Jordan

Bruna Guedes

Husain Kothari

FRNK

Uendi Prifti

Abdul Hasib

Loughlin Sullivan

Delaney Knopp

Auriel W

Blake Molmen

Dani Shahar

Luis Javier Campos nieto

Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption. Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten- pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Vin, the street urchin who has grown into the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire. Three separate armies attack. As the siege tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

I can't remember being this violently conflicted about a book in quite some time. There are some areas where it's just so well done, with the author absolutely nailing it, and then others where I found myself grinding my teeth in frustration. I'm going to abandon my usual practice of writing short, pithy reviews and just drunkenly ramble on a few things here. (Still no spoilers, though.) That OK with y'all?Language. About two and a half chapters into this book, I found myself asking, "Why does this feel like a kids' fantasy book?" It wasn't the subject material or the plot, both of which are much more sophisticated than Harry Potter and his ilk. While I would feel perfectly comfortable having a 12-year old read this PG13-violent and utterly asexual book, I don't feel as though it's necessarily written for tweens. Finally it occurred to me: it's the language. This book is one of the most simply written books I've ever read, using only the most basic vocabulary. That isn't a bad thing, as I'd rather read something direct and simple than something flowery and overwritten, but Sanderson's language is so simple here that it's almost as if he's drawing with the Crayola 16-set when other authors have the big 64. (One notable exception: having apparently become recently enamored of the word, he uses maladroitly at least three times. Maybe he was jamming some Weezer while he wrote.) I haven't read any of his other works (yet; Mistborn #2 is on deck), but I have to assume this simplicity is by conscious choice, and it's an interesting choice at that. I'm just not sure yet how I feel about it.One language choice that I am sure how I feel about is Sanderson's decision to have his characters speak good old American English. The narration is similarly plainspoken, with a fair amount of American slang thrown in, rather than the twee, faux-Elizabethan style of a lot of fantasy authors. I like the approach. One of the most time-honored fantasy tropes is having all the characters thee and thou each other, with a few ne'er did yon stars of Yomama glimmer so resplendently, my suzerain for good measure. And I can handle that stuff, having been weaned on Tolkien and everything that came after, but I found Sanderson's decision to move away from that convention refreshing. I interpreted it as Sanderson saying, "The unspoken assumption here is that this book has been translated from whatever languages they speak on this made-up world, so why translate it to anything other than what is most understandable and comfortable for you to read? To couch this story in funky language is to insult your imagination by implying that you need that in order to realize you're reading a fantasy novel."Setting and Plot. The setting is a typical high fantasy world - feudal-style nobility and peasantry; shadowy, powerful priesthood; mysterious evil lord, etc. - with some odd, almost steampunk flourishes thrown in. There are wristwatches. Men's formal wear is described as something more like Victorian coat and tails than medieval garb. Magic in this world is fueled by elemental and alloyed metals, which are described rather exactly, using percentages. It's a unique and interesting blend.The basic plot is about as stock as it gets. If you're familiar with the Star Wars films, the Harry Potter or Percy Jackson books, Eragon, the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy, Dune, Ender's Game, or any one of about a million other works, please play Mad Libs with me:Dear [kid with weird name], I know you are only a [farmer / orphan / urchin / child of a minor noble], and this will be hard for you to accept, but you [have Great Powers / are the Chosen One / insert name of funky power here]. You are the only one who can [save the world / save the universe / defeat the Empire / restore order to the Force / kill the Big Boss]. Luckily, even though you just learned your destiny fifteen minutes ago, you will make up for lost time by quickly becoming better than anyone in the history of ever at [Quidditch / dragon riding / sandworm riding / Allomancy]. Any questions?Needless to say, the book's plot could have been a ticket to Hack City, but it really isn't. Vin's growth and development are handled well.Exposition. This is a fantasy book for the video game generation. By that, I mean that the book follows the general path of a first person RPG:1) Introduction to the world and the main characters2) A few early levels whose only apparent purpose is to teach the player how to use the buttons3) Quests of increasing difficulty, with progressive reveals of the Big Plot4) Fight with the Main Boss, including the inevitable twist5) Denouement and teaser for the next installment.Not that that's a bad thing! But I was really surprised at the way Allomancy (the main "magic" in this world) was laid out. In the two towering fantasy/sci-fi works of the 20th century, The Lord of the Rings and Dune, the supernatural elements of the story operated behind a sort of curtain or screen. The One Ring in LotR and the spice Melange in Dune both held great, mysterious powers, but the specific effects and extent of those powers were seen only in fits and flashes, and never understood completely by the characters or the reader. In contrast, fairly early in this book, Kelsier takes Vin on a practice run where he explains how her powers work and what their advantages and limitations are, using plain language and real-world physics, and lets her fly and mess around and just generally exult in her magic. It left me, the reader, as well as Vin the character, feeling that even if we didn't understand this magic perfectly right now, we might at some point in the future, which was a very different feel.OK, after enough rambling about things I feel ambivalently about, let's wrap up with one big win and one big fail:WIN: Brandon Sanderson can write the hell out of an action scene. (And since the final quarter of this book is pretty much all action, playing directly into Sanderson's strengths, it kicks all kinds of ass.) The fights in this book are gut-wrenching without being overly gory, and the chases and sneaks are heart-stopping as well. Perfect combination of pace and detail. Amazing. Possibly the best I've ever read from an author in this genre, and if he's able to do that so effortlessly, so early in his career, it gives me hope that he can fix...FAIL: ...the dialogue. In spite of being favorably disposed due to the use of informal American English, I eventually found the dialogue here really clunky. Everyone is too wordy. Everyone says one sentence too many. Over and over again, I found myself going, "Real people don't talk like this" and especially, "Real people who are supposed to be close friends don't talk anything like this to each other." Seriously, think of how you talk to your best friends in private, then compare it to this book. In addition, there was always that odd feeling of unneeded exposition, as if the characters were talking half to each other and half to the reader. It was unfortunate, especially in contrast to how slick and fast-moving and just plain awesome a lot of the other writing was.All in all, this was a fun, kinetic read...with a few holes in it. It builds, it explodes, and the ending is really good. If half-stars were allowed, this would have been a 3 1/2. Good stuff.Also, here are my (spoiler-free, suitable as previews) reviews of the second and third books in the series, if you enjoyed this one!

