Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name reads like a film, so it seems completely logical to copy and paste the story onto the big screen. Time Magazine might have gone a bit off the rails calling it ‘the best book of the decade’, but it’s definitely film worthy.

1) City of Angels – Nicolas Cage plays an angel who falls in love with Meg Ryan. It actually sounds a bit comical. Trust me, it isn’t. The bicycle scene, combined with Sara McLachlan’s ‘In the Arms an Angel’ is the most depressing thing that you’ll ever see. Or hear.2) Beauty and the Beast – A tale as old as time, a song as old a rhyme – it gets me every time.

It reminded me of Brick in that she spends most of the film finding things out. Just going door to door, piecing stuff together. The gruff, mumbling neighbours she demands information from have an untrustworthy air about them, but despite feeling like a borderline horror, it’s more of a slow-moving dramatic detective movie. There isn’t really anything like it.

Cheesier than cheddar, the old ballet-meets-hip hop story is given a new edge on the sparkling London backdrop. Granted, it’s not quite as glamorous as the Step-Up franchise, but a subtle British influence, (from Union Jack t-shirts to the music featured), adds a certain charm.

It is said that Bill Murray likes to sneak up behind strangers in New York, whisper, “Guess who?” and, when they turn around, tell them: “I’m Bill Murray. No one will ever believe you.” This would not be funny in a club, in Sainsbury’s or on campus, nor is it a good way to meet strangers.

Ah, the cinema; the student’s official alternative to getting completely smashed all the time. For those of you waking up on the floor fully-clothed with chips and cheese all round your mouth, (only to be told that in a few hours you will be repeating the experience), you might just consider attempting to persuade your mates with these great cinemas and offers instead. Just make sure you don’t see Requiem for a Dream. It’s not hangover material.

An unfair rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a couple of overly-harsh critiques, means that this movie is one that rarely appears on the student radar. However, it is, in my opinion, arguably one of the most entertaining and interesting ‘superhero’ films in a long time.

Since John Cusack made his name as the face of the 1980s teen rom-com, it is fitting that Grosse Point Blank is, at its heart, a high school movie. Martin Blank, (Cusack), is a hit man facing something of a midlife crisis; he has recurring dreams of his prom night sweetheart; he no longer derives satisfaction from his job; and he’s being pressured to join a union (yes, apparently professional killers have those), led by union chief Dan Aykroyd.

In typical Burton style, stripy socks, unnervingly twisted flash-backs, and Helena Bonham Carter are in abundance; (no one could mistake this for any other director), and Tim makes the almost unforgivable mistake of detailing the ending at the start of the film.

Matt Hirschler discusses the implications of the Browne review for the coalition

Jess Bradley discusses the implications of the Browne review for the student movement

Joe Sandler-Clarke discusses Cameron’s big society.

Exploring the personal quality of perfume

Foreign academics may struggle to obtain a visa and a right to work within the UK. This will result in academic institutions around the country suffering from a smaller pool of quality staff.

Features Editor Nick Renaud-Komiya explores how aware and engaged we still are about British involvement in international wars.

Features Editor Nick Renaud-Komiya meets a University of Manchester student and former Royal Marine to talk prejudice, politics and parenthood.

Recently, I found myself sat in front of a Freeview box with friends and alcohol, begrudgingly watching the worst music channels on TV (You know the ones; channels with titles like Mega Tunes TV or Hit Land). All delightfully cheesy and vaguely tolerable, until, a few beers in, the corner of the screen lit up […]

3.5 Stars During the eleven months that it has taken to record his debut, Tinie Tempah’s jocular, no-frills lyrical style has taken him from relative obscurity to being one of the most talked about and promising artists in the charts, and initially, Disc-Overy seems to uphold the momentum of his previous success.   The piercing […]

4 Stars     Given their previous associations with so-called ‘garage rock’, this new offering from Deerhunter comes as a bit of surprise. Gone are the discordant soundscapes and experimental noise sessions that denote their previous albums. Their fourth offering has an ambient, dreamy quality to it that make it softer and possibly somewhat more […]

4 Stars It’s always heartening to see a musician enjoying a gig as much as the audience, and Josh Ritter, playing to an almost full Royal Northern College of Music last Wednesday, looked positively ecstatic. At several points he literally jumped for joy, and the rest of the time contented himself with grinning wildly, resembling […]