Geek of Oz

For many older fans of Japanese animation, 1974's Space Battleship Yamato was the first and most enduring series which was heavily edited and subsequently screened in many western countries under the guise of " Star Blazers ". Before Star Wars, Yamato paved the way with a grand sweeping space opera which was rehashed for years to come, finally culminating in 2010's live-action blockbuster which will be screening at this years Japanese Film Festival thanks to the Japan Foundation . The year is 2199. Earth is besieged by a ruthless onslaught of nuclear attacks by an alien race, the Gamila's. To escape the radioactive wasteland above, humans have retreated underground and all but resigned themselves to eventual annihilation. In a last ditch effort the United Nations Space Administration launch their greatest weapon, Space Battleship Yamato, hoping to find a cure for their  dying planet.

Making its Australian premiere at the Japan Foundation's 15th Annual Japanese Film Festival , Buddha: The Great Departure is an animated retelling of Osamu Tezuka's manga "Buddha" which ran for 14 volumes between 1972 and 1983. Although best known as the creator of Astro Boy , Tezuka was a prolific manga creator who often created stories that were much more dark, and sometimes disturbing, that our favourite little robot boy. The manga, and more importantly the film, is a gritty insight into what life may really have been like once the rose coloured glasses of religion are removed. Traces of sex, violence and a great deal of prejudice give sense of realism and weight to what would become the great Buddha's journey. Although not always as dark as the source material, Buddha: The Great Departure takes us into a world that is just as barbaric and magical as any fantasy world.

~Daily specials~ "Burning man - braised human condition with pan fried grief, lightly seasoned with sex, drizzled with laughs and served on a stylish platter" Nonlinear film making provides a challenge to both the director and the audience, it forces the plot to unravel like a whodunit detective story, where the scenes are not in sequence but instead jump along a time line. We are provided with snippets of each characters' experiences and motivations. It's from these tiny packets of information that we attempt to guess where the narrative is headed. For the director the challenge becomes one of slight of hand where they show the audience enough to move the story forward however endeavour to maintain tension.

The hardest part of writing this entire review was deciding what to name the film! In Japan it is known as The Borrower Arrietty , in the US The Secret World of Arrietty and in the UK simply Arrietty . I decided to go with the UK version, Arrietty, not only because its what the Japan Foundation call it but also because it is easier to write. Although the source material is based upon Mary Norton's "The Borrowers", there can be no doubt that this is a Studio Ghibli affair. No one, not even the House of Mouse, manages to make animated films of such a high quality and with as much soul as our dear Arrietty. This film is comparable to a big, ol' slice of chocolate mudcake. It looks delicious, its sweet and moreish and even those who aren't all that fond of mudcake will still love it.

I think its safe to say that the universe of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball was many peoples first exposure to the anime world. Amazingly, it still endures and even thrives despite its 1984 vintage. This is all thanks to the re-released manga, anime and most likely, a universe expanding series of games. The newest (and most exciting) of which is Namco Bandai's upcoming "Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi". Finally, you can become a part of the Dragon Ball universe and in only 1 week, no less!

Many thanks for all of your fantastically hilarious, and generally violent, entries. This competition is now closed. All winners have been notified and the passes have been mailed.

When an alien ship is found in Antarctica palaeontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is called to oversee the dig site. Assisted by staff from a near by Norwegian station and American helicopter pilot Carter (Joel Edgerton), Lloyd helps to extract a frozen life form which soon wreaks havok on the secluded science station. Acting as a prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 film of the same name, The Thing manages to bring the old school thrills without resorting to cheap guts and gore like many recent horror movies. Instead it uses the seclusion of the Antarctic station to its fullest, emphasising the helplessness felt by this handful of scientific researchers when faced with a horrific anthropomorphic abomination which can inhabit the body and likeness of any one of them.