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A Tale of Two Cities is Charles Dickens’s great historical novel, set against the violent upheaval of the French Revolution. The most famous and perhaps the most popular of his works, it compresses an event of immense complexity to the scale of a family history, with a cast of characters that includes a bloodthirsty ogress and an antihero as believably flawed as any in modern fiction. Though the least typical of the author’s novels, A Tale of Two Cities still underscores many of his enduring themes—imprisonment, injustice, social anarchy, resurrection, and the renunciation that fosters renewal.

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  A swashbuckling novel of political intrigue.\
In the concluding installment of Alexandre Dumas's celebrated cycle of the Three Musketeers, D'Artagnan remains in the service of the corrupt King Louis XIV after the Three Musketeers have retired and gone their separate ways. Unbeknownst to D'Artagnan, Aramis and Porthos plot to remove the inept king and place the king's twin brother on the throne of France. Meanwhile, a twenty-three-year-old prisoner known only as "Philippe" wastes away deep inside the Bastille. Forced to wear an iron mask, Phillippe has been imprisoned for eight years, has no knowledge of his true identity, and has not been told what crime he's committed. When the destinies of the king and Phillippe converge, the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan find themselves caught between conflicting loyalties.

This extraordinary historical novel, set in Medieval Paris under the twin towers of its greatest structure and supreme symbol, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, is the haunting drama of Quasimodo, the hunchback; Esmeralda, the gypsy dancer; and Claude Frollo, the priest tortured by the specter of his own damnation. Shaped by a profound sense of tragic irony, it is a work that gives full play to Victor Hugo's brilliant historical imagination and his remarkable powers of description.

Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s.Robin Buss’s lively English translation is complete and unabridged, and remains faithful to the style of Dumas’s original. This edition includes an introduction, explanatory notes and suggestions for further reading.

Obviously the original gets 5 stars and is superb in all ways. My review here is more for the Great Illustrated Classics series in general. If you are looking for good children's adaptations of classic works, these are a pretty good place to start. They keep to the original storyline, as much as possible (not all children's adaptations do...in which case, why not let them watch the disney version and be done with it?) They also have a picture on every page (or nearly in some of them) which my younger kids like. All that said, this series does have a few shortcomings. First, in every single one I've read, there have been horrendous editing mistakes and typos. Second, they do not attempt to keep any of the author's original style or language. These books are simply to introduce the child to the plotline and characters of the original (which does of course have merit, it makes reading the original a lot easier later on when they are already familiar with the story). Also, once in a while you might come upon a character taking the Lord's name in vain, but I just edit this to a 'my goodness' or whatever when I'm reading to my kids, and my older ones obviously know to edit it when they are reading to themselves.I recommend this series in general, however for some classics there are better children's adaptations available.

I was five and a half years old when my mother gave me The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as a New Year's gift (she is a literature teacher, and I have been reading novels since the tender age of four or so, and so it seemed appropriate).Being a diligent and serious¹ child (neither of those qualities have stuck with me, unfortunately), I opened it to page 1 and started reading. I even took it with me to kindergarten, where other kids were learning letters and I was mercifully allowed to read hefty tomes, having obviously achieved full literacy by that point.¹ \
Me (age 5) and Mom. The diligent seriousness is *all over* this picture. This book initially left me quite confused, but I was undeterred - after all, the world was a confusing place, full of adults and rules and great books - even those without pictures. (And I was very proud to own books without pictures, after all). But his one was just too strange - its beginning did not quite fit with the rest of the quite fun story - it was odd and dry and incomprehensible for the first 40 pages or so, and it even was about some other guy (Samuel Clemens?) who was not Tom Sawyer.A few years later I reread my early childhood favorite (I probably reached a ripe old age of eight or so, still diligent but a bit less serious already). It was then that I figured out what seemed strange about the beginning of this book when I was five.You see, I diligently slogged my way through the most boring academic foreword, assuming that was the first chapter. What amazes me that I managed to stay awake through it. Good job, five-year-old me! Excellent preparation for that painfully boring biochemistry course a couple of decades later!After that foreword, slogging through any classic was a comparative breeze. Yes, I'm looking at you, War and Peace! You know what you did, you endless tome.Also, as it turns out, when you include two characters named Joe in one book (Injun Joe and Tom's classmate Joe Harper) that can cause a certain amount of confusion to a five-year-old who assumes they have to be the same person and struggles really hard to reconcile their seemingly conflicting characters. And, as a side note, I have always been disappointed at Tom Sawyer tricking his friends to do the infamous fence whitewashing. A *real* kid knows after all that painting stuff is fun. Five-year-old me was a bit disapproving of the silliness. I have told bits and pieces of this book to my friends on the playground, while dangling from the monkey bars or building sandcastles (in a sandbox, that in retrospect I suspect was used by the neighborhood stray cats as a litterbox - but I guess you have to develop immunity to germs somehow). We may have planned an escape to an island in a true Tom Sawyer fashion, but the idea fizzled. After all, we did not have an island nearby, which was a problem. Also, we may have got distracted by the afternoon cartoons.Someday, I just may have to leave this book within a reach of my future hypothetical daughter - as long as I make sure it does not come with a long-winded boring introduction.

Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer. He was prolific in many genres, writing dozens of novels, short stories, and works of social commentary, satire, biography, and autobiography, and even including two books on recreational war games. He is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is often called a "father of science fiction", along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback.During his own lifetime, however, he was most prominent as a forward-looking, even prophetic social critic who devoted his literary talents to the development of a progressive vision on a global scale. A futurist, he wrote a number of utopian works and foresaw the advent of aircraft, tanks, space travel, nuclear weapons, satellite television and something resembling the World Wide Web. His science fiction imagined time travel, alien invasion, invisibility, and biological engineering. Brian Aldiss referred to Wells as the "Shakespeare of science fiction". Wells rendered his works convincing by instilling commonplace detail alongside a single extraordinary assumption – dubbed “Wells’s law” – leading Joseph Conrad to hail him in 1898 as "O Realist of the Fantastic!". His most notable science fiction works include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898) and the military science fiction The War in the Air (1907). Wells was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times.

It's really sad that people judge books from the 17th century from their 21st century politically-correct perspective. You don't have to agree with Defoe's worldview and religious beliefs to like the book. I'm repulsed by Homer's beliefs but I know his works deserve to be classics.People who think this book is boring probably think hikes through majestic mountains or quiet afternoons in a beautiful garden are boring. This book is slow at times. But the slowest parts are the best. Defoe is a master of detail. And the action is much more exciting when it comes after the calm. A book with only action would be boring to me (not to mention corny, e.g. Treasure Island). This is, hands down, my favorite novel of all time. Rich detail, gripping plot, profound character development, insightful meditations, and the meeting of two radically different worlds in Robinson and the cannibals. I never stop reading this book. When I finish I start again. I love Robinson and Friday as if they were a real life father and brother.BTW - There is an audio recording by Ron Keith that is spectacular. The publisher is Recorded Books.

When an army of invading Martians lands in England, panic and terror seize the population. As the aliens traverse the country in huge three-legged machines, incinerating all in their path with a heat ray and spreading noxious toxic gases, the people of the Earth must come to terms with the prospect of the end of human civilization and the beginning of Martian rule.Inspiring films, radio dramas, comic-book adaptations, television series and sequels,The War of the Worlds is a prototypical work of science fiction which has influenced every alien story that has come since, and is unsurpassed in its ability to thrill, well over a century since it was first published.

The Time Machine is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895 and written as a frame narrative. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively forward or backward through time. The term "time machine", coined by Wells, is now almost universally used to refer to such a vehicle or device.The Time Machine has been adapted into three feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions and many comic book adaptations. It has also indirectly inspired many more works of fiction in many media productions.Wells had considered the notion of time travel before, in a short story titled "The Chronic Argonauts" (1888). This work, published in his college newspaper, was the foundation for The Time Machine.

A level 6 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read.Retold for Learners of English by Richard Rogers.London in the 1830s was no place to be if you were a hungry ten-year-old boy, an orphan without friends or family, with no home to go to, and only a penny in your pocket to buy a piece of bread.But Oliver Twist finds some friends - Fagin, the Artful Dodger, and Charley Bates. They give him food and shelter, and play games with him, but it is not until some days later that Oliver finds out what kind of friends they are and what kind of 'games' they play . . .

Sensational, dramatic, packed with rich excitement and filled with the sweep and violence of human passions, LES MISERABLES is not only superb adventure but a powerful social document. The story of how the convict Jean-Valjean struggled to escape his past and reaffirm his humanity, in a world brutalized by poverty and ignorance, became the gospel of the poor and the oppressed.

Shakespeare’s King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the suffering of others. Lear himself rages until his sanity cracks. What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? For all the force of its language, King Lear is almost equally powerful when translated, suggesting that it is the story, in large part, that draws us to the play.The play tells us about families struggling between greed and cruelty, on the one hand, and support and consolation, on the other. Emotions are extreme, magnified to gigantic proportions. We also see old age portrayed in all its vulnerability, pride, and, perhaps, wisdom—one reason this most devastating of Shakespeare’s tragedies is also perhaps his most moving.The authoritative edition of King Lear from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play-Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play-Scene-by-scene plot summaries-A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases-An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books-An annotated guide to further readingEssay by Susan SnyderThe Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.

I ordered David Copperfield on the internet, but received this kid's edition. I read Bleak House instead, on my Kindle, but found it very difficult. A Goodreads friend suggested reading some notes on David Copperfield or seeing the movie before I read it. I read this kid's book, following his advice. I plan to read the full version some day. I received the full version for Christmas.  This story is intense, and moves you deeply with David's constant struggles. You feel like you know the characters as they come and go. It reminded me of The Goldfinch, by Donna Tart. It's the same premise, about a boy's trials growing up. Considering The Goldfinch is one of my favorites, I will have to make some time to work through this great work.

