Five feature-length action adventures based on the Marvel comic.

In 'X-Men' (2000), mutants Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) are former friends, but look set to become mortal enemies when fascist US senator Robert Frank Kelly calls for the registration of all humans with abnormal powers. While telepath Xavier, who runs an altruistic academy for superhuman 'X-Men', wishes to enlighten non-mutants and break down the prejudices which divide them, Magneto believes that the only solution is for the mutants to take over. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) - an aggressive loner with an admantium skeleton and the ability to heal his body of any wound - and teenager Rogue (Anna Paquin), who can absorb the life force of others simply by touching them, are selected by Xavier to join his academy, but it isn't long before Magneto's followers are attempting to capture them so that they can assist in his plan for world domination.

In the sequel, 'X-Men 2' (2003), Xavier, Wolverine and the X-Men find themselves in the firing line after a failed assassination attempt on the president points the finger at the school. It was in fact the mysterious teleporter Nightwalker (Alan Cumming) who ordered it, and, in an attempt to clear their names, the X-Men are led into a trap set by the evil William Stryker (Brian Cox), a mysterious scientist apparently working for the government. As it soon becomes evident that Stryker's agenda is to destroy all mutants, the X-Men need to call in the help of many of their old friends and foes, including Magneto, if they are to stop him.

In the third film, 'X-Men: The Last Stand' (2006), the mutants are given the option of giving up their powers and becoming human after a private laboratory supported by the government finds a way to use the DNA of a powerful boy to correct the mutants. However, Magneto opposes and decides to join a force to fight against the government and kill the mutant boy. Meanwhile, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) resurrects, uncontrolled by Xavier, and with the personality of the powerful Dark Phoenix. She destroys Cyclops (James Marsden) and Xavier and allies herself to the evil forces of Magneto, making them almost invincible.

The fourth film in the franchise, 'X-Men: Origins - Wolverine' (2009) is a prequel to the other three films. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine, who, some 20 years before the action of the original movie, is seeking revenge on his half-brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) for the death of his girlfriend, and eventually signs up to the ominous Weapon X programme.

Finally, 'X-Men: First Class' (2011) charts the beginning of the saga, following Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) through their formative years in the 1960s as they come to terms with their newfound superpowers. Initially close friends who work together to fight against evil, the two men are driven apart by a conflict of opinion that ultimately leads to the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

Superhero action prequel to the first three 'X-Men' movies. The film charts the beginning of the saga, following Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) through their formative years in the 1960s as they come to terms with their newfound superpowers. Initially close friends who work together to fight against evil, the two men are driven apart by a conflict of opinion that ultimately leads to the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men. Kevin Bacon, January Jones and Rose Byrne co-star.

Triple bill of historical adventures. In 'The Eagle' (2010) Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum), a young soldier in 140 AD Roman-occupied England, sets out to honour his father's memory by tracking down the long-missing Roman Ninth Legion in which his father once served. Accompanied by his British slave, Esca (Jamie Bell), Marcus travels beyond Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia to confront its savage tribes and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth. In 'Gladiator' (2000) Russell Crowe stars as Maximus, a general beloved of the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), but feared by the Emperor's son and heir, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). When Aurelius dies and Commodus accedes to the throne, Maximus returns home to find his wife and son killed and only just survives the murderous dictates of the new Emperor himself. Sold into slavery then trained as a gladiator, only thoughts of revenge keep Maximus going as he prepares for a showdown at the Colosseum, presided over by Commodus. In 'Robin Hood' (2010), Sir Robin of Loxley (Crowe) returns from the Crusades to his home in the north of England. There he comes up against the oppressive regime imposed by the tyrannical new Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Macfadyen). Outraged by the Sheriff's behaviour and the general state of the region, Robin summons up a group of supporters and puts his formidable archery skills to use in an effort to free the people from corruption and political injustice.

Superhero action prequel to the first three 'X-Men' movies. The film charts the beginning of the saga, following Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) through their formative years in the 1960s as they come to terms with their newfound superpowers. Initially close friends who work together to fight against evil, the two men are driven apart by a conflict of opinion that ultimately leads to the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men. Kevin Bacon, January Jones and Rose Byrne co-star.

