Slumdog Millionaire is a British drama film directed by Danny Boyle, and co-directed by Loveleen Tandan,[2] and written by Simon Beaufoy. It is an adaptation of the Boeke Prize-winning and Commonwealth Writers' Prize-nominated novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. The film received the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, along with six other Academy Awards.

Set and filmed in India, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati, mentioned in the Hindi version) and exceeds people's expectations, arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials.



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terminator salvation


It is the fourth Terminator film and stars Christian Bale as John Connor and Sam Worthington as the Terminator Marcus Wright. It also introduces a young version of the first film's hero, Kyle Reese, played by Anton Yelchin. The film, set in 2018, focuses on the war between humanity and Skynet. It abandons the formula of previous entries in the series, which involved the Terminator and various other characters traveling through time to protect or kill John Connor. It is both a sequel and prequel to the previous films. Will be released on May 21, 2009


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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is a 2009 American adventure comedy film and the sequel to the American adventure comedy film Night at the Museum. The film stars Ben Stiller, Dick Van Dyke, Robin Williams, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Rami Malek, Hank Azaria, Bill Hader, Ricky Gervais, Christopher Guest and Steve Coogan.




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transformer 2, revenge of the fallen

It is the sequel to 2007's Transformers, which was the first live action Transformers film. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg return respectively as director and executive producer, while Shia LaBeouf reprises the role of Sam Witwicky, the human caught in the war between Autobots and Decepticons. The film introduces many more robots and the scope has been expanded to numerous countries, the most important of which is Egypt. This film will be released on June 24, 2009.

Check out the Video Game based on this film



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Hotel for Dogs is a 2009 American feature film adaptation of the Lois Duncan novel of the same name about two orphans who take in stray dogs at an empty house. The film, which began shooting November 2007, is directed by Thor Freudenthal and stars Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon, Kyla Pratt, and Don Cheadle. The book was adapted by Jeff Lowell and Kim Possible creators Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle. It was released on January 16, 2009.


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Starring: Kirk Cameron, Jason McLeod Director: Alex Kendrick

Fireproof' is the story of Captain Caleb Holt (Kirk Cameron), a firefighter in Albany, Georgia who when at work lives by the old adage, "Never leave your partner behind". But Caleb's home life is a completely different story as his seven-year marriage to his wife Catherine (Erin Bethea) is on the verge of implosion. Neither one understands the pressures the other faces, and after a particularly heated argument in which Caleb literally screams in Catherine's face, she declares she wants out of the marriage, then takes off her wedding ring and stuffs it in her clothing bureau. While Caleb claims to his friends and co-workers that Catherine is over-sensitive and disrespectful, Catherine likewise claims to her peers that Caleb is insensitive, plus he neither listens to her nor understands her needs. Further catalyzing Catherine's motivation for divorce is Caleb's addiction to pornography and a large sum of money he has saved up for a fishing boat he intends to buy, ignoring the fact that Catherine's disabled mother is in need of hospital equipment which insurance refuses to cover.

When Caleb tells his father John about the impending divorce, John challenges Caleb to commit to a 40-day test called, "The Love Dare." Caleb reluctantly agrees to do the test, but more for his father's sake than for his marriage; at first Caleb is in it more for what he can get out of it. Understandably, Catherine initially sees through Caleb's half-hearted attempts to win back her heart, which deepens Caleb's frustration. But with John's intervention, Caleb continues with the book, and eventually makes a life-changing commitment to God, unbeknownst to Catherine.

Meanwhile, Catherine, with prodding from peers (the same peers who gossip incessantly behind her back), begins flirting with Dr. Gavin Keller (Perry Revell) at the hospital where she works. She opens up to him about most of her problems, chiefly her mother's need for the hospital equipment which she can't afford, but as she's no longer wearing her wedding ring, Keller doesn't know Catherine is married, at least not until Caleb is brought to the hospital after being injured rescuing a young girl from a fire. Catherine comes up to Caleb in the ER as Keller is treating him, and a nurse unknowingly reveals before all of them that Caleb is Catherine's husband, though neither Catherine nor Keller let on about their budding relationship in front of Caleb.

Through the guidance of the "Love Dare" book, Caleb begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife. With his godly resolve strengthened beyond the point of half-heartedness, Caleb begins pulling more of his own weight at home doing household chores and running errands, and even leaving real roses for Catherine, this after buying a cheap, half-wilted bouquet near the beginning of the test. Caleb even finds the motivation to destroy his computer and everything on it, smashing it to smithereens with an aluminum baseball bat. But despite all of these things, Catherine is still intent on filing for divorce, much to Caleb's anguish.

When Catherine goes to the home care store to talk with a clerk about the unpaid equipment her mother needs, the clerk tells her that the equipment, all of it, has been paid for in full and is already at her mother's house being installed. Believing it was Dr. Keller that picked up the $24,300 tab, Catherine tracks down Keller at the hospital to thank him and sets up a lunch date with him. Meanwhile, Caleb finds out about Dr. Keller through a card for Catherine that she left at home, so he goes to the hospital on his own and warns Dr. Keller that despite his mistakes he's not about to step aside and let Keller have her, not without a fight. The doctor gets the message and quickly cools the relationship with Catherine. (It's at this point we learn that Dr. Keller is also married, but he keeps his wedding band in a desk drawer and doesn't wear it.)

When Caleb finds Catherine at home sick in bed, he takes it on himself to care for her, providing her food and medicine. It's while he's tending to her that she reveals that she now knows about Caleb's "love dare" book. Caleb kneels before Catherine and tearfully apologizes for his selfish behavior and asks her forgiveness. While Catherine sees some change in Caleb, she can't bring herself to believe it's all true and is not yet ready to trust him again. Caleb understands and gives her as much time as she needs to think things over.

Days later, Catherine returns to the home care store to purchase linens for her mother's new hospital bed, mentioning to the clerk that linens were the only thing Dr. Keller didn't pay for. But when the clerk reveals to Catherine that it was Caleb, not Dr. Keller, who paid most of the $24,300 balance for the equipment (Keller contributed only $300), Catherine walks out of the store in tears, and after running home to put her wedding ring back on her finger, goes straight to the fire house and tells Caleb that she now forgives him, and the two lovingly embrace.

Caleb's dad John later reveals to him the truth about how the "love dare" saved his marriage: that it was actually Caleb's mother who did the love dare on John; contrary to what Caleb believed, it was his dad, not his mother who was ready to end the marriage, but the love dare turned things around. As Caleb always quietly blamed his mother for the near-collapse of their marriage, this revelation goads Caleb into apologizing to his mother. In the end, Caleb and Catherine reaffirm their vows, this time as a covenant to God and to Jesus Christ rather than as merely a contract in a court of law.






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Changeling is a 2008 American period thriller directed by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski.