'In what may be Dickens's best novel, humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman — and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations." In this gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, the compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearful and fearsome convict; Estella, whose beauty is excelled only by her haughtiness; and the embittered Miss Havisham, an eccentric jilted bride

It takes guts to make your main character spoiled, selfish, and stupid, someone without any redeeming qualities, and write an epic novel about her. But it works for two reasons. First of all you wait for justice to fall its merciless blow with one of the most recognized lines in cinema ("frankly my dear, I don't give a damn"), but you end with a broken and somewhat repentant character and you can't be pitiless. Secondly, if you were going to parallel the beautiful, affluent, lazy, spirited South being conquered by the intellectual, industrious North, what better way to do that than with characters who embody those characteristics? You come to feel a level of sadness that the South and Scarlett lost their war and hope that they will rebuild.I enjoyed the picture of pre-war South outside of what you learn in history class approved by the nation that won the war. If the South had won, we would have an entirely different picture painted. A story of lush lands and prosperity abounding with chivalry and gentility by a (too) passionate people. If you visit the South today, you can see that all these generations later the wounds of the war and the regret at losing the way of life are still fresh. But if it had not been the civil war, it would have been by other means that the lazy sprawled out way of life would have been conquered by our efficient, compact, modern lives. I enjoyed the picture of plantations that did not abuse slaves to the extent that you read about in many memoirs. There was still a disrespect in that they viewed "darkies" as ignorant and childish and worthy of being owned, but there were those who cared for those in their trust. And the North who came down riling up the lowest of the slaves to flip the oppression did not want any contact with a race they feared. Prejudice takes many faces. Slavery is such an important part of American history, but I don't know that I agree with the format in which it is taught (at least the way it was taught to me). We take young, tolerant children and feed them stories of racism and abuse and then tell them the world is naturally prejudice (that they are prejudice) so don't be. White children start feeling awkward and aware and black children start feeling mistreated and aware. We manage to teach children about Indian and Holocaust history without the same enthusiasm to end racism by breeding racism. There has to be a better way. But I digress.I also enjoyed Mitchell showing the volatile formula in which the KKK was aroused, that it wasn't just a disdain for free darkies but a need to protect their women and children from the rash anger now imposed on them through this new regime. Not that there are any redeeming qualities in the KKK, or even the Southern rash justice by pistol shot to curb wounded pride, but it was interesting to learn the wider circumstances in which it arose. The entire picture of the Southern perspective from the hierarchy of slaves to the disdain of the reconstruction was enlightening. The post-war difficulties, that sometimes it's harder to survive than die, were some of my favorite epiphanies of the story. What everyone in the South went through, both white and black, after everything was deconstructed and they didn't know how to rebuild. It wasn't just about freeing slaves but about rebuilding an entire way of life and sometimes change, even good change, can be this scary and destructive.My one complaint about the book was at times the description was lengthy. I'd get a grasp for the emotions of Scarlett that are supposed to describe the emotions of all Southerners or the description of the land at Tara as a representation of the rich red soil all Southerners love and then Mitchell would go on for paragraphs or pages rehashing that feeling to pull the most emotion out of you. It worked, but sometimes I think she could have done so in fewer words. I view Scarlett as a representation of the South in which she loved. She did not care from whence the wealth came or believed that it would ever end. Because she was rich and important, she would conquer. As the Yankees attempted to rebuild the South, fresh in their embitterment at a war they did not want to fight, you can both see their reasoning and feel for the Southerners who were licked and then stomped on in their attempts to gain back of their life. You see that in Scarlett. On one hand you don't pity her and think she needs a lesson in poverty and on the other hand you want her to survive. Either she can lie down and cling to her old ways or she can debase herself and rebuild. Survival, not morality, is her strongest drive.Oh Scarlett. We all know people like her. People who unscrupulously use their womanly charms to get ahead and carry a deep disdain for those bound by concepts of kindness, morals, or intelligence and most especially for those who see them for what they are instead of being manipulated. People who care for nobody but themselves and who find enjoyment in life not in what they have, but in conquering the unattainable that is only desirable because it is out of reach. I loved how Mitchell showed Scarlett's decline from a religious albeit not believing girl who allowed her rationalization and avoidance to carry her from one sin to the next of intensifying degree. An excellent portrait of the degradation of character. Initially I thought she was the only character who wasn't growing, actually digressing. But by the end she does grow up. In no regard is this greater than in her eventual desire to be a mother. Turning from her ravenous post-war desire to survive to her acceptance of life and the people around her as the way they are, eventually Scarlett grows into the person she was meant to be. As did the South. Prideful and resentful, eventually they had to accept that they lost the war and take what was given them and try to make it work.Scarlett realizes that Melanie is not the weak, cowardly girl she always assumed but the most courageous character in the book and one who gets her means by influence and persuasion instead of Scarlett's uncivil ways. It is Melly, not Scarlett, who could get anything she desires and her heart is not her weakness but her greatest strength. Finally Scarlett values the importance of love and sees that it does not make one weak but deep to possess it. OK, I won't go that far. She's not intelligent enough to analyze love, but she grows up enough to fall for it anyway, to realize she needs people. She sees Ashley not as the strong, honorable character she had always esteemed but the weakest and least honorable character in the book. Anyone who would tease another woman with confessions of love just so he could keep her heart and devotion at arm's length is not truly honoring his marriage vows. The greatest gift he could give his wife was the knowledge that he loved her. And we all know that like any pretty toy, once Scarlett had taken him, she would have discarded him. The debasing knowledge that he is not fit for a rougher way of life doesn't endear him. For all his intelligence, he could have picked himself up by the bootstraps and made something of himself if he wanted to survive. He is a representation of the Old South that had to die but many couldn't let go of, even today. That's the sadness of the loss of the Southern way, still longing for the past instead of moving forward.Then we come to Rhett, the only character with the ability to conquer Scarlett, who was quite the devil. Just like the ladies in old Atlanta I found myself at times entranced by his charms, but often I did not like or trust him. I was often torn about the way he constantly encouraged Scarlett to fall another wrung on her morality ladder and mocked her emotions, mocked all of Southern civility. What annoyed me most about him was that he showed love by coddling his wife and child until they were spoiled, dependent, but not grateful, and this was his idea of being a good father and husband. And yet I sympathized with him and was often amused by him. More than anything I enjoyed his intelligence as a way for Mitchell to introduce the Yankee viewpoint, using his sarcasm as satire. I loved the whole discussion of his not being a gentleman and her no lady.More than anything I saw his slow conquering of Scarlett's heart as a parallel to the slow enveloping of the South by the North until they realized they were dependent on their conquerors but could still maintain their fierce spirit, a marriage of North and South. The fact that she could never fully understand him shows the divide between to two philosophies. But does the South lose in this blending? Can't they adopt the intellectual ways of the North and still maintain their civility? Just like Ashley, they would rather have dreamt and remembered than changed.The characters in the book are so vivid that like or dislike you cannot get them out of your head. There are no more vibrant characters in the history of literature that Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. There is a reason this book is a classic. Everyone should read it at least once in their life to appreciate the civil war and understand the sadness and loss that enveloped the country.

