Mini-Review Monday: Quantum of Solace

Release: October 31, 2012

Story: James Bond (Daniel Craig) is still reeling from a terrible loss he experienced in Casino Royale. While he says he’s not, Bond is out for revenge. Standing in his way is a dastardly organization, Quantum, that claims to have people everywhere, even MI-6. Dominic Greene (played by Mathieu Amalria) is a lead member of Quantum, posing as a rich businessman supporting environmental issues. His job for Quantum is to gain control of Bolivia’s water supply, because controlling water equals controlling people. With Bond’s rage growing every minute, M (Judi Dench) is having a heck of a time keeping him in check long enough to complete his mission. Thankfully, Bond is getting help from Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), a Bolivian agent on her own personal vendetta, and two characters from Casino Royale – CIA Agent Felix Leiter (Jeffery Wright) and René Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini).

The Lumieres, a Cafe, and the Beginnings of Movies

On Tuesday, I got back from my European honeymoon, where my wife and I spent two lovely weeks in Dusseldorf, Paris, and London. In Paris, what I wanted to see the most might not be what you’d expect. I didn’t even think about visiting it at all until we got there. No, it’s not the Eiffel Tower. It was Le Salon Indien du Grand Café. It was at this small but historic building where people were given the chance to participate in the first ever public, commercial movie screening.

Queued in Fridays: The Birth of a Nation

Note to the reader: Below you will see me get very irate. This is because I hate racism. If my comments seem unjustifiably angry, I apologize, but I needed to share my true feelings and be honest with you the reader.

I probably don’t need to tell most of you that this is a controversial film. For those who know nothing about it, I’ll tell you why. In 1914, silent film director D.W. Griffith was looking to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War. Griffith, whose mother and father lived through the war (his father a former Confederate officer), showed a lot of sympathy toward the Old South that was lost in the war. He decided to make a movie, which would premiere in 1915, about the cause and effect of the war on the South.