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Colm Feore

In 1928 Los Angeles, single mother Christine Collins (Jolie) returns home one day to discover her nine-year-old son, Walter (Griffith), is missing. Reverend Gustav Briegleb (Malkovich) publicizes Christine's plight and rails against the Los Angeles Police Department for its incompetence, corruption and the extrajudicial punishment meted out by its "Gun Squad", led by Police Chief James E. Davis (Feore). Several months later, Christine is told her son has been found alive. A public reunion is organized by police, who believe the positive publicity will negate recent criticism of the department. Although "Walter" (Conti) claims to be Christine's son, she says he is not. Captain J. J. Jones (Donovan), the head of the LAPD's Juvenile Division, insists the boy is Walter and pressures Christine into taking him home "on a trial basis".

After Christine confronts Jones with physical discrepancies between "Walter" and her son, Jones has a doctor visit her. He tells Christine that "Walter" is shorter because trauma has shrunk his spine and that the man who took Walter had him circumcised. A newspaper story appears that implies Christine is an unfit mother. Christine meets with Briegleb, who tells her the story was planted by police to discredit her. He also tells her of the corruption rife in the department, and of the Gun Squad's despotic rule over the city's streets. Walter's teacher and dentist give Christine signed letters confirming "Walter" is an impostor. Christine arranges a press conference during which she tells her story. At Jones' order, Christine is taken to Los Angeles County Hospital's "psychopathic ward". Christine is befriended by inmate Carol Dexter (Ryan), who tells Christine she is one of several women who were imprisoned for challenging police authority. Dr. Steele (O'Hare) deems Christine delusional and forces her to take mood-regulating pills. Steele says he will release Christine if she admits she was mistaken about "Walter". She refuses.

Detective Ybarra (Kelly) is called to a ranch at Wineville, Riverside County to arrange the deportation of 15-year-old Sanford Clark to Canada. The boy's uncle, Gordon Northcott (Harner), has fled after being unwittingly alerted by Ybarra to his visit. Clark tells Ybarra that Northcott forced him to assist in kidnapping and murdering approximately twenty children and identifies Walter as one of them. Jones tells Briegleb that Christine is in protective custody following a mental breakdown. Jones orders Clark deported, but Ybarra makes Clark reveal the murder site. Briegleb secures Christine's release by showing Steele a newspaper that details the Wineville killings and names Walter as a possible victim. "Walter" reveals his motive was to secure transportation to Los Angeles to see his favorite actor, Tom Mix, and says the police told him to lie about being Christine's son. Northcott is captured in Vancouver, Canada. Christine has an attorney (Pierson) secure a court order to release the women unfairly imprisoned by police.

On the day of the city council's hearing into the case, Christine and Briegleb arrive at Los Angeles City Hall, where they encounter thousands of protestors who are demanding answers from the city. The hearing is intercut with scenes from Northcott's trial. The council concludes that Jones and Davis should be removed from duty, and extrajudicial internments by police must be reviewed. Northcott is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. Two years later, Christine has not given up her search for Walter. She is told Northcott is willing to admit killing Walter on condition that Christine meets him before his execution. Northcott refuses to tell her whether or not he killed her son, and he is executed the next day. In 1935, David Clay—one of the boys assumed to have been killed—is found alive. He reveals that one of the boys with whom he was imprisoned was Walter. David, Walter and another boy escaped, but were separated. David does not know whether Walter was recaptured, giving Christine hope he is alive.



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Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 Golden Globe Award-winning/Academy Award-nominated film written and directed by Woody Allen.

Starring: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) visit Barcelona for the summer, staying with Vicky's distant relative Judy (Patricia Clarkson) and her husband, Mark Nash (Kevin Dunn). A narrator (voice of Christopher Evan Welch), present throughout the film, describes the two friends: Vicky is practical and traditional in her approach to love and commitment, and is engaged to the reliable but unromantic Doug (Chris Messina). She is in Barcelona getting her masters in "Catalan identity". Cristina, on the other hand, is a nonconformist, spontaneous but unsure of what she wants from life or love.

At an art exhibition, they notice the artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Cristina is impressed with him at first sight, and grows intrigued when Judy and Mark tell the girls that the artist has suffered a publicly violent relationship with his ex-wife. Later that night, the girls notice him across the room in a restaurant. He approaches their table and quickly invites them to join him to the city of Oviedo, in the small plane he flies himself, to spend a weekend sight-seeing, drinking wine, and, Juan Antonio hopes, making love. Cristina accepts the brazen offer almost at once, but Vicky refuses, strongly resenting his assumption that the two of them would agree to go to bed with him after less than five minutes' acquaintance. She eventually decides to accompany her friend anyway, mainly as she says "to protect Cristina from making a big mistake".

At the end of their first day, Juan Antonio asks both women to come to his room. Vicky refuses, but Cristina agrees, though she falls ill before any love making happens. For the remainder of the weekend, Vicky and Juan Antonio are forced together while Cristina recuperates. During their trip, he tells her about his ex-wife and his tumultuous relationship with her and takes her to visit his father an old poet, making Vicky change her negative first impression of him. After more wine over dinner and an intimate guitar concert, Vicky succumbs to his charms and the two make love.

The next day, Juan takes them back to Barcelona. Vicky, feeling guilty, does not mention the incident to Cristina, and the two begin to grow apart, Vicky throwing herself into her Catalan culture studies and Cristina taking up photography. Soon Juan Antonio is dating Cristina. Meanwhile, Doug unexpectedly telephones Vicky, suggesting that they get married in Spain. She agrees, with unspoken misgivings, and he flies to meet her. Cristina and Juan Antonio grow closer and move in together.
One night, Cristina and Juan Antonio are woken up by a call, learning that Juan's ex-wife María Elena (Penélope Cruz) has attempted to kill herself. With nowhere else to go, Juan Antonio brings her home, and she moves into the guest room. Though initially María Elena distrusts Cristina, she soon develops a fondness for her and her photography.

Cristina soon realizes that the ex-spouses are still in love, and María Elena confides that their relationship was always loving but unstable because they were missing something, a mystery element neither of them figured out. María Elena now suggests that the missing link is in fact, Cristina, and the three become polyamorous. Cristina discloses the events of her life to Vicky, who appears secretly jealous of her friend's relationship with Juan Antonio, and to Doug, who disapproves.

As the summer winds to a close, Vicky realizes that she is unsatisfied in her married life, and is still attracted to Juan Antonio. She learns that Judy is also unhappy in her marriage, and confides in the older woman. Judy, who sees Vicky as a younger version of herself, decides to bring Juan Antonio and Vicky together. Meanwhile, Cristina becomes restless and announces she is leaving Juan Antonio and María Elena. Maria does not take the news well and breaks down. Cristina spends the last weeks of the summer in France. With their "missing link" gone, Juan Antonio and María Elena break up again.