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.And yet . . .As in all wars, life goes on. The Weasley twins expand their business. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate - and lose a few eyebrows in the process. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, through Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.So it's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complete story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort - and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.

Jessie lives with her family in the frontier village of Clifton, Indiana. When diphtheria strikes the village and the children of Clifton start dying, Jessie's mother sends her on a dangerous mission to bring back help. But beyond the walls of Clifton, Jessie discovers a world even more alien and threatening than she could have imagined, and soon she finds her own life in jeopardy. Can she get help before the children of Clifton, and Jessie herself, run out of time?

Beatrice Steel, eldest daughter of the formidable Simon Steel, has always been exceedingly possessive about her family home, Pine Hurst. She becomes intolerably domineering after her mother's untimely death, ruling over her three sisters and the servants with an iron hand. It is her youngest sister, Rosie, who most resents Beatrice's tyranny and the stifling austerity of her father, whose private life is as wretched and gloomy as his demeanor. Her father owns the house, and Beatrice fears that he might someday remarry, and another woman would supplant her as mistress of Pine Hurst. For Beatrice, no one could ever take the place of her prized possession, and her sisters are distressed that no man has so far shown any interest in marrying the indomitable Beatrice, thus distracting her from her unwholesome obsession. Then, unexpectedly, her father dies, and when the family meets for the reading of the will, nothing Beatrice hears matches her expectations. Revelations of indecent family history dismay the Steel daughters. Beatrice realizes that her security is threatened and that she must begin to plot to protect her position and her most precious possession.

Amelia With a strict, eagle-eyed judge for a father and two older brothers to back him up, Amelia Harper is doted upon and protected within an inch of her life. She's not even allowed to have a sweetheart until she's seventeen, for example. Amelia longs for the day she can do as she pleases, but that day doesn't seem to be in any hurry to arrive.The OutlawFor a young fellow, Jesse Lawton has a surprisingly shady background. The only wonder is that it took him until the age of fourteen to end up in jail, so wild was the path he'd been on. But five years have passed, and his luck finally seems to have turned: he's been freed. If only he can stay on the straight and narrow . . .When Jesse arrives at the Harper ranch to work off the remainder of his sentence, it's no surprise that the judge's pretty daughter catches his eye. What he doesn't know is that this young lady is itching for excitement, and with one look into his haunted eyes, Amelia knows she's found it in Jesse. Without meaning to, Amelia forces the erstwhile outlaw into a choice between his freedom and his heart.

Twelve-year-old Addie admires her older sister Meryl, who aspires to rid the kingdom of Bamarre of gryphons, specters, and ogres. Addie, on the other hand, is fearful even of spiders and depends on Meryl for courage and protection. Waving her sword Bloodbiter, the older girl declaims in the garden from the heroic epic of Drualt to a thrilled audience of Addie, their governess, and the young sorcerer Rhys. But when Meryl falls ill with the dreaded Gray Death, Addie must gather her courage and set off alone on a quest to find the cure and save her beloved sister. Addie takes the seven-league boots and magic spyglass left to her by her mother and the enchanted tablecloth and cloak given to her by Rhys - along with a shy declaration of his love. She prevails in encounters with tricky specters (spiders too) and outwits a wickedly personable dragon in adventures touched with romance and a bittersweet ending.

Unfortunately, Roy's first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, if Dana hadn't been sinking his thumbs into Roy's temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and-here's the odd part-wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.Roy has most definitely arrived in Carl Hiaasen's Florida. "From the Hardcover edition."

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . . After. Nothing is ever the same.

