Lose Yourself in Del Toro's Labyrinthine Imagination

Advantages: Beautifully shot, fantastic performances
Disadvantages: Not a children's fantasy, despite the fairy-tale nature

...of the new moon. Pan's Labyrinth has all the aspects of a classic fable - from Ofelia's intimidating but kindly mentor, the Faun of the title, through the fairy-tale domains she must enter, to the terrifying creatures that lurk within. What sets it apart is the visual flair with which Del Toro delivers the story. This is carried not only in the rich, seductive fantasy-world scenes that Ofelia enters, but also in the stark, monochrome reality she comes from. Though the former is beautifully rendered and heavy with the effects of Del Toro's enormous imagination, it is by contrast with the grim, oppressive depiction of 1940s Spain that it gains its power. These contrasts feature time and again throughout the film - though the horrors Ofelia meets in the fantasy world are fearsome spectacles (and Doug Jones' Pale Man is a memorably gruesome...

Puggers 03.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Pan's Labyrinth (DVD)

Sol Cayo Guillermo Cuba Best Avoided

Advantages: Fantastic Beach
Disadvantages: Whole Hotel

...Have just returned from the Sol Cayo Guillermo. Both my Daughter and I returned with Food Poisoning after spending two weeks at the above resort, The Food is terrible. The Plates are either chipped or are covered in food residue where they have not been washed properly. Hygiene standards are disgusting. Chefs wiping their faces and noses with their hands then picking up and cooking food. They constantly refill the Bain Marie by just topping up the food that has been there all meal time. The Al La Carte Restaurants are ok. Management do not care when you finally complain. Beds changed just once during the two week stay. My Daughter received several electric shocks from the Wall Lights one of them threw her across the room and she smashed an Ashtray. She tried to clean it up and cut her hand. The broken glass was under...

natasha-tamara 01.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Sol Cayo Guillermo, Ciego de Avila

Watch Out for Benicio Del Toro's Knife!!!

Advantages: One of the few action films that make you THINK, Excellent Performances make is more than watchable
Disadvantages: Too short and could have been tightened

...it out. The film opens up in March 1999 in Kosovo, during the conflict between the Albanians and Serbs. First Sergeant Aaron Hallom (Benicio Del Toro) is a "Tracker" in an elite Special Forces unit who is on a mission during this war to hunt and execute a Serbian colonel. He succeeds, and is honored for it, though the horror of war (espicially with the bloody slaughter of civilians) intensely affects him, resulting in Hallom losing touch with reality, and he soon starts to have nightmares of his experiances. We then jump-start to 2003, where two deer hunters (at least that's what I originally thought they were) are in the Pacific Northwest when they are spied by a chameleon like person. What frightens them is that a knife is slung into a tree, making a hole in it, and they soon realize that they are now a target by...

eve6kicksass 20.10.2003 · Read review
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Review of The Hunted (DVD)

FREE DVDs

Advantages: Free trial, large choice, post included,new realeases
Disadvantages: see review

...I like movies and I like freebies, so when you get offered both in one swoop you?re bound to accept! I used my two week free trial with this company and remained with them for a couple of monthsbefore moving on to try many other companies free trials (and winning a new DVD player on Tesco DVD rental site on their free trial offer). I then had an email from DVDs 365 asking me to go back, and offering me a free DVD if I did so. I had just left Tesco (with my new DVD player) so I chose to go back with them. ∆◊◊ THE SERVICE THEY OFFER ∆◊◊ Basically it?s like going to a video shop and hiring films on DVD, except you don?t pay for each film you chose ? rather a monthly fee for which you can watch as many movies as you can fit in, for us this is usually around 8 a month (2 a week usually weekends...

dabmim 15.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of dvds365.com

Benalmadena the Costa del Sol

Advantages: Friendly town with lots to do, a lovely holiday.
Disadvantages: If you steer clear of the 'English Bars' there are none

...COSTA DEL SOL Benalmadea Costa, I'm afraid I was always a bit of a 'travel snob' regarding the Costa del Sol. I envisaged the types of scene in TV's Benadorm, a type of Blackpool with sun. As members of a vacation club ( it was then Sunterra now Diamon Resorts) we had the opportunity for a weeks break for relatively few points at the Sahara Sunset in Benalmadea Costa, as we could get Easy Jet airfairs to Malaga for a very low price we decided to try it. We have been three times more since then - so needless to say I was not disappointed. Benalmadena is only 15 kilometers from Malaga Airport, car hire is easily obtainable but it is only 25 euros for a taxi from the airport and there are plenty of excursions and good public transport available in the resort. It is set on the Costa del Sol between...

oldchem 31.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Costa del Sol (Spain)

The Full 'Del Monte!'

