MUSIC

The guys rule this month’s new releases with pop band Maroon 5 returning to the charts, R&B prince Ne-Yo sounding more like the late Michael Jackson than ever, and teen idol and heartthrob David Archuletta trying to avoid the sophomore jinx.

HANDS ALL OVER
Maroon 5
(A&M)

Adam Levine and the gang team up with legendary hit maker Robert “Mutt” Lange for their third album. The catchy first single, “Misery”, is already a global smash hit, while “Never Gonna Leave” has No.1 written all over it. Hugely recommended!

LIBRA SCALE
Ne-Yo
(Def Jam)

With Chris Brown slowly losing momentum, Ne-Yo might just be able to move forward with Libra Scale and win the MJ doppelganger competition in which he is currently engaged with Brown. “Beautiful Monster” in particular would have sounded great sung by the late, great King of Pop.

OTHER SIDE OF DOWN
David Archuleta
(Jive)

Archuleta, an American Idol season seven runner-up, here hopes to hit even greater heights than he did with his platinum debut of two years ago. The new album’s first single, “Something ‘Bout Love” was co-written by the 19 year-old himself.

READS

Jakarta Java Kini recommends a couple of great novels this month. Get your reading glasses on and choose between Daniel Silva’s thrilling The Rembrandt Affair and David Nicholls’ heart-breaking One Day.

THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR
Daniel Silva
(Putnam Adult)

Daniel Silva, the author responsible for some of the New York Times’ recent bestsellers, including The Mark of the Assassin and Price of Fire, here delivers a powerful novel that will undoubtedly prove to be another bestseller for Silva. The Rembrandt Affair sees Gabriel Allon, master art restorer and assassin, returning to sever his ties with the Office. In doing so, his privacy is once again interrupted by a face from the past. What will happen to our hero? And will the quest for money or truth win out in Gabriel’s troubled psyche?

ONE DAY
David Nicholls
(Vintage)

David Nicholls’ One Day tells the story of Dex and Emma, a couple who we follow through various travails from 1988 up until 2007. During these two decades that follow their graduation, we track their lives through various unanticipated twists and turns towards an emotional denouement.

FILMS

A 23 YEAR WAIT!
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
(20th Century Fox)

Remember the 1987 Academy Award-winning flick Wall Street? Well this year, after a gap of 23 years, a sequel has finally arrived. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps has been tipped to win big time at next year’s awards ceremonies and is well worth a look. Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in the original Wall Street, returns in this sequel, which revolves around the 2008 financial crisis. The now reformed Gekko, a villain in the first film, attempts to help Wall Street before the market crash.

Intrigued? Well you should be! Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps also stars the young and talented Shia LaBeouf, as well as Carey Mulligan and Frank Langella. This is a top drawer production for sure, however, you’d be advised to watch the first Wall Street movie on DVD before you see this!