"This fascinating, massive, wide-ranging collection that editors Christopher K. Coffman and Daniel Lukes have gathered together into William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion will soon be recognized as one of those rare critical books for which that egregiously overused term 'groundbreaking' is fully justified." -Larry McCaffery, from the preface of William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion The essays in this collection make a case for regarding William T. Vollmann as the most ambitious, productive, and important living author in the US. His oeuvre includes not only outstanding work in numerous literary genres, but also global reportage, ethical treatises, paintings, photographs, and many other productions. His reputation as a daring traveler and his fascination with life on the margins have earned him an extra-literary renown unequaled in our time. Perhaps most importantly, his work is exceptional in relation to the literary moment. Vollmann is a member of a group of authors who are responding to the skeptical ironies of postmodernism with a reinvigoration of fiction's affective possibilities and moral sensibilities, but he stands out even among this cohort for his prioritization of moral engagement, historical awareness, and geopolitical scope. Included in this book in addition to twelve scholarly critical essays are reflections on Vollmann by many of his peers, confidantes, and collaborators, including Jonathan Franzen, James Franco, and Michael Glawogger. With a preface by Larry McCaffery and an afterword by Michael Hemmingson, this book offers readings of most of Vollmann's works, includes the first critical engagements with several key titles, and introduces a range of voices from international Vollmann scholarship.

Spider-Man
When high-school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is bitten by a genetically-altered spider while on a visit to a scientific institute, he soon begins to experience unusual side-effects - such as increased strength, enhanced wall-climbing skills, and the ability to spin webs out of his wrists. Peter first attempts to make use of these skills to impress girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson, but after his Uncle Ben is killed in an armed robbery, he is compelled to work for the greater good and reinvents himself as Spider-Man, the enemy of criminals everywhere. Meanwhile, arms manufacturer Norman Osborn transforms himself into the Green Goblin, begins to terrorize the city, and lays down the gauntlet to Spider-Man by abducting his beloved Mary Jane.

Spider-Man 2
Two years have passed since the events of the first film, and the mild-mannered Peter Parker faces new challenges as he struggles with 'the gift and the curse', desperately trying to balance his dual identities as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man and his life as a college student. Tormented by his secrets, Peter finds that his relationships with all those he holds dear are in danger of unraveling. His life-long yearning for Mary Jane becomes even stronger as he fights the impulse to reveal his secret life and declare his love. His friendship with Harry Osborn is complicated by the young Osborn's bitterness over his father's death and his growing vendetta against Spider-Man. Even Peter's beloved Aunt May, who has fallen on hard times since the death of her husband, begins to have doubts about her nephew.

Spider-Man 3
Peter Parker and his girl Mary-Jane are on the cusp of contentment - but not for long. His ex-friend Harry, son of the Green Goblin, becomes the New Goblin in his desire for revenge against Spider-Man. Fugitive Flint Marko, killer of Peter's Uncle Ben, has been transformed into the shape-shifting Sandman, possibly Spider-Man's toughest foe so far. To complicate matters further, a parasitic alien symbiote has attached itself to Peter's suit, giving him even greater powers but also bringing out the evil side of his personality. He has to struggle not only against two major adversaries but also against himself.

The Amazing Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield takes over the mantle in this rebooted story of Peter Parker, an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. When Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
It’s great to be Spider-Man. For Peter Parker, there’s no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen. But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro, Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: Oscorp.

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg write and produce this adult animated feature. Sausage Frank (voice of Rogen) has, along with all his sausage friends, always dreamed of being the one who gets picked off the shelf. When his day finally comes, he is delighted to see that his hot dog bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig) has also been picked. When they get home to their new owner's kitchen however, they discover their true purpose as one-by-one their friends get killed and eaten. Can Frank and Brenda pull everyone together to escape their fate? The all-star voice cast also includes James Franco, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd and Edward Norton.

A fiercely vivid collection of stories about troubled California teenagers and misfits--violent and harrowing, from the astonishingly talented actor and artist James Franco.

"Palo Alto" is the debut of a surprising and powerful new literary voice. Written with an immediate sense of place--claustrophobic and ominous--James Franco's collection traces the lives of an extended group of teenagers as they experiment with vices of all kinds, struggle with their families and one another, and succumb to self-destructive, often heartless nihilism. In "Lockheed" a young woman's summer--spent working a dull internship--is suddenly upended by a spectacular incident of violence at a house party. In "American History" a high school freshman attempts to impress a girl during a classroom skit with a realistic portrayal of a slave owner--only to have his feigned bigotry avenged. In "I Could Kill Someone," a lonely teenager buys a gun with the aim of killing his high school tormentor, but begins to wonder about his bully's own inner life.

These linked stories, stark, vivid, and disturbing, are a compelling portrait of lives on the rough fringes of youth.

