Bought Total Film (a great magazine btw - with loads of cool posters this issue) and I have now planned my life up until September!

I hope to review each of these (or at least write a bit more about them) as I see them - meanwhile check out these links (there's much more than trailers on most of them) and firstshowing.net for all the trailers, exclusive pics and the viral marketing of the big blockbusters plus the best indie films from SXSW.

April - 4th Son of Rambow & Funny Games U.S. & I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK. 11th  21 & [REC]. 18th Happy-Go-Lucky. 25th Forgetting Sarah Marshall & Persepolis

May - 2nd Iron Man. 9th Doomsday & Vexille & Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?. 16th Speed Racer & The Air I Breathe. 22nd Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. 23rd Dangerous Parking.

June - 13th The Happening & The Incredible Hulk. 27th Wanted.

July - 2nd Hancock. 4th Kung Fu Panda. 18th Wall-E. 25th The Dark Knight.

August - 15th Get Smart. 22nd Hellboy 2: The Golden Army & You Don't Mess With The Zohan.

P.S. Do I Believe in Harvey Dent? I'm just not sure anymore.

I'm not quite sure why, (perhaps its something that's always happened but that's only in the news now) but there's been a noticeable amount teen violence in the media recently. Its true, teen subcultures have fought each other before - Mods & Rockers as an example - but its a more global issue than i'd previously assumed. 

The tragic death of Sophie Lancaster, killed trying to protect her boyfriend after they were attacked because of their appearance, seems to have opened my eyes to the wide range of news stories where the words 'teenagers' and 'violence' are unfortunately linked.

Its clear that i've been naive. Teenagers, by their very nature, are emotionally charged. But its when this energy is spent fostering hate and encouraging violence against others that we have to sit up and take notice. Today the BBC's News Front pages show no trace of yesterday's verdict against Sophie's killers. Instead the main headlines concerning teenagers are as follows:

• Youths held over Bebo fight plans (6 teens arrested over allegedly organising gang fights online)
  
• Suicide support link established (concerning the recent youth suicides in Wales)
  
• Town bans under-21 alcohol sales (plans to curb anti-social behaviour)
  
• Games ratings face overhaul (are video games the new video nasties?)

All this is bad enough, a sad state of affairs which can only harm the public standing of young people, but then you read about this:

Anti-Emo Riots Break Out Across Mexico

I can't honestly say I've ever properly belonged to any subculture, but reading that article still makes me feel sick. If teenagers are acting like this across the world, then where is the hope for the future of civilised society?

I know that this sound melodramatic, but when people my age think they've got nothing better to do than beat up others our age, then I wonder where this leaves the number of us that actually care about important things. Y'know not stuff like what people choose to wear or what music they like but things like the massive war thats still going on in the Middle East, global warming, poverty, starvation and so on.

Just a thought.

P.S

Do a little bit of good:

Oxfam 

WaterAid 

Save the Children

Give someone some free rice. 

P.P.S

This was going to have a bit about the great movies out as summer rolls in. But its just not important in comparison. Perhaps I'll feel like it later. 

Ever since I first read Pugwash Magazine many moons ago, I have wanted to become enshrined in its glossy pages. 

It took me just two months to get one of my reviews into Pugwash News - my first blog here celebrated that fact.

Now I've made into the magazine. I say now, what I actually mean is recently. The last issue - the one with the snazzy blue/black/grey design - features the following classic book review by yours truly. This is by no means the best bit of this issue, far from it - so don't miss the mag. I know there's still a few out and about the campus to be picked up.

Oh, seeing as this is online now, I might as well stick a few links in it. Enjoy!

Books That Every Student Should Read – Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

            You have probably heard of a ‘Catch-22’, it’s a situation where whatever you do; you can’t get the outcome you want. I’ll give you an example: you’re straight out of uni and you want to get a job, but you can’t get one without any experience - and you can’t get any experience without a reference from a previous job. Whatever you try you can’t get a job.

            What you might not know is that the term ‘Catch-22’ was coined by Joseph Heller to describe a number of baffling situations in his book of the same name. The book is the story, or rather a number of stories, revolving around Yosarrian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. It’s nearing the end of World War II and he’s sick of flying dangerous bombing missions, but he can’t be excused without being certified insane. But he can’t ask for this because it proves he’s not mad. You see, you’d have to be crazy not to want to get out.

            Written in the same circular style, repeating itself to add further details and finish jokes, Heller’s novel is at times upsetting, confusing and laugh out loud ironic. It is also oddly, given the war theme, erotic in places. His paragraphs often need re-reading, but it is a great read – so good I haven’t finished it yet. And I don’t want to.

5/5

I also recommend: Fahrenheit-451 by Ray Bradbury, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and The Book of Dave by Will Self.