Especially absurd considering he was running the table already. Graham's tactic was simply futile defiance, and Samm should have recognized it as such. Instead he got huffy and defensive, giving Graham a win without having to name a damn thing.

We all know a guy like Samm (or maybe we ARE that guy) who's a little self-serious and is therefore a lot of fun to taunt.

Personally I consider JDATE to be a reskinned live-action Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie.

I never said it was torture. I said it was an attempt to make him uncomfortable. I think a lot of men (and women, for that matter,) tied to a chair and surrounded by armed mercenaries, would just as soon not have their inner thighs caressed by a glabrous Javier Bardem.

I don't know about that. It's never made clear if he's actually interested in Bond or simply using sexual advances as an attempt to make him uncomfortable. Personally I think 'ambiguous' is the right word, and he's certainly a sadist.

Well, I'm okay with the villain not necessarily being physically formidable. Hell, in some ways I prefer it: it would have been ridiculous for Le Chiffre or Silva to be trading punches with Bond. Much better for them to have to defeat him with superior planning and resources.

@avclub-01ca29cc78b0482f461c213c8e27f7aa:disqus : I was referring to the absence of the gadgets. I thought Q and his new role were actually quite good, even if the plot required him to be unbelievably stupid for no clear reason.

@Douchetoevsky:disqus : http://www.cinemablend.com/…

Good point about 4 not depending entirely on Cruise to carry the load. His coworkers seemed competent and intelligent, but still fallibly human.

Whose absence, by the way, I really enjoyed in Skyfall. Bond always seemed to me like a man who would get the job done through physical and mental toughness, and making the most of his surroundings, not a rocket-launcher pen and a jetpack.

Yeah, my girlfriend was upset about the Mandarin thing (especially Ben Kingsley's lack of bonafide Asian-ness) but was also upset by the implied Yellow Peril.

True, it's very disappointing when people in these sorts of movies are motivated by cash, unless like Le Chiffre in Casino Royale he was financially motivated to not have his head chopped off with a machete.

True, the fighting was really pretty good.

I was totally unmoved by anything at all in the latter half of Death Proof. Which is weird, because a good car chase is a joy forever, but for whatever reason it just left me checking my watch.

It's so strange that they constantly neglect the villains. If you're going to show how smart and strong and cunning and talented your hero is, and you decide to have a single bad guy at the centre of all his problems, it's absolutely necessary for that bad guy to be at least as formidable in turn.

I want to like Maggie Q more than I do. Maybe it's just that I've only seen her in roles that run the gamut from Action Babe to Icy Action Babe.

Hey, maybe you've answered your own question.

Possibly also the unflinchingness with which Felicity gets offed.

Brad Dourif must inexplicably reprise his role of Piter DeVries. Harlan could use a psychotic mentat, I think.

I think it's fair. I don't put a lot of stock in letter grades regardless, but this season has been more like an entertaining series of scenes than a cohesive whole.