Collection of five films starring Samuel L. Jackson. '1408' (2007) is an adaptation of a Stephen King short story about a notoriously haunted hotel room & the efforts of a sceptic to debunk the myth. Mike Enslin (John Cusack), a horror novelist specialising in exposing paranormal events in houses & graveyards worldwide, decides to add suite 1408 of the notorious Dolphin Hotel to his list of conquests for his latest project, ' Ten Nights in Haunted Hotel Rooms'. Ignoring the warnings of the hotel manager Gerald Olin (Jackson), Enslin checks in, sure of exposing yet another sham. But before too long Mike is forced to accept proof of the afterlife, as he fights to survive until the morning. In ' Black Snake Moan' (2007), Rae (Christina Ricci) is a bedevilled, troublesome & lubricious young woman whose life has been a series of sexual misadventures since being abused in early life. Lazarus (Jackson) is a former blues musician whose career has run aground due to self-imposed seclusion. Lazarus is himself tormented by inner demons
- left a cuckold by a woman of easy virtue who took up with his own brother after a fling with his best friend. When Lazarus finds Rae stretched out on a dirt road near his cabin after an attempted murder, he takes her in & tends her wounds. As Rae awakens, she's keen on repaying him in kind, using the only currency she understands
- a notion the burned Lazarus finds abhorrent. He resolves to cure the girl with good old-fashioned virtue & the bible, much to her chagrin. In ' Changing Lanes' (2002), hot-shot New York attorney Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck) & recovering alcoholic Doyle Gibson (Jackson) find their lives become intertwined on the evening of Good Friday when their cars collide. Late for a meeting, Banek gives Doyle a blank cheque to cover the damage, whilst Doyle's car is a write-off & he is late for a custody-hearing. But not only have their cars collided, they also end up accidentally walking away with important files of each other's; in fact Doyle loses his house & family because of it. Thus begins a cat & mouse game to retrieve the files & it seems neither man is ready to play clean. In ' Coach Carter' (2005), Jackson plays controversial basketball coach Ken Carter in a drama about a failing inner-city school. When the tough, no-nonsense coach decides to take extreme measures to improve his team's poor academic performance, he makes national news. Although the team is undefeated, Carter locks them out of the gymnasium in an attempt to focus their minds on their studies, & to show them a world beyond drugs, gangs & even basketball. But Carter realises he has an uphill struggle when his controversial approach puts him into opposition with an irate community that wants the team back in the league. Finally, ' Shaft' (2000) is a remake of the 1971 blaxploitation classic with Jackson taking over from Richard Roundtree in the title role. When waitress Diane (Toni Collette) sees ultra-rich playboy Wade (Christian Bale) murder a young black man outside a nightclub, she knows that she will be next & promptly goes into hiding. Enter Armani-wearing supercop John Shaft, the only man who cares enough to bring Wade to justice, & Diane's only hope of survival. Wade pays the drug-boss Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright) to have Diane killed, but Shaft is also hot on her trail & he's not a man put off easily. Shoot-outs & car chases follow.

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Samuel Palmer was one of the most visionary & mystical landscape painters of the Romantic era. This volume is a facsimile of the only sketchbook not to have been destroyed by the artist's son after his death in 1881. It is for those who seek to understand the inspiration of one of Britain's most important landscape artists. ...

The later part of Palmer's career is discussed against the background of his struggle for recognition. It reveals the role played by critics in shaping the reception of his work, & the importance of the various societies he joined in giving his individual vision credibility & support. ...

Samuel Palmer began his career as an artist at an early age. In 1824, he met William Blake whose influence helped confirm his visionary approach to art. Palmer retreated into rural isolation in the village of Shoreham, Kent, his own ' Valley of Vision'. Here he produced his most distinctive work. His work influenced many 20th century artists. ...

Born into one of England's best-known families, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-76) was not only the foremost organist & church musician of his generation, but a vigorous campaigner for higher standards in cathedral music. Peter Horton has drawn on a wide range of source material to produce a detailed account of Wesley's life & career. ...