Charlie Wilson's Fight for Afghanistan

Advantages: Great Acting, excellent story
Disadvantages: Some sad scenes of the Afghan suffering

...Charlie Wilson's War is a film which I had been undecided about for a few weeks so I finally took the plunge and bought it. I think the deciding factor was that it stared Tom Hanks and Julie Roberts, both of which I like. The film features Charlie Wilson, played by Tom Hanks who is a party loving Congress man. He is good friends with Joanne who is a rich Socialite, played by Julia Roberts. Joanne manages to talk Charlie into looking at the troubles in Afghanistan where they are being invaded by the Russians. Charlie goes and sees the troubles first hand and is shocked at what he finds. He does agree to help Joanne by getting the weapons and ammunition which they need to defend their country. To do this Charlie is helped by a CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos and soon finds he needs to persuade the Congress to give them large amounts of money...

sewbizzie 02.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Charlie Wilson's War (DVD)

Arty Des Arts!

Advantages: Original building, nice and clean and decent rooms
Disadvantages: Could have quirkier rooms to match the rest of the hotel.

...perceived it from stood outside. Inside was a mix of modern touches such as the small lobby lounge with a flat screen pc for guests to use mixed in with the artistic and very Parisian style furniture and the art that hung on nearly every wall. I actually if I'm honest couldn't decide if I liked it or not as I did because it was boutique and intimate and at the same time some of the decor was too 'old fashioned' looking for my taste. However I think if you came to this hotel you wouldn't be disgusted by it and as you don't recoil in horror when you check in to a hotel that that has to be a good thing! The rooms: I would say I expected the rooms to be different after the decor of the hotel in the lobby and I guess it was because they seemed a little boring somehow - the lobby area had nice chairs and lots of art along with flowers...

frankiecesca 19.12.2008 (18.12.2008) · Read review
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Review of Hotel des Arts Montmartre, Paris

Wilson tries 'gothic' but loses the element of surprise

Advantages: realistic, mildly enjoyable
Disadvantages: predictable, dramatic event too sudden and unresolved

...This is the first Jacqueline Wilson book I have tried reading (as part of shadowing the ?Berkshire Book Award? and I have to admit that it was better than I?d anticipated. Wilson is famous for writing amazingly popular stories for young children, around 10-13, and has been honoured with many of the UK?s top awards for children?s books. She was also the Children?s Laureate for 2005-7 and was awarded an OBE in 2002. Obviously I was aware of her popularity, but I was convinced that her books were over-hyped, dull and simplistic. (These are the same reasons why I have never read any of the Harry Potter books.) ?My Sister Jodie? tells the story of two very different sisters: Pearl is shy/reserved and her sister Jodie is much more confident with a flair for getting in to trouble. The story is told from Pearl?s perspective, but Jodie...

brokenangelkisses 28.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of My Sister Jodie - Jacqueline Wilson

Charlie Wilson's War - Sheer Brilliance

Advantages: Engrossing, clever, an eye-opener.
Disadvantages: none

...Director: Mike Nichols Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin Book: George Crile Genre: Biography - Drama Country: USA Certification: 15+ Language: English Released: 5th May, 2008 (DVD) MAIN CAST: Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson) Amy Adams (Bonnie Bach) Julia Roberts (Joanne Herring) Philip Seymour Hoffman (Gust Avrakotos) In the early 1980's, the USA was smack in the middle of a cold war with Russia. While The USA was keeping a close watch on Russia's growing army and tensions were at there highest, the Russians invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to enrich themselves with the country's crude oil. Because Afghanistan did not have an acting army, it was down to the people to defend themselves against the Russians... not an easy task considering that they didn't have the necessary weapons to fight. With the Russians...

GoFigure 27.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Charlie Wilson's War (DVD)

Twin Tales by Jacqueline Wilson

Advantages: Great reading for all the family of all ages
Disadvantages: NA

...and suddenly Connie can swim like a mermaid. Jacqueline Wilson started working as a publisher and then went on to work as a journalist for D.C Thomson in Scotland where she heard and found JACKIE magazine. She has wrote THE STORY OF TRAY BAKER, THE SUITCASE KID, DOUBLE ACT, BAD GIRLS, THE DARE GAME, VICKY ANGEL, THE ILLUSTRATED MUM, DUSTBIN BABY, SECRETS, THE WORRY EBSITE, LOLA ROSE, MIDNIGHT, BEST FRIENDS, THE DIAMOUND GIRLS and CLEAN BREAK. Jacqueline has won several awards including the smarties prize,the sheffield childrens book award and the childrens book award. In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded an OBE for services to literacy, 2004 it was announced by the PLR that she was now the most borrowed author from public libraries in the UK, tipping off Catherine Cookson off the top spot after she was therefor 17 years. May 2005 Wilson was announced as...

