Also, I think it would have been useful to include at least one or two scenes of the Gamemakers deciding NOT to air something. There were several parts in the book where Katniss thought something like, "I'm sure no one is seeing this," that gave some good insight into what the Games were supposed to accomplish and what kinds of things would undermine that.

Hunger Games thoughts:

Personal note - as I said on fb, I knew going in that it was filmed outside of Asheville, but I totally did not expect the acute homesickness that the scenery evoked in me. Arrgh. Mountain laurels, rivers with big flat rocks, long shots of wooded hillsides.

Overall I think it was really good. I understood why they made many of the choices they did, and some were even improvements (like Seneca Crane's end and Cato's speech ). I think it was clever to use the behind the scenes Gamemakers' room and the Caeser Flickerman/Claudius Templesmith commentary to carry a lot of the exposition, and introducing us to Claudius.

I felt like the dynamics between Katniss and Cinna, and Katniss and Haymitch, and Katniss and Peeta were just slightly off. Not sure I can parse how, right now.

They missed out on one of the few funny lines in the book, though, by not having Peeta say, "Frosting - the last refuge of the dying." And I thought it a shame to not have the muttation dogs be clearly derived from the dead tributes, because that adds such a layer of cruelty to the game machinations - c'mon, you're already using CGI! It's the psychological torture, as much as the physical threats and exposure, that wear down the tributes. And we don't really get the sense in the movie like we do in the books that the Games are never over for Peeta and Katniss, but maybe that was to provide some closure in case the other movies don't get made? IDK.

I agree that the poor fight choreo and/or editing was super annoying.

They had best get nominated for makeup and wardrobe, damn. Effie was just... perfectly Effie.

I dunno. It'll be interesting to see where they go with the other two, assuming they get made.

In conclusion, RUE.

assuming they get made.

Ha! Fair assumption considering it broke a shit ton of box office records.

In conclusion, RUE.

This was the point where the four-year-old in my theater's audience, who has been maintaining an annoying low-level "Mommy? Mommy? Look at this," throughout most of the movie (she was pretty clearly bored), decided that it was time for a "I want more CANDY!"

Well, yes, but I don't want to jinx anything. ::spits three times, knocks on wood, crosses all digits::

I just streamed the whole soundtrack and I know I'm biased, but damn if the Carolina Chocolate Drops' "Daughter's Lament" isn't the best track on there. [link] Whoever wrote it most definitely read the books, even if it takes a liberty or two. I literally got chill bumps listening to it the first time.

We saw The Hunger Games yesterday, and the general consensus among our group was that it was pretty good, though not as emotionally involving as it could have been. (Though I did cry when Rue died. Oh man. And I loved the three-fingered salute, and the riot it sets off in District 11.) Also not quite as horrifying dark as I'd been expecting, but I was OK with that. It did make the two people who hadn't read the books want to read them.

I liked Jennifer Lawrence, but I felt like she came across as frustratingly opaque a lot of the time. It makes sense for the character -- Katniss plays things pretty close to the chest -- but you're right in her head in the books, and I found I missed being privy to her thoughts and reactions to everything. So opening out to an omniscient POV didn't really work as well for me as it did for some of y'all.

I loved Lenny Kravitz -- Cinna's one of my favorite characters from the books, and I felt like Kravitz got him really right. He felt like an oasis of sanity and support in the Capitol. I really liked his last scene with Katniss before the Games start. And I agree with Plei that the kid who played Peeta was very good too, better than I'd been expecting. We didn't get to see as much of Gale, so I don't have a good read on him yet. He seemed kind of generic, but that could be because he wasn't given much to work with in the script. If I hadn't read the books I would have left the movie thinking that Peeta was clearly the guy Katniss is "supposed to" end up with, whereas I really enjoyed that the books were much better about making both boys seem appealing and right for her in different ways.

I have to say, I was not sorry that they changed the muttations and just made them regular scary beasts instead of horrifying creatures made from the dead bodies of the other tributes. That image freaked the hell out of me in the books, and I'm really OK with not having a visual from the movies to go along with it.

In conclusion, RUE.

Ayup.

Ugghh, Hil. We watched in an "18 and older only" theater, so thank heavens we didn't have to deal with any of that crap.

Kate, I do agree with you that I missed getting Katniss' perspective on things. I'm glad they didn't go with a voiceover, but a few muttered asides in the woods might have helped.

I can't speak for all the viewers that haven't read the books, but I think the relationships between Katniss and Gale and Katniss and Peeta do come across.

I didn't read the books, but I had read enough of the posts here that I had a grasp on what they were about. I never read the Harry Potter ones either, but loved the movies...most of them.

What was the significance of the three-finger salute? I got that it meant something to her district but wasn't sure.

quester, it was their way of showing respect. I don't think it was ever explained beyond that -- just that it was a custom unique to the district.