A collection of films featuring the Irish actor Liam Neeson. In 'Rob Roy' (1995), the Scottish hero Rob Roy (Neeson) borrows money from the powerful Marquess of Montrose (John Hurt) in order to provide for his MacGregor clan. However, Montrose's evil henchman Cunningham (Tim Roth) has other ideas and is determined to stop Roy getting his way. In 'Kingdom of Heaven' (2005), Orlando Bloom plays a humble blacksmith who discovers that he is the son of a knight, and travels to the Holy Land to fight in the crusades. In the thriller 'Taken' (2008), Neeson stars as Bryan, a former CIA secret agent living in the US who is obliged to resurrect the skills he learned in his old job after his estranged 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped by sex slave traffickers while travelling with a friend in Europe. Finally, in 'The A-Team' (2010), four Iraq war veterans, led by Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith (Neeson), are on the run from the US military who suspect them of committing a crime and set about trying to clear their names. Becoming mercenaries and employing a wide range of uniquely offensive skills mixed in with a healthy dose of eccentric behaviour, Smith and his cohorts, 'Faceman' Peck (Bradley Cooper), 'Howling Mad' Murdock (Sharlto Copley) and 'B.A.' Baracus (Quinton Jackson), set out to right the wrong done to them by any means necessary - and some that aren't - all the while pursued by military tracker Charisa Sosa (Jessica Biel).

Techniques Using Slips examines the many techniques of using slips - liquid clay which can be used for decoration on its own or covered with glaze - such as brushing, dipping, trailing and sgraffito amongst others, and uses contemporary potters' works as illustrations. It explains how to make up slips and englobes, as well as ways of using them at higher temperatures, both with and without glazes. The book is illustrated with working potters in action, showing their own personal styles and how they have adapted traditional methods to suit their work today in a modern context. As well as examples of techniques, there are many images of beautiful finished pieces to show what can be achieved.

John Anderson and Colin Ewen, two of the most notable exponents of 'dependency phonology', present in this book a detailed account of this integrated model for the representational of segmental and suprasegmental structure in phonology. Dependency phonology departs from traditional 'linear' models of phonology, and the more recent non-linear models of autosegmental and metrical phonology, in several respects. Unlike in these models, suprasegmental structure is derived directly from the segmental representations, and these representations are based on single-valued features, or components (rather than Chomsky and Halle-type binary features), linked by the dependency relation to form suprasegmental structures, with the exact nature of the dependency relations being directly determined by the properties of the segmental structure. Phonology is currently noteworthy for the diversity of views within the discipline, but no linguist or phonetician with a serious interest in phonology can afford to ignore this book or fail to be interested by it.

Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Logan aka Wolverine in this tenth instalment in the 'X-Men' franchise, following on from the events of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' (2014). It's the year 2024 and Logan's age is finally catching up with him, with his ability to heal rapidly slowing. When Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), whose advancing years are also causing issues with his abilities, tells Logan of a young girl, Laura (Dafne Keen), who has been cloned from Wolverine's DNA, they realise that she may be their only hope of saving the world from the evil corporation that is set on destroying everything in its path. The cast also includes Richard E. Grant, Stephen Merchant and Boyd Holbrook.

Superhero action prequel to the first three 'X-Men' movies. The film charts the beginning of the saga, following Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) through their formative years in the 1960s as they come to terms with their newfound superpowers. Initially close friends who work together to fight against evil, the two men are driven apart by a conflict of opinion that ultimately leads to the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men. Kevin Bacon, January Jones and Rose Byrne co-star.

One of the key constraints to accelerated economic performance in developing countries is, in the authors' view, the absence of strong, dynamic financial systems. Many, if not most, developing countries suffer from repressed financial systems. Thus the most important step in effecting the development of capital markets is to lay a foundation of sound macroeconomic and regulatory policies conducive to financial sector development. This book presents an approach to financial sector reform composed of financial sector diagnosis, policy and institutional targeting, macroeconomic reforms, bank regulation and supervisory reform, and privatization. The work also presents criteria to help decision-makers apply the approach. The issues and approaches presented are as relevant to the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe and such transitional countries as Brazil and Mexico as they are to developing countries. The authors begin with an introductory discussion of the two-pronged strategy of financial reform and privatization and then, in chapter 2, provide an overview of developing financial systems. Chapter 3 discusses the public/private debate. Chapter 4 is devoted to financial sector liberalization, and chapter 5 goes on to discuss the privatization of financial institutions. A framework for financial reform and privatization is presented in chapter 6, and chapter 7 provides concluding comments. In addition, a series of case studies are presented in the appendix. These case studies demonstrate the methods and strategies used to address financial sector reform in Bangladesh, Chile, Guinea, Jamaica, Mexico, and the Philippines. This book will be useful to financial and development experts and to policy makers in countries amenable to changing their financial systems. It would also be appropriate for courses in international economics, international banking, international monetary issues, international finance, and economic development.