'The Hunger Games' is almost here!

It has been a very, very, veeeeery long time since I blogged here, and my only excuse is that it has been hectic!

However, I can’t stop myself from blogging about the movie I’ve been eagerly anticipating since before most people even knew what it was — “The Hunger Games,” of course! Yes, I’ve got my midnight showing ticket at the IMAX theater and, even though I shouldn’t admit it, my replica HG mockingjay pin ready for the big event.

Following the debate about whether or not these books/movie is suitable for young audiences, I’ve been thinking about it a lot. And I still stand with my original opinion that these books need to be taught in schools — high schools, that is. Kids under 13 probably shouldn’t read the books. But I honestly believe the story has great value, and here’s why.

The violence in them isn’t gratuitous. I’m tired of people simply describing this book as “kids killing kids.” The story, simply, is about youth in a horrible situation, and one young woman who overcomes it to inspire others with hope so that their society can improve. (Thank you, Liam Hemsworth, for helping me articulate that!)

Will that message be conveyed in the movie? I hope so.

Here’s what I’m most excited, and most worried, about seeing on the big screen:

Most excited about:
• Seeing Katniss come to life. She’s probably my absolute favorite fictional heroine of all-time next to Lois Lane. I have to admit. Jennifer Lawrence has totally won me over with her fun and friendly personality on late night talk shows, and more importantly, in the clips from the movie I’ve watched online. But can she pull off Katniss Everdeen with the justice the character deserves? We’ll see.

• Setting Katniss on fire in the parade. Will this look totally cheesy, or appear as cool as I imagined it in the books? (People who haven’t read the books probably just read that and blurted, “What the hell?! They set her on fire?!”) Trust me. It’s cool in the book.

• The trackerjacker scene! Again, fans of the books will know what I’m talking about. I’m dying to find out if those nasty little wasp-like critters will be as terrifying in the movie as they were in the books. Poor Glimmer.

• Is Buttercup in the movie? I’ve been told that a certain kitty cat is, indeed, in the film. But I still can’t wait to see him for myself.

• Katniss and Peeta training in the Capitol. Enough said.

• Haymitch Abernatchy on the big screen. He’s such a great, complex character in the book. I’m sick of people saying Team Gale or Team Peeta. I’m definitely Team Katniss or Team Haymitch. Haymitch is just…awesome.

Most worried about:
• Seeing Katniss come to life. I’m putting my faith in Jennifer Lawrence, but … I still worry.

• Peeta. I adore Josh Hutcherson, always have, but….have you seen how tiny he is at premieres next to Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence? Again, I adore Peeta as a character, but I’m worried Josh just isn’t the best actor to play him. But my fingers are crossed.

• The romance. “The Hunger Games” is not a romance story. I’m afraid the Gale-Katniss-Peeta relationships will be made primary in the movie, when it really is only a small subplot of the books.

• A certain wee one’s death scene. I bawled when I read it in the book. I’m terrified I’ll be a slobbering fool in the theater when I actually see it happen on the big screen.

• The Hunger Games itself. I hope it’s not too violent or graphic, but then again, it kind of needs to be. There’s a lot that happens in the arena that could highlight the book’s flaws — and yes, I’m talking about a certain scene at the end involving creatures called Muttations. They were my least favorite part of the book and could come across as ridiculous if not done well.

Only one day and counting until I find out if my fears have basis.

Review: Green Lantern really isn't that bad...at all

So, I'm a little late in posting this, but better late than never. I saw "Green Lantern" its opening weekend, and maybe it was because my expectations had been lowered after all the bad reviews, but I liked it. A lot. In fact, I wanna see it again in theaters, hopefully soon.

I thought Ryan Reynolds was great as Hal Jordan, and I was shocked at how much I liked Blake Lively as Carol Ferris in her scenes with Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan. The special effects also didn't totally suck like I had expected them to after seeing the previews. I will say I think the story could have used some tightening in some places, but overall, I liked "Green Lantern" much better than I liked "Thor" and about as much as I liked "X-Men: First Class."

Seriously, don't listen to bad reviews. Go see this and give the Green Lantern some love. Decide for yourself if it's good or not. You might be surprised. I know I was.

A lil humor for the day

In light of DC Comics recent reboot, I thought this was too funny not to share. And yeah, I'm not a very big fan of Batman. Well, I like the guy, just not as much as everyone else seems to. Thanks to the Superman Homepage for posting the original link.