Attempting to pair up Juan Antonio and Vicky, Judy arranges for them both to be at a party. Juan Antonio begs Vicky to meet him the next day. After lying to Doug, Vicky, against her better judgment, goes to Juan's home for lunch, after which Juan tries to seduce her again. She is on the point of consenting when María Elena bursts in with a gun and begins firing wildly. As Juan Antonio tries to take the gun from his sobbing wife, Vicky is accidentally shot in the hand, wounding her slightly. Vicky shouts at both of them, saying they are insane and she could never live like this, and leaves.

When Cristina returns from France, Vicky confesses the entire story to her. Cristina says she never knew that Vicky felt that way about Juan Antonio, and she (Cristina) wishes she could have helped her. Doug never learns the true version of events. As the three Americans return to the USA, Vicky goes back to her married life and Cristina remains where she started, not knowing what she wants, but knowing what she doesn't. Since Vicky chooses to live her rigidly planned (a "perfect" life), and Cristina chooses to live without making predetermined plans, they end where they began.



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Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film, Madagascar about the continuing adventures of Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, Marty the Zebra and Melman the Giraffe.

Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath

As a cub, Alex the lion was called Alekey and was the son of Zuba (Bernie Mac), the alpha lion. Though Zuba tries to teach Alekey to be a hunter, the cub is more interested in dancing. When another lion named Makunga (Alec Baldwin) challenges Zuba to a fight for the position of alpha lion, Alekey is captured by poachers. Though Zuba tries to rescue his son, Alekey is forced into a crate. The crate falls into the ocean where it drifts to New York. There, Alekey is renamed Alex and sent to the Central Park Zoo where he grew up, meeting Gloria, Marty, and Melman there.

In the present time, Alex (Ben Stiller), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), Melman (David Schwimmer), Marty (Chris Rock), the chimpanzees, King Julien, Maurice, and the penguins have fixed a crashed plane in the hopes of using it to fly back to New York (Mort manages to tag along as well, by clinging to the airplane wing). Though the plane does fly, it ends up crash-landing in Africa because of lack of fuel.

In Africa, the animals are amazed to find more of their kind. Alex is reunited with Zuba and his mother Florrie (Sherri Shephard). Marty quickly fits into a herd of zebra who all look, sound, and talk exactly like him. Melman takes on the position of Witch Doctor amongst the animals after discovering that sick giraffes have no other option but to die otherwise. Gloria, interested in finding a boyfriend, attracts the attention of a hippo named Moto Moto (Will.i.am).

Meanwhile, the penguins set about repairing the plane. They carjack several jeeps from New Yorkers on vacation (under "Operation Tourist Trap"), leaving the tourists stranded and lost in the jungle. A tough old woman called "Nana" (who had previously attacked Alex in a subway station in Madagascar) takes charge, reminding them that they are New Yorkers and always survive.

Unfortunately, life in Africa is not as wonderful as it first seems. Makunga, still determined to take the position of alpha lion, reminds Zuba that Alex must complete a traditional lion coming-of-age challenge. Alex, thinking that the challenge is a dance contest (it is actually a fight) competes against the strongest lion and loses quickly. To avoid being forced to banish Alex for failing, Zuba abdicates and Makunga immediately takes the position and banishes Alex and his family. Marty meanwhile begins to feel upset that all of the zebra are exactly the same as him, leaving him with nothing unique. Even Alex is unable to tell the difference between Marty and a different zebra, leaving Marty hurt. Melman is happy in his position as Witch Doctor until another giraffe tells him that he has a brown spot on his shoulder. Melman is initially not bothered (as he has brown spots all over his body), until he learns that the previous Witch Doctor apparently died two days after the "spot" appeared. Melman is also upset about Gloria dating Moto Moto, as Melman has secretly loved her for a long time. Gloria goes on a date with Moto Moto and quickly realizes that he only loves her for her body.

The next day, the animals are in a panic when they discover that the watering hole has dried up. Determined to make up for his earlier failure, Alex decides to risk being shot by hunters and leave the Reserve to discover what happened. Along the way, he makes amends with Marty by being able to pick his friend out of the herd of zebras. The pair discover that the stranded New Yorkers, under the instruction of Nana, have dammed the river and built a primitive civilization. Alex is captured and Marty runs for help. Meanwhile, Zuba hears what Alex did and goes to rescue him.

King Julien suggests that the animals sacrifice one of themselves into the volcano to appease the water gods and regain their water supply. Believing that he will die soon, Melman volunteers to be the sacrifice. Gloria stops him just in time and Marty arrives to tell them of Alex's fate. The trio, the penguins, and a cartload of chimpanzees use the newly-fixed plane to come to the rescue. Alex meanwhile manages to rescue both himself and his father by dancing for the New Yorkers, who quickly recognize him from the zoo. Zuba joins in as well. The other animals rescue the lions with the plane and destroy the dam, freeing the water. At the volcano, Mort arrives (he had fallen from the plane into the ocean). He was pursued the entire way from the beach by a shark, which falls into the lava just before the water returns.

Alex manages to remove Makunga from power by tricking Nana into attacking him. Skipper (a penguin) marries a bobble-head hula doll from the plane and leaves on a honeymoon, leaving the other animals to remain in Africa.



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Lakeview Terrace is a 2008 thriller film directed by Neil LaBute, produced by Will Smith.

starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington.

The movie opens on a family breakfast in a luxurious suburban home in Southern California, two African American children with their single father, Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson). He scolds his pre-adolescent son, Marcus, over his choice of basketball jersey (it has Kobe Bryant's number). He tells his son to take it off, as they had agreed, because he does not approve of Bryant's off-court behavior, says, "We agreed we were going to go with Shaq." His teenage daughter sighs and he tells her that he disapproves of her listening to her iPod at the table, and that she is near the end of "3 strikes" rule, where she has the iPod taken away after three warnings.

As they leave their house to walk to school, they see a car approaching, with the new owners of the house next door. (The daughter, Celia, expresses that she hopes they will let them swim in the pool at this home). There is a moving van and a luxury sedan, and in the car is an African American man with a much younger attractive woman, and they pique Abel's interest. He watches them tour the grounds, and sees a younger Caucasian man seeing to the unloading of items from the moving van. Abel does not acknowledge when this man waves to him. Abel assumes the older man and younger woman are married, and the younger Caucasian man is a mover, and he is upset when he sees the young man kiss the woman when the older African American man has his back turned. It turns out that the new homeowners are a married biracial couple, Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington), and the older African American man is Lisa's father (Ron Glass) They are new homeowners, and quite engagingly excited and in love. Abel is a cop; he is seen shaking down an informer in a parking lot. The informer comments on a shift in Abel's attitude and behavior recently; a hostility and new edge to him.

