Movies & Streaming Reviews

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

After a strong start, well-meaning Civil Rights drama ‘Till’ becomes too strident and self-righteous for its own good

Making her point: Danielle Deadwyler plays a grieving mother in the period drama ‘Till’. TILL ** (131 minutes) M While ...
Read More

Blessed with another top performance from Olivia Colman, the wistfully nostalgic ‘Empire of Light’ blends the good with the sad

Frail woman: Olivia Colman in ‘Empire of Light’. EMPIRE OF LIGHT ***1/2 (115 minutes) MA A beautiful, over-sized seaside cinema ...
Read More

‘Creed III’ does credit to the best of the Rocky saga as it breaks away

Round Three: Michael B Jordan stars in and directs ‘Creed III’. CREED III *** (116 minutes) M We all know ...
Read More

‘Cocaine Bear’ a fun slice of 1980s-style B-grade comedy horror schlock; ‘Missing’, a good, if lengthy, screenlife thriller; ‘Cunk on Earth’ a funny, delightfully daffy mockumentary; ‘Pamela: A Love Story’ a lovely redemption story; ‘Colin from Accounts’ a very well-rounded Aussie rom-com

Powder lover: The digital star of ‘Cocaine Bear’. COCAINE BEAR *** (95 minutes) MA Boasting a perfect example of a ...
Read More

‘Women Talking’: a boring, pseudo-feminist gabfest; ‘We Are Still Here’: a tame, dull anthology film about indigenous mistreatment

Blah blah blah: The cast of ‘Women Talking’ discuss their future in a throwback colony. WOMEN TALKING 1/2 (104 minutes) ...
Read More

‘Quantumania’ chimes in as a perfectly watchable mid-tier Marvel movie with great visual effects and lots of green-screen acting

Green screen acting: Paul Rudd, Kathryn Newton and Evangeline Lilly, with an impressive digital background in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: ...
Read More

REVIEWS: ‘Spoiler Alert’, a touching romantic drama; ‘The Son’ is well-meaning but stumbles; Still brilliant, ‘Titanic’ commands a big-screen revisit; ‘Corsage’ a dull, pretentious period drama

Tough times: Jim Parsons and Ben Aldridge in the romantic drama ‘Spoiler Alert’. SPOILER ALERT *** (112 minutes) M Those ...
Read More

‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ is limp, overlong and underwhelming

MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE *1/2 (112 minutes) M There have been enough jokes since the release of the first Magic ...
Read More

Tough topics and top turns elevate the dark tale of ‘The Whale’

Sad sack: Brendan Fraser plays a grossly obese teacher in ‘The Whale’. THE WHALE *** (117 minutes) M A strong ...
Read More

Void of tension or fear, M Night Shyamalan’s latest effort ‘Knock at the Cabin’ delivers The ‘Meh’ Experience

House guests: Dave Bautista leads a group of deranged visionaries in ‘Knock at the Cabin’. KNOCK AT THE CABIN *1/2 ...
Read More