However rote and derivative the genre may seem, the underdog sports movie still has the capacity to overwhelm even the most cynical critical urges with the pure power of triumphant emotion. Rocky did it. Hoosiers did it. And believe it or not, the Ultimate Fighting Championship movie Warrior does it as well. Thanks to an excellent cast, increasingly fantastic fight scenes and a script where the sincerity far outshines the [...]

A fantastic sci-fi horror film brimming with suspense and packed with elaborate special effects, The Thing is an example of genre filmmaking at its finest, while also standing out as one of the few examples of a remake that actually improves upon the earlier film. Unfortunately, I am referring to John Carpenter’s 1982 film – itself a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World – and not the 2011 [...]

If you squint really hard during Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.’s The Thing, you might notice that it’s actually prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic and not a remake. But just barely. The two films are plotted so similarly that if van Heijningen Jr.’s The Thing played out a few days later and a few clicks south, it’d be Carpenter’s The Thing. Only, you know, not nearly as good.

I realise [...]

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

To celebrate the October 13 release of The Thing, the horror prelude to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic, Universal Pictures and Cut Print Review are giving away ten double passes to see the new movie.

To be in the draw to win, simply follow the entry instructions outlined below!

Synopsis:

Antarctica: an extraordinary continent of awesome beauty.  It is also home to an isolated outpost where [...]

It’s easy to laugh at the inherent goofiness of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, a Tolkien-esque fantasy epic in which a bunch of talking CGI owls don ornate suits of armour and deliver lines like “Trust your gizzard, Soren” without so much as a wink. In fact, there isn’t a single sight gag or pop culture reference to speak of, which is astonishing, really, when [...]

Living up to its name, The Waiting City rewards patience. The film’s initial unevenness is remedied by a captivating second half full of heart and humility.

Ah, the age-old mystery… trying to work out the meaning of life brings purpose to some and scepticism to others – Bart Simpson has a book on it, and the Monty Python team satirised it. But let’s get serious and face the fact that life isn’t all peachy, and accept that we always try to rid ourselves of the pain for want of happiness. The fickle thing about the meaning of life is that there’s never one straight answer, and everyone’s interpretations best suit their personal situation. Stories that tackle this agenda face the risk of opening themselves up to criticism if they don’t entirely believe in what they’re saying… $9.99 does, but it struggles to reveal exactly what it wants to convey.

No wonder why a bikini clad Lara Bingle stopped asking the world “where the bloody hell are ya?”;  there’s really no need for to further associate the words ‘bloody hell’ with Australia when our film industry does the job so well. Following in the grisly footsteps of Wolf Creek, the deeply chilling Acolytes further suggests that Australia is a murderer’s playground. If you can survive the Outback, we’ve now got serial killers lurking behind closed doors in model suburban homes.  Not only does this make Acolytes Tourism Australia’s worst nightmare, it’s sure as hell to be yours as well.