Pompeii

If you have not yet found the time to visit Pompeii then I suggest you put it on your list of places to visit.  Whilst you're there check out Napoli for some of, if not the best pizza you will ever eat, and the stunning Costiera Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast), just try and explore more than the standard tourist places for a far more interesting experience.

Pompeii itself is an incredibly interesting place to visit, all the time you are in the shadow of Vesuvius, which hopefully you can find the time to visit.  Then imagine that the volcano you are seeing was once much taller and one giant feature on the landscape.  Take the time to explore and in the summer be prepared for the heat.  

Pompeii the film is set in the last days of the now famous town.  The plot is, much like Titanic is very predictable and so it should be no surprise to you that the Volcano erupts and the town is destroyed.  The effects put into the film are certainly impressive and give you some idea of what it could have been like.

"A slave-turned-gladiator finds himself in a race against time to save his true love, who has been betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts, he must fight to save his beloved as Pompeii crumbles around him." IMDB

If you haven't seen it yet it will be one of the first films in next terms Geography Film club, you can write your own review if you like to be shared here.  In the meantime have a look at the movie trailers below.

Star Wars Weather

You can't have failed to notice Star Wars, the Force has well and truly awakened.  Even the streets of Bucharest are adorned with the faces of Storm Troopers.  Can you find all the Storm Trooper locations?  This one was lurking near Unirii.

Even the weather presenters are getting in on the act.  Check out this effort from the UK.

If you wanted to continue exploring more of Star Wars you could think about the different environments encountered in the films, what are they like?  How are they formed?  How would you survive there?  There is even a Star Wars app which right now is telling me the weather in Retford is like Kamino, so what is the weather like for me?

Into the Storm

I finally got round to watching this film over the weekend having picked it up in on a trip to one of the many malls in Bucharest.
I was really keen to see the film based on the trailer to see how they show the effects of a tornado.

The film focuses on a school teacher and his two sons, they cross paths with a group of storm chasers who are attempting to film the eye of a tornado.  Throw in a couple of amateur storm chasers with a go-pro and a truck for some light relief and there's enough to keep you entertained during the film.

Often disaster films are not 100% accurate, read back to the post on San Andreas for one example.  So how do Tornadoes form?  There is a great TED video which explains the conditions needed that you can watch below.

Have you seen the film?  What did you think?  Would you like to earn extra house points by writing a review?  Post a comment or email me to get earning those points.

You can see I also picked up Pompei staring 24's Kiefer Sutherland and the man who knows nothing from Game of Thrones.  I haven't had time to watch this one yet but I will add a post soon.

San Andreas... "Rock solid or a bit faulty?"

Year 7 went out to the mall 2 weeks ago to watch The Rock take on Mother Nature and the San Andreas Fault as California faces one of it's biggest fears, no not The Rock trying to act but a giant earthquake.

You can watch the trailer below as well as find out more about the film in general from the IMDB link and the films official site.  From here you can find the game Earthquake Heroes a link to learn what to do in the event of an earthquake,

You may find this article interesting as the science behind the film is discussed.  What did you think of the film?