Mazzy3 23.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Twin Tales - Jacqueline Wilson

Mari Wilson -The Platinum Collection

Advantages: First time on cd for many tracks
Disadvantages: pastiche agenda limits wider appeal

...Slightly more worthy than her solitary hit "Just What i Always Wanted "suggests,provided its approached and enjoyed as pure pastiche and indulgent nostalgic enjoyment,even in 1982 Mari Wilson was portrayed as nostalgic ,her 15 minuteds of fame arriving at the tail end of a post punk mod revival,the whole concept relied on and evoked an age that never quite was,stylish lyrics ,glamorous outfits and a showband mentality that recalled the glory days of The Supremes ,Lulu and Sandie Shaw all put together on a shoestring budget inSouth London at the turn of the eighties initially as a very appealing live draw along the lines of Paul Youngs Q-Tips with a little less sweat. The aforementioned hit single is fairly representative of the rest of this fantastically priced collection and its a minor mystery how she didnt achieve at least half...

terriano 26.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Platinum Collection, The - Mari Wilson

I think Laura Wilson is my new best friend

Advantages: A completely absorbing read
Disadvantages: None

...If you enjoy a good psychological crime novel that is written, well I am sure that, like me, you will really enjoy this book - My Best Friend by Laura Wilson. This is the third book written by Ms Wilson, and while crime novels aren't my favourite genre, I found this a remarkably well-written and absorbing book. This book is very unusual in the fact that it has three first person narrators as well diary entries from over fifty years ago and also includes excerpts from children's books. This sounds on first hearing that the book will be messy and hard to follow but Laura Wilson manages to integrate all these elements together into a dark, heart-rending story of a dysfunctional British family over a period of fifty years. The book takes place during and after World War Two and features two sisters, one a children's author...

oldchem 24.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of My Best Friend - Laura Wilson

The Art of Death

Advantages: Good second half, some interesting details
Disadvantages: Clunky plot, a bit meandering

...halfway through it was much better. The main character is Adelia - "The Mistress of the Art of Death" - i.e a forensic pathologist. Her struggle to conceal her profession is quite prominent in the plot as female doctors were unusual in the twelfth century. She is helping Simon of Naples discover the killer through the clues left on the bodies of the victims. I found this quite interesting although I'm not sure how realistic it would be in the twelfth century. The plot does wander a bit as it is so concerned with Adelia and her origins and training. The character of Rowley (the King's so-called tax inspector) is ok but the romance seems to have been thrown in as a bit of an afterthought and didn't add anything to the story for me. Mansur and Gyltha offered some light relief as the servants as did Gyltha's grandson Ulf. Simon of Naples was...

mogdred1 27.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin

Art Attack?

Advantages: Keeps the action going.
Disadvantages: Unoriginal, poor performances.

...74. Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992) This all feels a little like déjà vu, especially after watching American Ninja 3. Once again there is a fighting tournament in a tropical location. This time Rio De Janeiro. An American kickboxing champion, David Sloan, arrives with his sensei, Xian, in tow. On first sight Xian looked a little like Lee Van Cleef, or maybe that was the spectre of 1984 TV series Master Ninja repeating on me. Either way, it helps signify that this was the tale end of a long running era of budget American martial arts films and television shows. The first classic cliché comes quickly when the hapless heroes are mugged by a small Brazilian boy, Marcos, and his sister, Isabella. Naturally, after a long chase through the back alleys of Rio and the kicking of same random thugs, they befriend the knife wielding...

ThePolarOne 10.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of Kickboxer 3 - The Art Of War (DVD)

The Brutal Art - an incredible, gripping read

Advantages: Brilliant, gripping book
Disadvantages: You will need to break off to sleep!

...OK, first things first: this is an odd book. No, really. It spins a dark and wonderful yarn spanning generations, with a heavy hint of menace, long-lost family secrets, shadowy and controlling people and a love story. Whew! I'll try to explain what the book's about, but it's complicated, so bear with me, OK? There's a New York art dealer called Ethan Muller, who's fast becoming disillusioned with the artists he shows, the art collectors he sells to and the whole art world. He has a very complicated, not to say twisted, relationship with his father, with whom he mainly communicates via his father's long-term friend and employee, Tony. One day Tony tells him he's found some amazing drawings in an abandoned apartment in Queens. Ethan reluctantly agrees to look at the pictures and is stunned by what he finds: a "map of reality as...

Bitchqueenofneworleans 02.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Brutal Art - Jesse Kellerman