No Permanent Majorities In America
Cartoony Politics in Canada
Being President 101
Failure To Blow Election Stuns Democratic Party Faithful Mourn End To Losing Tradition
Hope Is On The Way
The Future Is Upon Us
Illinois Outdoes Itself
Environmentalists Disregard Public Safety
There's Something About Harry
The White Collar Lament
What Good Can Come Of This?
Dummies
If The Shoe Fits Hurl It
Obama The Magic Negro-Gate
Sick Of The Doom And Gloom?
Crazy Like A Fox
Out With The Old
Remember The Empty Chairs At Holiday Tables
Who Are The Real Nazis?
The Gaza Rules
Harper's Weekly
The Mortgage Thieves Return
Bringing A Bit Of Fairness To The American Workplace
Bye-Bye 2008: Things I Want To Forget
The Fierce Urgency Of Now
How Many Government Workers Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?
The Perils And Joys Of Self-Esteem
The Future Of Civilization
'Hunk' Obama Can Help Nation Fight Obesity Epidemic
Moral Clarity In Gaza
Obama's Tax Cuts Leave Logic Behind
Talking About Sex-Ed That Works
The Time Is Now
Et Al Ad Nauseam: 2008 And All That
The Generational Theft Act Of 2009
Pay Rod Gives Democrats Fits With Senate Choice
'Tis The Season To Be Jolly. Or At least Try
Gaza: The Dove'S War
Hamas Rockets Blew Away Gaza Opportunity
Season's Readings
Old Acquaintances
A Social Trauma For Obama: Youth Crime
Sensitivity And 'Gran Torino'
A Question For My Friend Alan Dershowitz
The Unsung Hero Of Obama'S Victory
Red Ink Did Me Good
Barack in Limbo
A Hard Year Ahead
Ask Not For Plum Political Appointments
Eric Holder And All Political Prisoners
Mideast Overshadows Obama's Prospects
A Clean Start
Year-End Odds And Ends
Team Obama Dabbles In Drama
The Gamble in Gaza -- Interview With Aaron David Miller
Cal Thomas-Bonus
A Respite From Reality
One Nation, One People-God Bless Us Everyone
Dr. Leavitt's Scary Diagnosis
Rich People Versus Politicians
Richardson's Exit And The Vetting Process



Quantum Of Nonsense
Mona Charen 11/18/2008
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Absurdity, cartoonish violence, sexism, campiness these are no bars to enjoying a matinee with my teenaged boys. So off we went to see Daniel Craig as James Bond do his suave star turn in “Quantum of Solace” over the weekend.

We ought to have known, from the impenetrable title, that this was not going to be satisfying entertainment. "Quantum" means — roughly — amount, and "solace" of course means comfort. Since this is a story about revenge, we are asked to believe that Bond achieves a measure of comfort from dispatching any number of bad guys unfortunate enough to cross his path. The Bond girl, too, is acting out her own revenge fantasy. Unfortunately, there was hardly a quantum of coherence to the story.

Bond is seeking revenge for the murder of his love Vesper (introduced in “Casino Royale”). Except that Vesper betrayed him. Or has he forgiven her? We aren't sure how he feels because the dialogue is extremely sketchy. Craig's Bond is not the winking, debonair skirt chaser of earlier iterations. He is all taut energy and grim determination. That's fine. The nudge-nudge naughtiness of
the earlier Bonds was cloying. But “Quantum's” plot line is so neglected (nearly all of the focus is on chase scenes and hand-to-hand fighting) that we don't get any clear idea of why this particularly menacing Bond is killing people without so much as a backward glance.

The vast conspiracy in this film concerns a fiend who uses an environmental firm as a cover to corner the market on the world's most precious resource — water. A little harder to swallow than Goldfinger's plan to corner the market on gold perhaps. OK, whatever. But the film's writers and producers could not resist making the CIA a heavy. The CIA, we are told, has no objections to propping up corrupt and murderous thugs in Latin America so long as a few individuals get a cut of the action. Explaining his plan to his CIA contact, (I quote from memory) the villain notes that the U.S. surely does not want another Marxist "giving away wealth" to the people of Latin America. (The British are portrayed as having rogue elements, a high-ranking minister and a few secret agents on the take, but not the entire security service.)

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THE NEW JAMES BOND
By Patrick Chappatte - Le Temps, Switzerland * Posted 11/21/2006 12:00:00 AM
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THE NEW JAMES BOND
© Copyright 2006  Patrick Chappatte - All Rights Reserved.

Posted By: James  on Wednesday, November 19, 2008

It's a MOVIE. Get over yourself.

Posted By: Jonathan Colb  on Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I haven't seen this film, but from the reviews and from most people who have seen it, it doesn't sound like it was intended to double as an objective, factually rigorous, academic documentary on America's international relationships.

It does, however, sound like it was intended to be a campy, entertaining piece of escapism aimed squarely at fifteen-year-olds with lower-than-average IQs. So why all the fuss?

If the movie really sucks that bad, she should just say so and move on!

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