Chris readies to leave for work in the morning, and there is a parking ticket on his windshield, because his fender exceeds the line of the curb; it is a warning, and is signed "AT," for Abel Turner. He is miffed; Lisa says he should not make much of it. Chris returns after work and enjoys a cigarette in his car, while listening to rap or hip-hop music. Abel appears suddenly, motioning Chris to roll down his window. He then frightens Chris, and jokes that no matter the neighborhood, it is dangerous to lower the window even when motioned to do so by a stranger outside. He chides Chris for smoking, even though it is not illegal ("Not yet," Abel says), and jokes that even he listens to hip-hop all night, "when you wake up in the morning, you'll still be white."

The next day, Chris and Lisa have sex in their swimming pool at night. Abel's children are watching. Abel arrives home to see this spectacle, and is upset. He has home security floodlights, and they shine into Chris and Lisa's window, keeping them awake and irritating them, clearly meant to be payback for their carelessness. He leaves them on every night, and Chris resolves to discuss with Abel.

When Chris has the opportunity to discuss, at the end of a jog one morning, Abel claims that it is to prevent crime, and Chris does not get what he needs. Chris helps Abel while he works under the hood of his car, and it results in a finger injury when the hood moves suddenly. It is uncertain whether Abel is intentionally antagonizing Chris or not.

Abel's children play in their yard, and a ball goes into Chris and Lisa's yard. Lisa works from home, and when they come over to retrieve their ball, Lisa strikes up a friendship with the kids, and asks them to bring their father over for a housewarming party they are having.

The flood light problems continue. Lisa says she will talk to Abel. She thinks she understands this African American man, and that Chris has issues, that they may even be related to his difficulties with Lisa's father, and a tendency to project this onto Abel. Chris goes to Abel's house instead though, to ask him to keep his flood lights off, and Abel says he had meant to do so, but has been busy; he claims it involves doing recircuitry of the whole house. Abel takes Chris on his "neighborhood rounds," where he checks on the safety of the neighborhood. He at long last confronts Chris over his lovemaking being visible to his children, and asks Chris that he considers if his lifestyle and behavior are appropriate to this neighborhood, implying that he wants them to move away.

Chris and Lisa have dinner with Lisa's father, who tells them they could choose to move away, if they wish, because acrimony with an LA police officer may mean trouble for them. Chris tells Lisa's father that he does not discuss issues with Chris, and acts as if Chris is not there, and does not like him. Lisa's father then pointedly says that he wonders if the young couple will have children, and if they do, whether Chris will know how to protect them.

Abel arrives to the housewarming party by himself. He is garrulous but has an edge, and criticizes Chris and his friends for their liberal tendencies, on things from the environment to police brutality. As he leaves, Chris tells Abel that he is taking offense to him, but does not plan to move.

One evening, they hear noises downstairs, and find the tires of Chris' car slashed. They suspect Abel. They call the police to come, and the police do little.
Abel and his partner burst in on a domestic incident, and Abel chases the armed African American perpetrator into an alley by himself. He disarms the man effectively, but then lectures and beats the man for not taking care of his family.

When he returns home, he sees his children off. They are to spend time with an aunt.
Chris now buys his own floodlights, and shines them into Abel's bedroom, as a way of taking matters into his own hands.

Lisa soon reveals that she is pregnant. This brings a rift into their marriage. Chris does not want to have children yet. Lisa skipped birth control pills to force the issue; she thinks Chris is being shortsighted, and chooses to force the issue. He leaves for work angry.

Abel is confronted at work by the Internal Affairs Department, for his over-board treatment of the domestic incident perpetrator, and told to go out on leave. Abel sees his police co-workers outside, discussing a bachelor party for one of them that evening. Abel tells them to have it at his house, since his children are away.

The bachelor party is very rowdy. There is loud music, alcohol and strippers, and many partying cops. It is keeping Lisa and Chris up all night, and Chris goes over to tell them to stop. They harass him mildly, try to give him drinks, but then pin him, and have a stripper simulate fallacio He leaves humiliated.

Chris goes to a local bar, and as he finishes his drink, Abel enters, and buys Chris a drink. He tells Chris that he lost his own wife, when a car hit her on a highway, and she was seen as a low priority at the treating Emergency Room. Chris expresses cursory sympathy, says Abel cannot know whether this was true at the emergency room, and leaves. Abel makes a last cryptic comment about his wife, wondering what she was doing out in that area, at that time, when she was supposed to be working (implying she may have been unfaithful to him).

Abel leaves a video of Chris with the stripper in their mailbox the next day for Lisa to see, and she angrily looks Abel's way, knowing it is his doing.

Wildfires rage in the hills surrounding the community. The neighbors are holed up in a home down the hill, waiting to see how fire officials will instruct them. Lisa goes home, and Abel's informant is there, trashing the home. It is at Abel's direction. Lisa surprises him, and it leads to her falling, and the possibility of harm to the pregnancy. Chris races home when he hears his burglar alarm go off. A frustrated Abel goes with him, realizing that the criminal he sent did not leave undetected. Chris rushes to the injured Lisa, and Abel comes upon the criminal, who stands helplessly as Abel shoots him three times in the chest.

Lisa is in the hospital. She is uninjured, and the pregnancy is alright. Chris and Lisa return home. The wildfires are not contained and they are instructed to pack a few things and leave their home. Abel watches from his home nearby. He is hosing off his roof, and does not want to leave. Chris thanks Abel for helping him, tries to express a sense of community with Abel. When Chris and Lisa finally leave, Abel enters their home, hoping to retrieve the criminal's cell phone, where he is afraid his call to the perpetrator can be traced, implicating him in the break-in and murder. He does not find it, and Lisa and Chris unexpectedly return. Chris discovers the cell phone ringing in a bag under their bed, and picks it up. He dials the last number logged on the phone, and Abel picks up his phone, Chris hearing his voice, and realizing Abel is responsible for the break-in. Abel tries to convince him that the perpetrator was a police enemy, and was trying to set Abel up, but Chris throws the gun to Lisa, and tells her to race away and get the phone to the police. Abel shoots a hole in Lisa's car, and Chris tries to beat him, eventually leading to a standoff with Chris holding Abel's dropped gun, Abel now holding a second gun that he keeps in leg holster. The police arrive, and Abel tries to convince them to shoot Chris, but Chris finally throws Abel off, by asking if his distractions are related to his wife's death, and how he was not able to recognize that she had become unfaithful to him. Abel fires on Chris, but is killed by the police in the standoff.

Chris is in the ambulance, and has a gunshot wound to the chest, but he is OK. He and Lisa talk about their pride in their home, neighborhood, soon to be family.




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Frozen River is an Academy Award-nominated 2008 drama film written and directed by Courtney Hunt.

