Various Thoughts

Movies:

• Quantum of Solace – The argument that it’s ‘overly violent’ for a James Bond film is patently absurd; most of the action is practically slapstick. The oddly bloodless and occasionally longwinded action sequences aside there’s not really anything to complain about here.
• Skyfall – I see why people consider this a return to form for the franchise, but I don’t view that a good thing. The movie’s still decent, but it comes across like an imitation of days long past.
• Spectre – Whomever’s responsible for all the extended chase scenes really needs to lay off them for a bit. That aside, what struck me was its anti-surveillance theme. Though clearly meant to be a criticism/warning I can’t shake the feeling that introducing surveillance states into fiction normalizes them. Oh, and despite what some may have claimed, there’s nothing even remotely confusing about the plot developments.
• Fantastic Beasts: And Where to Find Them – Considering my acute dislike of Harry Potter I’m not sure what possessed me to watch this movie. The atmospheric connection between the two is hard to miss and would be bad enough alone, but far worse is how the protagonist here has the air of a child molester.

TV Show:

• Constantine – In the mood to re-watch the Constantine movie for some reason, I ended up reminded that a TV version of the franchise had been created and decided to check that out instead. While some of the episodes are a bit too episodic (and the non-English spellcasting scenes aren’t sold even remotely well) overall this is an often fun and consistently engaging series with perfectly fine production values.