jimschembri.com

Your source for movie reviews, video interviews, commentary and more fun online.

Latest Movies & Streaming Reviews

Both modest and confronting, ‘The Garden Left Behind’ offers a compassionate look into the life of a trans woman; (includes director interview)

Looking for change: Happiness is elusive for trans woman Tina (Carlie Guevara) in ‘The Garden Left Behind’. THE GARDEN LEFT ...
Read More

Handsome but disjointed ‘David Copperfield’ remake can’t match its 85-year old forebear

Setting out: Dev Patel stars as the titular character in ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’. THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF ...
Read More

Forget ’50 Shades’; this deep dive into the dark world of BDSM balances drama with debauchery

Bad Girl: Krista Kosonen plays Mona, a dominatrix with a very loyal customer in ‘Dogs Don’t Wear Pants’. DOGS DON’T ...
Read More

Food-based Finnish cross-cultural dramedy ‘Master Cheng’ an unhurried delight

Not just friends: A Chinese chef and a Finnish diner manager make a life-changing deal in ‘Master Cheng’. MASTER CHENG ...
Read More

Latest Video Interviews

Striving for social impact through drama – Flavio Alves on the battles behind ‘The Garden Left Behind’

Director Flavio Alves: “I became a filmmaker because I was attracted to the dream that I could make a difference ...
Read More

Wrestling with life’s big questions on a small scale in ‘The Bestowal’ – interview with writer/director Andrew de Burgh

“L.A. is definitely a superficial city. There’s a lot of nice, down-to-earth, genuine people but there’s also a dark, materialistic, ...
Read More

Aiming high while flying low: the exquisite stresses of making ‘Batsh*t Bride’ – an interview with director Jonathan Smith

Flying low: Independent filmmaker Jonathan Smith. Batsh*t Bride is the third feature film from independent filmmaker Jonathan Smith, following his ...
Read More

Why We Run – ‘3100’ director Sanjay Rawal discusses the making & meaning of his documentary

The documentary 3100: Run and Become was to have been released in cinemas on 30 March, but the shutdown caused ...
Read More

Latest Articles & Commentary

Redacting pop culture to appease woke warriors is sheer PC idiocy and won’t help Black Lives Matter

Problem?: The storm over a 45-year old episode of ‘Fawlty Towers’ hit a tipping point. CAUTION: This article contains material ...
Read More

Oscars 2020 – Asian talent reigns but being hostless, woke and way, way long leaves viewers cold

Cow man: Joaquin Phoenix gives a shout out to cows while accepting his Best Actor award for ‘Joker’ at this ...
Read More

Midsumma Festival 2020 – meet the two most interesting people there

T-shirt tale: this timely reminder of the 1969 culture-changing Stonewall riots in New York was a highlight at Midsumma Festival ...
Read More

The films of 2019 – the good the bad and the perfectly watchable

Why so serious?: ‘Joker’ showed Hollywood how counter-intuitive filmmaking can work. Here’s a quick run-through of the films that stood ...
Read More

Jim Schembri

Journalist, critic and author based in Melbourne, Australia