Bond:

I too found it a bit meh. But I *adored* the action, even if I found it a bit confusing (2 too many sequences intersplicing the action with other "action"). Emotionally, I didn't feel it. And when it got to the end, I wasn't sure if it was ending, and before it ended, I thought it was about to end. The end I thought the pacing and structure fell apart.

I liked that the whole movie was Bond working through his feelings about Vespa, but I didn't feel the end. I didn't feel closure, or, um, that he'd obtained his measure of peace, or even that he hadn't. I liked M going on about not knowing who to trust, and that if you can't tell your enemies from your friends you should get out, and then putting her faith in Bond.

I wonder that if there are more Daniel Craig Bond movies, that they'll keep searching for this organization that nobody knows exists (or did I miss that in my confusion and that matter is resolved?)

Did the actor playing Greene remind anyone of Gaius Baltar?

cereal

I put this in Boxed Set by mistake: [link]

Video review of Quantum, hits upon some of the issues that I had.

Not really spoilery, deals in very vague terms.

I actually liked QoS, because the bad guy's plot actually makes sense (in a break from usual Bond) and the main female other than M was actually competent. But I like the new serious Bond better than the goofy 70s Bond, even to the point that I was OK with no Q. And I liked that it was artsy.

My friend and I picked out all (?) of the references to other Bond films, but I think there were a number of refs to other movies (Chinatown being the most obvious)...and they even did a shout out to the end of Tosca.

And yes, the bad guy was Gaius Baltar. With less of a conscience.

I found the endless chasing exhausting to watch. I mean, Bond movies are always going to be heavy on the action, but at some point I do like the characters to be able to just sit down and talk. And I just didn't think the action was done as well in this one as in Casino Royale.

(And the opening car chase looked exactly like Yoshie's Island on MarioKart, which I found distracting. I kept expecting Bond to get a speed boost from a giant mushroom.)

The evil plot made sense up to a point. I guess I don't know enough about that region to judge whether the scheme actually made financial sense.

But I do love Daniel Craig as Bond.

I rewatched Casino Royale today, and just coming out of seeing QoS I saw things I never understood before, and that I couldn't have without that second movie. Which was very cool.

I want to see QoS again to see if what I didn't see was actually there, and just because Daniel Craig.

My mom and I watched Casino Royale again last night, and then went to see QoS today. The rewatch was beneficial for both of us, and I think it was far more a "sequel" than other Bond films seem to be. I liked the resolution of the whole arc, and I thought QoS moved a little faster. (Though it did seem like a collection of fights/chases pasted together with angst.)

Also, continue to love me some Judy Dench. (I don't think that's really a spoiler?)

But I do love Daniel Craig as Bond.

Well, yes. That is awesome. And Judy Dench! Man, I want a movie that focuses entirely on M, with Bond as the secondary character.

I just watched The Fall. It was beautifully shot, and Lee Pace is always a joy to watch. And the little girl didn't annoy me as much as small children often do in movies. The bit with Lee's character using Alexandra to score him his drugs bothered me, but then it was probably supposed to. Worth two hours and the time it took to look for it on Netflix.

I actually haven't brought myself to returning The Fall to Netflix. Showed it to my brother, his girlfriend, and my mother, and they all fell instantly in love with it and were enthralled by Catinca and entranced by the cinematography and locations and walked away from it on clouds.

I'm still a bit let down by the ending what with it suddenly turning into a love story about stuntmen, but at this point I really should just buy the damned movie, because it is such a lovely ride. And Lee Pace is ridiculously good in it. In a way, as much as I love Pushing Daisies, I don't quite feel that it's Lee's perfect vehicle, and wouldn't mind having him freed up to pursue better fitted roles. Don't shoot me! Loved him in Wonderfalls, adored him in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, witnessed amazing depth and range in The Fall, but he's sometimes flat for me in PD. Like he's not completely at home in that role.

the scene where he's hitting the flask and telling the horrible fate of the characters of the story just kills me, the way his voice is hoarse and breaking. Guh.

Juliebird - that scene you talk about really hurt, as it was supposed to. And I adored the moment when he realized no matter how horrible he felt, he couldn't destroy her illusions in either him or the story he'd constructed, and pulled it all back just a bit.

It didn't all work quite for me as well as I wish it had, mainly because I think the adventure doesn't really tie into either of their lives enough. However, I've only seen it once, and I know I missed that everyone in the story was played by someone who played someone in reality. Maybe it all ties in better than I caught the one time.