From Russia with Pfeiffer and Connery

Advantages: Cast, premise...
Disadvantages: ... just too long for its own good.

...The Russia House is an international espionage thriller which, according to the blurb, is "A filmmaking tour de force and incredibly sophisticated, suspenseful and sexy entertainment". Don't believe the blurb - but don't necessarily be put off watching this film, either. Sean Connery stars as British publisher Barley Blair, who is sent a manuscript by Katya (Michelle Pfeiffer). This manuscript was written by a Soviet scientist and contains details of an extremely sensitive nature. British and American intelligence get wind of this potentially earth-shattering document and rope Blair in to work for them. When Blair eventually meets Katya, he realises that he wants to protect her more than anything else - or is he bluffing - or even double-bluffing?? With an excellent cast including not only Connery and Pfeiffer but also Roy...

CaptainDisaster 17.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of The Russia House (DVD)

Grand Union

Advantages: lovely staff, many facilities, spacious rooms
Disadvantages: expensive

...impossible to look out over Ljubljana without catching a glimpse of the gorgeous castle perched prominently on the hill. The Ljubljanica River flows elegantly down through the city, passing the cobbled streets and many cafes and restaurants. During my time in Slovenia I stayed at the beautiful, elegant Grand Union Hotel. I believe that my holiday was made a lot better due to my stay at the hotel. ***GRAND UNION HOTEL*** The Grand Union Hotel is a four start hotel situated in the centre of Slovenia. The hotel is split into two parts the business part and executive part. There are over 300 rooms in total so it is fairly small and quiet. I was never kept up by late night parties or noisy neighbours. We stayed at the hotel on its 100 year anniversary in 2005 and were very impressed with the service we received. Famous people such as Bill Clinton...

leofluffy69 07.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Grand Hotel Union Business, Ljubljana

Russia: a journey to the heart of the country and its people

Advantages: informative, well reported historical facts and interesting encounters with locals
Disadvantages: too much personal life of the journalist in the book (not inherent to the context)

...Russia (A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People) is a report about a journey through Russia, by a distinguished broadcaster and author Jonathan Dimbleby. The journey starts in Murmansk, in the Article Circle and ends in Vladivostock, in the Far East Asia, 10,000 miles and eight times zone away. Dimbleby travels by road, plane, boat and train covering the major cities of Russia such as Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Ekaterinburg, as well as less known cities and realities in the country. During the trip, there are many encounters with Russian people of all class and creed and this is, in my opinion, the backbone of the book. It is by talking with the local people that Dimbleby and the reader can understand about Russia, a country that is still, as Churchill once famously put it, ?A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma...

Lelo 13.09.2009 (14.09.2009) · Read review
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Review of Russia - Jonathan Dimbleby

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Advantages: City of such beauty
Disadvantages: Locals tend not to be overly friendly

...I took Paul to St Petersburg, Russia in November 2003. It was his birthday/Christmas present. It had been a destination we both always fancied, and whilst looking through the Sunday Telegraph travel section, we saw a tour company advertising trips. After looking into that deal and then independent travel, we decided to go it alone!! So we booked our flights out of Heathrow, direct to Pulkovo airport with BA. Traveling from Belfast meant connections but we are well used to that now! Another web search along with the aid of a guide book (TIME OUT ST PETERSBURG) found us our hotel – a reasonably priced local hotel Pulkovoskaya. Also required for trips to Russia are a visa – we had to send our passports along with forms and photos off to the Russian embassy in Edinburgh – something l was not too happy about...

purdy 02.01.2004 · Read review
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Review of St Petersburg (Russia)

Regina Spektor - Soviet Kitsch

Advantages: Fantastic album, highly entertaining!!
Disadvantages: None!!!

...I personally came to this album after hearing the most recent by Regina, 'Begin to Hope'. Already completely obsessed with Regina I had to search out new material! Regina Spektor is an amazing talent, mixing jazz sounds, classical piano, kooky lyrics and much more! Its hard to pin this lady down as every song sounds different. The only thing linking all her songs is the ability she has to suck a listener into her many stories. I found 'Soviet Kitsch' just a satisfying if not more so than 'Begin to Hope' , a slightly rawer sound which feels a lot more experimental, it is a really exciting album with a lot of variation and a lot to offer. Songs like 'Ode to Divorce' are moving and slow and gentle, where as 'Poor little rich boy' includes percussion involving a drumstick being banged on a chair. Overall the album is a triumph one of those...

