Movies & Streaming Reviews

The latest movies & streaming reviews from Jim Schembri, professional film reviewer since 1980.

‘Only the Animals’: a near-brilliant French mystery; ‘Penguin Bloom’: top-shelf family drama; ‘Shadow in the Cloud’: high-flying fun with a gremlin; ‘Dawn Raid’: fab doco about the crash of a hot hip hop label

Reaching out: Denis Ménochet stars as a lonely farmer in in the fantastic mystery ‘Only the Animals’. ONLY THE ANIMALS ...
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‘Elfkins’ a cute, positive, pleasantly predictable lark for kids

Cupcake-cute: Gnomes defy the rules to help humans in ‘The Elfkins: Baking a Difference’. THE ELFKINS: BAKING A DIFFERENCE *** ...
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‘Music’: Sia’s brightly coloured musical drama a hit-and-miss affair

Odd coupling: Docu-drama realism and fantasy numbers vie for attention in Sia’s ‘Music’. MUSIC **1/2 (107 minutes) M Noted songstress ...
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Tepid, watchable drama ‘My Salinger Year’ sparked by newcomer Margaret Qualley

Author, author: Margaret Qualley plays an office clerk with a big job in ‘My Salinger Year’. MY SALINGER YEAR **1/2 ...
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Annoying 50-year old anime hero goes digital in ‘Lupin III: The First’

The classic action hero and his team seek a wider audience with ‘Lupin III’. LUPIN III: THE FIRST *** (93 ...
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Fun with Milla as she does what she does in ‘Monster Hunter’; ‘Dreambuilders’: a lame, wannabe Pixar clone

“Hey Mr Monster, where do you think you’re going?”: Milla Jovovich in ‘Monster Hunter’. MONSTER HUNTER *** (104 minutes) M ...
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The love of geese & scenery drive the family film ‘Spread Your Wings’

The geese are flying: A father and son bond while saving a species of geese in ‘Spread Your Wings’. SPREAD ...
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A de-glammed Gemma Arterton shines in moving weepie ‘Summerland’

Forced together: A grumpy writer and a displaced boy find a bond in wartime England in ‘Summerland’. SUMMERLAND *** (99 ...
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‘The War With Grandpa’ a funny family comedy; ‘The Midnight Sky’, George Clooney’s solid sci-fi adventure; ‘End of the Century’, a boring gay yapfest

Under control: Robert De Niro stars in the family funfest ‘The War with Grandpa’ THE WAR WITH GRANDPA *** (98 ...
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‘The Dry’: a well-packaged, high-end Australian murder-mystery

Hot times: Eric Bana plays a federal police officer haunted by his past in ‘The Dry’. THE DRY ***1/2 (117 ...
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