“Employee of the Month” Director Greg Coolidge Lionsgate With a token hot blonde, a Mr. Popular and an underdog trying to get the girl, “Employee of the Month” has all the makings of a teen movie ““ except instead of teenagers in high school, it’s about 20-somethings in a retail warehouse. Read more...

“The Departed” Director Martin Scorsese Warner Bros. Pictures Some of Martin Scorsese’s greatest work (see: “Mean Streets,” “Goodfellas” and “Gangs of New York”) revolves around mobs, violence and the constant striving for the American dream on dark city streets. Read more...

With octopus tentacles dangling from her mouth, Kerry Piper reflected on her first taste of Japan. After stepping off the Semester at Sea ship ““ a study abroad program in which students take classes on board a ship and visit countries from Venezuela to Kenya and beyond ““ Piper, a fourth-year biology student, was greeted by a platter of octopus dumplings. Read more...

First the iPod took over campus. After that, the podcast was inevitable. “It’s the equivalent of TiVo for radio,” said Greg Katz, a fourth-year philosophy student and general manager for UCLA’s own campus station, UCLAradio.com. Read more...

Twenty-first-century society subscribes to a culture of shortcuts. So much information is thrown at individuals at any given time that people often feel they have no choice but to describe things they’re unsure of through generalizations and categorical dismissals. Read more...

Despite how beautiful and sophisticated film scores can be sometimes, there is only one orchestra in the world solely dedicated to performing them live, and it is based in UCLA. Read more...

Once the books are purchased, the rent is paid and the fridge is filled, most student filmmakers recognize that financing life is hard enough. But financing a movie ““ now that’s a challenge. Read more...