James was born in New York City on 13th of august, 1950. His mother was a housewife and his father was a little known TV writer and director. Early in his life his family moved from New York City to Brooklyn where he went in High School. But he went on University of Illinois because of his friends advice. During his collage years he wrote three scripts , under an alias of Daniel Webster , one of wich was actually made. He says that the collage years were the best time of his life.

Style of critique and personal tastes

He described what a film critic should do in his book Fate Worse Than Death : Watching Bad Movies he said : "A critic should beunprejudiced and impartial. He should put his personal feelings aside and write about what he sees on screen. If the acting is badhe should say so , even if the actors are his favorites. If the directing is bad , he should say so , even if the director is his favorite. His judgment upon the film should be based on all aspects of the film from bad acting to bad prop designs. And when he takes in consideration all of those aspects , then and only then he can say if the film is good or bad.". In one of his interviews he also said : "There are no films wich no one will like , also there are no films wich everybody will like".His personal tastes are as he himself says : comedies , crime movies and courtroom dramas. He absolutely dislikes action films and erotic thrillers.

Views on the film industry

James has often compared Hollywood and Europe made films and as a result he wrote a book entitled "Dead Race : Europe vs. Hollywood".

"A good side of Hollywood is that there is a good balance between art and entertainment , but in Europe movies art usually presides over entertainment and thus making an over depressive movie. But thankfully that is not always the case as in some moments of Serbian movie there is a good balance of comedy and art. I am not saying that art is bad but that the movie cannot be consistent entirely of art. Take for instance this situation : you are offered to watch an 100 min. long hilarious comedy without a pinch of art , and a 70 min. long art movie without a pinch of entertainment in it , just pure depressive art. Wich one would you take ?"

Film and TV appearances

James had his own TV Show entitled "James Vs. Movies" but he dropped out saying that internet and books were his true love. He appeared on "Oprah" and he gave comments for three dvd's : "Buddy , Buddy" , "Stanlio And Olio Platinum Collection Vol.2" and "Moon And Stars". He also had a cameo in "War Games" with Matthew Broderick.

James is married to an English barrister Susan Falk with who he has two children. He is currently writing a novel entitled "Ideadead" about bad movie ideas.

He has written the following books:

• Hitchcock , Hitchcock , Hitchcock : Pros and Cons - His study of Alfred Hitchcock
• How To Make A Good Movie"
• Charge of The Film Brigade , Part I" - Best war movies from 1900 till 1953
• Fate Worse Than Death : Watching Bad Movies - His guidebook on how to 'survive' bad movies
• The Neverending Movies - Longest movies he watched.
• Charge Of The Film Brigade , Part II - Best war movies from 1954 till 1990
• Laugh , Laugh - Best comedies ever made till 1996
• Surviving Kubrick - His study of Stanley Kubrick
• Horror or Over At The Other Side - His study of horror films.
• James Vs. The Movies - His reviews from the TV Show and his personal experience of filming the show.
• Worst of The Worst - The Worst films he ever saw
• My Tops - His Favorite Films
• Best of The Last Century - Top 1000 Best movies from 1900 - 1999
• Dead Race : Europe Vs. Hollywood
• Matthew James: The Reviews - Collection of his reviews in 10 volumes (released on the anniversary of his 10,000th movie review.
• On The Other Side Of The Screen /1950 - 2010/ - An autobiography released on his 60th birthday)