Quantum of Solace - What's So Not Solacing About It?

I watched Quantum of Solace two nights ago, after which I had to go back and rewatch Casino Royale to refresh my mind. Having done that, I can only end with the conclusion I had started out with in the very beginning, one that was still at that early stage, to me, a hypothesis, now confirmed.

Quantum of Solace has disappointed most of the movie-goers I've spoken to or have had the privilege of overhearing, and something tells me they're not the only ones. It could be for any number of reasons. I shared similar sentiments fresh out of the theatre, but I won't go so far as to say I was disappointed. At the very least, I was actually quite entertained; if Quantum of Solace is anything at all, it is an action movie in its own right. That aside, I have a few things to pick at, which I'm sure most fellow movie-goers would identify with.

Whatever heart Quantum of Solace may have aspired to have, I feel it was misplaced nevertheless. The story supposedly picks up from where Casino Royale left off, Bond hot on the tale of his lover's killer. We see a severely more ruthless Bond here, and probably the toughest Bond to ever streak across the screens of our imagination. His armour is fully back on, with avengeance, and he kills as easily as he breathes the air around him. Yet underneath that toughened, brazen armour is a centre still tender from his last brush with love - at least that's what the film tries to show. In my opinion, it doesn't come off too well. Bond seems to be more of an assassin than a spy, what with his careless and detached demeanour. The story as a whole (and one might add, the character even) seems so far removed from that of Casino Royale, and one finds herself asking from time to time, what is Bond after again in this film? Is it revenge, or is it the bad guys, or is it both? But it can't be both. What the filmmakers succeeded in doing is stuffing two plot lines, each with the full capacity of being a story on its own, into one film. Therefore, it feels overloaded, rushed, and even sometimes, contrived.

Overall, however, I believe the main weakness of Quantum of Solace (and that most probably perceived by audiences, hence their reactions) is simply that it follows after its predecessor and older brother, Casino Royale. The latter redefined the Bond series in a rather heart-wrenching way, leaving viewers with the bittersweet taste of something deep, meaningful, fresh, and unheard of. In all probability, this is what viewers were expecting a second time, but alas, they didn't get it. The James Bond of Quantum of Solace is completely different and unorthodox (by classic Bondian standards, of course), but Quantum of Solace itself seems to me a return to orthodoxy in terms of plot and character development. With so much to live up to, Quantum of Solace probably could have come at a better time (which of course would have been an impossibility).

Once again, an entertaining action film in its own right; but one that lives in the shadow of a bigger and more daring success.

Mendes the Revolutionary

The man that gave us American Beauty and Road to Perdition is back, this time with a rather smart pairing promising to make history as it once did eleven years ago with Titanic. Yes, the man I am talking about is English director Sam Mendes, the pair, Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet, and the movie, Revolutionary Road. As though that were not enough, there is more flavour in this curious mix: Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes have been married for five years, which I'm sure provided for interesting and awkward moments on set. Sam Mendes, as the oscar-winning, first-time director of American Beauty, has always succeeded in romancing critics over to his side. No matter the subject matter or premise at hand - be it a middle-aged man disillusioned with his life but in love with his daughter's best friend, or a gangster father determined to protect his son from the damnation of his violent life, or an idle army in the middle of the Arabian desert - Mendes proves adept in portraying the struggles and dilemmas of his characters. And English as he is, the man seems to love America. All his movies have been either set in America or have been about America, including Revolutionary Road.

Revolutionary Road is about an American couple determined to escape the trappings of middle-class suburbia and the lack of fulfillment that such a life brings while at the same time risking their marriage. The question the film asks is: Can two people break away from the ordinary without breaking apart?

The movie doesn't get released until late December, possibly early January. Watch out for it, and by all means, when the time comes go see it. I have a hunch Mendes is about to outdo himself once more. And he really should pay me for the kind of publicity I give him. Check out the trailer:

http://www.revolutionaryroadmovie.com/

Bella...I wonder....

Just watched Bella, and I am mellowed and inspired. It's a simple story about 'broken' people, as Eva my friend put it. For those who haven't seen the movie, I won't ruin it for you. But I wonder how many women considering abortion, if they had an opportunity to go into the future and see the child they might give birth to, no matter what the child looks like or how it turns out, to hold and caress that child, to feel its breath on their face or neck or shoulder - I wonder how many such women having had such an opportunity would go through with their decision to abort that child. I truly wonder, because I don't know. Bella simply made me think about it. All round good film. Watch the trailer:

Call and Response

I watched a documentary on human trafficking a week ago. It shows how modern slavery in the form of the sex trade (as well as in other forms) continues to thrive. However, what made this documentary different and very interesting was its employment of music. The whole thing was essentially a concert by a wide range of artists singing against human trafficking, with interspersed comments by experts, actors, and other celebrities. The reality portrayed in the film was very sobering, so I went back and wrote the poem that follows in response to it.

Call and Response is a very decent documentary, and when you sign up for it, just know that you're in for plenty of music from artists such as Talib Kweli, Matisyahu, and Natasha Beddingfield. Interesting, I hear you say. Absolutely. One thing about the music for me was that sometimes, the artists didn't seem to be singing directly about the issue that the film was about, human trafficking. But then, I realised, they didn't need to, because a thing as universal and pervasive as music does not need to be so direct and logical. Just the fact that they were singing their songs on that screen, and the music I heard, was a strong enough message to arouse my passion and fury against human trafficking. The music certainly carried the spirit of the issue at hand.

This is what that music and those images inspired:

VISIONS OF LIGHT

Through my eyes and into the world I see visions

That run through dark streets and splash into

Moonlit puddles. Through alleys of despair

And corners that reek of dreaded fish that

Has been the staple of the mouth beneath my eyes.

My visions are fraught with hope that frightens

But also enlightens, that tightens the lashes

Of conviction and constriction, or consternation

For a ruined nation. Such are my dreams, 

Fleeting like a cool breeze in the desert.

I live in darkness, but not despair; I live in pain

But I do not wish for numbness. Dumbness seeks

To assuage my soul, apathy that preys on

The senses. In a shrinking world, a global nation

I live, and dare to hope. In pain, I dare to hope.

In fear, I dare to hope. In men, I dare to hope.

In God, I dare to hope. Because through

The darkness I see bright dreams and visions

That shine with the light of a thousand sunrises

And vanquish with the light of a thousand angels.

For more on  Call and Response, visit: http://callandresponse.com/