I saw it last night and want to see it again. While I knew the book ends in a clifhanger, I had forgotten, so getting to that point in the movie I was unprepared .

I'm seeing it tonight and I don't remember the details of the book very well at this point, so I don't think I'll miss anything they cut. Glad to hear it's so good!

I agree about Johanna! That scene, plus Jena Malone killed "They can't do anything to me. I've got nothing left that I love." Casting was very good all around.

I love the book, but I think I like the first movie more. I know many people weren't fans, but I missed the shakycam. I also found it a bit rushed, especially in the arena. We hardly get to know the other Tributes at all, and the clock reveal comes so soon after "Tick tock" that it doesn't have as much impact, PLUS they cut out Plutarch's showing Katniss the clock, which may given the game away too much in a visual medium. I wished they'd split this book up instead of the next one. I did appreciate how they sprinkled in foreshadowing, and I felt it was structured pretty well for having to get all the story in, but it wasn't as visceral an experience for me, despite some great, horrible moments of brutality (although all the stuff with Commander Thread seemed so over-the-top I wanted to laugh).

I was initially disappointed that the movie didn't smash cut to black after "There is no District 12" because I love the way the book ends, and then I was more disappointed that they had to clarify "It's all gone" because NO "THERE IS NO DISTRICT 12" IS AN AWESOME LAST LINE AND SNOW ALREADY SET UP WHAT THAT MEANS IN THE VERY BEGINNING but it is a testament to Jennifer Lawrence's talent that they could make the final shot of the movie HER FACE SHIFTING FROM DESPAIR TO DETERMINATION so that was awesome.

I wish I'd remembered what my emotional reactions were going to be. All I could remember was the body count (which was bad enough). I liked this one better than the first--it had an exciting Hunger Games, for instance. The clock mechanism was devilish and the baboons had me rock back in my chair in a way the mutates didn't.

Jennifer Lawrence sold everything she was supposed to sell, and they ended it at a great moment.

The best explanation we could come up with for why there are still two more movies aside from filthy luchre is two movies with quells, two without. Still can't work out the plot to fill them.

I am wondering about how to make the last book into two movies because I don't see the clear spot where you end the first movie.

Of course, still less ridic than trying to figure out how you turn the rest of The Hobbit into two whole movies. The only thing I can figure is that they are going to radically expand the journey home into a big chunk of the last movie. But that still leaves me unclear on when this next movie ends and the third one begins.

I do love that in this movie the arena is actively trying to kill them. AND FUCK THOSE BABOONS FOR SERIOUS. The nerve gas was pretty horrific too, although it washed away really easily so we wouldn't have to look at our pretty actors covered in boils. Also the moment when Katniss shoots the lightning arrow at the forcefield was fucking awesome. Baddest of all badasses, Katniss Everdeen.

You know, I did not think the world needed a remake of Robocop, but that trailer is pretty sweet.

So we got back from seeing Catching Fire. I'm trying to formulate my reaction (it always takes me awhile). But let me leave with a couple of thoughts.

Jena Malone (Joanna) was the fucking BOMB. That is all. LOVED her. I also loved Finnick. I was not all that thrilled after seeing the pic of the actor, but he pulled it out. He will do just fine in the remaining movie(s). I thought Tucci was FANTASTIC. I also really liked Beetee and Wiress.

I find Peeta kind of limited as an actor, and Plutarch was eh. I feel like PSH just showed up on set, put a comb through his hair said his lines and went to his trailer.

I think the movie doesn't really hit all the points that the book does from a societal critique level and some important details. I had to explain nearly the whole movie for Beau - and he had seen the first movie. Now for spoilers: Beau thought that Snow recruited all the old tributes to kill Katniss. He felt like the game was rigged because they were all out to kill her. I told him: it is actually the opposite: the game is designed to have one victor and about half were there to PROTECT Katniss & Peeta. The game designers always put in traps for the contestants. On the 30 minute drive home, I had to re-explain the movie based on the writer's intent. He also didn't understand why Katniss was having nightmares. I think it is possible the movie didn't fully demonstrate how terrifying the experience was in HG and how traumatized the returning recruits were - both because of the what they had to do in the games AND because of how the Capitol exploited them. Beau also wanted to see more of the unrest in the districts. I told him because the books are first-person, we saw/knew very little of the full extent of it until Book 3.

And that's when I figured what they will do with the sequels. I think the first movie will be all District 13 and the resistance. The 2nd movie will be the Capitol assault. I can't think of how else they would split this up .

I liked the movie over all. I probably enjoyed the movie more than Thor 2 (because I understood what was going on to a greater degree). I think CF could have been shorter, or they could have made different choices to include more context.

Whereas the non-readers I saw it with were more "I'm so glad they explained why people were randomly helping her, but it was a bit Mary Sue." They understood it perfectly, I think--we probably explained more about the first one than this. By the end of the movie, most everything was made clear (except why a society watches kids kill kids, but I contend FNL).

Yeah I think Beau was trying to figure why Snow was presented as being so incompetent. That is why he assumed that something else was up.