A man with a faded, well-worn notebook open in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. Until he begins to read to her. An achingly tender story about the enduring power of love.A man with a faded, well-worn notebook open in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. Until he begins to read to her. The Notebook is an achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with you forever. Set amid the austere beauty of coastal North Carolina in 1946, The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner returned home from World War II. Noah, thirty-one, is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again. Allie Nelson, twenty-nine, is now engaged to another man, but realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not dimmed with the passage of time. Still, the obstacles that once ended their previous relationship remain, and the gulf between their worlds is too vast to ignore. With her impending marriage only weeks away, Allie is forced to confront her hopes and dreams for the future, a future that only she can shape. Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. Shining with a beauty that is rarely found in current literature, The Notebook establishes Nicholas Sparks as a classic storyteller with a unique insight into the only emotion that really matters. "I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough." And so begins one of the most poignant and compelling love stories you will ever read...The Notebook

Last night while I lay thinking here Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear And pranced and partied all night long And sang their same old Whatif song: Whatif I flunk that test?Whatif green hair grows on my chest?Whatif nobody likes me?Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?...This 20th anniversary of Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic includes a CD of highlights from his Grammy Award-winning album.Here in the attic of Shel Silverstein you will find Backward Bill, Sour Face Ann, the Meehoo with an Exactlywatt, and the Polar Bear in the Frigidaire. You will talk with Broiled Face, and find out what happens when Somebody steals your knees, you get caught by the Quick-Digesting Gink, a Mountain snores, and They Put a Brassiere on the Camel.From the creator of the beloved poetry collections Where the Sidewalk Ends and Falling Up, here is another wondrous book of poems and drawings.

\
  Millie McDeevit screamed a screamSo loud it made her eyebrows steam.She screamed so loudHer jawbone broke,Her tongue caught fire,Her nostrils smoked...\
Poor Screamin' Millie is just one of the unforgettable characters in this wondrous new book of poems and drawings by the creator of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. Here you will also meet Allison Beals and her twenty-five eels; Danny O'Dare, the dancin' bear; the Human Balloon; and Headphone Harold.So come, wander through the Nose Garden, ride the Little Hoarse, eat in the Strange Restaurant, and let the magic of Shel Silverstein open your eyes and tickle your mind.

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's...Dodger.Seventeen-year-old Dodger may be a street urchin, but he gleans a living from London's sewers, and he knows a jewel when he sees one. He's not about to let anything happen to the unknown girl--not even if her fate impacts some of the most powerful people in England.From Dodger's encounter with the mad barber Sweeney Todd to his meetings with the great writer Charles Dickens and the calculating politician Benjamin Disraeli, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking account of adventure and mystery.Beloved and bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett combines high comedy with deep wisdom in this tale of an unexpected coming-of-age and one remarkable boy's rise in a complex and fascinating world.

In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life...

In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.

Zane Cobriana, cobra shapeshifter, thanks the gods every day for Danica, his hawk pair bond, and the peace their union has brought to the avian and serpiente. Soon, Danica will have a child to carry on their royal line. But what should be a happy time is riddled with doubt.Syfka, an ancient falcon, has arrived from Ahnmik claiming that one of her people is hidden in their midst. The falcons are more powerful than the avians and serpiente combined, and Syfka shows nothing but contempt for Zane and Danica's alliance. To Zane's horror, his own people seem just as appalled as Syfka is by the thought of a mixed-blood child becoming heir to the throne.Is Syfka's lost falcon just a ruse to stir up controversy among them? The truth lies somewhere in their tangled pasts and the search will redefine Zane and Danica's fragile future.

Jason Stevens survived the journey his grandfather Red Stevens sent him through for "the Ultimate Gift". Now...That gift which includes managing a Billion dollar foundation is being challenged by his own family. In a courtroom battle...his assets are seized...his love interest with Alexia gets complicated...Jason could lose it all...He is now on a quest to discover what it truly means to fulfill his destiny...And Live.

Where the Red Fern Grows is the heartwarming and adventurous tale for all ages about a young boy and his quest for his own red-bone hound hunting dogs. Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coon-hound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with Old Dan and Little Ann. The movie follows them as they romp relentlessly through the Ozarks, trying to tree the elusive "Ghost" raccoon. Their efforts prove victorious as they win the coveted gold cup in the annual coon-hunt contest, capture wily ghost coons, and bravely fight a mountain lion. Through these adventures Billy realizes the meaning of true friendship, loyalty, integrity, and heroics, in this timeless and poignant coming of age story.

1944. World War II. Denver. Livy Dunne has essentially been thrown out of her home by her stern father, Rev. Dunne, because she's pregnant and unmarried. She's banished to rural Colorado, to go through an arranged marriage to a lonely farmer, so her child will have a "father." When she arrives in tiny Wilson, Colorado, Livy and her "betrothed," gentle but strong Ray Singleton, are wary around each other. Worldly Livy is bored by Ray and the hardscrabble life he leads --despite his inherent goodness and wisdom. As the months pass Lily learns more about this calm, practical, self-effacing farmer and his sister Martha - "a queen among women" - and her family. Slowly almost imperceptibly, Livy realizes she may have found "home," quite accidentally. For his part, Ray becomes a regular visitor at the town library, reading the classics so he can converse intelligently with his educated wife. Livy befriends two Japanese-American girls who have been interned with their parents at a nearby camp; Florence and Rose are smart and beautiful. They end up teaching Livy a valuable lesson about life and love. Livy has her baby, elects to stay with Ray, and as she tells her sister-in-law, "I've learned more about love in my six months with this family than in the 25 in my father's home."

