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Jim Schembri

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Jim Schembri has been a professional film critic since 1980, chiefly for Cinema Papers magazine, The Age newspaper and radio station 3AW. He now operates independently at jimschembri.com. Jim fell in love with the power of film as a young child after seeing The Lord of the Flies on TV, which he thought was real, and The Love Bug at the cinema, which he saw three times. He was six. Jim’s personal film collection contains more than 30,000 titles, including rare VHS tapes of such lost classics as Android (1982) and Weekend at Bernie's II (1993). He also owns many Beta tapes and two working Beta machines, which he refuses to sell on eBay. His second favourite movie quote is from the 1967 classic The Graduate: “Plastics”. His favourite movie quote comes from Steve Martin in the 1991 film Grand Canyon: “All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.” For Jim this is more than just a great line; it is a philosophy of life.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Mortal Kombat II (2026) 68% 2.5/5 EDIT “More of the same.” – jimschembri.com May 7, 2026 Full Review The Sheep Detectives (2026) 95% 3.5/5 EDIT “A delightful, delightfully inventive family film lark...the sheep drive a parallel story that develops to a remarkable degree...It is both philosophical and moving. And we’re talking here about talking sheep.” – jimschembri.com May 7, 2026 Full Review Hokum (2026) 88% 3/5 EDIT “[A] terrific slice of schlock horror...an unashamedly lowbrow affair with some lovely jump scares.” – jimschembri.com Apr 30, 2026 Full Review Wolfram (2025) 96% 4.5/5 EDIT “A quietly powerful masterpiece.” – jimschembri.com Apr 30, 2026 Full Review The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) 78% 3.5/5 EDIT “Clocks in as a surprisingly story-strong dramedy with some poignant and timely things to say about short-attention spans, corporate maneuvering and the precarious state of journalism.” – jimschembri.com Apr 30, 2026 Full Review Alphabet Lane (2025) 3.5/5 EDIT “[A] quietly bizarre Australian psycho-drama...a marvellous, beguiling squib of a film that keeps you guessing.” – jimschembri.com Apr 23, 2026 Full Review Calle Málaga (2025) 98% 4/5 EDIT “[A] strong, moving, beautifully contoured drama...Brandishing a fully developed narrative and delicate direction, the film chimes in as one of the finest movies in a long time about the elderly. ” – jimschembri.com Apr 23, 2026 Full Review Michael (2026) 39% 3.5/5 EDIT “Given the out-sized life Michael Jackson lived, it’s a notable achievement the makers of this fine, very entertaining, long-awaited biopic managed to cram in so much without making it feel rushed or too episodic.” – jimschembri.com Apr 23, 2026 Full Review Fight Club (1999) 81% 4/5 EDIT “Ripper, multi-layered, ceaselessly entertaining tale of 30-ish doldrums, frustrated masculinity and how being a brute builds character.” – The Age (Australia) Apr 21, 2026 Full Review Fuze (2025) 73% 3/5 EDIT “A terrific, tight, race-against-time crime thriller...[Director David Mackenzie] does a bang-up job ratcheting up the tension...The guy sure knows how to tighten the screws.” – jimschembri.com Apr 16, 2026 Full Review The Stranger (2025) 90% 5/5 EDIT “It’s as though Camus has dreamed his novel onto the screen.” – jimschembri.com Apr 16, 2026 Full Review The Drama (2026) 76% 4/5 EDIT “A compelling, well-thought through, morally complex chamber piece that confronts a host of hot-button topics...The ever-tightening narrative is tempered with some well-judged humour as the chain of cause-and-effect runs its course.” – jimschembri.com Apr 10, 2026 Full Review The Deb (2024) 85% 3.5/5 EDIT “Pacy, full of laughs and crammed with top musical numbers and gags about digital culture...It’s a really accomplished, winning piece of entertainment, splendidly shot and edited, boasting a positive vibe and wonderfully fizzy performances.” – jimschembri.com Apr 10, 2026 Full Review The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) 42% 3.5/5 EDIT “The glorious sequel to The Super Mario Bros Movie is even better....It’s Bowser’s arc that grounds the film amidst all the beautifully rendered, candy-coloured action and unavoidable 8-bit references to the classic video game.” – jimschembri.com Apr 2, 2026 Full Review The President's Cake (2025) 99% 4/5 EDIT “Given the grim nature of Lamia’s thorny traverse through a hostile terrain, Hadi nonetheless weaves in ironic moments of visual beauty and long takes. He clearly loves shooting widescreen and certainly knows how to deliver a truly memorable finale.” – jimschembri.com Apr 2, 2026 Full Review The Magic Faraway Tree (2026) 91% 2.5/5 EDIT “The classic tale is brought sufficiently to life in this pretty-looking, if overlong, update...takes a tad too long to get to the magic...The visuals are good and there’s a nice piece of work from Nicola Coughlan, a bubbly Faraway Tree tenant.” – jimschembri.com Mar 25, 2026 Full Review Hoppers (2026) 94% 4/5 EDIT “A high-spirited sci-fi lark that, like Wall-E, has a warm, unforced eco-theme...Fast, funny, full of verbal and visual wit...lands as one of the most mature, thematically rich and emotionally nuanced Pixar offerings yet.” – jimschembri.com Mar 25, 2026 Full Review I Swear (2025) 97% 4/5 EDIT “An amazing, brave, incredibly funny, somewhat sad yet ultimately uplifting tale about personal courage and the importance community support plays in embracing those dealing with challenges.” – jimschembri.com Mar 25, 2026 Full Review Proclivitas (2025) 2.5/5 EDIT “The first hour is really very good, with solid, nuance-infused lead performances driving an increasingly tense, slow-burn build-up...Once we get to the money reel, however, you can feel the film straining for, yet failing, to nail the Big Moment needed.” – jimschembri.com Mar 21, 2026 Full Review Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) 74% 2/5 EDIT “The law of diminishing returns applies pretty harshly with this blood-soaked try-hard sequel to the surprisingly enjoyable 2019 lark...Arguably more violent than the first film...Harder to argue is the film’s nastiness, lack of wit and dreary sameness.” – jimschembri.com Mar 18, 2026 Full Review Project Hail Mary (2026) 94% 2.5/5 EDIT “The narrative bones involving Grace’s relationship with the alien are perfectly fine...The film boasts a decent dash of humour and some cool VFX but, man, does this thing drag, taking its time with [its] languid flashback structure. ” – jimschembri.com Mar 18, 2026 Full Review Cold Storage (2026) 81% 3/5 EDIT “A zippy horror-comedy featuring gore galore as heads and chests explode with Cronenbergian zest...In a year that’s turning out to be a big one for zombie yarns, this number chimes in as a singularly silly, fun frolic with the Undead. ” – jimschembri.com Mar 13, 2026 Full Review GOAT (2026) 84% 3.5/5 EDIT “The snappy story is stuffed with hip pop culture references and moves at a breakneck pace... Running beneath all the fun is a swag of positive messaging involving self-respect, teamwork and friendship.” – jimschembri.com Mar 13, 2026 Full Review Reminders of Him (2026) 56% 3/5 EDIT “A very ably directed romantic tearjerker, a multiplex weepie that knows exactly what emotional buttons to press and which heart strings to pluck.” – jimschembri.com Mar 13, 2026 Full Review Arco (2025) 93% 4/5 EDIT “A beautiful, traditionally rendered tale...Again demonstrating how the look of old-style cel-animation holds charm and warmth unmatched by the sheen of digital.” – jimschembri.com Mar 13, 2026 Full Review
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