Comics and graphic novels picked by comic-book aficionado Charlie Higson
Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons / DC Comics / Titan Books Watchmen Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons This was the first comic to consider what it would be like if ridiculous costumed superheroes...
View ArticleThe Three Musketeers – review
The Three Musketeers: ' a stolid adaptation'. The Three Musketeers Production year: 2011 Country: Rest of the world Cert (UK): 12A Runtime: 110 mins Directors: Paul WS Anderson Cast: Christoph Waltz,...
View ArticleTime travel saga The History Keepers could be the next Harry Potter-style...
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. With completion of the film series, publishers and film-makers are on the watch for a new hero. Photograph: Allstar/WARNER BROS Since the commercial triumph of Harry...
View ArticleWhy is dystopia so appealing to young adults?
Vampires, fallen angels and their brooding kin still crowd the young-adult shelves of your local bookstore. But they are having to make room for a new wave of dystopian fiction, kicked off by the...
View ArticleThe power of myth and magic in teenage fiction
I write about magic in my novels because I want to write about the truth. To me, these are the things that are true about the world: there are heroes and there are villains. Great power comes with...
View ArticleTwo Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles - review
Named by Tennessee Williams as his favourite book, Two Serious Ladies (first published in 1943) is a singular achievement – a modernist cult classic, and Jane Bowles's only novel. Two Serious Ladies: A...
View ArticleCheick Tioté set to join Newcastle United from FC Twente
Newcastle United have agreed terms with the Dutch side FC Twente for the transfer of the midfielder Cheick Tioté. The 24-year-old Ivory Coast international has passed a medical and is now awaiting a...
View ArticleThe Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek – review
In Michael Haneke's 2001 adaptation of Elfriede Jelinek's novel, the role of the piano teacher is played, with a chilling impenetrability, by Isabelle Huppert. Her performance allows us to apprehend...
View ArticleMonsters — review
Monsters Production year: 2010 Country: UK Cert (UK): 12A Runtime: 94 mins Directors: Gareth Edwards Cast: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able More on this film Making imaginative use of a $500,000 budget,...
View ArticleFriendly Fires: Pala – review
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 Friendly Fires Pala XL. 2011 Klaxons – the authors of new rave – have stalled. Math-rave outfit Foals, meanwhile, haven't made the leap from the pages of NME to...
View ArticleBonded by Blood
Bonded by Blood Production year: 2010 Country: UK Cert (UK): 18 Runtime: 96 mins Directors: Sacha Bennett Cast: Kierston Wareing, Neil Maskell, Tamer Hassan, Terry Stone, Vincent Regan More on this...
View ArticleFiction for teenagers – reviews
It's possible to be chilled to the bone without meeting any vampires. In Tim Bowler's frightening and well paced Buried Thunder (Oxford University Press £12.99), Maya's enemy is a personal demon....
View ArticleOkkervil River: I Am Very Far – review
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 Okkervil River I Am Very Far JAGJAGUWAR. 2011 Fresh from acting as psych-rock survivor Roky Erickson's backing band on last year's True Love Cast Out All Evil,...
View ArticleZola Jesus: Stridulum II
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 Zola Jesus Stridulum II Souterrain Transmissions 2010 Siouxsie Sioux fronting the xx? The goth Florence Welch? Twenty-one-year-old Midwesterner Zola Jesus (born...
View ArticleHorrid Henry: The Movie 3D – review
Down with (private) skool: Anjelica Huston as Miss Battleaxe in Horrid Henry. Horrid Henry: The Movie 3D Production year: 2011 Country: UK Cert (UK): U Runtime: 92 mins Directors: Nick Moore Cast:...
View ArticleWorld champion Jorge Lorenzo ends season in style with Valencia win
The world champion Jorge Lorenzo has won the season-ending MotoGP in Valencia, collecting his ninth race victory of the campaign. The Spaniard, who wrapped up the title last month, survived a wobble...
View ArticleIndia fined for slow over rate in World Cup final
India have been fined for a slow over rate during their World Cup final victory over Sri Lanka. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side were ruled to be one over short of their target when time allowances were...
View ArticleThe Leopard
The Leopard Production year: 1963 Countries: Italy, Rest of the world Cert (UK): PG Runtime: 205 mins Directors: Luchino Visconti Cast: Alain Delon, Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Paolo Stoppa More...
View ArticleSix Nations 2011: Scotland v Ireland – rate the players
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View ArticleThe Million Dollar Quartet become the first supergroup
The Million Dollar Quartet Photograph: Glenn A Baker/Redferns Carl Perkins was already scheduled to be recording in Sun Studios in Memphis on Tuesday 4 December 1956, with Jerry Lee Lewis. But it was...
View ArticleSix Nations 2011: England v Scotland – rate the players
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View ArticleThe Tourist – review
The Tourist Production year: 2010 Countries: Italy, Rest of the world, USA Cert (UK): 12A Runtime: 103 mins Directors: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Cast: Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany,...
View ArticleSix Nations 2011: Your Ireland v France player ratings
Have your say in the comments section below. Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger | smaller Email Close Recipient's email address Your first name Your surname Add a note...
View ArticleMonster drawing by Tom, aged 11
Gog the Muddy by Tom, aged 11 Photograph: Tom Rob Steen, who drew Ricky Gervais's Flanimals, teaches you how to draw monsters here. Tom sent us his picture – why not send in yours too? Email...
View ArticleTchaikovsky & Shakespeare: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela/...
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 Tchaikovsky & Shakespeare Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela/Dudamel Deutsche Grammophon 2011 Dudamel and the Simón Bolivar Orchestra have already...