When Jane and Michael Banks are faced with the prospect of a new nanny, they are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the magical Mary Poppins. Embarking on a series of fantastical adventures with he and her Cockney performer friend, Bert, they try to pass on some of her sunny attitude to their preoccupied parents.

Lewis an orphan wants to see what his mother looked like. So he invents a machine that looks through your brain so you can see your memories. But this weird kid says he's from the future and warns him about a guy in a bowler hat. The bowler hat guy messes with his invention and it fails. He decides that he's a failure and no one wants him. But the kid that warned him about the guy is here on a mission to find the bowler hat guy that wants to destroy Lewis. To prove he's from the future he takes Lewis to the future. But the time machine breaks and he's stuck in the future until he fixes it. In the meantime he spends quality time with the family. But the bowler hat guy is about to alter time and it's up to Lewis to save the future.

In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this house is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world's greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher).

2010 American computer-animated 3D comedy film

In a distant, but not so unrealistic, future where mankind has abandoned earth because it has become covered with trash from products sold by the powerful multi-national Buy N Large corporation, WALL-E, a garbage collecting robot has been left to clean up the mess. Mesmerized with trinkets of Earth's history and show tunes, WALL-E is alone on Earth except for a sprightly pet cockroach. One day, EVE, a sleek (and dangerous) reconnaissance robot, is sent to Earth to find proof that life is once again sustainable. WALL-E falls in love with EVE. WALL-E rescues EVE from a dust storm and shows her a living plant he found amongst the rubble. Consistent with her "directive", EVE takes the plant and automatically enters a deactivated state except for a blinking green beacon. WALL-E, doesn't understand what has happened to his new friend, but, true to his love, he protects her from wind, rain, and lightning, even as she is unresponsive. One day a massive ship comes to reclaim EVE, but WALL-E, out of love or loneliness, hitches a ride on the outside of the ship to rescue EVE. The ship arrives back at a large space cruise ship, which is carrying all of the humans who evacuated Earth 700 years earlier. The people of Earth ride around this space resort on hovering chairs which give them a constant feed of TV and video chatting. They drink all of their meals through a straw out of laziness and/or bone loss, and are all so fat that they can barely move. When the auto-pilot computer, acting on hastily-given instructions sent many centuries before, tries to prevent the people of Earth from returning by stealing the plant, WALL-E, EVE, the portly captain, and a band of broken robots stage a mutiny.

2008 American computer-animated romantic science fiction film directed by Andrew Stanton

A clown fish named Marlin lives in the Great Barrier Reef and loses his son, Nemo, after he ventures into the open sea, despite his father's constant warnings about many of the ocean's dangers. Nemo is abducted by a boat and netted up and sent to a dentist's office in Sydney. While Marlin ventures off to try to retrieve Nemo, Marlin meets a fish named Dory, a blue tang suffering from short-term memory loss. The companions travel a great distance, encountering various dangerous sea creatures such as sharks, anglerfish and jellyfish, in order to rescue Nemo from the dentist's office, which is situated by Sydney Harbour. While the two are searching the ocean far and wide, Nemo and the other sea animals in the dentist's fish tank plot a way to return to the sea to live their lives free again.

2003 American computer-animated family film directed by Andrew Stanton

A city of monsters with no humans called Monstropolis centers around the city's power company, Monsters, Inc. The lovable, confident, tough, furry blue behemoth-like giant monster named James P. Sullivan (better known as Sulley) and his wisecracking best friend, short, green cyclops monster Mike Wazowski, discover what happens when the real world interacts with theirs in the form of a 2-year-old baby girl dubbed "Boo," who accidentally sneaks into the monster world with Sulley one night. And now it's up to Sulley and Mike to send Boo back in her door before anybody finds out, especially two evil villains such as Sulley's main rival as a scarer, chameleon-like Randall (a monster that Boo is very afraid of), who possesses the ability to change the color of his skin, and Mike and Sulley's boss Mr. Waternoose, the chairman and chief executive officer of Monsters, Inc.

2001 American computer-animated comedy film

Long ago up North on the Island of Berk, the young Viking, Hiccup, wants to join his town's fight against the dragons that continually raid their town. However, his macho father and village leader, Stoik the Vast, will not allow his small, clumsy, but inventive son to do so. Regardless, Hiccup ventures out into battle and downs a mysterious Night Fury dragon with his invention, but can't bring himself to kill it. Instead, Hiccup and the dragon, whom he dubs Toothless, begin a friendship that would open up both their worlds as the observant boy learns that his people have misjudged the species. But even as the two each take flight in their own way, they find that they must fight the destructive ignorance plaguing their world.