Starring: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham Director: Courtney Hunt

The film is set in the North Country of Upstate New York, near the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation and the Canadian border.

Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo) is struggling to make a living and raise two sons with her husband. She is working at a discount store when her husband runs off and takes the family's life savings with him. In searching for her husband she meets Lila (Misty Upham), a Mohawk. The two women, who have both fallen on hard economic times, form a desperate alliance and start to support their family by trafficking illegal Chinese immigrants from Canada into the United States, across the frozen St. Lawrence River. Ray's oldest son, T.J. (Charlie McDermott), tries to be the man of the family, and the two clash over what he should do, stay in school or drop out and try to find a job to help raise his little brother, Ricky (James Reilly).



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The Secret Life of Bees is a 2008 American drama film, adapted from the novel of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. The film was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and produced by Will Smith with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson

Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning), a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother (Deborah Owens, played by Hilarie Burton). To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father (T. Ray, played by Paul Bettany), Lily flees with Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters - August (Queen Latifah), May (Sophie Okonedo) and June (Alicia Keys), Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping.



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Australia is an Academy Award-nominated 2008 Australian epic romance.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman Director: Baz Luhrmann

In 1939, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) travels from England to northern Australia to force her (in her opinion) philandering husband to sell his faltering Australian cattle station, Faraway Downs. Her husband sends an independent cattle drover (Hugh Jackman), called simply "Drover", to Darwin to transport her to Faraway Downs. Lady Sarah's husband, who has been working hard to sell 1500 head of cattle to the military, is murdered shortly before she arrives. Meanwhile, treacherous FD cattle station manager Neil Fletcher (David Wenham) is trying to gain control of Faraway Downs, so that neighboring Lesley 'King' Carney (Bryan Brown) can have a cattle monopoly in the Northern Territory, which will give him negotiating leverage with the Australian army. Fletcher also claims to Lady Sarah that the murderer of her husband is an Aboriginal elder with magical powers, "King George" (David Gulpilil).

The childless Lady Sarah is captivated by the young boy Nullah (Brandon Walters), who was born to an Aboriginal mother and an unknown white father. Nullah tells her that he has seen her cattle being driven onto Carney's land — in other words, stolen from her. Because of this, Fletcher mistreats Nullah and threatens him and his mother, after which Lady Sarah fires Fletcher and decides to try and run the cattle station herself. When Nullah and his mother hide from the white authorities by entering a water tower, his mother drowns. Lady Sarah comforts Nullah by singing the song "Over the Rainbow" from the film The Wizard of Oz. Nullah tells her that "King George" is his grandfather, and that like "King George" he too is a "magic man".
Lady Sarah persuades Drover to take the cattle to Darwin for sale. Drover, a white man, is friendly with the Aborigines, and therefore shunned by many of the other whites in the territory. It is revealed that he had married an Aboriginal woman, but she had died after being refused medical treatment in a local hospital because of her race. Drover leads a team of six other riders, including Lady Sarah, Drover's Aboriginal brother-in-law Magarri (David Ngoombujarra), Nullah, and the station's accountant Kipling Flynn (Jack Thompson), to drive the 1,500 cattle to Darwin. Carney's men set large fires to make the cattle stampede, and Flynn is killed. However, at the last minute, Nullah stops the cattle from stampeding over a cliff, by apparantly using magic learned from his grandfather. Lady Sarah and Drover develop a romance, and she gains a new appreciation for the Australian territory. But Carney's men poison all the water sources along the cattle-drive route, so the group risks driving the cattle through the dangerous Never Never desert, which they accomplish with the help of "King George". Then, when at last delivering the cattle in Darwin, the group has to race them onto the ship before Carney's cattle are loaded.

Two years pass and Lady Sarah, Nullah, and Drover live together happily at Faraway Downs. However, Fletcher kills Carney and frames it as a tragic accident, marries his daughter Cath Carney, takes over Carney's cattle empire, and then continues to menace Lady Sarah. It is determined that Fletcher was the actual murderer of Lady Sarah's husband, and that Fletcher is also almost certainly the father of Nullah. Nullah is drawn to perform a ceremonial coming-of-age walkabout with his grandfather "King George", but is instead captured by the authorities and sent to live on Mission Island with the rest of the half-Aboriginal children (dubbed the "Stolen Generations"). Lady Sarah vows to find him again somehow, but first works as a radio operator in Darwin during the escalation of World War II. When the Japanese attack the island and Darwin in 1942, Lady Sarah fears that Nullah was killed.

Drover, who had quarrelled with Lady Sarah and had gone droving apparently never to return, hears (mistakenly) that she has been killed in the bombing of Darwin. (It is later revealed that the dead woman thought to be Sarah is in fact Catherine Fletcher, who had volunteered to take Sarah's shift at army radio headquarters so Sarah could go to Nullah earlier.) Drover finds out about Nullah's abduction to Mission Island, and sets out with Magarri and Ivan (the hotelier) to rescue Nullah and the other children from the island using a sailboat. Magarri sacrifices himself to buy the others more time during the escape, and is shot by the Japanese. The others all make it safely back to Darwin. Meanwhile, Lady Sarah has sold Faraway Downs to Fletcher, and is leaving the Northern Territory that morning, since she believes there is nothing more to hold her there. But when Drover and the children sail back into port at Darwin, Nullah plays his harmonica with the tune of "Over the Rainbow". Lady Sarah hears the music, abandons her trip, and the three are reunited. Fletcher, who knows Nullah is the one link to his disreputable past that can ruin him, and rails that the boy must have cursed him, attempts to shoot Nullah, but is speared by King George and falls dead. Lady Sarah, Drover, and Nullah return to the safety of remote Faraway Downs. On the way back to Faraway Downs, King George calls for Nullah, his grandson, to go walkabout. Lady Sarah embraces Nullah and then lets him go to his grandfather, who explains now they will return to his land, and then looking at Lady Sarah, says "our land".



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Burn After Readingis a 2008 black comedy film written, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt

Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) is a CIA analyst who quits his job at the agency after being demoted because of a drinking problem. He then decides to write a memoir about his life in the CIA. His wife, pediatrician Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton), wants to divorce Osborne and, at the counsel of her divorce lawyer, she copies many of his personal and financial files off his computer and onto a compact disc. The lawyer's receptionist accidentally leaves the disc at Hardbodies, a health club. After her husband is served with divorce papers, Katie changes the locks to keep him out of their house.

