A young Johnny and Leonardo!

Advantages: Great acting! Great Story!
Disadvantages: Sad in parts!

...What's Eating Gilbert Grape, 1993, Run time 118mins, Rating 12. This film is based on the novel by Peter Hedges who also wrote About A Boy. The film follows the story of Gilbert Grape (Johnny Deep) and his family coping since the death of their father. Gilbert has become the father figure of the house and has the responsibility of caring for his brother and sisters and his morbidly obese mother. Gilberts younger brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio) suffers from a mental illness which means he has to be watched all the time for fear that he will injure himself or others, this puts a strain on the family and the girls Ellen and Amy both look to Gilbert to care for him while they tend to their mother Bonnie. Bonnie suffers fro depression and morbid obesity and has become an embarrassment to her children and a local freak show...

LIZKEMPO 08.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (DVD)

You probably hate Leonardo

Advantages: Di Caprio
Disadvantages: A little long, maybe

...di Caprio, unless you're female and about 14. For me, one of the most upsetting things about Titanic was seeing an actor with such genuine and remarkable talent wasted on such a non part, and watching his transformatin into teen idol rather than serious actor. A few years ago, it was all so different. That was when Gilbert Grape came out, and Leonardo made everyone take notice.If you have ever doubted Leonard's talent, this movie will change your mind. He plays Arnie, autistic and disabled younger brother of Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) and it is the performance of a lifetime. It is a portrayal of such observation and sensitivity that it has to be seen to be believed. And it totally steals the film, even against the beautifully understated performances of Depp and Juliet Lewis, who plays Depp's sort-of love interest. The movie is...

ImogenW 04.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (DVD)

Mona Lisa, Leonardo & Florence

Advantages: Great fiction about passion & power struggles in 15th century Florence.
Disadvantages: Historical accuracy of the main character?

...fiction to indicate which parts of their novels are fact and which fiction, like Philippa Gregory and Christie Dickason. Jeanne Kalogridis doesn?t make the difference between fact and fiction obvious in this book, but as it got me interested in a part of history that I knew little about, I had a look round the internet to expand my knowledge. It is now widely believed that LISA GHERARDINI was the subject in the Mon Lisa painting. It was possibly commissioned by her husband Francesco del Giocondo or Giulianno Medici. The various stories and mysteries that have grown about this painting were the possible reasons that the author decided to add her own interpretation. Even though historians now believe they know who Lisa was, in the past this painting has been said to be of the Leonardo?s mother, or even a self-portrait. Recent...

luckyarchers 18.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Painting the Mona Lisa - Jeanne Kalogridis

Mona Lisa Smile

Advantages: Good description of nature and the world around him
Disadvantages: Nowhere near the kind of Prophecies it intimates

...Leonardo da Vinci was born 15 April 1452 in Vinci, Italy, learning mastery of painting and sculpture, as an apprentice. whilst acquiring the technical skills which led to his famous inventions. Working from Florence at the beginning of his career, da Vinci became interested in architecture and geometry and has remained one of the greatest inventors and painters of all time. When one thinks of Leonardo da Vinci, his beautiful paintings, such as the Mona Lisa instantly come to mind, as well as, perhaps, his magnificent inventions, yet, we rarely see da Vinci as a writer. It is in his literary creations that we see the true depth of his thinking and genius; providing flair for the unimaginable. Prophecies is a collection of mixed length 'prophecies', detailing da Vinci's mental life. The reason for my inclusion of prophecies within...

heideroosjes 17.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Prophecies - Leonardo Da Vinci

£200+ per hour

Advantages: Financial assistance for very little effort, suitable for almost any work placement students, well-run local offices
Disadvantages: Some refund-requirements aren't clear from the outset

...There are lots of companies and charitable organizations who offer scholarships and funding to students going abroad to study, but what about if you're off on a work placement? You'll no doubt be paid a salary of some kind, but more often than not it's fairly low. Who do you turn to for a bit of extra money in this case? The answer, I found, was Leonardo. The Leonardo da Vinci program aims to promote availability and quality of training among the European member states, and improve the options for students wishing to take up work placements abroad. The scheme has been running since 1994 and is currently in its second phase, and over ?1 billion of funding was made available for the years 2000-2006. Though it's a Europe-wide set-up, the scheme is administered at a local level, and you apply to the offices nearest to your university. In...

