Rambo (2008)

I was sceptical going in.  The fourth movie in a series is seldom good.  But I have to say, it didn't disappoint.  If you liked the other Rambo movies, you'll like this one too.  Probably a lot.

Also, it's the goriest war movie I've ever seen.  Gorier than Saving Private Ryan.  But it's done in a way that looks excessive instead of realistic.  Which is to say, it's quite spectacular.  It looks real.  If you're squeamish, you may want to give this one a pass.  You'll be hiding your eyes through half of it.

It's a great final chapter to the John Rambo story.

Dagmar and Misha on Fremont St

We "experienced" Fremont Street in Las Vegas.  My mother-in-law, Dagmar, is happy to hold Misha anytime.

The flash fill is from the on-camera flash, and I have the exposure set to manual to make sure the ambient light from the background comes through.  The lens I have mounted is very slow.  I couldn't get the focus I wanted, so I applied some tricks in my favorite photo editor.  The foreground is isolated, and a blur gradient is applied to the background to simulate a fast lens.

Lions at Play

Lions At Play

While in vegas we stopped at the MGM Grande to view the lions. It's a pretty cool exhibit. It has a glass tunnel that you can walk through to get a full view of the lions. The standing lion is trying to entice the other into playing.

Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo, TX

Cadillac Ranch

I'm always keeping an eye out for interesting textures.  The paint on these half burried cars definitely counts.  The flash is being held by my brother-in-law and triggered remotely.  I would have like to spent more time here; but it was impossibly cold.  You can't tell because the crazy kids aren't wearing jackets.

Taken

I'd never heard of this movie. I was surprised to see Liam Neeson in it. He plays a retired CIA operative whose daughter gets kidnapped while she's in France. He goes to Paris to find her and get her back home.

It's a very suspenseful action movie. My wife and I were both intensely involved all the way through. What happens when some bad people abduct the daughter of a very serious ex-spy? Turns out it's exactly what you would think might happen.

This movie reminded me of several others, most closely Man on Fire. which means it's not that original. But unoriginality is forgivable if the movie is good. If you enjoyed these types of movies, you'll really like this one.

Speed Racer (2008)

I had really low expectations when I started watching this movie, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was campy, and fun. It made me smile in several places. The special effects were very cool.

What I found most impressive was the compositing and editing of the different scenes. They used this device a few times that I really enjoyed. to cut from one scene to another, they would "wipe" a talking head across the screen. It had the effect of keeping the action nonstop while transitioning to a different point of view.

Not the best movie in the world; but it was still enjoyable.

Letters from Iwo Jima

I enjoyed this movie more than Flags of Our Fathers. It just had more action, drama, and likable characters. It was a real touching movie done really well. It's subtitled in English; but I recommend it even if that's not your thing.