An employee of the gym, Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), obtains the disc from the gym's custodian. Seeing the content of the memoir, he assumes that it is highly classified information and the financial data is some sort of cipher. Initially Chad only wants to give the disk back to Osbourne hoping for a reward. But after a confusing phone conversation due to lack of communication between the two and a high temper on Osbourne's part, Chad and Linda, who wants the money to pay for cosmetic surgery, decide to blackmail him. Chad meets Osborne, who refuses to pay and punches Chad in the nose. Then Linda decides to take the information to the Russian embassy. At the embassy, she hands the disk over to the Russians, promising that she will give more information afterwards. Because Linda and Chad don't have any more information, they decide to break into Cox's house.

Katie has been having an affair with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a womanizing Treasury agent. By chance he has recently met Linda online and begun an affair with her as well. Chad stakes out the Coxes' house and breaks in when he sees Harry and Katie leave. Harry, however, comes back, finds Chad, and accidentally shoots him dead. Linda had told Chad to carry no ID and cut the labels out of his clothes; when Harry sees this, he thinks Chad was a spy and disposes of the body.

Days later, paranoid since he killed Chad, Harry leaves the Cox residence after a discussion with Katie. On his way out, he tackles a man who has been trailing him for some time, thinking the man works for the CIA or some other government agency. Harry discovers instead that the man works for a divorce firm hired by his wife, whom it is later revealed has been cheating on him as well. Harry is devastated and goes to see an agitated Linda, who confides in Harry that her friend Chad is missing; he agrees to try to help.

The next morning, Harry and Linda meet in a park and she provides him with more information about Chad's disappearance. When Harry realizes that Chad is the man he killed, he becomes more paranoid and flees in terror, assuming that Linda is also a spy. Linda then turns to Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins), the manager of Hardbodies, who has feelings for her. Believing that the Russians have kidnapped Chad, he agrees to look for more information in Osborne's computer. But Osborne, finding that Katie has emptied their bank account, decides to break into his own house with a hatchet to take her jewelry. Finding Ted at his computer, Osborne shoots him. Ted survives and runs out of the house, but Osborne grabs the hatchet and kills him in broad daylight.

The movie ends at CIA headquarters, where an official (David Rasche) and his director (J.K. Simmons) are trying to sort out what happened: Chad is dead, Ted is dead, Osborne is in a vegetative state after being shot by a passer-by while attacking Ted, and Harry and Linda have been arrested. Harry was caught trying to board a flight to Venezuela, but the director decides to let him go to get him out of their hair. Linda promises to remain silent if the CIA will finance her plastic surgery. The baffled CIA agents agree to her terms, but decide that they have learned their lesson: they will never repeat whatever it is that they did in this case, though they are still not clear what it is they actually did.




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Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published novel in C. S. Lewis's fantasy series.

Starring: Ben Barnes, Cornell John Starring: Ben Barnes, Cornell John Director: Andrew Adamson Andrew Adamson.

1,300 years after the Pevensie siblings leave Narnia, a Telmarine prince, Caspian, is awakened by his mentor Doctor Cornelius, informing him that his aunt has just given birth to a son and that his life is now in grave danger. Cornelius gives him Queen Susan's ancient magical horn and instructs him to use it if he is in dire need of help. Knowing that his Uncle Miraz would kill him in order to be king, Caspian flees. Chased into the woods by General Glozelle and several Telmarine soldiers, Caspian falls off his horse and encounters two Narnian dwarfs, Trumpkin and Nikabrik, and a talking badger named Trufflehunter. While Trumpkin acts as a decoy, Nikabrik saves Caspian from capture. In the confusion, and not knowing the dwarfs are trying to help him, Caspian blows the magical horn to summon help.

In England, one year has passed since the Pevensie children returned from Narnia. They are first seen waiting at the Strand tube station for their train to boarding school. As the train pulls in, the station collapses and the Pevensies are transported back to Narnia. There they discover the ruins of their castle, Cair Paravel, and realizing it had been attacked in their absence, they set out to find out why.

In the Telmarine castle, the lords of the council find out that Prince Caspian is gone. Lord Sopespian blames Miraz, but Miraz and General Glozelle show them Trumpkin. Miraz blames the Narnians and tell the lords to fight them to get Caspian back, though Miraz actually wants to kill Caspian.

The Pevensies save Trumpkin from being drowned by two Telmarines; he quickly realizes that the four children are the Kings and Queens of Old and they all continue on together. On the way, Lucy glimpses Aslan and tries to convince the others that she's seen him, but only Edmund believes her.

Meanwhile, Nikabrik and Trufflehunter lead Caspian to the Dancing Lawn, where the old Narnians have assembled, including the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep, and a large number of dwarves, giants, centaurs, fauns, minotaurs, and talking animals. There, Caspian convinces the Narnians to help him win his throne so that he can give them back their land. Caspian and the Narnians steal a number of weapons from the Telmarines. Caspian and his troops encounter the Pevensies and Trumpkin; they all journey together to Aslan's How, a huge barrow built over the Stone Table. From there, Peter decides that they will attack Miraz's castle. Lucy suggests waiting for Aslan to give instructions, but Peter thinks they have waited for Aslan long enough.

The Narnians succeed in raiding Miraz’s castle, but Peter calls for a retreat when he realizes that they are being overwhelmed by Telmarine soldiers and if they keep fighting they will all be killed. Peter, Susan, Edmund, Caspian, and half of the Narnians manage to escape, but the rest are trapped and slaughtered. When they get back to Aslan's How, Peter and Caspian, who are both feeling guilty and upset over the loss of half their soldiers, have an argument about the attack on the castle, which almost culminates in a swordfight. Back at the castle, the councilmen and lords decide to crown Miraz King of Narnia.

Later, Nikabrik, with aid of a hag and a werewolf, tells Caspian that they can help him claim his throne and guarantee Miraz's death. However Nikabrik tricks Caspian and the hag then uses black sorcery to summon the White Witch, and from inside a wall of ice, the Witch tries to convince Caspian to give her a drop of his blood so that she may be free. Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Trumpkin promptly arrive and kill Nikabrik, the werewolf, and the hag, and Edmund shatters the wall of ice before the Witch can be freed.

As Miraz and his army arrive at Aslan's How, Caspian suggests that Peter and Miraz duel one-on-one under the condition of surrender, in order to buy Lucy and Susan time to find Aslan. Miraz accepts, as it would look cowardly to refuse to fight a boy half his age. Susan and Lucy are chased by Telmarine soldiers during their search; Susan sends Lucy off and remains behind to deal with the soldiers, but she is rescued by Caspian and the two return to the battle. Peter is able to wound Miraz, but gives his sword to Caspian to finish him off. Caspian, who cannot bring himself to do it, spares Miraz's life but says that he intends to give Narnia back to its people.

