The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I watched an early showing of Catching Fire, I believe it was 9pm Thursday night, at Kips Bay in New York City. I was excited regardless, but when the movie turned out to be freaking awesome, I squirmed with the joy of fangirls everywhere for two hours.

Catching Fire just came out on DVD yesterday. I promptly scored a copy from Redbox to watch with my parents. Here's a list of 12 things I didn't notice when I was watching it the first time around. Don't read any further if you don't want spoilers!!

Spoilers ahead, I say!! 

1. All the honeycomb imagery. 

There are hexagonal, honeycomb-like patterns on their wetsuit uniforms, in the forcefield, and built into the metal structure of the dome. 

2. Katniss trembling like crazy when she hugs Peeta after he gets electrocuted. 

I feel like J Law's throaty-voiced Katniss is less vulnerable than the Katniss I imagined in my head (not to say Katniss is cuddly, because we know she ain't), but this scene and the last scene where she's freaking out at Haymitch really brought out her vulnerability for me. 

3. Katniss kisses Gale *3* times in the movie?! 

I didn't really expect the kisses in the meadow or in the kitchen...did that happen in the book? And damn, Gale's eyes are a jaw-dropping shade of green-blue.

4. No individual highlights of the tributes in the marketing. 

Unlike they did for the first book (they published a hardcopy "Tribute Guide' for heaven's sake). In retrospect, getting the history of these former victor tributes would have actually been pretty cool...leading me to...followup book about Finnick, Suzanne Collins?!

5. The cursing. 

I recalled Johanna's censored tirade at the ceremony and Finnick's gargled "Fuck!" when he gets submerged in water after the poison fog scene, but not Peeta yelling "Shit!" when they're running away from the fog (no lie, it shows up in the subtitles) or Katniss's "You son of a bitch!" to Haymitch at the end.  Toto, we aren't in Middle Grade Land anymore. 

6.  The need for J Law to act her butt off in a non-sassy, non-hot mess role (a la SLP, American Hustle, and to some extent X-Men) 

Catching Fire called for a truly epic drama- and action-filled performaance. Katniss cries, screams, runs, falls, shoots, has a truly emotional and gentle makeout scene with Peeta on the beach... I thought J Law's Katniss still had some clunky moments but not as many as movie #1, so awesome!! 

7. Katniss always says "Thank you," not "Thanks." 

She says it quite a few times throughout the movie. 

8. Peeta giving Katniss that black pearl. 

He shucks that oyster on the beach and hands it over with the air of a dad giving something to the mother of his children. Eau de 40-Year-Old. But the pearl was so pretty! And I like that it was black, which speaks to Katniss's unique character.

9. Finnick holding Peeta back while he lets Katniss run after Brutus when they are attacked at the cornucopia. 

Huh? Or was that Beetee he was rescuing?

10. The sweeping music, whose individual tracks I would like to listen too much more than the music in movie #1. 

Rue's Farewell was the sole tearjacker track for me from movie #1's OST, but in Catching Fire, the music is quite poignant at several moments: during Peeta and Katniss's visit to District 11, the announcement of the Quarter Quell (somewhat incongruously), and when they submerge themselves in water to heal the poison fog boils, among other moments. 

11. Finnick's decidedly British pronunciation of "Annie!" when he's screaming her name during the jabberyjay attack. 

12. No mention of Katniss's "pregnancy" after Peeta's very public announcement. 

Kind of similar to how the books address it, but there were at least one or two scattered mentions in the books that didn't make it to the movie.