A powerful new translation of Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse's masterpiece of youthful rebellion--with a foreword and cover art by James Franco A Penguin Classic A young man awakens to selfhood and to a world of possibilities beyond the conventions of his upbringing in Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse's beloved novel Demian. Emil Sinclair is a quiet boy drawn into a forbidden yet seductive realm of petty crime and defiance. His guide is his precocious, mysterious classmate Max Demian, who provokes in Emil a search for self-discovery and spiritual fulfillment. A brilliant psychological portrait, Demian is given new life in this translation, which together with James Franco's personal and inspiring foreword will bring a new generation to Hesse's widely influential coming-of-age novel. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg write and produce this adult animated feature. Sausage Frank (voice of Rogen) has, along with all his sausage friends, always dreamed of being the one who gets picked off the shelf. When his day finally comes, he is delighted to see that his hot dog bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig) has also been picked. When they get home to their new owner's kitchen however, they discover their true purpose as one-by-one their friends get killed and eaten. Can Frank and Brenda pull everyone together to escape their fate? The all-star voice cast also includes James Franco, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd and Edward Norton.

Spider-Man
When high-school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is bitten by a genetically-altered spider while on a visit to a scientific institute, he soon begins to experience unusual side-effects - such as increased strength, enhanced wall-climbing skills, and the ability to spin webs out of his wrists. Peter first attempts to make use of these skills to impress girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson, but after his Uncle Ben is killed in an armed robbery, he is compelled to work for the greater good and reinvents himself as Spider-Man, the enemy of criminals everywhere. Meanwhile, arms manufacturer Norman Osborn transforms himself into the Green Goblin, begins to terrorize the city, and lays down the gauntlet to Spider-Man by abducting his beloved Mary Jane.

Spider-Man 2
Two years have passed since the events of the first film, and the mild-mannered Peter Parker faces new challenges as he struggles with 'the gift and the curse', desperately trying to balance his dual identities as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man and his life as a college student. Tormented by his secrets, Peter finds that his relationships with all those he holds dear are in danger of unraveling. His life-long yearning for Mary Jane becomes even stronger as he fights the impulse to reveal his secret life and declare his love. His friendship with Harry Osborn is complicated by the young Osborn's bitterness over his father's death and his growing vendetta against Spider-Man. Even Peter's beloved Aunt May, who has fallen on hard times since the death of her husband, begins to have doubts about her nephew.

Spider-Man 3
Peter Parker and his girl Mary-Jane are on the cusp of contentment - but not for long. His ex-friend Harry, son of the Green Goblin, becomes the New Goblin in his desire for revenge against Spider-Man. Fugitive Flint Marko, killer of Peter's Uncle Ben, has been transformed into the shape-shifting Sandman, possibly Spider-Man's toughest foe so far. To complicate matters further, a parasitic alien symbiote has attached itself to Peter's suit, giving him even greater powers but also bringing out the evil side of his personality. He has to struggle not only against two major adversaries but also against himself.

The Amazing Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield takes over the mantle in this rebooted story of Peter Parker, an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. When Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
It’s great to be Spider-Man. For Peter Parker, there’s no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen. But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro, Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: Oscorp.

Christina Voros directs this documentary profiling the BDSM pornography company Kink.com founded by Peter Acworth. Featuring interviews with those that work at the internet's largest producer of BDSM video content in San Francisco, the programme explores the often misinterpreted subculture and aims to debunk many of the myths surrounding its practices.

Julia Roberts stars in this drama based on the bestselling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. 30-something Liz (Roberts) has arrived at a crossroads in life. With a career, a home and a husband, she is in possession of everything the modern woman dreams of. But after repeatedly failing to get pregnant, Liz starts to question her marriage and her purpose in life, and after a painful divorce she takes off on a year-long solo trip around the world on a quest for self-discovery. Along the way she spends four months discovering the joys of food in Italy and four months on the spiritual path in India before finally and unexpectedly finding true love in Bali.

Julia Roberts stars in this drama based on the bestselling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. 30-something Liz (Roberts) has arrived at a crossroads in life. With a career, a home and a husband, she is in possession of everything the modern woman dreams of. But after repeatedly failing to get pregnant, Liz starts to question her marriage and her purpose in life, and after a painful divorce she takes off on a year-long solo trip around the world on a quest for self-discovery. Along the way she spends four months discovering the joys of food in Italy and four months on the spiritual path in India before finally and unexpectedly finding true love in Bali.

Triple bill featuring the first three movies from the hugely popular 'Spider-Man' franchise. In 'Spider-Man' (2002) high school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is bitten by a genetically-altered spider while on a visit to a scientific institute, and he soon begins to experience unusual side effects such as increased strength, enhanced wall-climbing skills and the ability to spin webs out of his wrists. Peter first attempts to make use of these skills to impress girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), but after his Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) is killed in an armed robbery, he is compelled to work for the greater good and reinvents himself as Spider-Man, the enemy of criminals everywhere. Meanwhile, arms manufacturer Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) transforms himself into the Green Goblin, begins to terrorise the city, and lays down the gauntlet to Spider-Man by abducting his beloved Mary Jane. In 'Spider-Man 2' (2004) two years have passed since the events of the first film, and the mild-mannered Peter Parker faces new challenges as he struggles with trying to balance his dual identities as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man and his life as a college student. Tormented by his secrets, Peter finds that his relationships with all those he holds dear are in danger of unravelling. His life-long yearning for Mary Jane becomes even stronger as he fights the impulse to reveal his secret life and declare his love. His friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco) is complicated by the young Osborn's bitterness over his father's death and his growing vendetta against Spider-Man. In 'Spider-Man 3' (2007) Peter Parker and Mary Jane are on the cusp of contentment - but not for long, as Peter's former friend Harry Osborn, son of the Green Goblin, becomes the New Goblin in his desire for revenge against Spider-Man. Fugitive Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), killer of Peter's Uncle Ben, has been transformed into the shape-shifting Sandman, possibly Spider-Man's toughest foe so far. To complicate matters further, a parasitic alien symbiote has attached itself to Peter's suit, giving him even greater powers but also bringing out the evil side of his personality. He has to struggle not only against two major adversaries but also against himself.