Lord Sopespian suddenly stabs and kills Miraz with one of Susan's arrows and accuses the Narnians of shooting Miraz. General Glozelle and Lord Sopespian then lead the Telmarines. The Telmarine cavalry charges while the troops use their catapults against Aslan's How. The Narnians try several tactics, including collapsing underground halls beneath the advancing Telmarine army and sending griffins overhead with archers in their claws. Finally in a desperate move, they charge head on. Lucy, meanwhile, finds Aslan in the woods and he awakens the trees that have long been in a deep sleep. The tide of battle quickly turns as the trees join in attacking the Telmarines. Lord Sopespian orders retreat to a bridge, where they are confronted by Lucy and Aslan. Aslan summons the river god, who destroys the bridge and wipes out the majority of the Telmarine army. The river god then eats Lord Sopespian. The battle is won with the surviving Telmarine soldiers surrendering and handing over their weapons.

Before the Pevensies depart, Peter and Susan declare, much to Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy's dismay, that Aslan has told them they will never return to Narnia. Aslan explains that Susan and Peter have gained everything they could possibly gain from their experiences in Narnia and are no longer needed there. Susan and Caspian share a kiss, knowing they will never meet again. The Pevensies then go back to England, leaving Caspian as King of Narnia.




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On Monday, February 9, 2009, Amazon announced the Kindle 2 (Amazon Kindle-2 is an e-book reader, an embedded system for reading electronic books), which will be available for purchase starting February 24, 2009. Price of the unit is $359.00 in pre-order. The new Kindle features improved battery life, 20 percent faster page-refreshing, a text-to-speech option to read the text aloud, and overall thickeness reduced to 0.36 inches. To promote the new Kindle, author Stephen King has written a novella which will be available exclusively on Amazon.com.

The Amazon Kindle has more storage capacity and can holds over 1,500 books. Users can download content from Amazon in the proprietary Kindle format (AZW), or load unprotected Mobipocket (PRC, MOBI) or plain text content. Amazon offers an email-based service that will convert HTML, DOC (Microsoft Word), PDF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP documents to AZW. It also supports audio in the form of MP3s and Audible 2, 3, and 4 audiobooks, which must be transferred to the Kindle over USB, or on an SD card.

Users can select reading material through the Kindle or through a computer at Amazon Kindle store, and can download content through the Kindle Store. New releases and New York Times bestsellers are offered.

The device comes with electronic editions of its owner's manual and the New Oxford American Dictionary. The Kindle also contains several free experimental features, including a basic Web browser. Users can also play music from MP3 files in random order in the background. Operating system updates are received over the air and installed automatically.

Annotations

The user can bookmark, highlight, and look up content. Pages can be dog-eared for reference and notes can be added to relevant content. While a book is open on the display, menu options allow users to search for synonyms and definitions from the built-in dictionary. The device also remembers the last page read for each book. Pages can be saved as a "clipping", or a text file containing the text of the currently displayed page. All clippings are appended to a single file, which can be downloaded over a USB cable.

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Percy Jackson has been invited to Goode High School by Paul Blofis, his mom's new boyfriend. While at the freshmen orientation Percy has a run in with Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the mysterious mortal he met the previous winter at the Hoover Dam who can see through the Mist, and two demonic cheerleaders, the (empousai). He's able to defeat one of the empousai, but the other, Kelli, escapes, getting Percy in trouble yet again. With Rachel's help, he's able to get out of the school, escape the cops and find Annabeth, his friend who Aphrodite hinted at a romantic relationship with, and a fellow demigod who is also daughter of a goddess, Athena. They were supposed to have a night at the movies,but was interrupted by Rachel. Their afternoon together is canceled and they head for Camp Half-Blood, which is a refuge for halfbloods. Halfbloods are half mortal (a regular person) and half Greek God.
On their arrival, Percy discovers Dionysus' absence and he attends Grover's hearing with the Council of Cloven Elders, who feel that they should revoke his searcher's license since he has found no evidence of hearing Pan's voice after six months of claiming to hear him. Also in attendance, Grover's new girlfriend Juniper, a dryad. They give him one week to find proof of Pan's existence. Percy also meets the new swordsman trainer, Quintus, an adult half-blood and his gigantic pet hellhound,the awesome, the best, Mrs. O'Leary.

As Luke's forces are gathering and plan to invade Camp Half-Blood, the demigods begin preparations. While playing a deadly game with giant scorpions, Percy and Annabeth discover an entrance into the dangerous Labyrinth. They realize Luke's plan to invade camp through the Labyrinth. Clarisse's mission from last winter is discovered to have been scouting around one of the entrances in Phoenix, Arizona, where she finds a fellow half-blood, Chris Rodriguez, who'd joined the ranks of the Titans and was driven insane when Luke sent individual troops into the Labyrinth. Clarisse harbors some deep romantic feelings for him.

Annabeth is chosen to the lead the quest to find the workshop of Daedalus, inventor of the Labyrinth and holder of Ariadne's string, and consult the Oracle. She's vague about the last line of the prophecy and breaks the rules by allowing three questers, Percy, Tyson, and Grover to come with her instead of two. Percy receives a mysterious Iris message that shows Nico talking to a ghost adviser, who turns out to be King Minos, and raising the dead to get answers to find a way to trade a soul for a soul. Before descending into the Labyrinth, Quintus gives Percy a dog whistle, that when blown, will summon Mrs. O'Leary to him whenever he is in trouble, despite Percy's suspicion on whose side he is on.

Once in the Labyrinth, they immediately get lost and don't know which way to turn. They meet Janus, the two-faced god of choices, and Hera, Queen of Olympus and the goddess of marriage. Hera guides them and tells them to seek out Hephaestus, who might have kept track of Daedalus over the ages. They continue their journey through the maze and come out into Alcatraz, where they discover various prisons used to hold Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires (or Hundred-Handed Ones), who were allies to the Olympians during the first war, along with their jailer, Kampê. Tyson meets his hero, the Hundred-Handed One, Briares, and sets him free to discover that he lost his will and confidence for battle. They face Kampê, who nearly kills Tyson, but manage to escape.

They soon come across the demonic dude ranch called the Triple G Ranch and meet Geryon and Eurytion, an elder son of Ares. Staying there also is Nico, the son of Hades. Geryon was paid to let the questers go through, but not Nico. Percy makes a deal that if he cleaned the stables of Diomedes like Hercules did, then Geryon would let his friends go. He succeeds by using the power of the ocean inside him, but Geryon tells him that he didn't make the deal binding. Percy and Geryon engage in a serious battle. Percy learns that Geroyon has three hearts and can not defeat him with a sword. He gets a bow and prays to Artemis and Apollo to help him shoot. He succeeds and hits all 3 hearts. He sets Eurytion free of his command by killing Geryon. For his thanks, he gives them a silver disk necklace that'll help locate the god Hephaestus. Afterward, Nico summons Bianca's spirit, who lets him know that Percy wasn't to blame for her death. Nico decides to remain behind at the ranch, while the others continue.

