Quantum of Solace - James Bond 22

A new James Bond movie is always an event. And after the lacklustre movies of the previous years (Pierce Brosnan was not my favourite Bond), Casino Royale with Daniel Craig brought us a refreshing new James Bond.

Quantum of Solace is a sequel to Casino Royale, and begins where the previous movie stopped. Mr. White has been abducted by Bond and needs to be interrogated. A new movie almost always means a new director, which is a pity as the continuity is often broken, as is here the case. Where Casino Royale made a fresh start with less action and more emotions, Quantum goes into overdrive and gives us no place to rest until the (disappointing) end. The new Bond franchise has done away with many things I liked : Q, the gadgets, the superhuman Bond, the stunning Bond girls (this time Bond doesn't even get to kiss the girls) and the tongue-in-cheek humour. Instead we get a tough, ruthless Bond who has no problem in killing unharmed villains. A James Bond who doesn't even once say "My name is Bond, James Bond". Quite telling, actually.

Just a big warning : please find a seat at the back of the theatre. The action is so much in close-up that you'll be seasick if you find a place in the middle or front of the theatre.

Quote from Quantum of Solace:

Camille: You lost somebody?
James Bond: I did.
Camille: You catch who ever did it?
James Bond: No, not yet.
Camille: Tell me when you do, I'd like to know how it feels...

Seeking revenge for the death of his love, secret agent James Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country's water supply

The Tailor of Panama

This movie was a disaster when it came out, but in fact it is a brilliant spy story that tries to tell so much that it probably scared the average moviegoer.
Pierce Brosnan plays a British spy, but he does it so much better than what he did when he was still James Bond 007. Here you see what spies really do: lying, cheating, using and abusing people. And Geoffrey Rush is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best actors in the world (check SHINE, see QUILLS) and here he plays a character that seemed to be written for him: the lamb that is being led to the slaughter.
Do yourself a favor : rent this DVD, check it out once, watch it a second time, and by the third viewing you will see so much more.
Do NOT rent this if you expect to see James Bond with lots of gadgets.
Rent this NOW if you like a good story, great actors and lots of little inside jokes refering to spy stories.

John LeCarre's spy thriller is brought to the big screen. A British spy (Pierce Brosnan) is banished to Panama after having an affair with an ambassador's mistress. Once there he makes connection with a local tailor (Geoffrey Rush) with a nefarious past and connections to all of the top political and gangster figures in Panama. The tailor also has a wife (Jamie Lee Curtis), who works for the Panamanian president and a huge debt. The mission is to learn what the President intends to do with the Panama Canal. But what the two do is concoct a tremendous fictional tale about former mercenaries who are ready to topple the current government and are willing to work with Britain and the US to do so