“Superman Returns” Directed by Bryan Singer WARNER BROS. PICTURES One would think that a film about the world’s most iconic comic book character would live or die based on the super-strength of its high-flying protagonist, but “Superman Returns” gets off the ground thanks to the performances of a few mere mortals. Read more...

The last time Radiohead performed in Los Angeles, it was September 2003 and this fall’s seniors were wide-eyed freshmen just finishing their first Welcome Week. A lot has changed since then: Many students who started out pre-med have moved up to North Campus, the Daily Bruin’s dB Magazine is all but forgotten, and Radiohead, one of the world’s most acclaimed and successful bands, doesn’t have a record deal. Read more...

“A Scanner Darkly” Directed by Richard Linklater Warner Independent Pictures Long before the suburban Orange County of color-saturated beachfront mansions and high school hook-ups flounced across primetime television, acclaimed science fiction novelist Philip K. Read more...

*** The Futureheads are back with a brand new problem and, of course, without any clues. The problem: how to make a follow-up to a strong but characteristically over-hyped debut album. Read more...

Last week, in his latest bid to be the most visible retired individual this side of Michael Jordan, Jay-Z declared that he will be boycotting Cristal, the expensive champagne brand he has previously championed in his music and lifestyle, because of comments made by Cristal director Frederic Rouzard in a recent interview in The Economist. Read more...

**** Sonic Youth songs can usually be categorized in three ways: noisy, lengthy and often difficult. After nearly 25 years of doing things this way, it would seem odd for an established band to change up a winning formula. Read more...

Jeremy Hyman didn’t know what to expect in terms of academics when he entered college as a freshman. Like so many others before and after him, he worried about whether he would take the right classes, how the professors would be, and whether he would get good grades. Read more...