--And despite the general blur, I suddenly developed "Kazinsky-vision" and began seeing him playing Fili everywhere. And other times, if it wasn't him, I thought it must be a filler-Fili standing in until they got Dean to the set. It got to the point that any time the dwarves were in a group, I was actively seeking out Fili. I probably missed a good third of the film because of this. I started noticing this a lot at my last viewing, and looked into it a bit more today. With just maybe two exceptions, if there's a scene where Fili doesn't have lines, you either don't see him at all, or you don't see his face: there are strategically placed weapons, other actors' heads, he has his back to us, or his head is turned just enough away. Like the troll scene where they're all in sacks: Fili's the only one laying face down; we see a bit of the back of his head as he's basically eating dirt, and then we mostly just see the tail-end of his sack. We do see his face, without him having lines, outside the troll cave, and on the Carrock. I think that's it! I sure hope we see more of him -- face included, even when in the background -- in the next two movies.
--I also kept an eye out for the evolution of Thorin's beard. He started out at Erebor with a longish beard with a clip, but then I saw that by the time he got to the "never forgave/forgot" scene it was short (I think I missed this previously because I kept thinking that he might take off his shirt). So it was short before Thror/Thrain go to the dwarf kingdom in the sky (or dungeon, as the case may be). I had gotten the impression he tore it out/hacked it off because of their loss, but was there some other precipitating event before that? I thought maybe it was because Thror and Thrain had theirs singed or burned off in Erebor, but at Azanulbizar Thror seemed fully bearded. Since this kept me thinking up until I became preoccupied with Fili, I probably missed 10% of the film due to this silliness.
LOL! Isn't it going to be nice to have the pause and rewind buttons? I meant to pay attention to beard length too, but after Smaug's done toasting dwarves, I've completely forgotten that there's any particular thing I'm supposed to be looking for in Thorin and am just holding my breath for the shake-fist-at-the-mountain pose and the not-quite-shirtless smiting-the-anvil scene.

Drat, I knew there was something else I was supposed to look for. Forgot. Where do you see it best? If it's at Azanulbizar, forget it. I can't take my eyes off Thorin.

as opposed to wearing it on his arm in battle position? I've only been able to spot him carrying it once. It appears on his left side as the company walks the narrow path out of Rivendell. Just after his "about to step over the edge of the wild" line, Thorin tells Balin to lead and turns to look back. That's when I get a half-second glimpse of the shield. Otherwise, I haven't bee able to spot it as part of his carried equipment. Seems like it must be attached to his belt (or harness?), in order to be easily reached, but not banging around when he's running. I don't think he wears it constantly on his arm, because I mostly see the heavy leather vambraces. But maybe I'm mistaken. If anyone else has spotted how he carries the shield, a heads up would be appreciated!

If I'm lucky, I'll get one more viewing, so I'll try to pay even closer attention -- not that that's a chore!

As our esteemed Ataahua said, only Thorin could sound manly while saying "Give him a pony!". One his best lines.

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Try to imagine Aragorn saying that. No, wait, he can pull it off, too (remembering Bill the pony discussion with Sam). Okay, Borimir couldn't do it, for sure.