zoe_page 03.07.2003 (08.04.2006) · Read review
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Review of Leonardo Da Vinci Program

Free to have nothing; free to have everything

Advantages: A good presentation of a model to follow
Disadvantages: -

...Leonardo Boff's biography, 'Saint Francis: A Model for Human Liberation', examines Francis of Assisi's selfless and complete devotion to the love of humanity expressed through the love of God. He further develops this into an examination of Franciscan spirituality as it was expressed by Francis, and how it can be incorporated into today's society. Boff begins his biography with an analysis of the theoretical aspects of making a response to the call of God. Contrasting it to more modern pursuits of a scientific, economic, political or even artistic and socially responsible variety, Boff argues for an unreservedly simple approach to looking at Francis' pattern of life and response to the divine call. Quoting Bonaventure, he says: 'Franciscan spirituality is Saint Francis. And who is Saint Francis? It is enough to utter his name...

frkurt 14.02.2005 · Read review
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Review of St. Francis: A Model for Human Liberation - Leonardo Boff

A breathtaking experience

Advantages: Art can only have advantages
Disadvantages: Don't see any

...Most of you will probably know Leonardo Da Vinci, the painter, the artist, the architect, the engineer, the mathematician, the scientist, the inventor, the genius. Born in Tuscany (Italy) in 1452, this over-talented excepionally creative-minded man, spent his whole life experiencing new techinques and filling up notebooks with sketches and drawings on architecture, engineering works, anatomy, botanical discoveries, physics. His works and his theories were really exceptional for those years. Sigmund Freud once told about him: "Leonardo da Vinci was like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep". Anyway, I?m not writing an op about him but I want to talk to you about one of his most famous paintings named ?Il Cenacolo? (The Last Supper). It can be seen in Milan, directly where Leonardo painted...

totempole 22.10.2003 (17.04.2004) · Read review
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Review of Il Cenacolo - Leonardo Da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper"

Family experience

Advantages: Very modern facilities for kids
Disadvantages: Seems very out-of-date and forgotten compared to other places in Milan

...We visited the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in 2007. We had a job finding it as many locals we asked hadn't heard of it or didn't know where it was, and even one road away we saw no indications that it existed at all. We eventually found it (via San Vittore 21, about 5 minutes walk from S. Ambrogio station on M2, the green line). Entry cost €8 each which, after looking around, we thought was a bit excessive. If it's going to go towards making the rest of the museum modern and interactive as the labs for schoolchildren, maybe we will go back. You get a little map of the museum with contact details on the back (would have been helpful in finding the place). It's probably a good idea if you're planning a visit to have a look on their website to get the map and travel directions first. Also note...

CG1anon 27.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milan

Yep, the one with Leonardo DiCaprio in it....

Advantages: It does try and do something new with the subject matter....
Disadvantages: ....although not a darn lot to be honest.

...A strange and unrewarding film is the result of this strange experiment. There really was no need to try and ‘update’ this while retaining the original’s style of dialogue and set-pieces. It never feels at home and never really translates that well into ths new location and is throughout irritating and banal. Leonardo DiCaprio surprisingly makes an effective Romeo as does Claire Danes in her role of Juliet. There is an overall sense of prepostorousness with this and Baz Luhrmann never really helps matters with his overtly bombastic approach to directing. And none of the supporting players who indeed add a myriad of strange quirks to their charcters such as John Leguizamo as Tybalt and Harold Perrineau (the wheelchair bound narrator of the sublime Oz) as a cross-dressing Mercutio.really seem to do much. Surprisingly well recieved on this...

redcockney 09.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Romeo And Juliet (DVD)

Investment needed!

Advantages: Very broad selection of interesting exhibits
Disadvantages: A major part of the museum is outdated and badly maintained

...workshop sessions that are very up to date and informative but the majority of the museum feels as if it was locked up and long forgotten back in the 1950's. They really do have the material (exhibits) to make this a wonderful place these include the recently added Totti 501 Submarine to a collection of steam locomotives and a whole collection of planes and many other industrial machines. I especially found the vast hall dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci that includes several models and accurate reconstruction's of the machines that he designed while he lived in Milan very interesting, but overall you really have to search and investigate to find things in the mix that this museum has become. But on saying all this, I would go again, as you are left feeling maybe if I return I might discover something new, so if you are in Milan and have...

gviscomi 03.05.2006 · Read review
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Review of Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milan