Forbidden Kingdom: at cinemas from 11 July... SHOT ON LOCATION IN CHINA, THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM marks the historic first-ever on-screen pairing of martial arts superstars Jackie Chan (the Rush Hour series) and Jet Li (Fearless, The One) and features the awe-inspiring action choreo-graphy of Woo-Ping Yuen (Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). While hunting down bootleg kung-fu DVDs in a China-town pawnshop, Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano (24, Will and Grace, Seabiscuit) makes an extraordinary discovery that sends him hurtling back in time to ancient China. There, Jason is charged with a monu-mental task: he must free the fabled warrior the Monkey King, who has been imprisoned by the powerful Jade Warlord. Jason is joined in his quest by wise kung fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and a band of misfit warriors including Silent Monk (Jet Li). But only by learning the true precepts of kung fu can Jason hope to succeed — and find a way to get back home. After claiming the Number One slot at the North American Box Office (it took an estimated $20.9 million during its first three days), The Forbidden Kingdom is set to be released in cinemas across the UK by Lionsgate UK on July 11 2008. Watch the trailers: Real | Windows | Quicktime. |
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Get carried away for Sex in the City with Netflights.com... SEX IN THE CITY IS BACK, but this time the girls are on the big screen. Inspired by Candace Bushnell's column in the New York Observer, the movie continues to follow the trials and tribulations of successful author and fashion icon Carrie Bradshaw and her friends. Four years on and they're still struggling to balance work with relationships, marriage and motherhood — whilst still searching for the perfect Jimmy Choo's. Ahead of this month's greatly-anticipated movie release, why not visit the Manhattan hotspots frequented by Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, the hit show's main characters. Pop into Magnolia Bakery, the cupcake store where Miranda went for her sugar fix; visit the Gallery where Charlotte works; check out Soho House, the members-only club Samantha was ejected from; or explore Carrie's apartment stoop. Many famous New York landmarks also make an appearance including Madison Square Gardens, Central Park, the Globe and Staten Island Ferry. Netflights.com can offer three-night weekend breaks at the five-star Jumeirah Essex House in New York from Ł699 per person. Price includes return flights with British Airways from London Heathrow, 3 nights accommodation with breakfast on a twin share basis and pre-payable taxes, valid for departures 1 May- 30 June 2008. Or treat yourself to business class flights with business-only carrier Silverjet, 3 nights from only Ł1,499 per person (valid for departures 1 May- 30 June 2008). Check out www.netflights.com. |
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a2om joins forces with Thames Valley Police to set up the UK’s first ‘Young Driver Scheme’... A2OM, THE REVOLUTION IN YOUNG DRIVER TRAINING and the UK's first university-affiliated driving academy, has joined forces with Thames Valley Police in developing a ground-breaking 'Young Driver Scheme'. This is a unique education scheme for drivers under 25 caught committing moving road traffic offences. The scheme is commended by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, GCVO, who visited Thames Valley Police at Three Mile Cross, Roads Policing base last month to see the scheme in action and to hear firsthand experiences of young people currently involved. The new scheme heavily features a2om's pioneering e-learning technology designed to re-educate and greatly improve the attitude of young drivers and young driving offenders. The 'Young Driver Scheme' is available in the Thames Valley area and is set to revolutionise young driver development and education together with re-educating, empowering and rehabilitating young offenders into becoming safer drivers on our roads. aČom's syllabus was chosen for its outstanding and advanced technological content. The course uses aČom's ground breaking e-learning technology — called 'a2om highway' — to help address key issues not usually covered in driver training. The course will use a PC interface element which requires students to respond to scenarios of risky scenarios as they would in real driving situations, including night driving and different weather conditions. The use of e-learning allows the scheme to be spread over a number of weeks rather than being delivered in a single 'brain dump' session, which research says can have a negative effect on information retention. However, a more longitudinal approach has been shown in other areas of education to greatly improve retention and e-learning is fast becoming young people's learning medium of choice. The use of specific e-learning approaches also encourages participants to reflect upon and 'own' their attitudes towards driving, and regularly review these attitudes as the course progresses. Every year 1,000 people aged 16-18 are injured on Thames Valley roads and an average of 7 young people per week are killed or seriously injured. These figures are reflective of the type of journeys young drivers make which are often regarded as 'social events' by the participants and include peer pressure, thrill seeking, alcohol and drugs. The course will target crash causation factors where young drivers are over-represented such as overtaking, poor hazard perception and poor safety margins. HRH Prince Michael of Kent, Patron of the Global Road Safety Commission said that he was "delighted to endorse aČom's involvement with the Thames Valley Police initiatives. I commend both parties for leading the way in road safety and young driver advancement." Gary Austin, Chairman of aČom academy and former head of the Driving Standards Agency said: "These are exciting developments within the road safety and young driver arena, and aČom is delighted to be working with Thames Valley Police who are so pioneering in this field. There is a great synergy between both of our initiatives and my belief is that aČom has developed an academy of excellence globally for teaching people how to drive safely for the rest of their lives, which fits perfectly with the Thames Valley Police approach." Check out www.a2om.com. About a2om — Based on 20 years' of driver behaviour research and development at leading universities, the a2om curriculum tailors tuition to the specific needs of the individual, offering bespoke driver education. Established in 2005, a2om is the UK's first university-affiliated safe driving academy committed to raising the standard of driving education across the UK. The a2om academy course is tailored to meet individual requirements and enable the learner to develop safe driving skills for life. The a2om curriculum delivers 92 hours of in-car, classroom and online sessions from the top instructors in the country. a2om is affiliated with Cranfield and Waikato University. |