2010 animated film directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders

As a boy, Carl Fredricksen wanted to explore South America and find the forbidden Paradise Falls. About 64 years later he gets to begin his journey along with Boy Scout Russell by lifting his house with thousands of balloons. On their journey, they make many new friends including a talking dog, and figure out that someone has evil plans. Carl soon realizes that this evildoer is his childhood idol.

2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film

A little boy named Andy loves to be in his room, playing with his toys, especially his doll named "Woody". But, what do the toys do when Andy is not with them, they come to life. Woody believes that his life (as a toy) is good. However, he must worry about Andy's family moving, and what Woody does not know is about Andy's birthday party. Woody does not realize that Andy's mother gave him an action figure known as Buzz Lightyear, who does not believe that he is a toy, and quickly becomes Andy's new favorite toy. Woody, who is now consumed with jealousy, tries to get rid of Buzz. Then, both Woody and Buzz are now lost. They must find a way to get back to Andy before he moves without them, but they will have to pass through a ruthless toy killer, Sid Phillips.

1995 American animated film directed by John Lasseter

While Andy is away at summer camp Woody has been toynapped by Al McWiggin, a greedy collector and proprietor of "Al's Toy Barn"! In this all-out rescue mission, Buzz and his friends Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex and Hamm springs into action to rescue Woody from winding up as a museum piece. They must find a way to save him before he gets sold in Japan forever and they'll never see him again!

At an annual pace, a huge colony of ants is forced to collect every piece of food that grows on their island for a group of menacing grasshoppers. But that all changes when a misfit inventor ant named Flik accidentally knocks over the offering pile thus forcing the grasshoppers' devious leader Hopper to force the ants to redo their gathering of food. Despite the fact that his friends don't believe him and desperate to help save the colony, Flik volunteers to go out into the world and search for a group of 'warrior' bugs. Instead, what he got was a talented group of circus performers. But when the grasshoppers return and take control of the island, Flik must prove himself a true hero before it's too late.

1998 American computer-animated comedy adventure film produced by Pixar

Lady, a golden cocker spaniel, meets up with a mongrel dog who calls himself the Tramp. He is obviously from the wrong side of town, but happenings at Lady's home make her decide to travel with him for a while. This turns out to be a bad move, as no dog is above the law.

1955 American animated musical romance film

Inspired by Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist". A homeless kitten named Oliver, roams the streets of New York, where he is taken in by a gang of homeless mutts who survive by stealing from others. During one of these criminal acts, Oliver meets a wealthy young girl named Jenny Foxworth. This meeting will forever change his life.

Retired opera star Adelaide Bonfamille enjoys the good life in her Paris villa with even classier cat Duchess and three kittens: pianist Berlioz, painter Toulouse and sanctimonious Marie. When loyal butler Edgar overhears her will leaves everything to the cats until their death, he drugs and kidnaps them. However retired army dogs make his sidecar capsize on the country. Crafty stray cat Thomas O'Malley takes them under his wing back to Paris. Edgar tries to cover his tracks and catch them at return, but more animals turn on him, from the cart horse Frou-Frou to the tame mouse Roquefort and O'Malley's jazz friends.

Eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts, his two children, and his beautiful lady friend, Truly Scrumptious, go on a picnic at the beach where they are soon whisked into a magical world of pirates, castles, and a flying car called Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In the adventure that ensues, they journey to Vulgaria and encounter the evil tyrant Baron Bomburst and his child-hating wife, who kidnap Potts' children and steal Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. With the assistance of the kindly village toymaker, Potts plans an elaborate scheme to rescue the kidnapped children and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from the Baron's castle on his birthday.

Peter Pan (Robin Williams) has grown up to be a cut-throat merger and acquisitions lawyer, and is married to Wendy's (Dame Maggie Smith's) granddaughter, Moira (Caroline Goodall). Captain James Hook (Dustin Hoffman) kidnaps his children, Jack (Charlie Korsmo) and Maggie (Amber Scott), and Peter returns to Neverland with Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts). With the help of her and the Lost Boys, he must remember how to be Peter Pan again in order to save his children by battling with Captain Hook once again.

During Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, he finds a book that once belonged to the mysterious Half-Blood Prince that earns him the respect of his new Potions professor Horace Slughorn. In addition, Dumbledore must prepare Harry for the ultimate final confrontation by finding out the secret behind Voldemort's power. Meanwhile, a hidden enemy waits in the shadows to carry out a mission given to him by the Dark Lord.

2009 British-American fantasy film directed by David Yates

American singer-songwriter and football player

The series follows John Nolan, a 40-year-old man who moves from his comfortable, small-town life to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of being a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. He must navigate the dangerous, humorous, and unpredictable world of a "young" cop, determined to make his second shot at life count.

