Nine Movies That Every Student Needs To See

You've exhausted Netflix when you should be studying, and know more about your favourite movie than your course. You've voted passionately on IMDB and are starting to think you could well do a degree in film on the side. However Netflix isn't infinite, and there's more than a few movies that may have been missed in your epic movie marathons.

1) Ruby Sparks

So as students we're getting familiar with the conundrum that we're generally far more ugly and unattractive than we give ourselves credit for. This leads to increasingly desperate romantic compromises we know will become an issue later. Ruby Sparks addresses this typical college social negotiation, by having the lead character conjure an ideal partner into reality through fantasy. If you haven't tried to find your fantasy in reality then you're lying.

2) O'Brother Where Art Thou

Who doesn't love George Clooney; the pinnacle of masculinity, unlike the sea of fuck boys plaguing every college night out. What's more, this is the movie that put the "rad" in traditional American folk music; set to a backdrop of catchy tunes, George Clooney has never been so fresh. Even if you're one of those rare people who doesn't comprehend the allure of Clooney, O'Brother Where Art Thou appeals to all through humour, suspense and, well, George Clooney.

3) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

When Jim Carrey makes you cry, you're too easily entertained, or you're watching this movie. Relevant to just about everyone who's had a bitter breakup, the film deals with an idea we can all relate to; the yearning to erase our love for someone else. Surviving as an awkward parallel for student drinking, we can all learn something from the disastrous short term decisions to dry and smother memories with alcohol.

4) Blue Valentine

Speaking of an unnecessarily attractive male lead, what's more appealing than Ryan Gosling looking depressingly average, and even unattractive at times? Providing a degree of common sense to the college relationships we all have and all secretly know will end badly, Blue Valentine is entertaining for all, and wholly devastating.

5) Con Air

The presence of Nicholas Cage, in life and movies, is usually an accurate indication of how ridiculous something is. Con Air is no exception. An insane few hours of scripted John Malkovich brilliance, Colm Meaney being a prick, and Nicholas Cage with shoulder length hair, it delivers everything you could want from an action movie with the same sense of naive optimism that we all have at the start of college.

6) Snatch

Fightclub's ugly sibling stars Brad Pitt as one of the many stereotypes present in this movie that would frighten your Grandmother. Set to a chase for a priceless jewel, Brad Pitt bare knuckle boxes his way through a surprisingly complicated plot that, much like half the people you meet in college, will prove your first impressions kindly wrong.

7) The Descent

This is really, really fucking scary. An all girl cave exploring team in search of relaxation (this was the time before netflix btw) descend into a nightmare of cramped spaces, darkness, and semi-human monsters. The similarity to a bleak night out ends there, as they don't have the luxury of hiding in the bathroom until they all agree to leave.

8) Let The Right One In

Vampires are cool again after Twilight set the genre back decades. Bearing this in mind, they also become terrifying when mixed with kids, as innocence is brutally murdered repeatedly in this film's Nordic setting. So if you're considering becoming a nanny to pay them student bills, be warned; you'll never look at quiet, innocent children the same again.

9) Monsters

So like most of us, drinking Tequila abroad causes us to lose our passports. Unlike us messy students away from home and apparently responsibilities, we don't have to trek through a monster-infested and hauntingly beautiful Mexico with what must be a brutal hangover. Relying on serious acting capability to compensate for not having a script and a shoe-string budget that doesn't allow for the Monster encounters we're used to. Monster's can be your "alt" adventure (altventure?) in Sci-Fi.