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This movie is about the war in Somalia. U.S. soldiers are sent to capture the two top advisers of a warlord in Somalia but aren't prepared for the numbers of armed renegade soldiers that meet them there. The film is based on the Battle of Mogadishu, the warlord is Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Seasoned soldiers and first time soldiers make up the American Delta Force sent on this raid. It is also based on a book written by reporter Mark Bowden. Ranger Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann is played by Josh Hartnett, Ranger Spec. Grimes by Ewan McGregor, and Steele by Jason Isaacs.

The UN peacekeeping efforts have failed, resulting in this mission. The UN held airport is the 'safe' base in this operation. Sgt. Eversmann's Chalk Four is dropped a block away by mistake, PFC Todd Blackburn (a desk clerk on his first mission) is severely injured and three Humvees are sent to rescue him, one Blackhawk helicopter is shot down, another helicopter is shot down blocks away from the first(and the pilot captured by the self-proclaimed president of Somalia, Adid)...a very intense film retelling a very intense situation. No man is ever left behind and as a result of these soldiers going in to rescue their aventura fellow soldiers, they are there too long and more and more Somalians show up. There are no quiet times in this movie. It is constant action.

You are introduced to several of the key players in this raid including the pilots of the downed helicopters (one of whom is captured by the Somalians), the ground forces trapped by the Somalians including PFC Blackburn, the trapped soldiers, and briefly the pilots. There are many casualties and the film is hard to watch at times but it is an excellent war movie pulling no punches.

The actors playing the Rangers actually took a one week course at Fort Benning, Georgia to familiarize themselves with the reality. The Delta Force actors took a two week course from the 1st Special Warfare Training Group, at Ft. Bragg, N.C, and the actors playing the helicopter pilots were lectured by captured aviator Michael Durant at Fort Campbell, Ky.

The closing credits detail the results of the raid: 19 American soldiers were killed, with over 1,000 Somalis dead. Durant was released after 11 days of captivity. Delta snipers Gordon and Shughart were the first soldiers to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. On August 2, 1996, Aidid was killed in a battle with a rival clan. General Garrison retired the following day.

Newsweek writer Evan Thomas said of the film, "Though it depicted a shameful defeat, the soldiers were heroes willing to die for their brothers in arms. The movie showed brutal scenes of killing, but also courage, stoicism and honor. The overall effect was stirring, if slightly pornographic, and it seemed to enhance the desire of Americans for a thumping war to avenge 9/11."

300 (Three Hundred)

Now, I take you to 480 B.C., a total massacre in Persia. The film is based on the book "300", written by Frank Miller. Though further research led me to find the book was actually a comic book and that is what led to filming it the way they did. Greg Butler is King Leonidas, Lena Heady is Queen Gorgo, and Dominic West is Theron.

King Leonidas and his band of 300 Spartan (Greek) soldiers held off a huge Persian band of soldiers...The Battle of Thermopylae. Its never explained why the King was only allowed to take 300 with him. Though there were no survivors, the courage they showed inspired the Greeks to take up the fight against Persia. Its all history.

What makes this film different is the entire film is CGI (computer generated imagery). The film has a sepia tone to it even though it is in color. The most interesting thing is actors were used (trained to bulk up first) to film the entire movie and then the movie was computer generated. They performed in front of a 'blue screen' also referred to as 'green screen'. Lena Headey (the Queen of Sparta) said of her experience with the bluescreens, "It's very odd, and emotionally, there's nothing to connect to apart from another actor. (Being in front of the blue screen there is no scenery or background.)

This is definitely not a 'chick flick' (but, yes, I cried). The battle scenes are long. There is a sub-story...King Leonidas' wife tries throughout the movie, to have more soldiers sent to her husband. A politician betrays her but though she never gets the soldiers through, the politician doesn't make it either.

Reviews weren't good but Gerard Butler (King Leonidas) was nominated for Best Performance at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards and 300 was nominated for Best Movie.

We Were Soldiers

300 was a departure from your normal war movie so I thought I'd end with "We Were Soldiers". A Viet Nam War movie, this movie is set during one of the first battles in Viet Nam and also one of the most savage in U.S. history, the battle of the Ia Drang Valley.

I chose this particular movie because my son met the real Lt. Col. Hal Moore. He was very impressed with Col. Moore, both his professional demeanor and his gentleness and suggested we watch the movie which we, of course, did.