2018 American police procedural television series

The series follows the life of anti-social, pain killer addict, witty and arrogant medical doctor Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) with only half a muscle in his right leg. He and his team of medical doctors try to cure complex and rare diseases from very ill ordinary people in the United States of America.

Former insurance claims investigator Nathan Ford heads a team of former top-criminals. They handle 'unorthodox' cases of people unlikely to get their due through regular channels and legal procedures. That often involves stinging or otherwise scamming criminals. Nate's team is altered at times, and his professional as well as personal past repeatedly seems to catch up.

A former lawyer attends a community college when it is discovered he faked his Bachelor's degree. In an attempt to get with a student in his Spanish class, he forms a Spanish study group. To his surprise, more people attend the study group and the group of misfits form an unlikely community.

American comedy television series created by Dan Harmon

Four women and one man share the common bond of loving someone in the U.S. Army.

A young CIA operative/trainee, Annie Walker, is sent into the field to work for the DPD (Domestic Protection Division). Auggie Anderson is a blind tech operative, and is Walker's guide in her new life in the CIA. Walker's cover story is that she works at the Smithsonian Museum.

At an international spy agency, global crises are merely opportunities for its highly-trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray, and royally screw one another. At the center of it all is suave master spy Sterling Archer, whose less-than-masculine code name is "Duchess." Archer works with his domineering mother Malory, who also is his boss. He must also deal with his ex-girlfriend, Agent Lana Kane, and her new boyfriend, comptroller Cyril Figgis, as well as Malory's lovesick secretary Cheryl.

Despite solely being a creation of predatory talent agent Larry Plumb, the five very different members of Girls5eva, a girl group, believed that they would not only be at the top of the pop music world forever, but more importantly that they would be inseparable friends forever. It's twenty years later, with the girls now early forty-something women who went their separate ways after a short lived pop music career as proverbial one hit wonders, they all leading lives outside of the music business, with they largely not having seen or been in touch with each other in years despite three of the four surviving members still living in New York City. But circumstances push the four back together to perform. They have to decide if the internal issues between the four can be mended for them to change their one-hit wonder status as they all seem to need this music career this second time around more than they did the first time and all for different reasons, which will also require the music buying public to rediscover them as a now middle-age women singing group.

American college football coach Ted Lasso heads to London to manage AFC Richmond, a struggling English Premier League football team.

Kim's Convenience tells the funny and heartfelt story of the Kim family. Mr. and Mrs. Kim are Korean Canadian convenience store owners who have worked hard to give their now-twenty-something children, Janet and Jung, a better life in Canada. This single camera comedy finds laughter in the trials of running a literal 'Mom and Pop' shop while raising kids in a culture not quite your own.

After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

American space opera streaming television series from 2019

A series about a powerful friendship that blossoms between a tightly wound widow and a free spirit with a shocking secret.

A young woman discovers she has the ability to hear the innermost thoughts of people around her as songs and musical numbers.

American musical fantasy dramedy television series from 2020

Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman host a crafting series where incredibly talented people come together for a friendly competition.

Each 50 minute episode features a global overview of a different biome or habitat on Earth (Polar, Mountain, Cave, Desert, Plains, Fresh Water, Seas, Ocean, Forest), followed by a ten-minute featurette which takes a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of filming the episode.

A single-camera comedy featuring three friends who work together as telemarketers from 9 to 5, and live together from 5 to 9.

When high school Spanish teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) becomes the director of the school's failing Glee club, New Directions, he hopes to be able to rejuvenate it. The club competes in the choir competition circuit. It's been called "a High School Musical for adults", the series follows the club and its mixture of oddball members as they try and restore it to its former glory. It is a musical comedy in which the eager and ambitious students not only compete to win the Nationals, but also have to deal with the tough and cruel realities of their school, McKinley High. At the same time, Will is trying to rejuvenate his failing love life while preventing the school's cheer leading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) from sabotaging the choir.

American musical comedy-drama television series

The Doctor, a Time Lord from the race whose home planet is Gallifrey, travels through time and space in their ship the TARDIS (an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension In Space) with numerous companions. From time to time, the Doctor regenerates into a new form.

Elliot is a brilliant introverted young programmer who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and vigilante hacker by night. He also happens to be suffering from a strange condition similar to schizophrenia which he futilely tries to keep under control by regularly taking both legal and illegal drugs and visiting his therapist. When a strange feisty young woman named Darlene and a secretive middle-aged man calling himself Mr. Robot, who claims to be the mysterious leader of an underground hacking group known as F-Society, offer Elliot a chance to take his vigilantism to the next level and help them take down E-Corp, the corrupt multi-national financial company that Elliot works for and likes to call Evil Corp, Elliot finds himself at the crossroads. Mr. Robot, who has personal reasons for wanting to take down E-Corp, also reveals that he already has one ally, an even more mysterious, secretive and highly dangerous shadowy hacking group known only as Dark Army. Meanwhile, Elliot's childhood and only friend, Angela, who blames E-Corp for the death of their parents, tries to take down E-Corp legally by joining their ranks and trying to dig up evidence of their corruption from the inside. A wild card in this scheme becomes Tyrell Wellick, an unhinged psychopathic E-Corp yuppie, originally from Scandinavia, who has a very unusual relationship with his dominant and ambitious wife Joanna. After many twists and turns, Mr. Robot's plan is finally put in motion - with catastrophic (un)intended results. But that's just the end of the beginning of the real story.

