I generally agree with everything you said. It was a decent movie, but for those who read the book it was pretty lame. Acting was actually horrible in some parts. When Katniss and Peeta start being all in love halfway through it was the cheesiest acting I've ever seen.
An io9 article sums up even more stuff they left out that bugged me. Not my words, but it says everything I was thinking watching the movie.
Lamb Stew (Actual Hunger)
Food is a very big deal in Suzanne Collins' books. In fact there are websites, and books dedicated to the dishes cooked up on Panem. One could even argue that the whole plot of the book is based around food — not having it, versus having it. The winning tribute returns to a world of money (so they can buy food) and their district gets to live a whole year with additional rations from The Capitol. Almost every other thought inside Katniss' head is about food, finding food, protecting the food, feeding her family, feeding herself in the games, will she have enough food? How will her future actions affect the people of District 12's food supply? Food is everything. Heck, "Hunger" is in the title! So it was surprising that not a single food item was namechecked in the movie. There was no reaping fish soup, no goat cheese bread Prim saves for her sister, no the Mellark cookies, no crescent bread delivered from District 11 which was supposedly meant for little Rue (a completely gutting moment), and of course, no lamb stew!
The hunger is missing from Hunger Games, even when Katniss had her flashback in the rain with Peeta. She merely looked sad, not a wreck of malnutrition desperately trying to keep her sister from starving. This is why it's SO important when Katniss makes Gale promise her family won't starve when she's gone (and if she dies) because there is no food.
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The Avox Girl/Capture
Early while Katniss and Gale illegally hunt for food they witness a red headed girl and a young man (presumably running away from The Capitol) get sucked up by a giant hover craft. The young man is actually harpooned right through the chest and the girl is captured alive. She shows up later as an "Avox" — a tongueless servant for the Capitol, punished forever for her crime. While there most certainly are Avox-like servants waiting on Peeta and Katniss in their skyscraper apartment, we never really know what horrors these people faced for their "crimes." In the film Katniss does remark that if she and Gale were to run away the Capitol could catch them and cut out their tongues, but it's all talk. The silent red head (while not integral to the story) certainly made it known that life inside the city was pretty horrendous for those who are opposed to President Snow.
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Hovercraft Body Collectors: Katniss Loses Her Mind
The hovercrafts were also a big part of the Games that were never really utilized in the movie. After a Tribute has died, a hovercraft would appear and snatch the body up (taking along whatever was attached to it). This is fairly important in the second book as the resistance uses their hovercrafts against The Capitol. But also, in the final moment of the Games when Katniss and Peeta consider eating the poisonous nightlock berries it's heightened, because Peeta is slowly bleeding to death from his legs. They NEED the hovercraft to come, and fast. They have to make the decision quickly. When they do trick the gamekeepers into releasing them both, the hovercraft separates Peeta and Katniss and our braided hero loses her damn mind. It's the first time you see Katniss go absolutely insane for Peeta. She doesn't know if he survived, if he bled to death, what the Capitol is doing to him — she just goes bonkers, and it's really the only way you should end a death battle, with crazy rage and fear.
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People Say We're In Love
The epic betrayal of Peeta's heart. In the film we see Haymitch warning Katniss that if she wants to live another day after the games she has to pretend to love Peeta forever. In the book Katniss' big "my love for you is make believe" reveal is devastating to Peeta, because he was actually in love with her. Plus, Katniss has been seemingly fanning this unrequited love by resting her head on his shoulder and flirting with him during the final interviews. On the screen we see Katniss hold Peeta's hand and say a few nice things to him, but the actual exploitation is gone from the movie (possibly to detract the audiene from hating Katniss for being so cruel). Couple that with the fact that Peeta never said the iconic line, "She has no idea, the effect she can have," in the film — and you have a pretty strongly one-sided love triangle.