DC Comic's relaunch, The Hunger Games, Wonder Woman, X-Men: First Class

Sorry, it’s been a while since I blogged here. For those of you who care, I sold a book to Carina Press that will be releasing on Oct. 31, 2011. It’s called “Cry Wolf” and if you’re a fan of “The X-Files,” “The Night Stalker,” “Fringe” or classic monster movie-type stories, please, please, please check it out. Don’t worry. I’ll remind you when it gets closer to its release date. So, I have been swamped with working on book edits and the such for that.

In the meantime, there has been a LOT of fangirl-y news to respond to. Oh, where to start?!

• DC Comics is rebooting its entire line of characters and renumbering all of its comics, with new issues starting at No. 1. Why? Why? Why? This type of news is never pleasing to fans, and what I’ve seen reported so far hasn’t been too reassuring. Yes, I miss Superman’s red underwear, but basically he looks the same. I guess I will wait until the actual comics and stories arrive before I start throwing tomatoes at Geoff Johns and company. I’m hearing lots of rumors I don’t care for — no Clark and Lois? Instead, they might be pairing Clark with Diana? Oh, the horror!

• “The Hunger Games” began filming in North Carolina last month. Even better, Entertainment Weekly featured Jennifer Lawrence in full-costume as Katniss, and wow! She still might be older than I initially would have liked, but Jennifer Lawrence completely has my vote on this one. The cover and feature story EW did rocks! And I’ve still got my fingers crossed I’ll get called to work as an extra….

• The expected “Wonder Woman” TV pilot did not get picked up by NBC for the fall season, and the rumor is because the pilot was so terrible (even though NBC execs denied this later). You can get a taste of six or so seconds of the show online now (yes, I said 6 or 7 seconds). I imagine David E. Kelley and Co. are still shopping it around to other networks. Part of me is glad, because the premise I kept hearing sounded so ridiculous and this teaser did nothing to reassure me, but on the other hand, Wonder Woman fails to get some attention in Hollywood again — and that is never good news for WW fans. Supposedly a feature film is still in the works though. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how that shapes up.

• “X-Men: First Class” premiered as the No. 1 movie a couple of weeks ago, and it’s still hanging on strong at the box office despite some tough competition. Naturally, I saw this one on opening weekend and loved it. I usually don’t like reboots or prequels, but this one was pretty good. The cast, including Jennifer Lawrence, was extraordinary! If you haven’t seen it, go now!

• “Green Lantern” hits theaters this weekend. I’m still trying to decide if I want to go to the midnight showing Thursday night or not. I was gung-ho on this film until I started seeing all of the previews. Now, I admit, even I’m a little worried…

Goodbye, Smallville. I already miss ya!

Oh, Smallville. Ten years together -- ten years of ups and downs -- and then you just leave me? I am still mourning the loss.

It has been a couple of weeks now since Smallville signed off the air for good. It's taken me longer than I wanted to post my review, but better late than never, right? There was a lot of speculation about what would happen in the finale. Would Lois and Clark get married? How would Lex return? Would Clark finally put on the iconic Superman suit and fly? I honestly didn't see how the show would wrap up all of these storylines in a way that was satisfactory, but I have to hand it to the writers and producers.

Best series finale ever. EVER.

I could easily point out the flaws in this final 2-hour episode, but I won't do that. Yes, yes, I know the special effects were absolutely amateur and sorta embarrassing to watch at times, and a few things happened too fast. But let's put on our Clark glasses and focus on the positives. (SPOILER ALERT if you haven't watched the show yet and plan to - don't read any further!).

The Lois and Clark scenes were absolutely wonderful in the finale. Fanboys everywhere groaned, I'm sure, but us fangirls were crying tears of joy over this ending. This is coming from a gal who became a bonafide Clois shipper thanks to Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher in "Lois and Clark" in the 90s. Sorry, Dean and Teri. My new all-time favorite Clois is Tom Welling and Erica Durance after this episode. Hands down.

My favorite scene, which surprised even me (I was all excited about the suit, y'all), was the door scene. Lois called off the wedding because she didn't want to stand in Clark's way of becoming the Superman we all know and love, then changed her mind after sneaky little Chloe made her read Clark's beautifully-written vows. Clark, meanwhile, had decided Lois was right. He went to tell her goodbye, only to find her in her apartment getting dressed for the wedding. The entire scene saw them divided by a door, discussing why they should or should not be together. It was incredibly well-written. I laughed my head off when Lois slid her vows under the door for Clark to read -- it was only fair after all, since she'd read his -- and it was all marked up with red editing marks. Laughed. My. Head. Off. Her notes were so funny! Then when we heard Clark reading the vows, I swear I teared up. Of course, they headed to the altar.

