I am not a professional movie reviewer. I don't sit in my seat and bring a pen and paper or try to take mental notes of significant scenes to remember later. I am an average movie lover (maybe not average) with way too many DVDs who loves the summer, not for the beach, but for movie season. Typical quick movie reviews from someone like you or me goes something like this when the credits start rolling: you look to the person next to you and say "So did you like it?" and the response is "It sucked" "It was alright" or "Bad ass." I go in to movies with expectations, like Wanted for example, I knew it was going to be a kick ass action movie with my old crush Angelina Jolie and that's about it. But I just love it when movies exceed my expectations. There were moments in the movie when I clapped a few times at the shear bad assery of it all before I realized I was one of those guys and then stopped. Finally, a rated R comic book movie that got it right. The kill scenes were graphic and bloody as they should be in an assasin movie. The movie was hilarious too. Yeah. What the hell, right? Totally unexpected and a great surprise. The story had a few twists and surprises that I can usually predict before they happen, but not in this one. So did I like it? Fucking bad ass.
WANTED: More Comic Movies Like This
Sigma 70-300mm for D60 Review
Colors are great although the image quality is a little soft, but research into the matter seems to indicate this occurs at 300mm at 5.6. The sweet spot of this lens seems to be 250 or below at about 7.1. It's not bad enough to not recommend it.
The lens also has a macro mode that you can activate between 200 and 300mm. When switched on, the lens can focus on objects much closer but I find myself shooting instead in manual focus during macro situations. The autofocus just takes too long.
Since this is a 4-5.6 lens, I find myself having to bump the ISO up to about 400 to even 800 in daylight to get sharp images since I need to shoot at 1/320 or faster when not using a tripod. This is my major gripe, but hey for $250 I can live with it. Highly recommend it for a first lens or a telephoto on the cheap.
Trust Me, You Want To See Him When He's Angry
The Hulk- I'm sorry The Incredible Hulk was just that. Incredible. The new movie is a reinvention of the character on the big screen. It has nothing to do with the Ang Lee version which starred Eric Bana. Edward Norton stars and co-wrote the movie about Dr. Bruce Banner who was hit by gamma radiation and who turns into The Hulk, a 9 foot menace with anger issues. It's not an origin story, in fact it takes place about 5 years after Bruce was contaminated. During the opening credits, flashbacks and newspaper clippings summed up the events that led to his metamorphosis. Bruce is on the run from an Army general who wants to dissect him in order to create super soldiers for the military. There are many tie ins to other Marvel spin offs and areas left open for a sequel if it does well enough at the box office. The super solider serum was mentioned as a project that has been buried for years. A nod to the fact that Captain America was the first successful super soldier created during WWII. Also, at the end of the film Tony Stark shows up to inquire to the general that "we are assembling a team." Of course he is talking about the Avenger initiative otherwise simply knows as The Avengers. Abomination was not killed and the professor who assisted Bruce was accidentally contaminated with the serum that created Abomination. The movie had a few cheesy lines and too many tie ins to the old TV show. It kind of took you away from the story and reminded you that you are watching a movie. The action sequences and fight scenes were spectacular and way over the top in the coolest way possible.
I've Discovered The Light
Since I got my new camera I've been taking a crap load of pictures. At first I was using Adobe Bridge to organize and edit my RAW files but then remembered about Adobe Lightroom. I think I am in love. Lightroom is specifically made for the photographer, whether amateur or professional. The workflow is surprisingly simple from importing, tagging, organizing, and editing (or otherwise known in Lightroom terms as Developing). It treats files as InDesign does. All photos are linked to Lightroom and not actually moved or changed as you move and change them. All editing is non-destructible. Cropping, spot removal, straightening, color and exposure correction is not permanent even after you close the program. You can go back anytime and start from scratch or adjust your settings at a later time.
On top of this, Lightroom is capable of shooting tethered which means you can hook your camera up to you computer, take a picture, and it will automatically show up in Lightroom a few seconds later. As they import you can adjust settings to tag the photos and go into a certain folder. The photos are not stored on your camera but instead are stored directly to your hard drive. The software that comes with Canon cameras include software that makes this possible. Nikon owners like me need to buy a program called Camera Control Pro 2 ($160) or Bibble Pro ($130) which blows. I downloaded the trial version of Camera Control Pro 2 and it works like a charm. When the trial is up I am going to try this out which costs $0.
Great Scott!
Yesterday, a fire broke out at the Universal Studios back lot and it burned down the Hill Valley court house square. Come on! It wouldn't be so bad if the DeLorean's fire trail lit a building on fire, but no, some D-Bag with a blowtorch on a movie set started the blaze. The very street that Marty McFly outran Biff on a skateboard and Griff on a hoverboard is now a pile of ashes. What a friggin' shame. Perhaps I should watch the trilogy (for the hundredth time) to honor thy memory. Rest in piece dear friend. Rest in piece...