Pride and Prejudice is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.

You can find the redesigned cover of this edition HERE.This best-selling Norton Critical Edition is based on the 1847 first edition of the novel. For the Fourth Edition, the editor has collated the 1847 text with several modern editions and has corrected a number of variants, including accidentals. The text is accompanied by entirely new explanatory annotations.New to the fourth Edition are twelve of Emily Bronte's letters regarding the publication of the 1847 edition of Wuthering Heights as well as the evolution of the 1850 edition, prose and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and Edward Chitham's insightful and informative chronology of the creative process behind the beloved work.Five major critical interpretations of Wuthering Heights are included, three of them new to the Fourth Edition. A Stuart Daley considers the importance of chronology in the novel. J. Hillis Miller examines Wuthering Heights's problems of genre and critical reputation. Sandra M. Gilbert assesses the role of Victorian Christianity plays in the novel, while Martha Nussbaum traces the novel's romanticism. Finally, Lin Haire-Sargeant scrutinizes the role of Heathcliff in film adaptations of Wuthering Heights. A Chronology and updated Selected Bibliography are also included.

Clicca qui per l'edizione "Storie senza tempo".Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard. But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle is a 2009 book by Dan Senor and Saul Singer about the economy of Israel. It examines how Israel, a 60-year-old nation with a population of 7.1 million, was able to reach such economic growth that "at the start of 2009, some 63 Israeli companies were listed on the NASDAQ, more than those of any other foreign country."In 2010, Start-up Nation was ranked fifth on the business bestseller list of The New York Times. It also reached The Wall Street Journal bestseller list.The Council on Foreign Relations states in its publisher's blurb for the book that Start-up Nation addresses the question: "How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million people, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources—produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom?" The Economist notes that Israel now has more high-tech start-ups and a larger venture capital industry per capita than any other country in the world. The success of Israel's high-tech sector over the past two decades has attracted recent attention from business journalists and The Economist describes Start-up Nation as the most notable of a "growing pile" of books on the subject.

Take control of this old-fashioned, modern-time assassin, and stay alive long enough to revile your past. Think to survive and learn to plan your hits. Exploit...

Neighbours from Hell, known in the United States as Neighbors from Hell, is a puzzle strategy game for Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Nintendo DS, Android and iOS. In Europe, it was released for Windows on June 20, 2003, and the GameCube and Xbox on March 4, 2005. The game was released for Windows in the United States on September 22, 2003.

The seminal first-person shooter Quake brings fragging to mobile devices....

Quake IIis a first-person shooter video game released in December 1997. It was developed by id Software and published by Activision. It is not a direct sequel toQuake; id decided to revert to an existing trademark when the game's fast-paced, tactile feel felt closer to aQuakegame than a new franchise. The game is followed by Quake 4.The soundtrack forQuake IIwas mainly provided by Sonic Mayhem, with some additional tracks by Bill Brown; the main theme was also composed by Bill Brown and Rob Zombie, and one track by Jer Sypult. The soundtrack for the Nintendo 64 version of the game was composed by Aubrey Hodges, credited as Ken "Razor" Richmond.Quake IIis a first-person shooter, in which the player shoots enemies from the perspective of the main character. The gameplay is very similar to that featured inQuake, in terms of movement and controls, although the player's movement speed has been slowed down, and the player now has the ability to crouch. The game retains four of the eight weapons fromQuake(the Shotgun, Super Shotgun, Grenade Launcher, and Rocket Launcher), although they have been redesigned visually and made to function in slightly different ways. The remainder ofQuake's eight weapons (the Axe, Nailgun, Super Nailgun, and Thunderbolt) are not present inQuake II. The six newly introduced weapons are the Blaster, Machine Gun, Chain Gun, Hyperblaster, Railgun, and BFG10K. The Quad Damage power up fromQuakeis present inQuake II, and new power-ups include the Ammo Pack, Invulnerability, Bandolier, Enviro-Suit, Rebreather, and Silencer.

