Romina’s Blog

King Peter
“The iDog reacts to music from an external source, such as an MP3 player. It features seven flashing LED lights on its face and has the ability to ‘dance’ to the beat of the music. It also has a number of switches on its nose, head and tail which allow it to react to user input.” - Wikipedia
Yes, yes… he is amazing. He is King after all. He wears his winter clothes all of the time. His favorite colour is sky blue. He loves the Beatles and only dances to live performances. Peter also enjoys the theme song to The Andy Griffith Show. He doesn’t go out much, but enjoys company when they are around. He has a trustful sidekick named Finn (shown in photograph above). He is a mere 3 years of age, so be gentle with him. Just know that he is loyal. Besides, who can pass up good looks like his?

Calvin
MacBook. 100GB. 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor.
Oh, Calvin. Where do I start with you. He turned one in January, but is very mature for his age. He does performs tasks with great speed. Although sometimes he falls behind, that’s only because he gets lazy. On his good days, Calvin is a hard worker. He hardly ever goes to sleep, so from time to time he gets cranky and asks for a nap. But after a well rounded rest, he is up and ready for action. He does have a few characteristics that aren’t so great. He doesn’t receive compliments well, so beware. Don’t say anything good about him in his presence. He’ll get too excited and start up his fan and that could be greatly embarrassing when you are in public, if you know what I mean. Calvin is a real jokester; sometimes he plays pranks and will make you believe that he is broken, when really he’s just messing around. Be kind to Calvin, and he might actually love you back.

Anakin
iPhone. 8GB. 3.5-inch widescreen Multi-Touch display. 2.0 megapixel camera.
8GB of greatness. Anakin is the ruler of all gadgets. He is an island surrounded by ego. Do NOT by all means make Anakin angry, for if you do there WILL be some serious consequences. He isn’t as physically dashing as he puts himself out to be. He can’t even stand up on his own. Luckily his physique does not match what’s on the inside. Because beyond the ego and the plans for world domination, Anakin is good. He has a few temper tantrums and sometimes enjoys turning black, but deep down inside he has great intentions. For instance, most people can’t tell, but the reason Anakin wants to achieve world domination is because he wants everyone to be equal, he wants to end poverty, and he wants to bring everyone together. True, he is ambitious, but he does have the capability of connecting to anyone, from anywhere. His alert system is very good and so far has not failed. His maintenance is pretty high, but how else is he supposed to be all powerful?

Padmé
iPod. 40GB. Classic Fourth generation. No color.
Padmé is much older than Anakin, but somehow they both manage to work together in incredible ways. Padmé has been so faithful, she is very special. A gift, basically. She has reigned for so long, but starting from a young age it was predestined. She has spasms from time to time, but still she pushes through and manages to deliver with upmost quality. Padmé loves to play classic games, she does not believe in the new mumbo jumbo, like colour. She is timeless, classy, and always well dressed. She is a member of a line of leaders that shook the ages, that created a revolution and shaped the world as you know it today. She truly is a great leader and a great friend.

R2-D2 (R2 for short)
AppleTV. 40GB hard drive for up to 50 hours of video. 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless.
I remember the day that R2 randomly appeared in my mailbox. At first, he might appear as a hologram to you, but he really is there. He has emotions and loves to entertain. R2-D2 is the kindest of them all (sorry Anakin). He cares about others the most and really has a unique way of showing it. R2 remembers the little things, like looking through your flickr account or making sure that you’re up to date with your subscriptions on youTube. He also enjoys playing music for you as you sleep, yes he is very talented. He’ll make you smile, cry, laugh, and sometimes angry; he is that good. R2 is only a couple months old, but I believe that he will last a very long time.

Edmund
Nikon Coolpix P3. 8.1 Megapixels. 3.5x Optical Zoom. WiFi Capability. Vibration Reduction. 2.5-inch (6.35 mm) LCD Display. 16 Scene Modes. D-Lighting. Face Priority AF.
Yay! Edmund is but a Prince. He gets jealous very easily, especially when he is forgotten. Although he is not always wanted in certain areas of the world, he finds a way to sneak in anyway. The best thing about Edmund is his capability to remember everything. He manages to bring out the best moments in everyone’s lives, even the embarrassing ones! Although, Edmund sometimes chooses what memories he wants to bring back to you. Even if you want to remember one really badly, it’s to no avail if Edmund says no…

Chewbacca
Mac Mini. 80GB. 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 processor. 256 MB RAM.
Chewie, Chewie, Chewie. Chewbacca is very old. He runs slowly and sometimes doesn’t even run at all. He does not take kindly to updates, specially if they require him to change his name to something ridiculous like “Leopard”. Chewie is a grumpy old man; he only shows his kindness when left alone. He really enjoys carrying his eyeTV around; he can’t help it if the best thing he can do is watch TV through a tuner. He doesn’t like it when worthless things take up his memory either. Another thing you should know about Chewbacca is that he really likes taking trips to the Apple Store, even if there is no purpose for him to be there once he arrives.

Roger
External Hard Drive. 500GB Western Digital My Book Premium Combo FireWire USB Drive.
Hello Roger!! Although his outward appearance makes him seem brutish, he is very wise. Wise beyond his years. A true hero, yes. He has saved the life of yours truly twice. Although they were merely false alarms, if they were real, those two events would have been catastrophic if not for Roger. He is the source behind everything. He is no Yoda, but he is on his way. He guards Chewbacca and Calvin as if they were his two sons. He isn’t very social, and doesn’t talk much. Most of his days are spent sitting on a desk. But when it is his turn to work, he’ll stay up all night if he has to just to get the job done. Roger has been reliable for the most part; everyone should have a Roger in their lives.

Okay. I hope you enjoyed that. And well… if you didn’t I hope you lie and say you did.