As they continue their quest to find Hephaestus, they come across the Sphinx, who upsets Annabeth by not having more challenging riddles, instead of just fact questions. They escape the grasp of the Sphinx and discover Hephaestus in one of his forges fixing a Toyota Corolla. He tells them that he'll help them find Daedalus if they found out whose been using his forge at Mount St. Helens. They agree, but split up along the way when Grover gets a scent of Pan. Tyson decides to go with him, leaving Percy and Annabeth to head to the forge. They discover telekhines (sea demons) there, making a weapon for Kronos. Percy tells Annabeth to escape while she can and she kisses him on the forehaed then departs to report back to Hephaestus.

The telekhines discover Percy and throw lava on him. Percy summons all his powers to get rid of the lava and the telekhines, and ends up causing Mount St. Helens to erupt and almost awaken Typhon, one of the worst monsters of all. He is then sent while unconscious to Calypso's island by Hera. Hephaestus arrives and tells him what he wants to know about Daedalus and what he'll need to guide him through the Labyrinth: Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Calypso offers him to stay, and she tells him her curse; 'the gods send her a hero that she can't help but fall in love with and it's a hero who can never stay'. Percy later states that the curse worked both ways. He leaves Calypso's island and heads for camp, stating that he would be thinking about her for the rest of his life. At camp he learns that everyone thought he was dead, but he was actually alive. He and Annabeth go looking for Rachel and find her in Manhattan.

Together, they descend into the Labyrinth again, this time with Rachel as their guide, whose eyes are harder to fool since she can see directly through the Mist. They find an underground arena with Luke's troops in it, being used to entertain a giant son of Poseidon and Gaea, Antaeus. Percy duels against a dracaena, who he easily defeats, and then fights a half-blood named Ethan Nakamura, who he spares in the battle. He then challenges Antaeus to battle and successfully kills him. The monsters begin to overwhelm them and he calls Mrs. O'Leary by use of the dog whistle to help them out. They escape and finally find their way to Daedalus' workshop to discover Daedalus is actually Quintus. Daedalus had built five bodies for himself over the millennium, by casting his soul into the humanoid automatons. Monsters attack again in his workshop, led by Kelli who has taken Nico captive. He had left the Labyrinth, but he was advised by Minos to return because Minos said Percy and Annabeth would be in danger. It was a trick , because Minos wanted revenge on Daedalus for his treachery and giving the daughters of a rival king the tools to kill him. He reveals that once Nico got the soul, he would use it for himself, and not on Bianca. Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Rachel are able to escape on bronze wings and fly out of Daedalus's workshop, leaving him to battle the monsters with Mrs. O'Leary.

Rachel convinces a chauffeur to drive them into the city due to her wealthy status and she spots another entrance to the Labyrinth in a museum. Once in the Labyrinth, they come across a tunnel that leads to Mount Tamalpais and the palace of Kronos. Percy can't help but check it out and discovers the telekhines from Hephaestus' forge have reforged the weapon for the Lord of Time Kronos, his scythe or sickle. Percy opens the coffin to discover Luke, who looks dead. Ethan, son of Nemesis (a minor goddess), enters with the telekhines and pledges his allegiance to Kronos. That was the last soul Kronos needed to complete his transformating body, and he is resurrected in the form of Luke's body. Percy and his friends barely escape, and Nico uses his powers to cause the ceiling of the palace to cave in.

They continue on their journey back to New York and begin to sense something ancient and powerful in another tunnel. They find Tyson and Grover, and discover the lost god Pan in a crystal cavern. He wants Grover to tell the world he has died, since his kingdom has faded and that his spirit shall live inside all of them. He leaves Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel cryptic messages about their futures. Pan then dies and the crystal cavern vanishes along with its extict wonders. They then return to camp, where Luke's forces have begun the invasion. They're able to beat them back, with the help of Grover, who creates panic among the enemy forces, but have a few casualties, including Lee Fletcher, a son of Apollo, and Castor, one of Dionysus's twin sons. After the battle, Daedalus, by order of himself, dies to destroy the Labyrinth.

The Council of Cloven Elders decide that Grover should be exiled and that the search for Pan should continue, but Dionysus returns and outvotes them. Percy hears the last line of Annabeth's prophecy and is upset to hear that she would Lose a love to worse than death, wasn't about him as she had thought, but Luke. Percy wants to tell Annabeth that he doesn't want to be so distant from her, but finds that he can't. Annabeth decides to stay at camp a while and Percy heads home to celebrate his fifteenth birthday with his mom, Paul Blofis, and Tyson. He gets a surprise visitor in the form of Poseidon, who gives him a sand dollar as a birthday gift. He also gives him a warning that ancient forces are stirring, the great monster Typhon is stirring from his imprisonment under Mount St. Helens due to the Titans' rising and Percy's outburst. Poseidon then tells Percy that he is his favorite son. Also, Paul tells Percy that he wants to propose to his mom. Percy plants a moonlace flower on his fire escape that he'd kept from Calypso's island and finds Nico there. Nico tells Percy that he has some news and a way to beat Luke, but gets distracted when he sees the blue birthday cake. Percy invites him in to eat after suspecting that Nico has never had his own birthday cake before.





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The term Night World refers to both the title of a series young adult fiction novels by L. J. Smith and the secret society in the series The series (9 published novels with 1 remaining)
takes place in a universe very similar to reality, except that there are many supernatural races or species that have secretly existed alongside humanity for thousands of years. These supernatural races, collectively known as the Night World, include vampires, witches, werewolves, and shapeshifters, each of whom have their own histories, society, and relationship with the others. Humans greatly fear Night People and have a history of violence towards them (e.g., witch huntings in the Middle Ages). Because humans far outnumber Night People, the latter are forced to live in secret, despite their (general) attitude that they are superior.

Each novel is a separate story, always involving romance, sometimes involving a mystery or some other conflict. Like all of Smith's works, the story is always told from the perspective of a teenage female. In Night World, this character can be human, vampire, witch, or shapeshifter. Besides taking place in the same universe, all the novels are thematically linked with the concept of the "soulmate." In the Night World, the soulmate principle is an old witch legend. However, at the start of the series (with the main characters in Secret Vampire being the first instance), the soulmate principle seems to be making a return, this time linking humans with Night People, and attributed to forces only known to witches as the "old powers". In the first six books of the series, it appears that the overall message of the series is to be the unifying of humans and Night People with these inter-species couples leading the way towards peace. This seems to change in the seventh novel of the series, Huntress, when a new idea of the impending apocalypse is introduced. At this point, Smith reveals that there is a prophecy stating that the world is about to end unless four "Wild Powers" are found to fight together. Though the soulmate principle continues to be present in the later novels, the plot is now focused on finding the four Wild Powers. The conclusion of the series, Strange Fate has been delayed for several years and is now scheduled for release in summer of 2009.






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