#HungerGames Hangover

Last night This morning at 12:04am I saw the Hunger Games. By the grace of God and Starbucks I arrived at work at 8am reasonably bright eyed and bushy tailed.

The movie was fantastic.

Yes, there were parts they omitted that I don’t understand. They did not take anything away from the first movie, but they were important precursors for the future movies.

Take for example the mockingjay pin: Katniss acquires it by buying it and then gives it to Prim to wear to the reaping. She only gets it back after Prim comes to say goodbye. Then we never really see it again until Cinna puts on her jacket, discreetly hidden by the collar before she goes into the arena. Two more times briefly by Rue and President Snow it is mentioned and seen.

There were no Avox.

Peeta and Katniss never talk on the roof or mention how it will beam you back and won’t let you fall off.

There were other things, but they were minor.

I was really concerned by marketing the movie as PG13 it would take away from the graphic violent nature of the book which is so fundamental to the story line. I think however they did a good job staying true to what happened without being overly visual or gory about it. You know death is happening, but you don’t necessarily watch it.

I loved Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane, and almost sort of want the H to have that elaborate beard. In my mind I feel like I could truly smell the blood on Presidents Snow’s breath, but I would have liked perhaps a little mention of it. A nose crinkle or something after he turned away.

Sometimes I couldn’t tell Peeta and Cato apart, so there was also that. They were both however quite easy on the eyes.

Being a big fan of instant gratification I read the trilogy in three days as I could not wait any more moments to crack the spine open and turn to the next page. I ignored my children and husband all weekend and savored every page until late in the night when my eyelids were too droopy to concentrate. I couldn’t wait for the movie to come out.

Yesterday I prepared myself to see the movie by scouring the internet (to dismay) to find a proper “how to” of Katniss’s braid. I’m hoping now that the movie is out, die hard fans will take the time to study, recreate and post their findings.

After watching the movie and arriving back home at 3:30 am I couldn’t fall asleep consumed with the thoughts of if we had a department wide Hunger Games who would win. Specifically who would I kill and how. I really would like to think that I could do reasonably well. Not based on athleticism or intellect, but based on my imagination and extensive knowledge of criminal dramas.

May need to work on functionality with minimal sleep however as this morning I needed my Hunger Games Hangover kit:

Happy Hunger Games

and

may the odds be ever in your favor.

Listography – 5 Celebrities I’d Like to Have a Beer With

It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of Kate Takes 5 Listography’s but I’ve always enjoyed them!

I’m pretty sure my list of celebrities I want to have a beer with matches up exactly with my list of celebrities I’d like to bang, but hey you have to start with the alcohol first right?

1. Ryan Gosling Because I stop breathing when I see a photo of him. Hopefully during our beer that won’t be as big of a problem. Plus, he wants to have kids and I make amazing babies.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio He only gets better with age. Plus, we could discuss all of the amazing movies he’s been in recently and what its like to be the new favorite of Scorsese.

3.  Zachary Quinto Now that Heroes has been canceled, I feel like he would be more likely to actually have a drink with me without needing to have security guards or something. I find him unbelievably attractive. Even as Spock.

4. Josh Holloway I need him to explain some of LOST to me, and we can argue about who was the better suitor for Sawyer. Kate or Juliet?

5. Mila Kunis. I figured I’d need to have a girl on my list. and honestly, if I were to get with a girl (again) it would be Mila. For certain. We can talk about Black Swan.

Wow, this is the closest I’ve come to feeling like I have a type.

Things I Would Have Tweeted

Since Wisconsin seems to be a complete dead zone for 3G service I kept track in notes my mental tweets from the 6 hour drive to Chicago from Minnesota. I was accompanied only by my 4.5 year old, so it proved to be an entertaining drive.

9a-10:30 Pouring rain. No visibility. May die. #soloishroadtrip

10:45 I wish I was a boy and could pee while driving. #soloishroadtrip #chicagobound

11:42 (Lisbon) I’ve never had to pee so much in my whole life. Didn’t think I’d make it. #soloishroadtrip

11:51 (New Lisbon) I feel amazing. Best pee ever. #soloishroadtrip

11:57 (Mauston) MDs stop. “Mommy it’s okay sometimes it takes a long time” #soloishroadtrip

12:13 (insert expletives here) they (expletive) forgot my (expletive) coke!!

12:20 it’s tough to eat a big Mac while driving. #soloishroadtrip

12:43 “how do you make purple?”