“21 is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.” - imdb.com

If you’re looking for Ocean’s 11 without the glam and organized by college students then maybe you should think about watching 21. Check out the trailer: here.

Jim Sturgess stars as Ben Campbell, a mathematical genius. He’s finishing his year at MIT and looking for money to pay for Harvard Medical School. Long story short, he ends up in Las Vegas playing cards to get the money. The most interesting part about this film is that it’s true.

For the most part, I would recommend the movie. The way it was directed made it fast-paced, not allowing the audience to fall asleep. Although, there were a few loop holes and the “sex” scene that was inserted was quite frankly… a bit ridiculous. Aside from that I really think that this is an important role for Kevin Spacey. It’s been a while and I’m glad to see him do this character.

Kevin Spacey plays the professor (Mickey Rosa) that groups these students together to create a “team” that pays weekly visits to Vegas in order to play the game. What is most complex about this character is the way that he starts as a protagonist and converts into an antagonist. The good guy that we were all cheering for at the beginning of the film is the one that we hate in the second half.

I would say that Sturgess and Spacey do the best job with their acting abilities. And although Kate Bosworth is also mentionable… in my opinion she looks too old and acts too old for the part.

If you find the trailer intriguing then I suggest watching the film. It was entertaining and kept me attentive the entire time. But just as a warning… this film is better than the trailer puts it out to be. I was not expecting it to be as watchable as it was.

I’m a little bit late with this, but hey what can I say… I’ve been busy!

Last week I saw Charlie Bartlett directed by Jon Poll and written by Gustin nash. Here is a synopsis from IMDb.com if you have no idea what movie I am talking about: “A rich kid (Yelchin) becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school.” Check out the trailer: Here.

If you have already read other reviews about this, I am sure that you have heard the comparisons made with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or that it is a “rip-off” of said movie. Whatever you may have read along those lines… forget it!

Charlie Bartlett is a high school comedy that subtly breaks a few boundaries in said genre. The film focuses on the teen angst theme, embodying the ever popular “parents just don’t understand” phrase. We follow on a journey that Charlie goes on trying to get others to accept him, while facing the difficulties of accepting himself.

The best part about this film is that they made the bold move of using young actors that do not have familiar faces (ie: Lindsay Lohan). Anton Yelchin did a fantastic job as the complex and quirky character Charlie Bartlett. Kat Dennings took a role that could have very easily been a burned out character and managed to make her into a unique and very memorable person.

Although this film is not filled with knee-slapping moments such as Superbad, Charlie Bartlett was able to capture high school moments that actually happen and make them laughable (as they so quite often are in reality). The film makes it easy to relate to with these awkward instances, whether you went to a high school like the one portrayed in the film or you didn’t. It focused so much on each student as individuals as opposed to grouping them into cliques as in Mean Girls.

During the Q & A with Gustin Nash, in response to the question of whether the film had some autobiographical events in it, he said that all of his projects had a touch of his life in them. It is quite clear that there was a little bit of Charlie Bartlett in all of us, especially as we were growing up in high school. Charlie Bartlett is insecure, he’s confident, always seeking approval, yet doing things his own way. Sounds like a teenager, doesn’t it?

If you enjoyed movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or The Breakfast Club, then you will enjoy Charlie Bartlett and every nostalgic bit of it.

Actually, I didn’t really… I got a Macbook Paper. It now sits on my desk and looks beautiful. I would definitely recommend this tiny piece of technology. It was also very cheap to get.

If you want to get your own Macbook Paper… it’s only a click away: Here.

On to more important matters… It’s been raining in Los Angeles! It seems that most people here are quite afraid of the rain or maybe they are just allergic. The traffic reduces, hardly anybody is seen walking on the sidewalks, and people refuse to leave their houses to come visit you. It’s quite tragic, but also somewhat comical. Perhaps a dark comedy?

Speaking of genres let’s move on to the film industry. There are rumors circulating that the writer’s strike will end in about three weeks (let’s keep our fingers crossed). If this is true, we will all be working in no time again. And if you actually don’t work in film, well… be glad that your shows will be back and running again on the air with new episodes!!! Yay, no more reruns!!!

Alright enough of that. Now this is really important… I was told about the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Website: Here. I need to go to this place. For those of you that don’t know, I’m fond of cheese. And chocolate. Anyway, if you’ve ever been there let me know!!!

Here it is… the long awaited film review for Atonement. Okay. Maybe not long awaited, but nonetheless… promised.

Where to begin with Atonement… How about a synopsis:
“Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister’s (Keira Knightley) lover (James McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit. Based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan.”-imdb.com

Atonement is magical. Directed by Joe Wright, this film is a little box of treasures. Set in World War II, Atonement is not your average war film, but a strong romance that never amounts to anything.

This is truly one of Keira Knightley’s best performances. Her character is so true and real. She really allowed herself to be vulnerable with this role. The chemistry between her and her partner on screen, James McAvoy is fantastic. During the Q&A with James, he explained that Keira and him both attended ballroom dancing classes prior to shooting the film. Even though there are no dancing sequences in the film itself, it was done so that Keira and James could feel comfortable with each other and make their relationship appear believable on set. And I must say that it was flawless.

Joe Wright did an astounding job of incorporating the music with the film. The beats in each scene are precise and have their right moments. The editing is so incredible in this film that it is definitely noteworthy. The work that it must have taken is most definitely rewarding, because a work of art has been created with this film. The cinematography is so rich and impressive.

Saoirse Ronan does such a wonderful performance as Cecilia’s (Knightley) younger sister. She truly stands out from many young actresses. I believe that we can truly expect great work from her in the future.

I really do recommend this film to anyone. Atonement is a beautiful film and really deserves all of the credit that it is receiving.

Watch the trailer.