Now, I'm no fan of weddings, in all honesty, but the show gave us one I didn't mind attending, albeit briefly. I don't think Clois fans have ever had a truly good Clois wedding representation on screen. The two "Lois and Clark" weddings were both kinda flat. "Smallville" gave us one we can forever cherish, even if it ultimately did get squashed by Darkseid, who possessed best man Oliver and had him switch Clark's wedding ring with one made out of gold kryptonite (which fans of the comics will know can strip Clark of his powers forever). Thank God bridesmaid Chloe was there to recognize the ring and karate chop it away before Clark touched it!

But the almost wedding was beautiful. I teared up when Lois - who had told Clark she would walk herself down the aisle in her family's absence - got that sad look on her face when she came through the door and saw that Clark wasn't waiting for her. Of course, Clark slid his hand through hers and walked her down the aisle himself. Loved, loved, loved the song they played then. So fitting and beautiful. And then the exchange of vows was done so well. The editing there was so creative and moving. I encourage you - if you didn't see the episode but consider yourself a romantic - to watch it through the link below.


WATCH IT HERE

The wedding was halted when Oliver went psycho and tried to kill Clark, but Clark's good nature and pep talk was enough to help Oliver banish Darkseid and save their friendship. Unfortunately, Darkseid had set another planet on a collision course with earth, and it looked like an apocalypse was imminent. This episode was so full of religious comparisons, it wasn't funny. It was obvious Clark was filling the role of Jesus, and Darkseid was Satan. When Clark decided to go to his father, Jor-El, for help, he discovered he knew how to fly.

This was my second favorite scene of the episode. When Jor-El revealed to Clark the vision of his trials in Smallville, we were treated to a very creative and well-done series of flashbacks from the entire run of show. And then away Clark went to the Fortress of Solitude, where Jor-El rewarded Clark -- and the millions of fans who had been gasping, wondering, begging for Clark to wear the suit on the finale -- with the iconic Superman suit.

We had all predicted the show would end there, but did it? Oh no. Indeed we were treated to some cheesy CG, but cool imagery of Superman flying around, first saving Lois - who had snuck aboard Air Force One to beg the president not to use nuclear weapons to try and destroy the threat. That scene was obviously a shout-out to Superman Returns. Loved the shot of Lois looking through the airplane window and seeing Superman for the first time. Loved it.

And then, of course, Superman pushed the planet back out of our orbit, as a crowd of hopeless people looked up. Their expressions went from doom to hope and ultimately cheers as the darkness disappeared and they were again covered in sunlight (another reference to Jesus? Hmmm). I loved it when Oliver smiled and said, "Way to go, buddy."

And then, the scene that gave me chills, literally. Tom Welling's Superman morphed into an image of Superman from the comic books as Chloe closed the comic book and told a small, blonde-haired boy, "And that's how the boy from Smallville became Superman." (Squeee!)

Praise Jesus, Chloe didn't die!! Fans have been speculating for years that she would HAVE to die in the finale since she's not part of the overall Superman mythos. Unfortunately Tess DID die, killed by her brother Lex Luthor after she made it clear she was choosing good over evil. In a genius move by the writers, she smeared Lex with a fluid that would erase his memory -- and his knowledge that Clark Kent was Superman -- just before she died. You go, girl!

But wait, it didn't end there. Chloe walked out of the room and called her cousin, and best friend Lois Lane to ask if everything was ready. We saw Lois in the Daily Planet. We saw Perry White's name on the editor's door, and we not only heard his voice talking, we heard him say "Great Caesar's Ghost!" (Squeee!). Then a scene with Lois and Jimmy Olsen. Then a scene of Lex Luther that gave us notification we were seeing events seven years into the future. Then we saw a bumbling Clark Kent run smack dab into Lois. A really cute exchange between them, and THEN, cue the iconic John Williams theme to "Superman: The Movie." As Clark and Lois revealed they were headed to their actual wedding (seven years later?!?), there was an armed robbery.

