RBS Six Nations Championship
The 11th Annual Six Nations Championship sees rugby union teams of England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France and Italy locked in a battle to win the coveted Six Nations cup, with matches held in major stadiums in all six countries from 6th February to 20th March 2010.
This is a chance to support your team at home or abroad as the countries of the northern hemisphere will play some of the most competitive and exciting rugby matches ever throughout February and March. Tickets are available for matches in Croke Park Eire, Twickenham Stadium London, Murrayfield Stadium Edinburgh, Millennium Stadium Wales, Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France and Stadio Flaminio in Rome, Italy with prices ranging from £44.31 to £215, depending on location of seat.
Can Ireland win a Grand Slam title again in 2010 or will a rampant England hold on to the record for winning the most points and return to the glory days of 2003? Will Wales snatch victory back from the Irish or France return to their winning form or maybe Scotland and Italy will upset the odds and confound expectations? Crowds can expect more of the same suspense, trauma, indescribable triumphs, bitter defeats and surprises that were experienced at the 2009 championship.
As a cultural and social occasion, the matches offer a wonderful opportunity to see the sights of some of the greatest cities in the world with a host of entertainments, restaurants, cafes and bars on offer. All this and the chance to watch international rugby played to the highest standard too –what more could you possibly wish for?
Lovebox London Weekender
“You can’t beat London as the hippest place on the planet, the Lovebox Weekender is proof of that,” says DJ, Gilles Peterson.
In July this year, the newly expanded site hosted more than 50,000 people in mid July to view some of the best music on the scene from genres including indie, disco-punk, folk, world, rock, hip hop and electronic. Delivered from dramatic sets and stages, the performances were delivered by bands like festival founders, Groove Armada, Duran Duran, hip hop band N.E.R.D., Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires and Ladyhawke.
Despite being set in the heart of the city the overall space adds to the whole experience of the festival with gourmet food and drink stalls, specially designed venues and buildings with hidden corners and leafy vantage points from which to view the stage.
And as winner of the Best Medium Sized Festival in the UK Festival Awards 2008 it isn’t surprising that Lovebox London Weekender is becoming one of the essential events on the London cultural calendar.
Set in Victoria Park bordering Bethnal Green, Hackney and Bow, the event has become synonymous with cool urban happenings and super-charged rock and roll and dance.
Ultrasonic Sensor Parking Alert
It’s never easy reversing into a garage, especially if it’s full of accumulated junk.
The Ultrasonic Sensor Parking Alert guides you straight in with flashing lights and stops you in the right position. Once you’ve used it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.
Consisting of a Sensor Module which is mounted on the wall at bumper height and a Display Module sited on the wall within easy visibility of the driver, the sensor works ultrasonically to detect when a vehicle is near, monitoring its speed and distance. This causes the yellow light on the Display Module to flash slowly, getting faster and faster as the vehicle reaches the optimum position when the light will change to continual red. You can choose from three different stopping distances at one, two or three feet away from the wall.
Additional features include screws or hook and loop tape, a low battery indicator and auto shut-off after 15 seconds with the 4 AA batteries lasting for up to one year.
DormVault Laptop Safe
A foolproof method to prevent anyone stealing your laptop, the DormVault Laptop Safe not only ensures it stays exactly where you left it but it will prevent flatmates or family from abusing it with their playlists and losing your documents in the process.
Made out of rugged steel, the safe will hold a 17 inch laptop and accessories. With mounting brackets, multiple-size bolts, wingnuts and a combination lock that fastens the laptop to furniture, no-one (with the possible exception of Houdini) will be able to get into it, or move it for that matter.
There’s additional room for valuables like iPods, cell phones, digital cameras, cash or jewellery in the door space. No tools are required to attach the safe to items of furniture and its bracket construction consists of a bracket arm and two inside fastening, locked nut and bolt assemblies. Designed specifically with the student in mind, the safe is lightweight at 11 pounds and can be fitted easily into tight spaces.
The Proposal is out on DVD
This light-hearted rom-com is just what the doctor prescribed – it’ll lift your spirits, put a smile on your face and make you think the world is a better place.