Advantages: Vegan. No Artificial colours, preservatives, flavours or sweeteners. Only 78 calories per lolly. 100% RDA for Vit 'C'.
Disadvantages: Only sold in boxes of 4, so not available individually.

...A chance for me to enjoy a respite and any relaxation is a rare occurrence during the school summer holidays, and to actually concur with some hot sunny weather is even more obscure. But just like a lottery win, these things do happen, and once the children had temporarily vacated the premises in order to pursue their hectic social lives, it was my prompt to hit the sun bed and lap up some rays. Twas a lovely day too, laying there, my mind drifting off to a fantasy beach on a fantasy isle... Somewhere tropical, where warm ebbing waters tickled white sandy shores. Basking in the sun and dreaming... aaaa this was the life... I was suddenly gripped by a desire to compliment my newfound freedom with my latest discovery whilst in Sainsburys, a Del Monte Pineapple 'Fruit Ice' lolly. Although Del Monte now makes wide ranges of juices...

bistro 14.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Del Monte Pineapple Fruit Ices

Get Shopping on Via del Corso.

Advantages: Plenty of variety, not all designer, lots of affordable places, food and cinema.
Disadvantages: You might fall in love with designer clothes in the windows!

.... Via del Corso runs from Piazza Venetia, below the Il Vittoriano monument in the center of Rome, all the way up to Piazza del Popolo in the north of the city. It's one of the biggest streets for shopping in Rome and is frequented by tourists and locals, looking for a variety of goods. There are no sites that would be of interest to a tourist on Via del Corso, but there are so many very nearby such as the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and Forum Romanum. So if you're doing a lot of walking around the city, then you're bound to find yourself on this street at some point. It's certainly well worth a visit as it's an interesting street with a good variety of shops and a good atmosphere. We can date the history of this road back to the time of the Roman Empire, when it was known as Via Flaminia and was known to take...

Ottavia 08.09.2008 (29.08.2008) · Read review
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Review of Via del Corso

TORO 40CM ELECTRIC RECYCLER MOWER 21072

Advantages: Recycles grass clippings, cuts all grass lengths
Disadvantages: Not good for tight spaces, no roller

...Toro Electric Recycler Mower (40cm rotary £229) 21072, 1400 watt electric induction motor Ideal for small/medium sized lawns. It's that time of year again, the grass is growing, the sap is rising, out comes the trusty old mower - "oh****", perhaps its not so trusty after all. Down at the garden centre staff are busy dusting down the machinery and gemming up on the mower manuals to see who can make the best sales. Believe me, ( I have worked in these places) they're not interested in sending you home with a mower best suiting your needs. At the end of the day its sales figures that matter. After being let down by my trusty old flymo last year, I did a little research and brought home a Toro Electric Recycler (40cm, rotary) Mower. I am very pleased with it. It does a quick, quality, no frills (stripes) job and I'm quite...

inycon2 22.02.2004 (19.04.2004) · Read review
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Review of Toro 40cm Electric Rotary

Surprising Picture Quality - Panasonic DVD-S54

Advantages: Incredible picture quality when compared to my old non-upscaling player with a scart lead
Disadvantages: Sometimes disc drive can be really noisy when DVD's initially load.

...At first I wasn't convinced by up-scaling DVD player technology but was persuaded after reading an article in "What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision" magazine. Unable to afford a Blu-Ray player my sister and I bought the Panasonic DVD-S54 to match our parents brand new Panasonic TX-32LZD80 LCD television as their Christmas 2008 present. Admittedly it was a slightly selfish purchase as we both live at home and wanted to watch DVDs on the big new TV ourselves! We bought the player from the electrical retailer Comet for about £100 just before Christmas so there were no discounts applied. On Christmas day when opened we found a relatively small box tightly packed with the player in polystyrene packaging. All the components such as cables, remote and manuals were well presented in their own protective plastic bags, to keep them protected. The player...

bobbacon985 12.02.2009 · Read review
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Lie back on a deserted beach and think of England.

Advantages: Sun, Sea, Breathtaking beaches, Great diving and the Blue Bull Bar
Disadvantages: I don't live there....yet!

...If you are to travel anywhere in your life, GO TO BOCAS DEL TORO, those images of a tranquil beach lying in a hammock and sipping a Pina Colada can be a reality. I Went to Panama last year on a four week expedition to Costa Rica and Panama being next door was our obvious choice for diving and relaxing. So flying into San Jose airport, which is an experience in itself as for some reason the planes (or our plane at least) liked to do summersaults in the turbelence, but dont let this put you off. I'd recommend staying in San Jose (or Panama city) for the night as the trip across the canal is an adventure to say the least, that and its the last McDonalds you'll see for a while, thank god! Anyway if your travelling across the border from San Jose id recommend paying one of the young lads $5 to carry ur bags across or jump in a mini bus...

hackedoff 30.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Archipilago de Bocas del Toro (Panama)