You know, if it wasn’t for the gigantic sea monster stomping its way through New York City, I can’t imagine it being terribly difficult convincing someone that Cloverfield is a real home video. That’s what I love about found-footage films; they lend credibility to the incredible, creating an illusion of reality that is far more immersive than that of a conventional film.

Well, that’s the idea anyway. Sometimes they end up [...]

In 2004, Australian filmmaker Stephan Elliott fell from a cliff whilst skiing, breaking his back, pelvis and legs. He was given 20 minutes to live, but given that this is not a posthumous interview, live is what he did. The road to recovery was long, but this near-death experience renewed Elliott’s vigour to make movies, much of which he’d lost after a decade of disappointing followups to his breakout hit The [...]

Released back in 2003 when twilight was still a time of day, the original Underworld was a mildly entertaining B-movie that did the whole vampire vs. werewolf thing before, you know, doing the whole vampire vs. werewolf thing was considered uncool. The film was made on a comparatively small budget of $22 million, lending it a certain underdog appeal as it went up against box-office goliath Pirates of the Caribbean: [...]

Unlike certain other MI6 agents depicted on film, the spies in Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy do not double as stuntmen. Their missions seldom require them to drive Aston Martins around Monaco, bedding billionaire heiresses and thwarting villains who stroke cats. More often than not, their wits are their weapons of choice. Blood is still spilt, sure, but this is about as decorous as spy movies get. I suppose [...]

Update: Sorry, this competition has ended. Winners announced below!

To celebrate the Australian release of Hugo, the acclaimed family film from Martin Scorsese, Paramount Pictures and Cut Print Review are giving five readers the chance to win an in-season double pass to see new film as well as a hardcover copy of the bestselling novel it’s based on, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick.

To be in the draw [...]

Of all the filmic things I write about on this little corner of the internet, I look forward to sharing my thoughts on year’s best movie posters the most. I just adore good graphic design, almost as much as I adore good movies. Heck, I’m the guy who’ll flick through a magazine just to look at the composition of the ads, shaking my head in awe at the inventive ways [...]

So you think a job where you’re required to watch lots of movies is a breeze. Well… you’re right! It’s a pretty good gig, no question. Or at least it is most of the time. You see, moviegoers such as yourself have the option – the right — to not see a movie. I suppose we critics do too, but we’re often left feeling guilty about enacting that right. And [...]

It’s 2012 now, in case you didn’t notice, so before the world comes to an end and Roland Emmerich can say “I told you so!”, I think it’s best we reflect on the year that was.

Speaking for myself here – and not for Tom Clift, whose list is also below — 2011 was one of those years where the average quality of movies was quite high, [...]