I think I had my fair share of action packed excitement prior to the five o’clock movie “Quantum of Solace”. At 1450 (timestamp from one of my messages to M), I stepped into my Aston Martin (OK, more like a … whatever) with one hand on my Nokia phone doing last minute checking on my GPS ordinates (I did turn on my Nokia Map because I couldn’t afford to make any error and you will see why) …
OK. If you are here for the movie review, please skip to the next section.
Now, back to my quantum of mad rush … I am usually quite good at working backward and estimating what time we shall leave our doorsteps. Today, so much needed to be done and … I gave up planning. 1450 was terribly late, that much I knew. Tailgated the first car I saw on the quiet road of our neighborhood, I overtook it over a hump. My car’s engine went vroom vroom vroom and … oops, the car belongs to the Colonel whom I just greeted at the lobby, whom was my client back in my consulting life, whom must have thought who this mad man on the road was. He must have been shocked that I was that mad man on the road.
Sir, sorry Sir! It was mad rush time!
I am terrible in road direction and I relied on my Nokia Map in times like this. Spun the car to YCK Road, drove up the Lornie Road, turned right into Holland Road, exited into Holland Avenue, and as I negotiated a sharp right turn into the car park, I was greeted by the sign …
Car park full.
Uh-huh. Parachuted Cynthia out of the car with an encrypted message “6 Dim Sum Dishes, Crystal Jade”, I patiently waited at the entrance with a path that slopped upwards. My phone rang just when that dude from the Mercedes-Benz CLS in front of me let go his brake and gravity pulled this huge German machine towards my car. NO! I furiously slammed my honk while Cynthia was on the phone asking me which of the two Crystal Jade restaurants we were supposed to meet.
Handbrake Sir … please! How would the insurance agencies know who hits who in situation like this?!
As I was waiting for our dishes to arrive, I was so happy to see the ATM machine right opposite the road. In such a high tech city like Singapore, you would have thought that cashless payment is the way to go. Apparently not for where I was going to visit, Sim Lim Square (amongst many places here). One time, I literally withdrew S$1,000 notes over-the-counter so that I don’t need to bring a briefcase of S$50 notes to buy electronic gadgets. Paid by Credit Cards I will need to add 3%. Paid by NETS I will still need to add 2%. You know what? Our supermarkets should follow suit. Imagine a 2% discount on grocery bills if we pay by cash. Why not? I would. Especially now that we are in recession. Any saving counts.
I had a vague memory on where M’s client site is at, theoretically a 5 minutes drive from Holland Vee. I did get lost and I managed to get back on track thanks to Cynthia and Nokia Map. M must have forgotten how impressive my driving skill is and as I was waiting and waiting for M to appear, I calculated the route to my next destination, Sim Lim Square.
If all go according to plan, mid next week, M and I would be two very happy men on Earth with our two new cameras. So today, we went for an accessory shopping trip. To help some of you to relate, imagine you have ordered a beautiful pair of earrings together with a matching necklace from Tiffany & Co. While waiting for these lovely items to arrive, what would you do? Yes, go shopping for some new dresses to go along, correct?
We entered into Singapore River area and have to pay S$2 ERP road charges (on a Saturday?!). We turned into Rocher Road and paid another S$2 ERP road charges. Good gracious me! No wonder I love to stay at home during weekends. And when we reached Sim Lim Square, we saw the sign …
Car park full.
Uh-huh. Parachuted M out of the car to kick start the purchase process and when we reached the basement, I parachuted myself out of the car and handed Cynthia the car key. Time was 1620 and it was running out. Ran up to Alan Photo and M was happily holding his new lens. I asked for the UV filter, no stock. Battery, no stock. Dry cabinet, no stock but I could place an order that comes with free home delivery. OK, at least I got myself a rather expensive memory card.
Jumped back into the car at 1640, I paid another S$1 ERP for entering the Orchard area. By the time we arrived at the 6th floor of Cineleisure, it was 1658. TK greeted us with the popcorn set that Cynthia has been talking about for the whole day and … time for “Quantum of Solace”!
Quantum of Solace
To the character James Bond, “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace” are separated by merely an hour. To some of the audience who have caught the previous installment, that is a 2 years wait. If I was to watch “Casino Royale” right before “Quantum of Solace”, I think I may be more sympathetic over Bond’s grievance towards the quite possibly love of his life Vesper’s betrayal and death. This chapter of James Bond starring Daniel Craig seems like part of a trilogy. I made such a guess because there are some loose ends and in the end credits, it says something like “James Bond will be back again soon”. If so, that may explain this mid episode syndrome when the majority of the plot is to provide answers to the lingering questions from “Casino Royale” but yet, the climax has to come from the next episode.
I prefer “Casino Royale” because I like the storyline better, because the Bond girl is more intelligent, has more air time, and because I get to see James Bond having fun, falling in love, rather than feeling so heartbroken. Besides, I think the villain of “Casino Royale” is a lot cooler.
If you like Daniel Craig role in the Bond franchise (like me), you would enjoy “Quantum of Solace”. There are some breathtaking action sequences and certainly, refresh your mind with “Casino Royale” prior to watching this one will help to understand James Bond’s state of mind better.
PS. I like Olga Kurylenko better in Hitman.