American drama–thriller television series

The murder of high-school student Lilly Kane shook the seaside town of Neptune, California to the core. For once popular girl Veronica Mars, it meant the loss of her best friend and being ousted from the affluent crowd that she once thought were her friends. Her father, Sheriff Keith Mars, found himself voted out of his job after making some unpopular accusations about the murdered girl's family. In response, Keith opened his own private detective agency. Now, Veronica, with her sardonic wit and a few new friends, works as his assistant while also navigating life as a high school (and later college) student.

Miles Poole

Johnathan Svensson

Abbey Lewis

Based on Marvel Comics' superhero character, this is a story of Peter Parker who is a nerdy high-schooler. He was orphaned as a child, bullied by jocks, and can't confess his crush for his stunning neighborhood girl Mary Jane Watson. To say his life is "miserable" is an understatement. But one day while on an excursion to a laboratory a runaway radioactive spider bites him... and his life changes in a way no one could have imagined. Peter acquires a muscle-bound physique, clear vision, ability to cling to surfaces and crawl over walls, shooting webs from his wrist ... but the fun isn't going to last. An eccentric millionaire Norman Osborn administers a performance enhancing drug on himself and his maniacal alter ego Green Goblin emerges. Now Peter Parker has to become Spider-Man and take Green Goblin to the task... or else Goblin will kill him. They come face to face and the war begins in which only one of them will survive at the end.

Marty McFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties, is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean "time machine" invented by a slightly mad scientist. During his often hysterical, always amazing trip back in time, Marty must make certain his teenage parents-to-be meet and fall in love - so he can get back to the future.

Since birth, a big fat lie defines the well-organised but humdrum life of the kind-hearted insurance salesman and ambitious explorer, Truman Burbank. Utterly unaware of the thousands of cleverly hidden cameras watching his every move, for nearly three decades, Truman's entire existence pivots around the will and the wild imagination of the ruthlessly manipulative television producer, Christof--the all-powerful TV-God of an extreme 24/7 reality show: The Truman Show. As a result, Truman's picturesque neighbourhood with the manicured lawns and the uncannily perfect residents is nothing but an elaborate state-of-the-art set, and the only truth he knows is what the worldwide television network and its deep financial interests dictate. Do lab rats know they are forever imprisoned?

The continuing quest of Frodo and the Fellowship to destroy the One Ring. Frodo and Sam discover they are being followed by the mysterious Gollum. Aragorn, the Elf archer Legolas, and Gimli the Dwarf encounter the besieged Rohan kingdom, whose once great King Theoden has fallen under Saruman's deadly spell.

All-Time Favorites

movie

Animated Films

Here's the thing! Viola's soccer team at Cornwall gets cut. She wants to join the boys' team, but they do not allow girls. So she thinks, "If you can't beat them, join them". So she does! She disguises herself as her twin brother, Sebastian and goes out for the rival school, Illyria Boys' Soccer Team and makes it. Unfortunately, she didn't plan falling in love with her roommate Duke. But Duke has his eyes on Olivia. What makes matters worse is that Olivia starts to fall for Sebastian because he/she has a sensitive side. If things couldn't get more problematic, the real Sebastian (who was in London working on his music) comes home early. He arrives on campus and has no clue that he was replaced by his twin sister.

This modern retelling of the classic fairytale follows a beautiful college freshman as she pledges her late mother's once dignified sorority. But after discovering that today's sisterhood is not what it used to be, Sydney finds her new home away from home with seven outcasts. With the help of her socially challenged new friends, Sydney will take on the reigning campus queen to attempt to transform the school's misguided social hierarchy.

Throwbacks of the Early 2000s 

Two things about Jane: she never says no to her friends (she's been a bridesmaid 27 times and selflessly plans friends' weddings), and she's in love with her boss, George, nurturing dreams of a lovely, romantic wedding of her own. She meets Kevin, a cynical writer who finds her attractive, and that same week her flirtatious younger sister Tess comes to town. Jane silently watches George fall for Tess, a manipulative pretender. Worse, Jane may be called upon to plan their wedding. Meanwhile, Kevin tries to get Jane's attention and has an idea that may advance his career. Can Jane uncork her feelings?

At 35, Tripp has an interesting job, a hip car, a passion for sailing, and a great house - trouble is, he lives with his parents. They want him out, so they hire Paula, an "interventionist," who has a formula in these cases: chance encounter, get him to ask her out, involve him in a trauma, meet his friends and get their nod, delay sex, have him teach her something, then launch him. It's worked up to now, but this gets complicated when Tripp thinks she's getting too serious and one of his pals is attracted to Paula's deadpan, semi-alcoholic roommate, who's plagued by a mockingbird. Too many secrets may scrub the launch, and what if Paula really likes him? Who can intervene then?