View ArticleVampires Suck – review
The most stylish vampire comedy is Polanski's Dance of the Vampires, though it has only one truly memorable joke that involves Alfie Bass as a Jewish vampire. To my mind, the funniest one is the...
View ArticleDream Home – review
Dream Home Production year: 2010 Countries: China, Rest of the world Cert (UK): 18 Runtime: 96 mins Directors: Ho-Cheung Pang, Pang Ho-Cheung Cast: Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Eason Chan, Josie Ho,...
View ArticleSix Nations 2011: Your France v Scotland player ratings
Have your say in the comments section below. Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger | smaller Email Close Recipient's email address Your first name Your surname Add a note...
View ArticleThe beauty spot: scented candles
Apart from a puppy gambolling across your tufted rug or the glint of a new relationship shivering off the walls, the only thing that can turn a cramped and dirty one-bedroom flat into something verging...
View ArticleEngland v Pakistan - live!
Morning everyone. England are seven wickets away. Over in the far corner of the office Barry Glendenning is doing a desperate rain-dance, trying to provoke a two-day monsoon, which is pretty much the...
View ArticleThe Secret of Kells
The Secret Of Kells Production year: 2009 Country: Rest of the world Cert (UK): PG Runtime: 75 mins Directors: Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Evan McGuire, Mick Lally More on this film...
View ArticleThe Adventures of Unemployed Man by Erich Origen and Gan Golan – review
Good news. If your blood still boils every time you see the ruddy face of the Barclays boss, Bob Diamond, and others of his unapologetic ilk, then I have the perfect tonic. The Adventures of Unemployed...
View ArticleThe Millstone by Margaret Drabble – review
Margaret Drabble's third novel is often seen as representative of the age in which it was written – the swinging 60s. But for the narrator, Rosamund Stacey, who admits to being "a Victorian" when it...
View ArticleSpinal Tap blur fact and fiction
Spinal Tap backstage at CBGB's in New York City. Photograph: Ebet Roberts/Redferns Comedy movies don't enter the realms of rock history, but This Is Spinal Tap was different. Its attention to detail in...
View ArticleTune-Yards: Whokill – review
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 Tune-Yards W H O K I L L 4ad 2011 You could argue that Merrill Garbus's second Tune-Yards album has traded the charm and integrity of her much-liked debut...
View ArticleWild Beasts: Smother – review
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 Wild Beasts Smother Domino 2011 Divisive though they are – chief vocalist Hayden Thorpe's counter-tenor can be a sticking point – Wild Beasts are no longer...
View ArticleBolton Wanderers v Liverpool - live!
Tom will be here from 3.30pm GMT with live coverage of Bolton Wanderers v Liverpool. In the meantime, read Andy Hunter on the game. The points and the performance against Blackburn alleviated pressure...
View ArticleThe Decemberists: The King Is Dead – review
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 The Decemberists The King Is Dead Beggars 2011 Their last album, 2009's Hazards of Love, was a thicket of baroque stylings and involved medieval narrative but,...
View ArticleNever Let Me Go – review
Never Let Me Go Production year: 2010 Countries: Rest of the world, UK Cert (UK): 12A Runtime: 103 mins Directors: Mark Romanek Cast: Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan, Charlotte Rampling, Keira...
View ArticleSix Nations 2011: Ireland v France – rate the players
Loading... Have your say in the comments section on the average rankings page. Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger | smaller Email Close Recipient's email address Your first...
View ArticleSix Nations 2011: Your Scotland v Ireland player ratings
Have your say in the comments section below. Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger | smaller Email Close Recipient's email address Your first name Your surname Add a note...
View ArticleBack to the Future
Back To The Future Production year: 1985 Country: USA Cert (UK): 12 Runtime: 116 mins Directors: Robert Zemeckis Cast: Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, Michael J Fox, Michael J. Fox...
View ArticleSix Nations 2011: England v Scotland player ratings
Have your say in the comments section below. Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger | smaller Email Close Recipient's email address Your first name Your surname Add a note...
View ArticleKlaxons: Surfing the Void
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 Klaxons Surfing the Void Polydor 2010 Trendy novelty or award-winning visionaries? That's the question that's been circling Klaxons's much-delayed follow-up to...
View ArticleSuper Bowl 2011: Packers v Steelers live!
. Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger | smaller Email Close Recipient's email address Your first name Your surname Add a note (optional) Your IP address will be logged Share...
View ArticlePatrick Wolf: Lupercalia – review
Buy it from Buy the CD Download as MP3 Patrick Wolf Lupercalia Mercury 2011 Patrick Wolf is the most sincere of pop stars and that, combined with a reputation for ostentation, is perhaps what's put...
View ArticleTalking About Detective Fiction by PD James – review
PD James, creator of Adam Dalgliesh and one of the most acclaimed living writers of detective fiction, sets out in this tactful and engaging book some thoughts on her art. She suggests that the...
View ArticleVillain – review
Villain's Eri Fukatsu and Satoshi Tsumabuki: 'generally a disappointment'. Villain Production year: 2010 Countries: Japan, Rest of the world Cert (UK): 15 Runtime: 139 mins Directors: Lee Sang-il Cast:...
View ArticleFiction for older children – reviews
Followers of boy spy Alex Rider will be scrambling to get their hands on Scorpia Rising (Walker Books £6.99), the ninth and final adventure in Anthony Horowitz's bestselling series. And why not?...
View ArticleDracula by Bram Stoker – review
Christopher Lee as the count in Horror of Dracula (1958). Photograph: Cine Text/Allstar/Sportsphoto Ltd The latest generation of his monstrous progeny might have been something of a disappointment to...
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