I very much noticed at the time that the last fight was confusing as all get-out to watch.

Current HG numbers:

The Hunger Games' $68.3 million opening gives it the biggest opening day of any non-sequel, and the fifth-biggest opening of all time. Midnight showings accounted for $19.7 million of the film's take, which gives you a sense of how devoted fans of this series are.

I was just going back and reading the discussion that I hadn't read before, and I'm curious about this, Suzi:

I just feel for anyone who hasn't read the books or even a summary and walks in cold, just knowing it is a popular flick. They are in for a world of hurt.

Do you mean in the sense of it being a more angstful movie than you might otherwise have imagined? The most popular trailer seems to stress that, so I'm not sure what the big surprise would be.

Wow, I liked it a LOT. I cried through a lot of it, but that's just me -- even knowing how it ends, the Reaping KILLED me. I thought the sets and costumes were fantastic -- basically all I had pictured.

Just came from seeing HG. Thought Gale's part got a little screwed, because one of the things I did like about the books is that the love triangle doesn't seem unfairly weighted and the choices are all awful.

I absolutely HATED shaky cam fights. I suppose it's possible the actors were so bad they had little usable long distance footage of the actual choreography, but it felt like they just didn't care. What a shame, but then most of the fans watching the movie couldn't tell good fight moves from bad, I suppose.

Loved LOVED Woody Harrelson (but then I usually do) who was believable as a broken guy who doesn't believe he still has some fight left in him.

They should have used the Reality Show segments to set up more shorthand for the other contestants, like their names, which flashed by so fast and then never got used again.

Nothing that a four-hour movie wouldn't have cured for me.

Especially with making it omniscient, and not just Katniss's POV, I could definitely see a miniseries!

All,

what was the point of that scene in the film where Haymitch seems to be staring at a family or something? Did someone catch what the audience was supposed to get there?

When's that? There's a moment when they are getting together at the beginning of training where he notices Cato giving them the stinkeye.

le nubian, I think it was because the family had given their little boy a toy sword in honor of the Hunger Games, and were smiling indulgently as the kid pretended to go after his sister.

OH! I forgot that entirely. I think it was just to show that everyone in the Capital is terrible or whatever.

Or, more kindly, how everyone views the Games as entertainment.