Advantages: Good fun, fantastic for an aviation enthusiast
Disadvantages: Revolves around aviation - you may prefer a different edition.

...As an avid fan of all things aviation and the undisputed monopoly champion amongst all of our friends, there was no better present to get my boyfriend last Christmas then Century of Flight Aviation Edition Monopoly! Over the years there have been many different variations of the classic board game on the market, from My First Monopoly to The Simpson's edition. Hasbro even offer personalised boards for the ultimate gift, but none of these were quite as apt for my boyfriend as the aviation edition. I first stumbled across the game when I was browsing a specialist aviation gift website (www.mypilotstore.com) just before Christmas. I managed to find a monopoly dealer on eBay and bought the game for £20. Century of Flight Aviation Edition Monopoly was actually created and distributed by USAopoly, an American company established... Read review

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Advantages: A insight into the life, work and illness of Howard Hughes
Disadvantages: Omits important facts. Drags in places.

...In 1976, Howard Hughes died a reclusive billionaire. For the last two decades, very little is known of his life. Not surprising as Hughes had bought himself a room which he never left. In fact, so changed was his appearance at his death fingerprints had to be taken to confirm his identity. Yet prior to this, Hughes was renowned as a dynamic moviemaker, aviator and playboy. So what happened to cause Hughes to withdraw from society and his famous lifestyle? “The Aviator” is a biographical look Hughes dramatic life highlighting some of his achievements and disasters illustrating the impact these had on Hughes. The film hints (oh so well) at Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Toretts Syndrome through a combination of superb filming, perceptive acting and an astute script. The film opens with a flashback of Hughes as a young boy being... Read review

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Advantages: Rewards fairly generous and not over-restrictive
Disadvantages: TWA has only one departure per day from UK

...Although I fly anywhere only occasionally today, for many years I flew very frequently. When Frequent Flyer programmes were introduced I signed up to several. TWA's FFB (re-named Aviators a few years ago) offering was most attractive, especially during "Fare Wars" when they sometimes awarded double and triple miles for economy bookings. These promos encouraged me to use TWA. The airline is best described as "plain vanilla", at least in economy. Staff are matter of fact rather than attentive, on transatlantic flights the attendants are mainly female and of mature years. This means that they know what they're doing and can cope readily with most eventualities. Don't expect dolly birds, haute cuisine or fancy gee-gaws. Puctuality is pretty good and the only flight out of GB is the non-stop to St Louis, with connections to everywhere... Read review

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Advantages: Stunning read, excellent penmanship and good use of very gritty descripive language
Disadvantages: None

...The Sonja Blue Chronicles This trilogy of books (Sunglasses after Dark, In The Blood, Paint It Black) encompass a very interesting concept; a vampire hunter who herself is a vampire. This is a review of the first book of this trilogy. Sunglasses after Dark opens with Sonja Blue’s (the principal character) incarceration in the high security ward of the Elysian Fields mental asylum. Unconsciously she slips into the nightmares of both the inmates and warders, perhaps to unrealisingly feed off the tortured emotions being paraded in these nightmares. This is not a vampire novel of the normal mould. The main character displays features of the normal vampire we know via the mainstream mediums of literature and film i.e. fangs and amazing strength, but in addition she can reach into the minds of others to read their thoughts... Read review

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Advantages: Fantastic acting
Disadvantages: Very long and drawn out

...Dramatisation of the life of Hollywood film mogul and aviation enthusiast Howard Hughes. Focussing on the years between the late 1920s and 1940s, both Hughes' professional and personal lives are explored, including his dalliances with Katharine Hepburn and Ava Gardner. I found this film very interesting, but rather disturbing at times, Howard Hughes 's(Dicaprio) battle with OCC disorder and other mental health issues was sometimes difficult to watch and did bring a few tears to my eyes. This film begins with Hughes making a film which was to cost millions, when the film is finished with excellent reviews, Huges turns to aircraft design. The films goes through the life and loves of Howard Hughes and his Struggle with mental health disorders. Dicaprio really captures the eccentric millionaire's golden-boy essence, and his tragic... Read review