Starring Sandra Bullock as Margaret, a tyrannical New York editor and Ryan Reynolds as Andrew, her hard-done-by but placid assistant, The Proposal is a refreshing and undemanding tonic.
When Margaret suddenly faces deportation because of a lapsed visa, she decides that the only way to save her high-powered and successful career is by faking an engagement and who better to choose than her doormat of an assistant, Andrew who has been employed for three years as her executive punchbag?
Andrew hatches a plan of his own however and agrees only on the basis that he’ll receive a deserved promotion to editorship. The plot thickens as an immigration official smells as rat and in order to make their story convincing the “happy couple” have to head off to attend Andrew’s grandmother’s 90th birthday party at the family home in Alaska. As the New York City professional is plunged into the wilds of Alaska, there’s plenty of fish-out-of-water comedy and pathos too, bolstered by a strong supporting case of Andrew’s dad (Craig T. Nelson), mother (Mary Steenburgen) and the feisty grandmother (former Golden Girl Betty White). With a liberal helping of slap-stick humour and farcical situations and entanglements (naked ones), Margaret’s hard persona gradually begins to melt as Andrew becomes more assertive.
With the star of the American version of The Office Oscar Nunez, also making an appearance as a vicar who works as a stripper by night, there’s laughs and gags galore through-out the film, but whether The Proposal ends up in a walk down the aisle or not is another question.
The Time Traveler's Wife - romantic movie
Based on the 2003 best-selling book by Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s wife is a story of true love that transcends time. If that sounds corny, here’s the practical part – it’s due for release on 8th February 2010 at a RRP of £19.99.
Clare (Rachel McAdams) and Henry (Eric Bana) are in love but there is a problem – Henry is a time traveller who has a genetic abnormality that means he shifts back and forth through his lifespan at random. Hence Henry visits his wife during various stages of her life, meeting her first when she is only six years old, so she grows up knowing that he is her one true love even though he meets her chronologically when he’s 28 – oh, it’s complicated - you’ll have to see it yourself!
The film rights were optioned by Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B entertainment even before the book was published and screenwriter Jeremy Leven was hired to convert the story to screen with director Robert Schwentke taking on the project in 2006.
Filming didn’t start until late 2007 due to the fact that Eric Bana had a shaved head for Star Trek, but don’t think about that when you’re watching. It’s probably one of the most romantic movies of all time; The Time Traveler’s Wife is sad, it’s happy at the same time, it’s very confusing - but we promise, you will weep buckets.
Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
The hilarious animated comedy continues in a Griffin family meets Star Wars spoof, exclusively released on DVD and Blue-ray on 28th December 2009.
The limited edition disc comes with a T-shirt, collector cards and free digital copy. This hour-long episode is a sequel to the Star Wars Parody, Blue Harvest that took spoof to a new level, and is to be followed by a further Star Wars spoof, We Have a Bad Feeling About This.
Characters from the cult cartoon are transformed into slightly cooler characters from the movie who are shown from a different perspective. In this episode, Luke Skywalker (Chris Griffin), Princess Leia (Lois), Chewbacca (Brian) and Han Solo (Peter Griffin) have been pursued by the Imperial Starfleet and their evil master, Lord Darth Vader (Stewie Griffin) to the planet Hoth. Luke has a vision of his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Herbert), who tells him to go to the planet Dagobah and learn of the ways of the “Farce” from the Jedi Master Yoda (Carl). But after he has a further vision of the Empire capturing his friends he decides to go and save the galaxy instead. Meanwhile Princess Leia finds herself falling in love with the pilot Han Solo (Peter Griffin).
Some have said this is the funniest version of Family Guy so far.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game for Xbox 360
Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!!! After 25 years, a video game has been released to celebrate the anniversary of one of the most popular films in history, retailing at £39.99.
It’s a measure of how good the film was that the game seems as fresh and funny as ever. Featuring the voices and likenesses of most of the original cast members; Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson, the new script was penned by the writers of the first screenplay, Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis and with the same laconic humour, the banter between cast members will have you smiling … nay … guffawing, even as you reach for your proton pack.
