Quantum of Solace Review (Spoiler free)

One line: Not as good as Casino Royale.

More detail: The first thing that struck me immediately about the film was that I did not like the way the action was directed. The film opens with an action sequence that I found very difficult to follow. Other action scenes in the film suffered from similar problems.

The plot relies heavily on the previous film, Casino Royale. Fortunately, I watched that film before seeing Quantum of Solace so I was up to date with the plot. While knowing the details of Casino Royale isn't necessary, if you are the kind of film watcher who needs everything explained, you ought to see Casino Royale first. Otherwise the plot itself is pretty plain. There are attempts to humanize James Bond some more, and also to make some moral statements, but neither really resonated with me. The film retains some of the dark tone from Casino Royale, with very little levity and nearly no gadgets. A small nitpick, but I found the stylized subtitles naming each locale to be silly and somewhat distracting. Overall this film wasn't bad but it wasn't that good either. It's more of a coda to Casino Royale than its own film.

Buffy - Seventh Season

I've been watching the seventh and final season of Buffy, and it's great so far. The first few episodes have been full of great flashbacks and inside references for the show that are really full of nods to the previous six seasons. A great payoff for the longtime fans and the final season of the show. I'm looking forward to the remainder of the season!

More on the Automotive Industry

Mitt Romney wrote an Op-Ed piece for the NY Times today that states that the government should just let the auto industry in Detroit fail. Kind of an interesting opinion from the same man who said he would bring jobs back to Michigan during the primaries.

Bluetooth

Is it just me or is it hard to take people seriously when they're wearing Bluetooth headsets and talking to you? I was out at a Wendy's and saw this guy complaining to the clerk rather angrily and was on the verge of laughing. For some reason the fact that he had the Bluetooth on seemed really comical.

Old and Slow

It's halftime, the Jets are up and I'm nervous they're going to blow it.

An interesting note that I saw this morning - apparently a Jets player anonymously said that the Patriots were "old and slow" but didn't want to take credit for fear of "bulletin board material." How does saying that anonymously make it any less bulletin board material. It still can read, "Jets: Pats are old and slow."

Sabathia

The Yankees are expected to make an offer to CC Sabathia that will "blow him away." I hope not. Sabathia has had a career year last year but haven't we learned the lessons of Carl Pavano and Jared Wright? One career year a future cannot predict. Sabathia prior to the last two years has been decent but by no means an ace. Here's hoping the Yanks show some restraint - although they do need serious help with the starting 5.

Automotive Bailout?

Should we bailout the auto industry with tax dollars? What an interesting question! The automakers provide a huge number of jobs for people around the country and symbolically are important given their status but on the other hand, when a company can't keep up with innovation or proper business models, shouldn't the be able to fail? At what size company would we decide not to bailout? I find this entire scenario interesting.

SNL - election loser

The real losers of the election? SNL viewers, who will deal with the loss of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and now only have Fred Armisen's impression of President-elect Barack Obama. In my opinion, Armisen just hasn't really been able to capture Obama. Something about the speech patterns in his imitation just aren't quite right.

Jets - It's not looking good

The Jets are facing Buffalo today but it's not looking good for this game, or even the season. The Jets need a win at Buffalo if they want to stay close in the AFC East race. The problem is, they've been playing really close games against poor opponents - including the loss at Oakland. Now ILB and leading tackler David Harris is out with an injury and being replaced by David Bowens, who never has played ILB (he is a OLB / DE). WR's Coles and Cotchery are both banged up and the third WR, Brad Smith, has 1 catch this year.

In addition, the coaching has been horribly inconsistent, especially on offense. Against the Raiders, the running game in the first half was going really well, yet they ran very few play actions or even run plays and kept passing. Only until overtime did they try to run some more. With the Chiefs, worst running defense in the league, they came out passing. What is going on?

They're teetering right now and the rest of the schedule doesn't get any easier. I think we can call the season pretty soon - probably on 11/14 after the Thursday night game against New England. I'm guessing they'll be 5-5 at best, meaning they would need 5/6 to finish the season and feel good about the playoffs.