As B.J. Blazkowicz, a highly decorated Army Ranger recruited into the Office of Secret Actions, you are tasked with escaping and then returning to Castle Wolfen...

Wolfenstein 3D is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen. Originally released on May 5, 1992 for DOS, it was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game Castle Wolfenstein, and is the third installment in the Wolfenstein series. In Wolfenstein 3D, the player assumes the role of Allied spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz during World War II as he escapes from the Nazi German prison Castle Wolfenstein and carries out a series of crucial missions against the Nazis. The player traverses each of the game's levels to find an elevator to the next level or kill a final boss, fighting Nazi soldiers, dogs, and other enemies with knives and a variety of guns.

Prepare yourself for the ultimate 3D Slugfest. Murderous aliens have landed in futuristic Los Angeles, and the humans suddenly find themselves atop the endanger...

Julianne Moore is an American actress who made her acting debut on television in 1984 in the mystery series The Edge of Night. The following year she made her first appearance in the soap opera As the World Turns, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series in 1988. Following roles in television films, Moore had her breakthrough in Robert Altman's drama film Short Cuts (1993). Her performance garnered critical acclaim as well as notoriety for a monologue her character delivers while nude below the waist.
Among Moore's releases of 1995 were Todd Haynes' drama Safe and the romantic comedy Nine Months, in which she starred alongside Hugh Grant. In 1997 Moore portrayed a veteran pornographic actress in Paul Thomas Anderson's drama Boogie Nights—a role that earned her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared in Steven Spielberg's adventure sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park—Moore's biggest commercial success to that point. Two years later she played a wartime adulteress in The End of the Affair for which she received her first Academy Award for Best Actress nomination.

Catherine Elise Blanchett(; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian-American actress and theatre director. One of Australia's most acclaimed actresses, she is known for her roles in both large-scale blockbusters and low-budget independent films. Blanchett is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and three BAFTA Awards.Timemagazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007, and in 2018, she was ranked among the highest-paid actresses in the world.After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Blanchett began her acting career on the Australian stage, taking on roles inElectrain 1992 andHamletin 1994. She came to international attention for portraying Elizabeth I of England in the drama filmElizabeth(1998), for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and earned her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in the biographical dramaThe Aviator(2004), earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing a neurotic former socialite in the black comedy-dramaBlue Jasmine(2013). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in the dramasNotes on a Scandal(2006),Elizabeth: The Golden Age(2007),I'm Not There(2007), andCarol(2015).

Tom Hanks is an American actor and producer who has had an extensive career in films, television and on stage. Hanks made his professional acting debut on stage playing Grumio, in the Great Lakes Theater production of The Taming of the Shrew (1977). He made his film debut with a minor role in the horror film He Knows You're Alone (1980). In the same year, Hanks appeared in the television series Bosom Buddies. His role in the show led to guest appearances on a variety of long running television shows including Happy Days. Hanks' appearance on the show led film director Ron Howard to cast him in his first leading role in the fantasy romantic comedy Splash (1984). His breakthrough role was in the age-changing comedy Big (1988), for which he garnered his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and filmmaker. Cage has been nominated for numerous major cinematic awards, and won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in Leaving Las Vegas (1995). During his early career, Cage starred in a variety of films such as Rumble Fish (1983), Valley Girl (1983), Racing with the Moon (1984), Birdy (1984), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Raising Arizona (1987), Moonstruck (1987), Vampire's Kiss (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), Fire Birds (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), and Red Rock West (1993).Cage received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance as an alcoholic Hollywood writer in Leaving Las Vegas (1995) before coming to the attention of wider audiences with mainstream films, such as The Rock (1996), Face/Off (1997), Con Air (1997), Snake Eyes (1998) and City of Angels (1998). In October 1997, Cage was ranked No. 40 in Empire magazine's The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list, while the next year, he was placed No. 37 in Premiere's 100 most powerful people in Hollywood. He earned his second Academy Award nomination for his performance as Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Adaptation (2002). He also directed the film Sonny (2002), for which he was nominated for Grand Special Prize at Deauville Film Festival. Cage owns the production company Saturn Films and has produced films such as Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and The Life of David Gale (2003).

James Eugene Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, writer, and artist. He is known for his energetic slapstick performances.Carrey first gained recognition in America in 1990 after landing a recurring role in the sketch comedy television series In Living Color. His first leading roles in motion pictures came with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Mask (1994), and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), as well portraying the Riddler in Batman Forever (1995) and the lead role in Liar Liar (1997). He gained attention starring in serious roles in The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999), with each garnering him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957), collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American filmmakers. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Their most acclaimed works include Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018).The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until The Ladykillers (2004) Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing editing credits under an alias, Roderick Jaynes. They have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards together, and individually for one award each, winning Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men. The duo also won the Palme d'Or for Barton Fink (1991).