Set two years after Ghostbusters ll, the storyline is original yet manages to replicate most of the iconic scenes from the movie including the New York library and players journey through cemeteries, museums and otherworldly dimensions re-encountering some of the film’s famous ghouls like Slimer, the terror dogs, Vigo and everyone’s favourite – the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. We’re also introduced to some pretty creepy new apparitions and phantoms and the game features great music, impressive sound effects and responsive control.
The aim is to save New York from being overrun by supernatural forces (again) and the player joins the Ghostbusters themselves as the rookie member of the team. Using the same gadgets from the movies, including proton packs, particle throwers, ghost locating PKE meter and that accessory no-one should be without - the Ecto-goggles - you can also chase down the ghosts in the Ecto-1 vehicle or weaken and trap them with your proton pack via four different modes . Weapons are upgradeable and the highly detailed environments are destructible so wreak as much carnage as you like but be aware that the cost of the damage is counted in dollars.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square
Hold on to your squarepants for the ultimate in game from SpongeBob and his friend. OK, so, it’s meant to be for kids but adults love it as well. SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square is in celebration of the tenth anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants and offers fans a chance to relive some of the best moments from SpongeBob’s life.
When Mr Krabs and his friends plan to celebrate the eleventy seventh anniversary of the Krusty Krab, Mr Krab asks SpongeBob to guard the top-secret recipe for the Krabby Patty but… surprise, surprise… SpongeBob loses it. He enlists the help of Plankton to find it whose ulterior motive is to keep the formula for himself. The only way SpongeBob can find the recipe in time for the anniversary party is by using Plankton’s memory machine for him and players to relive the ten happiest and hilarious moments of his life.
Kids (or you) can play as SpongeBob on their own or with a friend playing as Plankton as they run, jump or spin through twelve exciting levels. Each one takes players back in time to one of SpongeBob’s memorable moments from the show i.e. when he became a fry cook or met Sandy for the first time. There may be a bit of strenuous battling involved in order to fell some of the supersized opponents which include legions of Plankton’s robots, but with SpongeBob’s amazing new morphing abilities including the Sledgehammer Smash, Spatula Slam, Waterbob Sponge or Explosive Cannon, he’ll be able to whack, hose, stun or blast ‘em out of the way. Visiting some of SpongeBob Squarepants favourite locations from Jellyfish Fields to Rock Bottom and downtown Bikini Bottom, there are plenty of stimulating puzzle challenges to play on the way. For ages of three and over SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square retails at £29.99.
Assassin's Creed ll
Assassin’s Creed ll is Ubisoft’s follow up to the fastest selling new IP in video game history, Assassin’s Creed, and is available to buy at prices from £39.99.
The game uses the same gameplay style as its predecessor but now there are added features with a stronger emphasis on open-world exploration, greater interaction, nonlinear gameplay and more variety in missions. There’s also a new improved in-game economy. The protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young Italian noble come assassin, is also more clearly delineated as a character. In fact he’s a bit of a lady’s man who possesses a certain panache and some endearingly human traits.
The location is new too, set against the beautiful backdrop of Renaissance Italy in the 15th century, the action follows an epic story of corruption, conspiracy and brutal murder as Ezio strives to exact revenge for the deaths of his family members.
As in Assassin’s Creed, the story revolves around the Animus, the machine that views the memories of the ancestors of Desmond Miles in 2012, who comes from a long line of assassins. The action features some challenging experiences as through Ezio, the player becomes a master assassin and learns how to brandish weapons, disarm enemies and use their weapons against them, helped or hindered on the way by real-life historic characters. These include Machiavelli, Pope Alexander Vl and Leonardo da Vinci, who acts as a kind of Q figure from James Bond, providing miraculous inventions such as flying machines to assist Ezio to use on his mission.
There’s a welcome return to free running with added swimming and flying. With a more deeply and finely tuned combat system players roam through Venice, Tuscany and Florence using a host of new weapons created by Leonardo including swords, poison blades, miniature firearms, cutlasses, maces, spears and daggers. There’s even a database that gives information on historical figures and landmarks. It’s a game that combines an absorbing storyline with superb graphics and thrilling action and it’s waiting to be played by you.