"Go," Lois told Clark, who headed to the roof as the Superman theme song played, and then, in slow mo, he ripped off his glasses and tore open his shirt to reveal the suit again.

Epic. I had tears. Well done, Smallville execs. Well done!

Superman is un-American? Breaking Dawn pics and more HG casting!

I don't normally report on actual comic books, but this Supes fangirl just can't resist this one. Some good news, and some (in my opinion) stupid news this week about my No. 1 Man of Steel - the landmark issue of Action Comics #900 hit stores yesterday and is all about our Big Blue Boy Scout.

On a really cool note, a dream team of writers contributed stories to the special issue, including David Goyer, writer of "Batman Begins" and the upcoming film "The Man of Steel"; Richard Donner, director of "Superman: The Movie"; Geoff Johns, DC Comics' chief creative officer and one of its most popular writers; and Damon Lindelof -- who oversaw "Lost's" six-season run. Yesterday CNN had a really fun Q&A with Lindelof that you should definitely read. It's nice to see the big guy getting some love and respect from DC Comics after the company has become so focused for so long on Batman.

Now, I haven't gotten my issue yet, but most major news outlets have reported about the issue #900 today because - are you ready for this? -- Superman renounces his U.S. Citizenship in this comic book. Time to tweak that catchphrase "truth, justice and the American way"?

Oh, for the love of all that is holy, why?

It really irks me when the comic book heads get crazy and change a major part of a character's identity like this. I mean, Superman is one of America's most recognizable icons. Always has been. Take that away, and what does that say to the rest of the world? I think it makes us laughable, personally.

Like I said, I haven't read the issue, but I really doubt there's any reason I can accept for this. Geez.

Don't worry. I still love you Superman. It's not your fault you're sometimes written badly.





Have you seen the newly released pictures from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn? I have one word. OMG! The next issue of Entertainment Weekly looks like a must-have for my collection. Oh, that cover. Those photos! Must have, like, now!



We finally have confirmation that Elizabeth Banks will play Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games! With the movie scheduled to hit theaters in 11 months (or a little less), I'm starting to wonder what the hold up on filming is. Can we please cast Haymitch already? And I'm really loving the kids they're choosing for the other Tributes so far. How many does that leave yet to be cast? Fourteen, right? What about Greasy Sae? Portia? Cinna?!? See what I mean? Better get to work, casting peeps! Of course, the latests rumors involve Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci and John C. Reilly.

Spidey's suit change, "Scream 4" bombs? and "Hunger Games" casting news

Time for me to geek out loud again, and boy, do I have some news to share this week!

First of all, I hear that Marvel comics is getting rid of Spider-man's red and blue suit and replacing it with this black and red one. Not only that, the person wearing the suit won't be Peter Parker. Um, haven't they learned anything from fan reactions in the past? Changing a superhero's costume - not a good idea. Killing a beloved staple character and trying to create a new one - REALLY not a good idea. I mean, Peter Parker?!? Dead?!? Are you nutcases out of your ever-lovin' minds?!? I know the changes won't be across the board (it's a new look and character for "Ultimate Spider-Man" only), but still...

I saw "Scream 4" this weekend and LOVED it. Well, I think we can all agree that the first 15 minutes were pretty lame and weird and - dare I say it? - overkill for a "Scream" opening sequence, but the rest of the movie was pretty darned good, considering 11 years has passed since the last installment. Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette, you guys rule! I mean, I absolutely could not figure out the ending until the reveal of this round's Ghostface, and bam! Shocked! I can't remember the last time I couldn't figure out the ending of a movie at least halfway into it. So please tell me why this movie supposedly bombed at the box office? Come on, people, go see it! How else will we get "Scream 5"?

I was fortunate enough to attend the extras casting call for "The Hunger Games" -- er, excuse me, "Artemis" (which we all know is really "The Hunger Games") -- and while I haven't landed a role in the film just yet (I know...I know...but miracles do happen), casting for this movie is picking up steam. The Tributes are being cast as I type this, with actors already confirmed for the roles of Rue, Thresh, Marvel and Glimmer! Even better, the official Facebook page for The Hunger Games Movie has created a special application that displays the Tributes as they've been cast. Check it out. It's pretty cool! Also rumored is that Elizabeth Banks is in talks to play Effie Trinket. Awesome! And Kudos to The Hob for being on top of all of the news for this movie. Now, can we please hear a casting announcement on Haymitch, please?