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City Showcase returns to London on 2nd June... THE CITY SHOWCASE FESTIVAL CRANKS UP THE VOLUME this year with a series of delectable rock/indie driven nights, bringing you the future stars of tomorrow, today. Renowned for discovering the best in new music, City Showcase has in the past introduced us to the likes of Hot Chip, Scouting For Girls, Razorlight, Keane and Newton Faulkner. Back by popular demand for a sixth consecutive year, 2008 sees them once again serving up a hair-raising feast of tasty music shenanigans. For rock and indie fans, the highlight of the festival will be the series of hotly-tipped City Showcase gig nights over at The Metro. If you missed the hi-octane live shows of South Africa's finest export, The Parlotones, fret not as the boys from Johannesburg will take the stage as they kick off the Billboard series of Global Pulse International nights. Kahn Morbee and his crew will indulge you with a rousing night of sing-a-long hits taken off their latest album — radiocontrolledrobot — after support from Canadian indie trio, Land of Talk. Also at The Metro will be the Xfm Rock and Indie Nights, hosted by Xfm including DJ presenter John Kennedy. These will feature heavy-duty acts such as When Gravity Fails, Twin Atlantic, We Are Ocean as well as introducing the new indie heroes of tomorrow. Names to watch out for are Franko, The Young Republic, The Law and Slashed Seat Affair. Hotly-tipped New Zealanders Ragamuffin Children, Over The Atlantic, Batrider and The O'Lovelys also take the stage of the Metro for a night celebrating the music of New Zealand presented by Billboard. Legendary venue The Borderline will also play host to Global Pulse's Billboard Swedish Rock Night featuring what's new and fresh in the Scandinavian rock scene with bands like Hell & Diesel, Mustasch and Babylon Bombs. A mere bus ride away, the City Showcase/RSW alternative night will be taking place at indie dive Lark in the Park with bands like The Recoil, De Shamonix, The Veez and many more! If all of that's not enough to whet your insatiable musical appetites, the City Showcase will team up once more with John Kennedy to present to you Xposure Live at Barfly in Camden. Featuring Aussie electro-indie bad boys, Midnight Juggernaut, the entire show will be broadcast live on Xfm. Having played with the likes of Justice, Holy Fuck, Crystal Castles and Klaxons, Rolling Stone Magazine has described the Juggernauts as "David Bowie if his Berlin Trilogy was collaboration with Kraftwerk and Faust." These guys certainly look set to sizzle! And if you're still up for a party, there's the Fringe night in association with Dead or Alive Friday over at The Metro Club, which will see raw, soon-to-be-signed bands like Rogue Satellites and The Perks take the stage. Winding down from the blood, sweat and beers of the alt rock and indie nights, the friendly folk at City Showcase have also roped in a bunch of uber cool stores around Carnaby Street and Regent Street to play host to a series of unplugged events taking place in-store during the day. Participating outlets include Miss Sixty/Energie, Henri Lloyd, Hugo Boss, Hilfiger Denim, Vans, The Apple Store, Lee Jeans, Animal, C'est Ici, Zebrano, Jaeger, Timberland, Nokia, Zavvi and G-Star. City Showcase attracts people and artists from all over the world. For five days last June, music fans flocked to central London to witness 400 artists across all music genres perform at 35 different venues. From midday to midnight they mingled, browsed, shopped and listened to great live music. With venues ranging from Carnaby Street's hippest fashion boutiques to St Giles-in-the-Fields Church and The Astoria the locations for the 5-day event promise to be as diverse as its many artists. City Showcase returns to London on 2 June and everyone is invited!! For more information or to book tickets please visit www.city showcase.co.uk. A Ł5 wristband gets you access to all gigs at The Metro, The Borderline and Lark in the Park. For Xposure Live at The Barfly, special discount deals will be available at the door with the wristband on a first-come-first-served basis. This will also apply to Friday night at The Metro with Dead or Alive where there will be discounted entry for those with wristbands on the door. Other discount gigs at The Fly and Barfly are to be announced. Other offers available with the wrist band include: The Apple Store: for those of you registering for the workshops at The Apple Store there is a special offer. The first five registered attendees of each City Showcase workshop held at the store who check in at the workshop registration desk with a City Showcase wrist band will receive TEN FREE downloads from the iTunes store. Monday 2 June Global Pulse Billboard International Night with The Parlotones and Land of Talk | 19:30hrs | The Metro City Showcase/RSW Alternative Rock Night | 19:30hrs | Lark in the Park Xposure Live with Midnight Juggernauts and South Central | 20:00hrs | Barfly Tuesday 3 June City Showcase Daytime Unplugged | 13:00-18:00hrs | Various stores Xfm Rock Night with Franko, Twin Atlantic, We Are Ocean and When Gravity Falls | 19:30hrs | The Metro Club City Showcase/RSW Alternative Rock Night | 19:30hrs | Lark in the Park Wednesday 4 June City Showcase Daytime Unplugged | 13:00-18:00hrs | Various stores Billboard's Global Pulse New Zealand night With Ragamuffin Children, Over The Atlantic, Batrider, The O'Lovelys | 19:30hrs | The Metro Club Thursday 5 June City Showcase Daytime Unplugged | 13:00-18:00hrs | Various stores Global Pulse Billboard Swedish Night with Hell & Diesel, Mustasch, Babylon Bombs | 19:30hrs | The Borderline Xfm Indie Night with The Law, The Young Republic and Slashed Seat Affair | 19:30hrs | The Metro Club Friday 6 June City Showcase Daytime Unplugged | 13:00-18:00hrs| Various stores Dead or Alive Friday | 19:30hrs | The Metro Club. |
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car: Daihatsu's funky Materia 
cd: Russian superstar Sergey's new single Girlfriend due out in June
book: Lamborghini Today