I've Got The Scars To Prove It

John McCain often says, "I've stood against my party and I've got the scars to prove it!" What does he mean by this?

Near as I can tell, he's been affected very little by standing up to his party. Standing against other Republicans has raised his public profile and image in general. It also hasn't hurt him enough with Republicans because he's still their Presidential nominee!

It seems to me there's actually a clause missing in the middle of this statement where he means to say, "I've stood against my party, fought in a war, and I've got the scars to prove it."

World Series

Two notes about the World Series -
1) It must be hard for the Mets fans to see Scott Kazmir facing off against the Phillies.
2) How does Barack Obama get caught saying he'll root for the Rays and the Phillies? Seriously? Yet another minimal issue and yet the candidate still messes it up.
3) Oh by the way, the Daily Show points out, McCain called out Obama on the pandering, but then Palin pandered to Phillies fans, Rays fans and Red Sox fans. See below.

Tested? How has John McCain Been Tested?

John McCain says, "America will not have a president who needs to be tested. I’ve been tested my friends.”

How exactly has McCain been tested? He's never had to make any decisions that affect the lives of millions of people? Obama hasn't either but he's not claiming to have greater experience in this arena than his opponent, just better judgment.

Todd Palin and Alaskan Independence

If Barack Obama's meetings with Bill Ayers are concerning to voters, shouldn't Todd Palin's association with the Alaskan Independence Party also be in question? After all, isn't it Sarah Palin who is challenging that certain people in the country are not "pro-America?" What would be less pro-America than voting on leaving the Union?

Loving the Rays

Here's hoping the Rays go all the way and complete an amazing underdog / Cinderella story.

Bad Jets Loss

The Jets loss today to the Raiders was a bad one. The game was a typical "trap" game where the Jets had been winning well, and were facing off against a limping Raiders team. The entire game was sloppy with the Raiders committing too many penalties and the Jets making three huge turnovers. In the end, the Jets had gotten so many breaks just to keep the game even at 13-13 and force overtime, it was hard to imagine that they could win in overtime unless they improved their play. The Chiefs come in next week and the Jets need to win that game.

Smoking

In my apartment it smells like someone is smoking in the bathroom. It's very uncomfortable.

Roy Williams x2

I love that the Cowboys now have WR Roy Williams and SS Roy Williams. What will they put on the back of the jerseys? Roy Williams? This is something I accomplished in a Madden 2005 franchise just for the novelty. I just find it hilarious!

W (the movie)

Oliver Stone has a new movie coming out about George W Bush called "W." But I'm wondering who the audience is for this movie. Those in the 20% or so who currently still approve of the President's job will not want to see this film that will undoubtedly put the President in negative light. Do the rest of us, who are frustrated with the way the President has done things really want to re-live the last 7+ years worth of criticism? It seems unlikely to me. Maybe Stone was just hoping to put in his input for the upcoming election by timing the movie so close to the Election Day, but it seems to me that it's just a bit too soon to be making this film.

Town Hall Debate

The most disappointing thing to me about the "town hall debate" that occurred last Tuesday is the fact that it seemed no different than any of the other debates that have happened up to now. All we get are the same questions (this time, just posed by "regular people") and the same answers (that don't necessarily answer the posed question). The candidates just echo and parrot their usual schtick with no original material.

Certainly questions on the economy are important at this time, but it seemed like the same old thing - apparently both candidates will have the right tax cuts for me, while the other will not.

I was also shocked when John McCain said it would be easy to "fix" Social Security. The entitlements have been a supposed problem for years that nobody's been able to fix. If it was so easy, then why hasn't he fixed it in his 26 yrs in the Senate?

VP Debate

So far, about 50 minutes into the 90 minute debate, I want to rip off my ears. The debate is completely incoherent. Sarah Palin is just making vague comments and reiterating typical McCain talking points, and not providing any new information. Meanwhile, Joe Biden is overexplaining everything and also becoming ridiculous. I hope the next 40 minutes are better but I'm not very hopeful.