The Melia Experience.

Advantages: 24 kms from Fiumicino Airport.
Disadvantages: Location.

...Melia Roma Aurelia Antica Hotel Rome. Via Aldobrandeschi, 223 Roma, Italy. The Melia is a four star Luxury Hotel with conference centre. We stayed three nights. Cost £196.59 for a standard room. This was for three nights (£65.53 per night). (Breakfast is not included in this price) Check in time 1pm. Check out time 12 Noon. Booking Time: July 2005. Location: About 6km North East of the Vatican City. Airport we flew into: Fiumicino. Aprrox 24 Kms from The Melia. Our visit to the Hotel Melia was an exceptional experience, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would definitely go back. This is all about how we got there and what it was like during our visit. How we got there. --------------------- It was a little more difficult for us to travel...

Sgathach 30.09.2005 (21.10.2005) · Read review
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Review of Melia Roma Aurelia Antica Hotel, Rome

Fools Gold

Advantages: Nice scenery, ok story
Disadvantages: None

...If Matthew McConaughey with his shirt off and Kate Hudson in a bikini is your idea of a good time then Fools Gold is definitely the film for you. Fools Gold is a 2008 adventure/romantic comedy staring the two actors as treasure hunters. For years they have been obsessed with the Spanish galleon, the Aurelia which was lost at sea in 1715. Rumour has it that it contained the treasure of the new Spanish queen when it went down, including emeralds, rubies and lots of gold so it's something they have been searching for for a long time. This film did not do well with the critics at all and I do understand their point, it was hardly a classic but I think it never set out to be a classic or took itself that seriously and there were enough good points to make it for me quite a funny film. McConaughey (Finn) and Hudson (Tess) manage to talk...

Spottydog11 18.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Fool's Gold (DVD)

Love Is All Around

Advantages: great film
Disadvantages: -

...taken a disliking to her and no matter what she tries to do and how nice she is to him, he basically has not got any time for her whatsoever. Juliet, starts to see things from a different light and realises that Mark does not dislike her at all, but is infatuated with her and resents his best friend because she has married him. Will he get what he wants? Jamie (Colin Firth), having found out that his girlfirend had cheated on him with his brother, he goes to Portugal to carry on with his work there. Whilst there he has a Portuguese housekeeper Aurelia (Lucia Moniz). Although the pair cannot speak a word of each other language, they seem to get on quite well and fall for each other, but cannot tell each other because they would not understand. Jamies goes back to England with Aurelia still constantly on his mind. What will he do? John...

blondgem 14.06.2008 · Read review
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Marina di Carrara

Advantages: Conveniently good accommodation facilities (hotels, camping sites, bed and breakfast)
Disadvantages:

...Recognisable for the unique sight of the Apuan Alps, which shelter it from cold northern winds, Marina di Carrara is a modern, well-equipped seaside resort, with a large beach of fine and soft sand, set among the blue sea and green pine woods. Excellently located along the Tyrrhenian coast, it is very well served by road (Trunk Road no. 1, "Via Aurelia"), motorway (A 12: Genoa-Livorno; A 15: Parma-mare; A 11: Florence-mare) and railway (lines Genoa-Pisa-Rome and Milan-Fornovo-Livorno) connection networks, so its beach is the closest one to Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna and to the main monumental and artistic centres of Tuscany as well. The advantages of a temperate climate in any season, of sand, sun and breezes mitigating the sultry weather and the oppressive heat of the summer add to the unique privilege of ranging...

giannit 16.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Carrara (Italy)

Love is all around...and so is xmas

Advantages: everything
Disadvantages: n/a

...state of mind this kind of thing can really get to you. The story starts 5 weeks before Christmas and follows the love stories of a fair few people living in London: * Billy Mack: a singer successful a long time ago! He is trying to resurrect his music career with a comeback single, a hilarious Christmas cover of 'Love is all around'. * Jamie: unlucky in love, he runs away to his house in France to escape the disaster that is his love life. * Aurelia: A Portuguese girl cleaning Jamies French home. * Juliet and Peter: a newly married couple. * Mark: Peters best friend/best man, in love with the wrong woman. * Judy and John: two porn actors, really quiet and shy despite their jobs, will they or wont they....? * Karen: sister of the prime minister. * Harry: Karens husband, tempted by the office totty. * Mia: the office totty...

leanne8686 26.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Love, Actually (DVD)

You fool.. or not?

