Harald Zwart, while speaking about his adaptation of young adult fantasy novel The Mortal Instruments, has cited The Exorcist and the original version of The Thing as influences. Zwart says he thinks it’s good for kids to be scared, and I agree to some extent. Children use films to explore feeling. Fear, loss, confusion; they’re all up on screens from the get go. But Zwart’s desire to scare seems too outspoken, too full-frontal for a children’s tale.

It’s a sad fact in life that, sometimes, bad trailers happen to good films. Look at 21 Jump Street for instance; a clever satire of the buddy-cop drama made to look just like… well, just like an actual buddy-cop drama. We’ve decided to hold these trailer crimes accountable and have selected the top 10 worst offenders to be sent before the Best For Film judge…

For the longest time animation was simply perceived as something for kids, and wasn’t taken seriously by adults. If an animated film did in anyway achieve the hallowed ground of ‘appealing to kids and grownups alike’ it was considered a pretty rare thing. Today, animated films about toys are getting Oscar nominations and reviewers like to deal out their opinions based on one neat bit of criteria: is it any good?

Nicolas Cage with crazy hair and a rawhide trench coat – can you ask for much more from an afternoon of cinematic entertainment?

Yes, it’s that time of year again. The kids have broken up from school and the country is trembling with that thunderous and eternal summer cry – ‘I’m borrred’! Gone are the days of macaroni jewelry boxes and pooh sticks. Today’s little darlings demand high-tech, high-action adventure, which kicking a ball about with Charlie from next door simply won’t satisfy. These precious six weeks are their only chance to escape from an otherwise extremely stressful lifestyle. So, how to deal with our children during these long, sticky summer days. Lock them in a cage? Remove all sugary food items? Earplugs? The solution is much simpler my friend…

The premiere of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice took place at the Odaiba Cinema Mediage in Tokyo last night.