Becky's review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

First off, the title of the movie is way tooooo long. I keep cutting and pasting it instead of typing it all out. Second off, I love Indiana Jones! Granted I had my doubts with Harrison Ford reaching a ripe old age of 65, but he looked fantastic. Since I tend to judge movies by parts and not overallness, I will try and break down my review into these 4 segments: Actors, Action, Plot, and Ending. My feeling is I try not to let one little part of the movie ruin the whole overall review of the movie.

Actors: Harrison Ford, Shia Lebouf, and Cate Blanchett all gave very credible feeling to their characters. Of course Harrison has played this role 4 times now and is pretty good at it. Shia, one of my new favorite young actors, did a fantastic job of trying to break out of his nerd/geek guy trying to act cool role into a tough guy 50's rebel role. Cate Blanchett is basically amazing in every movie she attempts. Her Russian accent was excellent and you can almost feel the power hungriness roll right off her.

Action: This movie was a non-stop action ride. From fist fights, to sword fighting, to car fighting, waterfalls, snakes, and indigenous creepy little fighters. I was entertained from beginning to end.

Plot: I do not necessarily have to have a great plot to consider a movie amazing. (i.e. Jackie Chans first movies) However, this plot was somewhat decent. The reintroduction of a character from the first Indiana Jones movie was clever. The Russians being bad and wanting weird power felt pretty normal. The Crystal Skull is an interesting artifact to chase after.

Ending: This movie did a poor job of ending. Without trying to give away too many spoilers, I felt the ending was a cop out and what could have been a fantastic movie, knocked it down to a pretty good status.

I do recommend everyone to see this movie. Whether you see it in the theatre or wait for DVD you will be entertained. Really? Isn't that the point of a movie?

Becky Killian, CRA

As many of you have heard, I recently received my CRA. I am betting that most of you do not know what a CRA is. This post will hopefully answer any questions you were wondering.

What does CRA stand for? Certified Retinal Angiographer

What does CRA mean? It means I completed a series of tests designed to define my knowledge and experience regarding Ophthalmic Photography and Angiography.

What did I have to do to complete the certification? Jump through hoops. (JK Dad) The requirements to take the test are: accepted portfolio of 19 specified fundus photography photos, 3 fluorescein angiograms, at least 2 years of experience shooting fluorescein angiograms, obtain CPR certification, take a 4 part test and of course give money.

A 4 part test? That sounds brutal. What were the 4 parts? 1 part written test consisting of 175 questions and 3 part hands on performance exam. The written test was multiple choice and 50 of the 175 questions were photographs I had to decipher. The performance exam consisted of photography, film processing and stereo slide orientation.

What is a fluorescein angiogram? Angiography is the imaging of vessels, and the resulting pictures are angiograms. Angiography of the retina of the eye requires the injection of a small amount of dye (fluorescein) into a vein in the patient's arm. The dye travels through the blood stream and is photographed using special cameras and colors of light as it travels through the vessels of retina. (http://www.opsweb.org/OpPhoto/Angio/index.html)

What does a FA photo look like?

Fun CRA statistics:

There are approximately 450 CRA's in the world right now. 52% pass the written exam on the first try and 94% pass the performance exam on the first try.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Becky Killian, CRA, COA

Summer Movies

Everyone knows all the best action packed flicks come out in the Summertime. The movies coming out this year abide by this rule. Here are the 3 movies I am looking forward to seeing this Summer:



The Dark Knight (Releases July 18)



The Incredible Hulk (Releases June 13)



Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Releases May 22)



Coincidentally enough all 3 movies are sequels. I am hoping the Hulk sequel fairs better with Edward Norton playing the main character. I also am hoping they do not CGI when he transforms into the Hulk. The first movie was so fake looking, I couldn't help but laugh at the Hulk. Now the Hulk is supposed to be scary and freightening, not funny and goofy.

I just registered to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on May 28. Thanks to my work somehow and Humana, they are letting us see the movie for free. Last year I was able to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this way. It was really exciting with the $10 in gift certs for treats and they even gave away prizes. Maybe I will do a short review after seeing it. I don't read critics movie reviews so I don't feel the need to write them. I feel everyone should see a movie to make their own opinions, as with most everything in life, but it might be fun to write a short one including the prizes I win! Wow look at my optimism!