some minor omissions left out for time.  I found it interesting that they did add some subplots or stories that were not in the book that complimented the story.  Some might say they did it to explain points to the audience who hadn't read the book, but I thought it was OK.  Definitely will have to how the next two books/movies pan out.  


Oh, and BTW, one of the reasons I DON'T typically go to the theaters before (aside of cost), is all the previews shown before the main movie.  Movie time was listed at 1040 yesterday and I was running late and did not get to my seat until 1045.  They showed 20 minutes of trailers/ads before the movie kicked off at 1100.  One trailer caught my eye and had me laughing, or to apply the overused Internet phrase ROFLMAO.  You thought you knew your Civil War history?  Coming this summer to a movie theater near you: 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter