Cheap date?

So how about this for a good deal? You go see a movie over the next few weeks. You write an original 250 word review of it. You stick it in the post. You stand a chance of winning a year's free cinema pass - for 2 people! You could take someone different every night of the week! (well, except nights when you're doing your English homework of course...)

Providing you meet the criteria of being aged 15-18, and studying in a UK school/college, it's that easy - click on the link below, then look in the bottom right corner of the page for the competition link. Just make sure you focus on that key word - ORIGINAL. A lot of film reviews are really lame - they just tell you a bit of the story, throw in something trivial about a celebrity, and end with marks out of ten. Boring, boring, boring! So, you've got to think of something a bit fresh, a bit "ooh" - something with edge.

If you want to get some ideas, check out Sight and Sound and The Guardian's film section. Read a whole pile of reviews and sort out the ones that are pedestrian, the ones that make you read all the words instead of skimming from title to star rating in one 3.43 nanosecond swoop. Think about the "ooh" factor - what causes it? Or are they all a big yawn? If so, why? How could you do it better?

Good luck!


Young Film Critic of the Year 2004

Sight and Sound

Guardian Unlimited Film