I mentioned on the air last week that I was one of an estimated 125 million people that would be going to see the new cinematic phenomenon, 'The Hunger Games' when it hit theatres March 23rd (*update* the actual total, 155 million people). Well last Friday night, there we were in the audience watching what looks like it'll probably be the biggest film of 2012 and one of the largest grossing movies of all time. In all likelihood, the vast majority of you are aware of the storyline and the characters. Obviously, many have read 'The Hunger Games', the first in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. The other two are "Catching Fire' and 'Mockingjay'. Word is, that the three books will eventually be made into four movies.

I won't rehash the storyline, that'd just be redundant, nor will I give you my personal review of the flaws and strong points of the movie. I'm not a film critic. What I will say is, despite certainly not being the prime target audience for this film (I suspect more than any other group, that would have to be teenage girls) I thoroughly enjoyed it and became mesermerized with the storyline and the plot as the movie progressed. The performances of all the principle actors are so strong, the special effects, so good and overall, 'The Hunger Games' is so well done, that I'm pretty sure the majority of movie goers will feel that their money has been well spent when they leave the theatre. It is intense and the storyline does necessitate violence, but it's not mindless, graphic violence included just for 'shock value'. It's crucial to the plot and pretty much has to be in there. Having said that, I wouldn't recommend taking children under 13 to see it (It is rated PG-13). By the way, it's not in 3-D. Director Gary Ross says that although he loves 3-D and thinks it's a wonderful tool, he just doesn't think it's the right tool for this movie. He goes on to say that he won't do 3-D for the next film in the series, 'Catching Fire', either.

At the end of the day, I do think that most of you will really enjoy 'The Hunger Games'. Now that I've seen it, I'm totally onboard for going to the sequels when they come out and although I haven't read them so far, I'll probably check out the books. I guess I'm officially a 'fan' now.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!"