Daily Archives: November 24, 2006


Best Ford and Sony commercial ever

aston martin dbsJules, Max and I went to see Casino Royale this afternoon and it’s definitely the best Ford and Sony commercial yet. Oh yeah and it’s also a really good James Bond movie. The first chase sequence after the opening credits was absolutely amazing, and must be seen to be believed. The whole movie was really good, and Daniel Craig was a great choice to be the new Bond and is probably the best since Connery. Judi Dench looks great for 72 and as usual she put in a great performance as Bond’s boss M.
There was actually a decent story line and character development, with part of the plot here being the beginning of Bond’s career as a “00” agent. It’s not a great artistic triumph, but it is well crafted and entertaining.

However, it was hard to ignore all the product placement. As always, cars played a prominent part, with recent Bond films featuring a return to their Aston Martin roots after using Lotus and BMWs for several films from the late 70s to early 90s. These days Aston Martin is owned by Ford and the company definitely got their money’s worth in terms of screen time. In addition to the old ’64 Aston DB5 from the first Bond movies, there was a new custom made DBS, as well as lots of Jaguars, Land Rovers, Ranger Rovers and assorted other Ford brand vehicles. There was also a nicely shot sequence that would make a great commercial for the new European Ford Mondeo. Cell phones and laptops also played an important part in the plot, and the Sony-Erricson and Sony Vaio logos were clearly visible and legible at every opportunity.

In spite of all the logos, if you’re in the mood for a good, entertaining action flick that also has a plot and acting Casino Royale is definitely worth seeing.


Black Friday

Today is “Black Friday” and I’m celebrating it by ignoring it. In some past years I’ve made that early morning trek out to try and snag some insane bargains. However, I’ve come to realize that it’s just insane. No bargains are that great that they’re worth the hassle, especially when they’re made up of mostly mail in rebates. I’ve decided that I will no longer participate in the ridiculous rebate game and if I can’t get a good deal out the door I simply won’t bother. As for today, I looked around at what I have and what I need, determined that my time would best be spent today, sleeping in a bit, getting up and drinking some coffee, dropping off my car at the dealer for service and then sitting down to read and write. We’ll probably go see a movie later, and on top of it all, I can just reflect on how lucky I am even when things aren’t so perfect.