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Advantages: Very entertaining, some good performances, great special effects
Disadvantages: As long as a transcontinental flight (almost)

...This is a mountain of a movie about a mountain of a man. Howard Hughes was one of the US's richest men, but he was also completely nuts. If ever there was proof that genius and insanity go hand in hand, Hughes was it. This is a very long movie. At 170 minutes, it goes into quite a bit of detail, but I was more struck by some of the bits it left out. For example, the film highlighted Hughes's confrontation with Senator Brewster, portrayed as quite a nasty piece of work, but it didn't delve into his co-operation with Senator McCarthy (whose ally Brewster was) in his notorious witch hunt. It leaves viewers with a more noble impression of Hughes than was really the case. I think that about half an hour could have been easily cut out by deleting whole scenes (for example a scene with the Hepburn family and one in which he takes... Read review

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Advantages: see below
Disadvantages: see above

...I know: Please, not another sequel, come up with something original, will you? That's what I usually think as well. But with the second instalment of Men in Black it's kinda different. I like Jay and Kay, and there's something about them that makes me want to see more of their adventures. The tricky part was to get this to work. After all, Kays memory had been erased at the end of the first part, and the authors had to come up with something that requires his presence. Years ago, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) screwed up. That's hard to believe, as Kay is a true legend among the MiB. But even The Man cannot resist true love, and when he had found the woman that would change his life, he made a decision that could put our planet in jeopardy, and kept the Light of Zartha (don't ask, it doesn't matter anyway) on Earth instead of getting... Read review

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Advantages: The first is good the sequel is even better
Disadvantages: Second may be a little long for some

...Wow. Simply wow. Call me backwards but after catching bits of X-Men on TV quite some time ago I didn't think anything of it, but then when I received X-Men 2 as a gift and watched that I had to rush out and buy X-Men to watch it properly. And boy was it good. Now I mean call me backwards because of the order I watched the films in, not because I thought X-Men was geeky. But if X-Men is still geeky then call me a geek, but the comic and cartoon series going Hollywood has set it on the map as a credible franchise. Both films are 12 certificates, with the sequel being just over 2 hours compared to the first 100 minutes. Where to start? The beginning. X-Men. X-Men 1. Here we are introduced to Wolverine, who just so happens to be the most recognisable X-Man so it was a good place for the director to start. He is still trying to put... Read review

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Advantages: Great films great action sequences
Disadvantages: a few of the cartoons charectors were missing

...The X-men are a group of the most legondary and famous super heroes ever. X-men 1.5 has some extra footage and some bounus material that was never origonally in the version released at the cinema. This is great as it gives a slight bit of extra knowledge to the stories and shows you more about what is happening. X-men 1.5. The world is being divided into two very different groups those that are 'normal' and those that are evolving mutants. These mutants all have individual and extrordinary abbilities, however there are two groups of people the X-men those that wish to use their powers for the greater good of humanity to help the planet. Lead by Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) the x-men are the same as the comics Storm, cyclops, Jean Grey and of course wolverine. They are against Magnetos group those that would kill humans... Read review

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Advantages: Spoilt for choice
Disadvantages: Long wait

...For me the sunglasses trend really began last year, and since then they have grown and grown as a must have fashion accessory. Drunk last summer, I remember (in a daze) wondering around Cambs as the England game was displayed on a large screen for the whole of the green to enjoy and trying on a strangers big sunglasses, because obviously if you're going to buy sunglasses in 2006/07 they HAVE to be big. That settled it, whether the ones I tried on were for girls or not, I looked good and what someone else can do I have to do bigger and better - it's just my nature. And so began my search for the perfect sunglasses. I don't think it is fair to say I look up to celebrities and that they are my idols, but there are some things that celebrities do fashion wise that does impact me. That doesn't mean a celebrity is my hero. Obviously... Read review

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