12:44 “Um.. with the primary colors. Mmmm.. blue and red I think. Let’s call daddy.” #kindergartenfailure

1:15 Oh god why did I drink so much coke and smoothie?

1:28 Raining again. Good thing I don’t have to pee terribly. #sarcasm

1:48 (Ixonia) Petting zoo. Bathroom. Rain. No petting.

2:38 “Knock knock. Whose there? Refrigerator. Refrigerator who? Banana Peel”

2:47 Playing what I call “car tag.”  4 of us wanting to drive much faster than we should. Black corvette and Blue Cadillac (?) weaving in and out switching who’s the leader. Green Grand Caravan Taxi and I trying to keep up. #nospeedingticketyet

2:57 Waukegan 21 toll. No Cash. No Ipass. Note to self: pay later.

3:04 Lake Forest Oasis. #CheeseheadFree

3:13 Toll edens 24. Note to self: pay later.

3:22 Exit at Old Orchard!!

Detour to Party City to purchase additional bachelorette party supplies, and go the bathroom, yet again. 

3:49 Passing Cemetery ”Why are there so many dead people?”

Listography – Guilty Pleasures

This week’s Listography from Kate Takes 5 are your top five guilty pleasures:

The thing is on some level I don’t really feel all that ashamed of them… well it depends on who we’re talking about. I wouldn’t exactly introduce myself to Leonardo DiCaprio sharing these bits of information.

1. McDonalds: I LOVE me some golden arches. I’m not going to mention just how often I have a Heidi Klum meal (#1 Big Mac Meal with a coke) but it’s quite often. I also love their new sauces, personally I’m a sweet chili convert.

2. Bravo: Outside of Atlanta, I watch all the other Real Housewives. My favorites are probably Beverly Hills and New York. Then Jersey, OC, Miami and DC. Yes there are that many, yes I watched them all. Yes, I am ashamed of how much I enjoy them.

3. Chick Lit: Honestly, I was an English major. I had to read so many books and pour over them for themes, hidden meanings, etc instead of enjoying them. It took a lot of the pleasure of literature away from me when you’ve dissected a story to merely a bunch of words strewn together. I love sitting down and reading a story in one sitting. Not thinking about the greater meaning, just reading about characters and plot. Of course, I’d rather leave my well worn copies of Jane Eyre or Gone with the Wind on my bedside time instead of currently Jemina J. But you know what, so far its a great story.

4. Pop Music: Well the H erased the contents of my ipod touch accidentally, but prior to that I can’t say I was too proud of some of them things that lived there. Like every single Britney Spears cd. Yes, I am in fact a Britney fan. I am not proud of it. I promise though there’s other good music there, amongst the pop music and musicals. I promise.

5. TV: Yes, generically. Because I watch a lot of TV. Its not even a guilty pleasure of a specific series of shows like the Real Housewives. Its the simple quantity of how much I watch. I sometimes have to watch things on Hulu because I have two shows taping already on my DVR. In fact had more of my interview been published in the New York Times you would have seen that. Oh yes, I was actually quoted on the front page of the Sunday Business Section of the NY Times talking about Hulu.

Listography – Favorite Kids Movies

This week’s Listography from Kate Takes 5 is favorite kids movies. This is a tough one. Mostly because I’ve seen so many kids movies so many times that I’ve ceased to like them them quite as much and simultaneously because there are WAY more than 5 kids movies that I love.

1. Beauty and the Beast: Was my favorite movie growing up. I loved the songs, the beauty of France, the courage of Belle.
2. Ratatouille: I love how he describes food, how he tries to show his friends what non garbage tastes like.
3. Megamind:   This was the first movie that I was really excited when it was going to come out in theaters with Bear. We had seen commercials for it and we anxiously awaited  it to come out. At the ZooBoo we got Megamind masks, at McDonalds there were happy meal toys. I was so hyped up about it and I didn’t think the movie disappointed.
4. Nightmare before Christmas: This was Bear’s favorite movie for a long time. It goes with his love of Halloween. I grew to love it too. The music, the creepiness of it, the imagination.
5. 101 Dalmatians: An oldie, but a goodie. I have always loved animals and on some level want to believe that there is an all dog alert out there when dogs go missing.

Shout Outs to: Little Mermaid, Lion King, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, and Lady & the Tramp and probably a million other Disney/Pixar movies I’m forgetting. I specifically did not list Harry Potter because I don’t consider it a kids movie despite the fact that Bear has actually seen all of them. He’s seen Law and Order too but I don’t consider that a kid show either.