On the surface, “Quantum of Solace’s” title is ironic. Its meaning beyond that is not explained in the film. Quantum is simply the organization that Bond is up against, and solace is what there isn’t any of. The action almost never ceases, and there are few respites from quick cuts and death-defying stunts. It is an Action Film.

But to say that “Quantum of Solace” relies on its action, as many have done, is unfair. “Casino Royale” simply couldn’t be this kind of movie, since so much revolves around men in suits sitting a table. If “Casino Royle” was about a card game, “Quantum of Solace” is about oil and water. Besides religion, nothing else has spurred so many wars in the history of humankind.

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So I saw the teaser trailer for Pixar’s next movie, coming out this May, and I’m just absolutely floored.

Oh, sure, I’ve been floored by Pixar before.  And frankly, I have yet to see a bad Pixar movie.  But watching the trailer for this one was a little something special.  Follow the link to it here.  The synopsis is taken from the link in case you’ve got a slow connection: (more…)

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It’s the worst nightmare of the games journalist: Everything is out already. There’s nothing left to overhype!

I guess now the only thing left to do is see which game is winning in sales. Or you could play them, but where’s the fun in that? Let’s go to the charts.

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Fresno State (6-4, 3-3 Western Athletic Conference) and San Jose State (6-5, 4-3 WAC) will square off in a show down on Friday night in an ESPN2 game. The Spartans need to win Friday in order to be assured a bowl berth, and most likely, the Bulldogs do too. SJSU may win, it may not.

Injuries have plagued the Spartans for the past few weeks (Kyle Reed, Yonus Davis, Carl Ihenacho and Jeff Schweiger, to name a few). When I asked Coach Tomey on Monday what the Spartans’ quarterback situation would be come game day after starting quarterback Kyle Reed got injured last week, he said a game-time decision would determine who would start. I asked Tomey if Reed would be healthy enough to play if the game were to be played Tuesday and he said, “The game isn’t tomorrow!”

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Your friends or coworkers are all obsessed with some massively multiplayer game. They won’t shut up about DoTs, HoTs, mobs, pugs and noobs, and you have no idea what they’re talking about.

I’m about to do you a favor. This series will run down the basic game mechanics of MMOs, and hopefully make your time with your friends a little less stultifyingly boring, or at least comprehensable. (And frankly, a few of the people I’ve done pickup groups with could use a tutorial as well.) Today we’ll start with the lynchpin of any group, the tank.

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(That weird purple lightning hit my Internet lines again this morning, and sure enough, there was fresh mail in my inbox from the Office of the High Gofer.)

To The Minions of The Magnificent Galactic Overlord Xenu At Columbia Pictures on Prison Planet Euarth:

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A while ago, I wrote an article speculating on why vampire stories had died out. In general we find vampires perennially interesting; they combine the best of horror and sensuality, appealing to all of our prurient interests. At the time, Stephanie Myers’ “Twilight” series hadn’t reached its current fever-pitch and HBO’s “True Blood” was but a distant whisper of a rumor. Now, vampires are back in full force.

It’s a captivating legend that can be twisted any way you like it. Immortality, drinking blood, fangs, promiscuity, fear of garlic, fear of religious symbols, death by stake - you can take what you like, leave the rest behind, and spin your own tale. Author Charlaine Harris did exactly that in her Southern Vampire Mysteries, catching the attention of Six Feed Under creator Alan Ball. The first novel, Dead Until Dark, became the nearly-complete first season of the new HBO series “True Blood.”

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So I was bombing around looking for newsy bits to discuss–as I so often am–when I came across a little something on horror-movies.ca that got my ire up too.

Sometimes I agree with them over there…and sometimes I don’t.  But when you get a load of this one, you’ll likely see why I’m on board this time around.  Here’s the relevant portion, a good summation: (more…)

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Robot Chicken knows where their bread is buttered. Their half-hour Star Wars special was hugely popular with fans and drew in new viewership by the bucketload; what had started as a cult show became more of a pop-culture fixture. So naturally, they decided to do it again.

Robot Chicken Star Wars: Episode II debuted last Sunday on Cartoon Network’s [adult swim]. As expected, they focused more heavily on their already-popular characterization of Emperor Palpatine, who is constantly fielding phone calls from his lackeys and lashing out sarcastically at everyone - except his hairdresser, of course. You don’t want to make that guy angry.

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Well, that’s it, folks–another season of South Park is in the can and I’ve been following it all the way from Indy Jones getting repeatedly banged up the ass to this very moment.

And Matt and Trey went out with a…well…subdued bang as they went back to South Park Elementary and targeted the vampire craze that my colleague Liz just discussed recently and of course the upcoming release of the film / book series / collectible merchandise machine Twilight.

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