Croc

I saw this last night, and while I enjoyed it, it had some serious flaws--mostly due to Forster's directing IMO. I thought what little "action" existed in this movie was terrible. There was NO discernable action; the camera either got so shakey, or the scene clips were cut waaaaay too quickly. Seriously--during an "action" sequence, the camera was zoomed so close and each clip lasted no more than a quarter- to a half-second. You saw knives slashed and punches thrown, but you couldn't tell who attacked whom, whether the attack connected, or who had the upper hand. I kept wishing I had a Tivo remote and could pause, rewind, and view scenes again in slow motion. I really hope the action sequences were shot in one or two takes, because if they spent a lot of time and money on retakes, it was not worth it as no one can see what is actually going on. I also thought some of the location setting shots were surprisingly grainy and slightly out-of-focus, particularly the opening shot toward the cliffside tunnel. I thought the tender scenes with the Bond Girls were well done and struck the right notes tonally, which compensated for the off-key feel of many parts of the movie (again, the "action" sequences). The dialogue was pretty good and felt natural, but guarded; appropriate for the plot of the film. I don't recall any cringing at awful dialogue. The acting was pretty good, with one exception: Judy Dench. I don't think this is her fault, though. I think she was as lost with how to play the character at times as the audience was about how to regard the character. You could tell she was supposed to be very smart and capable, but her relationship to the plot was underdeveloped, making her seem foolish and naive in parts. Dench portrayed the character as intelligent, but bewildered...and I'm not sure if this was the best characterization...but then again who the hell knows; the character was underdeveloped due to the one-sided narration. Similarly, Tanner was largely unnecessary and came across as a dolt. Was he needed in the film? He served no discernable purpose. Looking at the movie as a whole, I still enjoyed it very much--moreso than I expected to. There were many parts though where I was like "WTF just happened" or "so...why exactly are they doing this/going here, again?" in a way I haven't felt since Matrix 3. I kinda have a handle on it now that I've viewed the whole movie, but the viewer is definitely left out of the loop during much of the film as to the motivations/goals of...just about everybody. Overall: B

Read the comments on the blog posting...I agree that this may have been more of a side impact than a frontal impact, with impact primarily occurring around the driver's wheel well. This may not have necessitated an airbag deployment. We also don't know what Korean safety standards are, just that US-spec cars must meet US standards. Finally, who knows if this person had disabled the airbag or not. Too many variables to pass judgment here. Frankly, what I find to be of much more concern is that the road design standards in Korea are so lacking that it is allowed for a light pole to be unprotected in the middle of the pavement with no curb or guardrail protecting it. Those striped lines don't look reflective at all, and in bad weather conditions it could be very easy to miss the split and crash into that pole. Bad bad bad road design; there should have at minimum been a raised curbed concrete traffic island surrounding that pole to provide a buffer given the sharp angle of departure of that split. Better yet, surround that thing with Jersey barriers and a gardrail crash barrier.

Copy and paste from Word. I don't know the key codes.

Disagree. That's an excuse, honestly. GM hasn't produced anything really to shift perceptions. To shift perceptions, GM needed to do things well in a big, dramatic way. Having a "great" car here or there doesn't do it. GM will not survive with a Malibu, the 900s, and a CTS. The rest of the lineup is fairly uninspiring and/or unmarketed. The SAAB 9-3 should be a huge seller. That's awesome product. But it isn't. Few SAAB dealerships and nonexistent marketing. The entire Pontiac lineup excepting the G8 is mediocre at best, badly dated and chintzy at launch at worst. Buick has the Enclave. Lucerne is average-to-above-average, and the Lacrosse will thankfully be replaced soon by what is hopefully a far superior product. Saturn has...well IMO the VUE. I'm not impressed with the Astra, and as far as I'm concerned the AURA is not worthy of the praise it received. Cheesy fake wood trim, hard plastic complete with fake plastic "stitching" on the door sills, and basically an execution that is IMO as bad as that of the G6. Both the G6 and the AURA have the same deficiency: a poor interior that mars an excellent exterior.

Disagree, but only regarding the expensive, preparatory academies.

Bonnes fêtes, mes amis!

I've always been surprised that manufacturers have tended to exclude options on certain trim levels to the extent that they have. Sure, it reduced manufacturing complexity, but why not offer many of these options at the dealership level? Most navigation/audio, external, and many interior options could easily be added on at dealerships, and as long as the OEM is supplying the dealerships with the parts, they still get the money but not the increased assembly complexities.

What's real stupid is that Chrysler isn't getting any of this money. Chrysler, like GM, often try to underprice their cars to keep them "value leaders" and frankly I have no problem with dealerships doing the market adjustments if the parent company is too stupid to price their product right.

I'm actually quite a fan of it...but it's still annoying to have it playing in your head all day long paired with the images of crazy bizarro 70s porn star wannabe dude.

Agreed. GM just loves to cut costs when they're glaringly obvious. They also have a knack for splurging in places no one will ever notice.

Same here...depends on my schedule.

If you've seen the Heidi Montag video for "Overdosin'" then you know how bad it is to get a song AND video stuck in your head.

Go to a gay bar and there shouldn't be a question...?

I think we have at least six members on this site who are paranoid beyond belief.

As long as you aren't above .08 you're good to go.

So sorry for your loss, PCS.

Yea I don't drink out much because of the cost. $9.50 Long Islander at CPK last night...youch. Got me nice and drunk though.

Well the pizza-and-beer college girls just shove a finger down their throats to keep themselves looking cute. HAHA I MADE A BULIMIA JOKE!!

Could you have linked to a more clearly slanted article? No sources, just straw man arguments. How do I know? If they weren't false straw man arguments, there'd be source material linking to the proof. There would be actual quotes, instead of paraphrasing. And if it were a legitimate source, it would not call anything "disturbing," but rather quote and cite someone ELSE calling it disturbing. I was so disgusted I kept reading to make sure it was 100% Grade F Bull$h! like I thought it was. And I was right. Look at the date on the hit piece--November 4th. Obama hadn't even been elected yet, so how in the hell would this fear mongering be legitimate? It's a day too early. THANK YOU for posting the reality. I knew this smelled like BS the second I read "confiscating." That would be a massive overreach of government, and one which would NOT fly. No $h!. The few people who have been making money hand over fist at the public's expense are now terrified of losing it. That's all it is. Don't get duped like a doofus. Believe in all the conspiracy theories you want on the off-chance that "something could actually come of this," but in the land of the rational, it's just nuts. Concern troll. By the way, this thread wasn't marked as political.

We'll file that under the "if I happen to happen upon it" heading, then. I'm really not a vodka drinker though. Really not.

When I go to buy things/food, I do so based on quality/taste of the item/food being bought, not so much the appearance of the waitstaff. That said, attractive waitresses do add a certain something to the "atmosphere" of a place.

Stoli? Yech. Haven't heard of the other one, but anything with XO gives me pause. How about this, I'll try it if I see it? No idea on the cognac, sorry.

Good to see you again, always informative.

Saturn S-series...you know I sure don't see...oh...ANY of those around anymore. Must not last long...

Because the U.S. Government requires people to identify as some "race" (even though race is purely a social construct) for census purposes, and has decided that there ust be some sort of categorical division so everybody didn't just check the "White" box when they culturally assimilate to the WASP majority. And the reason you don't identify as a German-American is because your skin is white and the U.S. Government hasn't institutionalized that you do so.