Joel Coen(born November 29, 1954) andEthan Coen(born September 21, 1957), collectively referred to asthe Coen brothers(), are American filmmakers. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Their most acclaimed works includeMiller's Crossing(1990),Barton Fink(1991),Fargo(1996),The Big Lebowski(1998),O Brother, Where Art Thou?(2000),No Country for Old Men(2007),True Grit(2010),Inside Llewyn Davis(2013), andThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs(2018).The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although untilThe Ladykillers(2004) Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing editing credits under the aliasRoderick Jaynes. They have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards together, and individually for one award each, winning Best Original Screenplay forFargoand Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay forNo Country for Old Men. The duo also won the Palme d'Or forBarton Fink(1991).

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (, Italian: [diˈkaːprjo]; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and environmentalist. He has often played unconventional parts, particularly in biopics and period films. As of 2019, his films have earned US$7.2 billion worldwide, and he has placed eight times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actors. His accolades include an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.Born in Los Angeles, DiCaprio began his career by appearing in television commercials in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, he played recurring roles in various television series, such as the sitcom Parenthood. He had his first major film role in This Boy's Life, and received acclaim for the supporting role of a developmentally disabled boy in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (both 1993), which earned him an Academy Award nomination. He achieved international fame as a star in the epic romance Titanic (1997), which became the highest-grossing film at that point. After a few commercially failed films, DiCaprio starred in two successful features in 2002: the biographical crime drama Catch Me If You Can and the historical drama Gangs of New York, which marked his first of many collaborations with director Martin Scorsese.

Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller(born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, musician and director. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.After beginning his acting career with a play, Stiller wrote several mockumentaries and was offered his own show, titledThe Ben Stiller Show, which he produced and hosted for its 13-episode run. Having previously acted in television, he began acting in films. He made his directorial debut withReality Bites. Throughout his career he has written, starred in, directed, or produced more than 50 films includingThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty,Zoolander,The Cable Guy,There's Something About Mary, theMeet the Parentstrilogy,DodgeBall,Tropic Thunder, theMadagascarseries, and theNight at the Museumtrilogy. He has also made numerous cameos in music videos, television shows, and films.

Edward Harrison Norton(born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received multiple awards and nominations including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations.Raised in Columbia, Maryland, Norton was drawn to theatrical productions at local venues as a child. After graduating from Yale College in 1991, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career. He gained immediate recognition for his debut inPrimal Fear(1996), which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination in the same category. His role as a reformed neo-Nazi in 1998'sAmerican History Xearned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also starred in the filmFight Club(1999), which has garnered a cult following.

Keira Christina Knightley, (; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. She has been nominated for two British Academy, three Golden Globe, and two Academy Awards.Knightley began acting on television and made her feature film debut in 1995, before making her breakthrough with the 2002 filmBend It Like Beckham. She then starred in the 2003 fantasy swashbuckler filmPirates of the Caribbean, playing Elizabeth Swann, a role that she would reprise in the subsequent films of the franchise. A significant turning point came in her career when Knightley received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for starring as Elizabeth Bennet inPride & Prejudice(2005). She became known for starring in several other period dramas, includingAtonement(2007),The Duchess(2008),A Dangerous Method(2011),Anna Karenina(2012), andColette(2018). Knightley received her second nomination for the Academy Award for portraying Joan Clarke in the historical dramaThe Imitation Game(2014). Her contemporary film roles were in the romantic comedyBegin Again(2013), the action thrillerJack Ryan: Shadow Recruit(2014), and the adventure filmEverest(2015).

John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter and composer. Although Carpenter has worked with various movie genres, he is associated most commonly with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s.Most films of Carpenter's career were initially commercial and critical failures, with the notable exceptions of Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), and Starman (1984). However, many of Carpenter's films from the 1970s and the 1980s have come to be considered as cult classics, and he has been acknowledged as an influential filmmaker. The cult classics that Carpenter has directed include Dark Star (1974), Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Prince of Darkness (1987), They Live (1988), and In the Mouth of Madness (1995). He returned to the Halloween franchise as both composer and executive producer for the horror sequel Halloween (2018).

American actor and comedian Robin Williams (1951–2014) starred in films and television throughout his career.
Williams studied acting at the College of Marin in California and later at the Juilliard School in New York. Williams' first acting role was in the revival of Laugh-In in 1977, before he portrayed Mork in Mork & Mindy from 1978 to 1982 and the titular role in Popeye. After starring in less financially successful films he made his breakthrough role portraying Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning, Vietnam.

Morgan Freeman(born June 1, 1937) is an American actor and film narrator. Freeman won an Academy Award in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor withMillion Dollar Baby(2004), and he has received Oscar nominations for his performances inStreet Smart(1987),Driving Miss Daisy(1989),The Shawshank Redemption(1994), andInvictus(2009). He has also won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Freeman has appeared in many other box office hits, includingGlory(1989),Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves(1991),Seven(1995),Deep Impact(1998),The Sum of All Fears(2002),Bruce Almighty(2003),The Dark Knight Trilogy(2005–2012),Wanted(2008),RED(2010),Now You See Me(2013),The Lego Movie(2014), andLucy(2014). He rose to fame as part of the cast of the 1970s children's programThe Electric Company. Noted for his deep voice, Freeman has served as a narrator, commentator, and voice actor for numerous programs, series and television shows. He is ranked as the seventh-highest box office star since July 2019. He has a combined total box office gross of $4.57 billion, with an average of $71.5 million per film.

Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and comedian.Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film Swingers. He has appeared in a number of films in the 1990s, including the sports film Rudy (1993), the sci-fi adventure dinosaur film The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), and the drama-thriller Return to Paradise (1998).Other than his dramatic role in The Cell (2000), in the 2000s he acted primarily in comedies, including Old School (2003), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Wedding Crashers (2005), The Break-Up (2006), Fred Claus (2007), and Four Christmases (2008). He continued his comedic roles in the 2010s with The Dilemma (2011), The Watch (2012), and The Internship (2013). In 2015, he starred as Frank Semyon in the second season of the HBO anthology crime drama television series True Detective alongside Colin Farrell, Taylor Kitsch and Rachel McAdams, and since then has taken dramatic roles such as in Hacksaw Ridge, Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Dragged Across Concrete.

Christopher Edward Nolan, (; born 30 July 1970) is a British-American film director, screenwriter, and producer, who is known for making personal, distinctive films within the Hollywood mainstream. His films have grossed over US$4.7billion worldwide and garnered a total of 34 Oscar nominations and ten wins.Born and raised in London, Nolan developed an interest in filmmaking from a young age. After studying English literature at University College London, he made his feature debut withFollowing(1998). Nolan gained international recognition with his second feature,Memento(2000), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He transitioned from independent to studio filmmaking withInsomnia(2002), and found further critical and commercial success withThe Dark Knight Trilogy(2005–2012),The Prestige(2006), andInception(2010), which received eight Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. This was followed byInterstellar(2014), andDunkirk(2017), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. Nolan has co-written several of his films with his brother Jonathan, and runs the production company Syncopy Inc. with his wife Emma Thomas.

Walter Bruce Willis(born March 19, 1955) is an American actor, producer, and singer. Born to a German mother and American father in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, he moved to the United States with his family in 1957. His career began on the Off-Broadway stage in the 1970s. He later achieved fame with his leading role on the hit television seriesMoonlighting(1985–1989). He has since appeared in over 70 films and is widely regarded as an "action hero", due to his portrayal of John McClane in theDie Hardfranchise (1988–2013), and other such roles.His credits also includeDeath Becomes Her(1992),Pulp Fiction(1994),12 Monkeys(1995),The Fifth ElementandThe Jackal(both 1997),ArmageddonandMercury Rising(both 1998),The Sixth Sense(1999),Sin City(2005),Red(2010),Moonrise Kingdom(2012),The Expendables 2(2012),Looper(2012), and as David Dunn in theUnbreakablefilm series:Unbreakable(2000),Split(2016) andGlass(2019). He made his Broadway debut in the stage adaptation ofMiseryin 2015. As a musician, Willis released his debut album,The Return of Bruno, in 1987. He has released two more solo albums since then, in 1989 and 2001.

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson(born 15 April 1990) is an English actress, model and activist. Born in Paris and brought up in Oxfordshire, Watson attended the Dragon School and trained as an actress at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts. As a child, she rose to prominence with her first professional acting role as Hermione Granger in theHarry Potterfilm series, having acted only in school plays previously. Watson was the highest-grossing actress of the 2000s.Watson also appeared in the 2007 television adaptation of the novelBallet Shoesand lent her voice toThe Tale of Despereaux(2008). After the lastHarry Potterfilm, she took on starring and supporting roles inMy Week with Marilyn(2011),The Perks of Being a Wallflower(2012) andThe Bling Ring(2013), made an appearance as an exaggerated version of herself inThis Is the End(2013), and portrayed the titular character's adopted daughter inNoah(2014). She went on to star as Belle in the fantasy filmBeauty and the Beast(2017) and Meg March in the coming-of-age filmLittle Women(2019). Her other film roles includeRegression(2015),Colonia(2015), andThe Circle(2017).

Sandra Annette Bullock(; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and philanthropist. She was the highest paid actress in the world in 2010 and 2014. In 2015, Bullock was chosen asPeople'sMost Beautiful Woman and was included inTime's100 most influential people in the world in 2010. Bullock is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.After making her acting debut with a minor role in the thrillerHangmen(1987), Bullock received early attention for her supporting work in the action filmDemolition Man(1993). Her breakthrough came in the action thrillerSpeed(1994). She established herself in the 1990s with leading roles in the romantic comediesWhile You Were Sleeping(1995) andHope Floats(1998) and the thrillersThe Net(1995) andA Time to Kill(1996). Bullock achieved further success in the following decades with the comediesMiss Congeniality(2000),Two Weeks Notice(2002),The Proposal(2009),The Heat(2013), andOcean's 8(2018), the dramaCrash(2004), and the thrillersPremonition(2007) andBird Box(2018). Bullock was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama for portraying Leigh Anne Tuohy in the biographical dramaThe Blind Side(2009). She was nominated in the same categories for playing an astronaut stranded in space in the science fiction thrillerGravity(2013), which was her highest-grossing live-action release.

Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (common: , correct: [ˇjʏlːɛnˌhɑːl]; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner. He began acting as a child, making his acting debut in City Slickers (1991), followed by roles in his father's films A Dangerous Woman (1993) and Homegrown (1998). His breakthrough performances were as Homer Hickam in October Sky (1999) and as a psychologically troubled teenager in Donnie Darko (2001). His most widely seen film to that point came with the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004).Gyllenhaal won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Jack Twist in Ang Lee's romance Brokeback Mountain (2005). His career progressed with starring roles in the thriller Zodiac (2007), the romantic comedy Love & Other Drugs (2010), and the science fiction film Source Code (2011). He continued to gain acclaim for Denis Villeneuve's thrillers Prisoners (2013) and Enemy (2013), and he received nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his roles as a manipulative journalist in Nightcrawler (2014) and a troubled writer in Nocturnal Animals (2016). His highest-grossing release came with the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), in which he portrayed Mysterio.

Soapkills or Soap Kills (in Arabic الصابون يقتل read as "As-Saboun Yaqtol") is an indie electro-pop band based in Lebanon. The group was formed in October 1997 when Zeid Hamdan and Yasmine Hamdan, both born in Beirut in 1976 but not related, decided to explore and combine their interest in classical Arabic song and electronic music.
A cult group in Lebanon, Soapkills drew inspiration from both classical Arab music and the new electro scene blossoming in the Middle East. French media have described them as "Trip hop à l'orientale" The band's name was initially that of a song written by Zeid Hamdan, and according to him referred to the reconstruction of Beirut after the Lebanese Civil War: "We thought that at the time, in the context of Beirut being ... you know, reborn, and all the war being wiped clean, we thought, wow, it's shiny and it's awful and it's soap kills. We thought it would be a nice name for a band." The group's sound was initially dominated by a Roland MC-303 Groovebox, which Zeid Hamdan had acquired to replace musicians after the dissolution of Lombrix, a rock band that he had founded in the mid-1990s with Yasmine Hamdan and others.

Dominique Hourani (Arabic: دومينيك حوراني‎; born 7 August 1985) is a Lebanese recording artist, actress, beauty queen, and former top model.
Dima Youssef Hourani was born 7 August in Yaroun in South Lebanon, and grew up in Beirut.Hourani is the daughter of archaeologist Youssef Hourani, who wrote more than twenty books and has many approved discoveries in his name in archeology and history of the Middle East.She holds an MBA degree from the Lebanese American University in addition to two other degrees in business administration and accounting. She holds a master's degree of Business Administration and bachelor's degree in Psychology and Business Marketing from the Lebanese American University. In addition she has a bachelor's degree of Accounting from Lebanese University.

Julia Boutros (Arabic: جوليا بطرس‎; born April 1, 1968) is a Lebanese singer known for her patriotism who rose to stardom in the 1980s with a series of songs like "Ghabet Shams El Haq" and "Wein el Malayeen". She is also the sister of Ziad Boutros and the wife of the ex-Minister of defense Elias Bou Saab.Boutros was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 1, 1968. Her father is originally from Lebanon, while her mother is from Palestine, with an Armenian background. She was educated at the Rosary Sisters Schools where she sang in the school choir. Growing up, she and her brother were heavily influenced by Ziad Rahbani's works. When she was 12 years old she recorded her first song, entitled "A Maman", at Elias Al Rahbani studios. This was introduced to her by her music teacher Fouad Fadel. She also recorded two songs, "C'est la Vie" & "Viens dans Ma Vie".

Cyrine Abdelnour, also spelled Cyrine Abd Al-Nour (Arabic: سيرين عبد النور‎; born 21 February 1977), is a Lebanese singer, actress, and model.
Her first album, Leila Min Layali, was released in 2004. She released her second album, Aleik Ayouni in 2006, with debut single "Law Bas Fe Aini" (If he looks in my eyes) becoming one of the most popular Lebanese songs of the year. Abdelnour has also starred in Arabic TV serials and films since the late 1990s.
Abdelnour was born in Abadiyeh to a tailor father named Elias and a nurse mother named Sylvie Cattouf, a follower of the Greek Orthodox faith. She initially studied accounting but dropped her studies to pursue a modeling career.

A group of aliens are sent to Earth, disguised as a human family, to experience and report life on the third planet from the sun.

Follows the escapades and relationships of a group of neighbors living in Gulfhaven, Florida.

Two friends, one northern and one southern, struggle to maintain their friendship as events build towards the American Civil War.

A gifted young teen tries to survive life with his dimwitted, dysfunctional family.

A stand up comedian suddenly becomes a father when he takes custody of his sister's three children.

Animated MTV series about two teenage heavy-metal music fans who occasionally do idiotic things because they're bored. For them, everything is "cool" or "sucks."

American adult animated sitcom created by Mike Judge

Dr. Frasier Crane moves back to his hometown of Seattle, where he lives with his father, and works as a radio psychiatrist.

Follows the personal and professional lives of six twenty to thirty-something-year-old friends living in Manhattan.

The continuing misadventures of neurotic New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York City friends.

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