The Village

Advantages: Atmosphere. Well produced - Escapist
Disadvantages: Story line too unrealistic for me

...Last week I came across one of those special offers in HMV (4 DVds for £20). It was end of the season sale and I picked up a film called "The Village" just to make up the numbers. It struck me as being some sort of clichéd horror film from the blurb on the cover and I didn't expect to be watching it in the very near future. But it was one of those DVDs that keep popping up every time I looked through my shelf of dozens of other unwatched movies. Well the other evening, it popped up again and I just put it in the machine without giving it too much thought. As I wasn't in the mood for thinking anyway, it would probably be an ideal film. As we got into the film, enter the monster, well, a glimpse of it. It was supposed to be scaring me but even my wife, who makes me jump out of my skin with her sudden screams in scary movies, remained...

derek-j-a 06.10.2005 (07.10.2005) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Village (DVD)

The Village

Advantages: You will enjoy it
Disadvantages: None

...The Village, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan on a budget of 60 million dollars, was going to be a tough follow up for a director known for his twists and turns. As it turned out, there was a twist, but it was a rather low key one, and it was almost apparent from the start, though it is not without a small end revelation, that will surprise you. This movie starts off really slowly, leading you into the lives of a group of villagers, who live on the outskirts of a wood, in 1897 Pennsylvania, which is seemingly haunted by some nasty hideous monsters, referred to only as, 'Those we do not speak of'. A village where the colour red is not allowed, as it is the colour of evil. The Elders, who have set up and run the village, teach their children that the Towns outside their village is a bad place, and they must never cross into...

Paradis 21.12.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Village (DVD)

Village of the Damned Scared

Advantages: Good acting and story
Disadvantages: Looking for the plot twists will give you whiplash

...Pennsylvania, 1897; the inhabitants of the utopian Covington have held an uneasy truce with the creatures that live in the woods around their village for years. But when Lucius Hunt asks permission to leave, things change for the worse. Writer-director M Night Shyamalan?s films all seem to exist in the eternal twilight of an autumnal world. ?The Village? is no exception, portraying a world of muted tones and frosty nights, the whole thing awash in leaf litter. It makes for an atmospheric backdrop in a tale where the greatest horrors are imagined and not seen. Here he delivers a taut, slow-burning psychological horror that plays on our primeval fear of the dark and the things that may be lurking in it. He ramps up the suspense through the judicious use of obscured views, half-seen creatures and a shrieking score that will send shivers...

afy9mab 28.08.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of The Village (DVD)

Bolton last drop village

Advantages: Not far from Bolton retail park, infinity pool, facitlies are excellent
Disadvantages: staff weren't as helpful as other hotels

...We received an email from Macdonald to say they had special offers on certain hotels so we looked into them further. We chose this one as it had a wide range of facilities and was only an hour away from where we live so was a nice weekend break. When we arrived, the place was quaint. It is an old fashioned little village, complete with tea rooms, pub, bakery, and various other little shops. We were told we could check in from 1 so we arrived for 1 and were told that the room wasn't ready so we went into the tea rooms for afternoon tea. We went back to reception at 2 and were told that our room still wasn't ready so to wait in the lounge or have a wander round. There was no apology for the delay. We finally got into our room at 2.45. We had decided to get a four poster bed room as it was for a special occasion. The room was...

pa2539 28.08.2007 (16.08.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Macdonald Last Drop Village Hotel & Spa, Bolton

Designer Shopping all in one village?

Advantages: Bargains, nice shops, good selection
Disadvantages: Still expensive, can't always find something

...Designer Shopping all in one village? Bicester Village is a collection of designer shopping outlets located in the town of Bicester in Oxfordshire. I have been here several times and enjoy looking around. It?s very easy to reach by car and there are lots of free car parking spaces outside the shiops when you arrive. You can also get here by train. For more detailed information I would recommend visiting their website at http://www.bicestervillage.com The opening hours are as follows: Mon - Sat 10am to 7pm Sun 10am to 6pm ? although again I recommend checking on the specific day you ant to attend as if it is nearer Christmas or a school holiday the times may change. They describe themselves are such, ?Just one hour from London, we have over 120 international fashion and lifestyle brands offering luxury at desirable...