RachelBuckley 10.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Soviet Kitsch - Regina Spektor

Union City Blues!

Advantages: It's brave and a good introduction to Erasure
Disadvantages: It's pointless if you already know the band

...The new album by Erasure 'Union Street'(their 14th!) is a bit of an enigma, which makes me wonder if the duo have finally run out of ideas, or didn't want to waste them on us. However for the uninitiated this acoustic (yes pop-pickers you heard me correctly 'ACOUSTIC') album strips down the songs to their bare bones and lets out some of the soul as a sample of what they are capable of. Just as the band had recaptured some of the form of its 90s heyday with Erasure's return to electro pop heaven, ('Nightbird') Vince Clark and Andy Bell have gone all acoustic on us, just as the Pet Shop Boys recently did, before going back to their synths. Here is a collection of b-sides and album tracks, redone with 'real' instruments and credible musicians - and way too much slide-guitar. (The name 'Union Street' is the name of the Brooklyn...

mark_allen71 05.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Union Street - Erasure

The survivor of imperial Russia

Advantages: The first major biography in English of an often-overlooked figure
Disadvantages: None

...In the last few years there have been seemingly endless biographies about Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Alexandra, Rasputin, and often combinations of the lot. Often overlooked is the woman condemned to watch the whole catastrophe as a helpless spectator, and survive it all - Empress Marie Feodorovna, Nicholas's mother, described affectionately at the time as the 'Little Mother of Russia'. Born Princess Dagmar of Denmark in 1847, she was the second daughter of Prince Christian, a junior member of a Danish ruling house who by various strokes of good fortune became King in 1863. Of Dagmar's siblings, one brother was chosen as King of Greece, and her favourite sister Alexandra married the future King Edward VII of England. In 1864 she was betrothed to Nicholas, Tsarevich of Russia, but he was a sickly young man and died a few...

JOHNV 23.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Little Mother Of Russia - Coryne Hall

Bond goes to Russia

Advantages: great gadjets
Disadvantages: dated and contains boring scences

...The second edition of the Bond series. From Russia with love was one of the classics too. The film boasts a number of outstading elements. One of these is the pre-credits seqeunce were Grants attcks a fake Bond. Another being the introduction of Q and the Bond gadgets. Bonds assignment in this film is to un-cover a decoding machine called 'Lektor'. This is currently held by the Russians. Bond is helped by Soviet agent- Romanova. SPECTRE, a secret national crime organisation, tries to prevent Bond from finding the 'Lektor' but are un- succesful. On his missions, bond encounters many enemies- one of wich is Donald 'Red' Grant. Actor, Richard Shaw, gives a brilliant performance. Grant has two roles in this film, and altenates well between them. As Grant- he is aruthless killer, though he has to have a disguise and become 'Nash...

Ice_Blaster 25.09.2001 · Read review
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Review of From Russia With Love (DVD)

Please join a union and get involved.

Advantages: Sense of satisfaction. Helping others. Good training.
Disadvantages: No pay. Frustrating occasionally.

...--- That's all right for you to say, but I can't be bothered. --- I became a UNISON rep just over a year ago and have thoroughly enjoyed it since then, despite the extra work involved. If you are not a rep, you will not be kept aware of what is going on in the union, or have the ability to put your point of view across. --Why should I join then?-- Basically, being in a union gives us the opportunity to use our collective power against the wishes of management to push us ever harder in the quest for more profits / productivity. Unions ultimately have the power to withdraw workers' labour and go on strike. This is very much a last resort. Joining a union is a bit like an insurance policy. Most of the time you will not need it, but when push comes to shove and you are threatened with redundancy or a pay cut, then the union is...

drewish 16.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Trade Union Representative

Rocket To Russia

Advantages: See review
Disadvantages: See review

...By 1977, the punk scene had exploded. It began on the lower east bowery in New York City, in clubs like CBGBs, and spread across to the United Kingdom, where bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash were starting to make a racket. After Johnny Ramone had heard the single release of "God Save the Queen," he was ready to record the next album, and prove to the people that were "ripping them off" who the real punks were. Rocket to Russia was mainly written on the road throughout late 1977, and released the same year as their second album, Leave Home. Rocket to Russia is the Ramones' best album. Every one of the songs on here is perfect, and none of them fail to impress me. The Ramones were the true masters of simplicity. Rocket to Russia possesses a very clean, well-produced sound. This is very evident from the beggining, and is...

Bobster123 16.10.2006 · Read review
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Review of Rocket To Russia (Remastered And Expanded) - Ramones