Bryan Cranston and James Franco star in this comedy directed and co-written by John Hamburg. Overprotective father Ned (Cranston) has always had a special relationship with his daughter Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) so when she invites him, along with her mother Barb (Megan Mullally) and brother Scotty (Griffin Gluck), to spend Christmas with her and her millionaire boyfriend Laird (Franco), he reluctantly agrees, for the sake of his daughter's happiness. However, when Laird reveals his plan to propose to Stephanie and asks for Ned's blessing, the caring father vows to do everything in his power to prevent his little girl from agreeing to spend her life with the moronic mogul. With Laird determined to convince his future father-in-law to accept him however, he devises a plan to get Barb and Scotty on his side.

There is a vision of power at the center of James Franco's first chapbook of poems, Strongest of the Litter. Power here is both generative and frightening, self-consuming and bracing. It is the artist's power of self-making. These poems, thoroughly beautiful and spare, have the texture of contending angles. Authenticity can be achieved only through different voices: in an investigation of the range and strength of American art, in homage to Williams Carlos Williams, in awe at the cost to American actors of their art (notably Taylor, Clift, De Niro and Brando), in the celebration and limitation of Kowalski love -- "I'm a raging Kowalski whose / Temper can be measured by // How little I can give. / How abusive my reticence." Pervasive in these eloquent poems is the power of memory, the collective memory of Hollywood and specific memories of the poet's own past.

Julia Roberts stars in this drama based on the bestselling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. 30-something Liz (Roberts) has arrived at a crossroads in life. With a career, a home and a husband, she is in possession of everything the modern woman dreams of. But after repeatedly failing to get pregnant, Liz starts to question her marriage and her purpose in life, and after a painful divorce she takes off on a year-long solo trip around the world on a quest for self-discovery. Along the way she spends four months discovering the joys of food in Italy and four months on the spiritual path in India before finally and unexpectedly finding true love in Bali.

Jason Statham and James Franco star in this action thriller adapted from Chuck Logan's novel by Sylvester Stallone. Following the death of his wife, former drug enforcement officer Phil Broker (Statham) moves to a quiet town with his young daughter, hoping to give her a better life. However, their peaceful existence is short-lived when Broker learns of the violence and dodgy dealings corrupting the town at the hands of local drug boss Gator Bodine (Franco). Broker soon finds himself fighting to protect both his daughter and the town. The film also stars Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth and Rachelle Lefevre.

Ariel Vromen directs this gritty biopic tracing the career of New York contract killer Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon). After convincing his Catholic wife Deborah Pellicotti (Winona Ryder) that he works for Disney when he in fact produces porn videos, Polish-American Kuklinski soon finds himself on the payroll of local mobster Roy Demeo (Ray Liotta) as an 'enforcer'. As he warms to his new role amidst the New Jersey underworld, despatching 'contracts' with clinical precision, a striking contrast begins to build between that of the outwardly devoted family man and the ruthlessly efficient, emotionless killer.

"This fascinating, massive, wide-ranging collection that editors Christopher K. Coffman and Daniel Lukes have gathered together into William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion will soon be recognized as one of those rare critical books for which that egregiously overused term 'groundbreaking' is fully justified." -Larry McCaffery, from the preface of William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion The essays in this collection make a case for regarding William T. Vollmann as the most ambitious, productive, and important living author in the US. His oeuvre includes not only outstanding work in numerous literary genres, but also global reportage, ethical treatises, paintings, photographs, and many other productions. His reputation as a daring traveler and his fascination with life on the margins have earned him an extra-literary renown unequaled in our time. Perhaps most importantly, his work is exceptional in relation to the literary moment. Vollmann is a member of a group of authors who are responding to the skeptical ironies of postmodernism with a reinvigoration of fiction's affective possibilities and moral sensibilities, but he stands out even among this cohort for his prioritization of moral engagement, historical awareness, and geopolitical scope. Included in this book in addition to twelve scholarly critical essays are reflections on Vollmann by many of his peers, confidantes, and collaborators, including Jonathan Franzen, James Franco, and Michael Glawogger. With a preface by Larry McCaffery and an afterword by Michael Hemmingson, this book offers readings of most of Vollmann's works, includes the first critical engagements with several key titles, and introduces the work of several foreign Vollmann scholars to American audiences.