Spottydog11 20.10.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Bicester Village (London)

I see village people

Advantages: Beautifully shot with a compelling romance at its core
Disadvantages: THE TWIST

...?The Village? is being marketed incorrectly. I?m sure you?ve seen the trailers, yellow capes, red capes, monsters in the woods, ?don?t let them in? ? that sort of thing ? and probably thought that this was a horror film. It?s not. In fact ?The Village? is a strange little film pitched somewhere between a period drama and the twilight zone and if you go see it expecting a horror film you will be disappointed. Let?s hope this review may spare you such disappointment because ?The Village? is not a bad film, it?s just a bit of a silly one. Somewhere outside Philadelphia is an isolated village deep in the middle of Covington Woods. The villagers have an uneasy truce with ?those we do not speak of? a group of monsters who live in the woods and look something like a cross between an armadillo and a porcupine ? oh and they wear red capes (no...

Zoe 21.08.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of The Village (DVD)

Oooh this is a Curious Village!

Advantages: Great fun puzzles and brain teasers!!!!
Disadvantages: Some of the puzzles are very hard, once you have completed the game and all the puzzles it's over!

...Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo DS and DSi) This game is a mystery puzzle game, where your job is to solve a mystery of a village called St Mystere, where a rich baron (Baron Reinhold) has died, and left his fortune hidden in the village along with hundreds of puzzles to help you find it. It follows a story, where you are playing the characters of Professor Layton, a puzzle solver, and his apprentice Luke. Your job is to crack the mysteries of St Mystere and solving all of the hidden puzzles! The Story: The story is excellent, and unlike some games which you just run around a find things, this one has an actual story to keep you guessing, as it's a mystery it's very very fun and very exciting, and as with a normal story, there are twists and turns which you don't see coming! Professor Layton and his...

stephbond89 15.10.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo DS)

YMCA or VILLAGE HOTEL?

Advantages: A comfortable well equipped hotel in Warrington
Disadvantages: Mainly suited to the business traveller

...We had to arrange an overnight stay with breakfast, close to Walton Lea crematorium in Cheshire, for 7th August 2006 as we wanted to be present at a family funeral service the next morning. A quick search on the internet showed me that The De Vere Village Hotel and Leisure Centre was only five miles from the village of Walton and the crematorium. As we spent a leisure break at a De Vere Group hotel in May, and liked the standard of the accommodation offered, I made a reservation for Bed and Breakfast in a twin room at The Village Hotel. °º??º°"?¨¨?"°º??º°"?¨¨?"°º??º°"?¨¨¨?"°º??º°"?¨¨¨?"°º On arrival we parked our car in the hotel's large car park, gathered our baggage and headed towards the hotel lobby and reception where we were greeted by a rather nice smiling young lady who swiftly checked us in. She swiped my credit...

Paul99ine 17.08.2006 (27.05.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Village Hotel, Warrington

Portmeirion Village

Advantages: A Good Day Out
Disadvantages: None

...PORTMEIRION-A Lovely Place to visit You will find Portmeirion in the northern part of Wales it is a popular resort on the coast of Snowdonia. When I first visited Portmeiron for the first time I just fell in love with the place. It was like visiting a magical village with its colourful painted houses and cottages and arches etc.Yes it has an Italian flavour to it and I was certainly very amazed with the various buildings and fountains and courtyards So who created this wonderful place- Clough Williams-Ellis who was an architect had a vision and created Portmeirion just only a few miles from his family home. In the 1930s it became very popular with a number of Artists and Writers like Bertrand Russell, George Bernard Shaw and H G Wells are just a few to mention. Also King Edward V111 also made a visit to Portmeirion before he...

ruth1957 10.11.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Portmeirion Village, Wales

Rodos Village - Rhodes

Advantages: Family friendly, all inclusive, next to beach
Disadvantages: Insects in rooms, no cash machine, not enough toilets

...Last week I came back from a holiday in Greece. We went to Rhodes and stayed in the Rodos Village in Kiotari. The Rodos Village is a 5 star all-inclusive resort which is situated in the east west coast of the island. We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel (this was a pre-paid transfer from our holiday provider) The taxi took around an hour to get to the hotel. Since our flight was overnight, we arrived at the airport at 4.45am, so it was great to hop into a taxi and get to the hotel quicker than the coach would have taken. We got to the hotel at around 6am. There are not only steps up to the hotel, but also a ramp. It was quite steep but it meant that I could wheel my bag up instead of carrying up the steps (always good if you're tired!) Check in was quick. No one was around at that time since it was so early, there was...

ivytoad 10.07.2008 (06.12.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Rodos Village, Rhodes