Bond

The villains have captured Bond and what follows then is pure torture. For the audience that is. The latest in the Bond franchise, "Quantum of Solace" is not only the worse Bond movie ever, it is also one of the worse high profile movies of this century.

First of all, it is very difficult to discern a storyline or plot. First, Bond and Mi6 are being challenged by a supposedly evil organization that is everywhere and higly secretive. But in reality, the villain seems to be rather tame: there are gangs in my town that are a lot more scary. There are two subplots:one in which Bond is trying to get to the guy who was responsible for the death of his love interest in the previous movie, and the second is of the "Bond girl" trying to take revenge on the murder of her family. The girl, however, is actually capable of doing it all by herself, thank you, and with little help of Bond. Bond is seen hopscotching from Italy to Haiti to Bolivia, but he might as well have gone from North Beach in San Francisco to Tijuana with much the same effect. The locales chosen for this film were just there to add color and a flavor of exotism.

Some of the characters were quite stereotypical: the corrupt Latin American general and the "bad" CIA guy are straight from a bad B movie, In addition, I have seen better acting by the girls of VH1's Charm School. Some of the supporting charcters performances were forced, unnatural and stiff. Perhaps it was because of the dialogue they were given. High school students could have written better dialogue. Whereas we have come to see powerful Bond girls in recent movies, the current girl is much less interesting. And could they not have cast a Latina acrress in a Latina role? Daniel Craig's and Judy Dench's performances were fine, and you can get the feeling that Bond and M's relationship is becoming special, but they by themselves they could not carry the movie.
The photography and especialy the action scenes were at the same level as we have seen in most recent action movies, though I could do without the excessive "handheld" camera effects. The motion on the screen was at times too jittery. In addition, the editing of the action scenes with quick back and forth cuts made me dizzy. There was just to much imagery to process. The combination of the wobbly camera positions and quick edits made some of the scenes a mess. It is as if I was looking at one of those modern paintings which appear nothing more than a splattering of colors and forms that make you go "huh, what was all that about?". And in other scenes, the opposite occurred. Some shots and edits went on and on, and the scene itself did not add anything to the story.

As to the action: there is plenty of it, but it is rather predictable: the obligatory car chase, a boat chase, and then in the end, the total destruction of real property. The last item was truly unnecessay... we have seen in it all the Bond movies, and in this installment, was really not necessary. But I guess that a Bond movie must have its formulaic dosage of pyrotechnics.

And my final gripe... no special Bond gadgets in this movie. Aaww, come on, what is a Bond movie without some "wow" gadget. OK, the displays at MI6 HQ were neat, but we have seen that setup in other movies before.

In summary, I don't think I would even want to rent this movie on Netflix. I'd say, wait to see it till it comes on TV. At least, at that time, you'll have the option to switch the channel.

Flatscreens

When buying a new TV these days there are a number of things that you would want to consider before doing so. Now a days, there are only 2 types of televisions to choose from and they are both flat screen TV's. Both of these TV's are high definition sets but where they differ is in their performance and their display capabilities.

There are two types of flat screen televisions and they are the Plasma and LCD type screens.

Plasma TV's work on plasma gas and LCD's work on a liquid crystal display. There are a few differences also between these two televisions. Some have 720 capabilities and others have 1080 capabilities meaning pixels per square inch which equates to the resolution of the screen and clarity of the picture that is being displayed on your TV.

Another difference between a plasma TV is that some of the older TV's have a considerable amount of glare to them for the fact that they have glass screens that reflect light, so if you are deciding to put a TV in a room, such a plasma, with a lot of light you might want to consider LCD first or think about moving it to the basement. Plasma TV's are much better for capturing faster moving images such as sports and action movies and are typically better for home entertainment theater systems.

The LCD TV is a better all around television. LCD televisions typically have a longer shelf life than a plasma TV and don't run the risk of burn it.

Plasma televisions sometimes, if you leave the TV on, one picture, for a long period of time can actually burn the picture into the TV.

One of the other great differences in TV's now a days is the frame refresh rates, that belong to certain TV's such as 60 Hz and 120 Hz. These capabilities are found in both plasma and LCD and provide a much more life like and more realistic image for viewers. It makes the movie less cinema like and more digital and animated. It is great for cartoons and fast sequence films.
When buying a TV it is always good to look at buying an extended warranty for the mere fact that newer televisions now a days can cost the price of the TV for repairs and if something were to happen, you usually only have a one year manufacturer warranty to cover the costs of repairs, but if something happens beyond that point, all costs are your own responsibility and could potentially leave you with a TV that has become nothing more than a paper weight if you cannot afford to fix it.

Time Management

Time management is required in order to accomplish everything that a person needs to accomplish from day to day. People who have good time management skills can accomplish more in a day than those who don't have time management skills.

One thing that is important to have in order to have good time management is to get a big calender. A few calenders will make your schedule easier to keep track of and will enable you to accomplish more throughout the day without forgetting about important meetings. It is a good idea to purchase a few highlighters to use on your calender to remind you of special upcoming meetings or other events. Here are five tips for time management.

1. Always wake up a few hours earlier in the morning. You will be amazed at how much more you will accomplish through the day when you wake up a few hours earlier in the morning. You will get more tasks accomplished in advance before the afternoon. The rest of the day will be quite easy since most of the tasks for the day will already be accomplished by the afternoon.

2. Make sure to get enough sleep each night. When you get enough sleep each night then you are able to function better during the day. You will be able to work to the fullest potential since you will have enough energy for the entire day. When you get enough sleep then it is easier to be able to waste less time through the day.

3. Write your schedule and to do list for each day during the week. You want to know what your schedule is going to be like for the entire week so you can plan in advance which will reduce less wasted time. You don't want to schedule too many appointments or tasks during the day. You want your schedule to include time to relax for a little while during the day so you don't become very overwhelmed.

4. Always plan enough time in your schedule for a long lunch each day. You want to have a healthy lunch that isn't rushed into a extremely busy schedule. You want to make sure to have a healthy lunch so that it will help you stay energized and be able to focus better on work.

5. Make sure to always leave enough time in between appointments or tasks so you aren't rushed. You don't want to always be in a hurry to do everything otherwise you will get overwhelmed. It is important that your schedule leaves enough time in between tasks and appointments so you can relax for a few minutes without feeling stressed out.