Yet more bloody trailers

I'm about ready to head back to my current home, i.e. China, but did manage to squeeze in a viewing of the new James Bond film, "A Quantum of Solace," during my visit back to the states. In an earlier "reverse culture shock" posting, I kvetched about all the idiotic trailers one has endure before viewing a film in a movie theater here--cinema goers in China are spared all of that. Well, the new Bond was preceded by no less than SIX TRAILERS! Again, these were all almost certainly films with utterly no artistic or cinematic merit whatsoever. One of them, for example, was Adam Sandler's latest pathetic stab a comedic acting. I don't believe this man is even remotely funny and he's hands down the most obnoxious human being on the planet to boot.

Fortunately, the new Bond film was worth putting up with all this pre-screening pelf. I thought Pierce Brosnan was a very good Bond, but Daniel Craig is even better. As the critics have said, he's certainly the most pyschologically interesting and complex Bond so far. One other notable feature of this film is that is skipped altogether two staple elements of earlier 007 movies. One was the flirtatious banter with Moneypenny that preceded 007 being briefed by "M" on his new mission (the first Moneypenny, the Canadian born actress, Lois Maxwell, passed away last year). The other was the 007's obligatory visit to "Q" to be equipped with all kinds of devilishly clever weapons and gadgets.

I'm returning to China in a few days and look forward to leaving the film trailers behind me!