Advantages: exotic location
Disadvantages: amout of extras

...Benn does the discovery of a lifetime. While loosing his ship on a horrible expedition he founds a piece (clue) from a old ship called the Aurelia. Benn has always had an interest about his ship because of his valuable cargo inside. But he?s not the only one who?s interested and also the locale mafia on the island wants to have a piece of it. Benn goes to a millionaire who is there with his ship to see if he?s ready to do some treasure hunting. Because its all about who?s the first one to be there! Acting skills Fool?s gold is an adventure movie with a lot of action and is being shot at an exotic location. I think the acting is good enough for this kind of movie. Matthew McConaughey plays the part of the lead as Benn Finnagan. He?s the typical crazy adventuress guy whose whole life is about finding treasures. He?s not very successful...

JL132 30.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Fool's Gold (DVD)

Is Love ACTUALLY All Around?

Advantages: Great acting, very funny
Disadvantages: Lack of central plot

..., instead he encourages him to follow his heart and pursue the girl of his dreams. This was definitely the sweetest relationship. My other favourite couple were James (Colin Firth) and the Portuguese woman named Aurelia. Their relationship was the most original it was really nice watching it play out in front of the audience. The way they speak two different languages yet are having a conversation without even realising it is great writing which Richard Curtis constantly excels in throughout this film. Overall all the cast are great and there?s no weak link in the ensemble, most of the cast are of course English actors and actresses but it also includes some brilliant cameos from American actresses in the form of: Claudia Schiffer, Elisha Cuthbert, Shannon Elizabeth and Denise Richards. Even Ant and Dec make a came appearance. There?s also...

Great_reviewer07 30.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Love, Actually (DVD)

Caesar Strikes Back

Advantages: If you liked the film 'Gladiator', you'll like this
Disadvantages: Some violent battle scenes

..., leads to further infighting and intrigue. Caesar is a fascinating character, even down to personal details, such as he suffered from epilepsy, like his mother. The third part is to do with vengeance and tragedy, as the slave army ransacks his home and murders Cornelia, his young wife. There follows an epic battle against a rebel slave army led by Spartacus. How it came into being is not explained, but along with Caesar's many other achievements in later life, probably could not be fitted into this book, long as it is. Some character's stories are only partially resolved. We follow the story of freed slave, Aurelia, a silversmith jeweller setting up her own business. She takes in Octavian, a young street urchin who is adopted by Caesar once it is realised he is a distant relative, and is last seen running away from the family home in...

aspebbles 26.11.2006 (28.11.2006) · Read review
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Review of The Death of Kings - Conn Iggulden

Sweet sentimentality

Advantages: sweet, funny, entertaining
Disadvantages: silly

...choose to have an upbeat funeral but it was a bit daft. Likewise, many of the scenes with Billy Nighy are downright silly. It?s not realistic but what romantic comedy is? Would you see a Prime Minister openly having a relationship with his assistant? Would you see him boogying on down to ?Jump!?? Would an ageing rocker swear and slag off Blue live on Saturday morning TV (ahem, Ok Bob)? Probably not but isn?t that what makes a film entertaining ? escapism from reality. Moments within the film are touching. Emma Thompson?s character, Karen, finds out her husband, Harry, (Alan Rickman) has bought a necklace for a younger employee and you really can empathise with finding out your partner is having an affair. Jamie?s (Colin Firth) frustration with not being able to communicate his love for his Portuguese housekeeper, Aurelia, is also touching...

pixiedon 18.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Love Actually (Christmas Edition) (DVD)

All you need is love

Advantages: warm-hearted, cute, funny, great soundtrack
Disadvantages: A bit sappy, some scenes make it inappropriate for children

.... Jamie (Colin Firth): A writer who is betrayed by his girlfriend and brother, he takes himself off to France to clear his head and work on his book, and as luck would have it, he meets the beautiful Aurelia (Lucia Moniz), a Portuguese girl who acts as his housekeeper. The only problem is neither of them speaks the other's language. Juliet and Peter (Keira Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor): A newlywed couple who's relationship with Peter's best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln), is strained by his apparent dislike of Juliet. Judy and John (Joanna Page and Martin Freeman): Two stand-ins for what appears to be some extremely graphic sex scenes in a movie, they hit it off during their scenes together. Billy Mack (Bill Nighy): A washed-up rock'n'roll sensation who has just released a Christmas version of the classic song "Love is all around...

mystikchick17 07.08.2006 · Read review
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