Melanie Carmichael, an up and rising fashion designer in New York, has gotten almost everything she wished for since she was little. She has a great career and the JFK-like fiancée of New York City. But when he proposes to her, she doesn't forget about her family back down South. More importantly, her husband back there, who refuses to divorce her ever since she sent divorce papers seven years ago. To set matters straight, she decides to go to the south quick and make him sign the papers. When things don't turn out the way she planned them, she realizes that what she had before in the south was far more perfect than the life she had in New York City.

Mary Fiore is the wedding planner. She's ambitious, hard-working, extremely organized, and she knows exactly what to do and say to make any wedding a spectacular event. Bt when Mary falls (literally) for a handsome doctor her busy yet uncomplicated life is turned upside down - he's the groom in the biggest wedding of her career! Will she help him walk down the aisle with his internet tycoon girlfriend, or will Mary finally get to be the bride herself? When it comes to love, you can never plan what's going to happen.

Theatrical & Epic Romances & Rom/Coms

Those rare films that can restore your faith in humanity

Helen Harris (Kate Hudson) is living the life she's always dreamed of: her career at a top modelling agency is on the rise; she spends her days at fashion shows and her nights at the city's hottest clubs. But her carefree lifestyle comes to a screeching halt when one phone call changes everything. Helen soon finds herself responsible for her sister's children: fifteen-year-old Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), ten-year-old Henry (Spencer Breslin), and five-year-old Sarah (Abigail Breslin). No one doubts that Helen is the coolest aunt in New York City, but what does this glamor girl know about raising kids? The fun begins as Helen goes through the transformation from super-hip to super-mom, but she quickly finds that dancing at 3a.m. doesn't mix with getting kids to school on time, advice that Helen's older sister, Jenny Portman (Joan Cusack), is only too quick to dish out. Along the way, Helen finds support in the most unusual place, with Dan Parker (John Corbett), the handsome young pastor and principal of the kids' new school, and realizes the choice she has to make is between the life she's always loved and the new loves of her life.

In North Carolina especially in Beaufort a prank on a guy goes wrong and puts the student in the clinic. Carter, a famous student with no plans for the future, is held responsible and forced to join in after-school community service activities as consequence, which include starring as the lead in the play. And participating in these activities is Jamie Sullivan, the reverend's daughter who has great ambitions and nothing in common with Landon. When Landon decides he wants to take his activities seriously, he asks Jamie for help and begins to spend most of his time with her. But he starts to like her, that he did not expect to do. They relationship, much to the chagrin of Landon's old popular friends and Jamie's strict reverend father. But when a heart-breaking secret becomes known that puts their relationship to the test, it is then that Landon and Jamie realize the true meaning of love and fate.

Buddy was a baby in an orphanage who stowed away in Santa's sack and ended up at the North Pole. Later, as an adult who happened to be raised by elves, Santa allows him to go to New York City to find his birth father, Walter Hobbs. Walter, who is on Santa's naughty list for being a heartless jerk, had no idea that Buddy was even born. Buddy, meanwhile, experiences the delights of New York City (and human culture) as only an elf can. When Walter's relationship with him interferes with his job, he is forced to reevaluate his priorities.

Feel-Good Movies

Bruce Nolan, a television reporter in Buffalo, N.Y., is discontented with almost everything in life despite his popularity and the love of his girlfriend Grace . At the end of the worst day of his life, Bruce angrily ridicules and rages against God and God responds. God appears in human form and, endowing Bruce with divine powers, challenges Bruce to take on the big job to see if he can do it any better.

Benjamin Franklin Gates, a pedigree of the treasure hunter family who learns about a national treasure from his grandfather. The treasure is stashed somewhere in the country and the clue leading to the treasure chest is cyphered and scattered all over the country. Benjamin's father abhors treasure hunting, as he himself lost 20 years in chasing the treasure without success. Plot takes a twist when Ben's accomplice Ian decides to steal 'Declaration of Independence' for the next clue. Ben refuses to Ian's plan and they become hostile. When Ben tips FBI about the possible theft, they refused to believe him. Ben determines to steal the 'Declaration of Independence' in order to protect it from Ian. Ben meets 'Abigail Chase' the curator of the archives when he steals the document. Rest of the story is about how Ben, his partner Riley and Abigail decrypts the clues and rescues the national treasure without getting to the hands of Ian.

2004 American adventure heist film by Jon Turteltaub

Juggling career and family can be a lot. Tom and Kate Baker, the proud parents of not one but 12 children, have chosen family over career aspirations. However, their lives suddenly change when small-town coach Tom is offered his dream job, and Kate's book has been accepted for publication. Now, with Kate promoting her book, it is up to Tom to look after the children, take care of the house, and handle a new job. Can Tom bring order out of chaos?

music

movies

shows

books

Active tastebuds