MovieMuse
T
he MovieMuse Reviews (MovieViews) database is a searchable collection of films that the team have watched, providing a comprehensive guide on what to watch and what to avoid. It provides a link to an in-depth review or a short opinion on the film and a rating, as well as a link to the film’s poster or DVD cover. For more recent entries we are also including a link to the film’s IMDb page and a trailer from YouTube.
You can search and sort the list by individual film names, genre, reviewer, score and other variables to inform you on whether a film is worth your time, or to inspire you for your next movie night.
We will also use the database to create periodic lists of the recommended films in all sorts of categories. These lists will be shared on the website and some will even come with a video.
| Poster | Movie | Year | Genre | Comments | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Game Plan | 2007 | 4, 8 | An early Dwayne Johnson offering that shows a bit more range than his action films as he's paired with a feisty 8 year old. About as predictable as a film of this nature can be and cringeworthy at times, but still fairly enjoyable. | 6 |
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Irresistible | 2020 | 4 | For most of its running time this seems to be an amusing but fairly light-hearted satire of the US electoral system, but to the filmmakers' credit the late story twist reveals it to have a lot more serious message than it first appeared. | 7 |
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Knuckleball | 2018 | 11, 20 | This snowbound thriller sees a boy fending for himself against a psychotic neighbour and is pretty disturbing, whilst also quite inventive. However, there's a bizarre turn of events late on that makes little sense and spoils the final act to some extent. | 6 |
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The Addams Family | 1991 | 4, 9 | Hard to watch to start with until you get used to the intentional over-acting, this is pitched as a family film yet features some quite provocative scenes and quite a bit of blood. Does get better as it goes on and is fairly entertaining towards the end. | 6 |
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Byzantium | 2012 | 7, 11 | Another twist on vampire mythology, this dramatic and frequently gory film tells an interesting story across different time periods, with the modern day scenes the most compelling. Unique, pretty well acted and definitely worth a look for vampire fans. | 7 |
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The Doors | 1991 | 3, 7 | As a snapshot of late 60s hedonism it seems authentic and Kilmer's portrayal of Jim Morrison is great, but as a tribute to the man and his band this painfully over-long film fails, showing him as a total asshole whilst his bandmates are barely involved. | 5 |
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Out | 2020 | 2, 18 | Pixar's first LGBT focussed production has a charming art style and packs slapstick hilarity and touching emotional drama into a mere 9 minutes that is really rather wonderful. | 9 |
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Save Yourselves! | 2020 | 4 | When a New York couple decide to go off the grid for a week at a remote cabin in the woods, they miss the alien invasion. But it isn't long before it finds them. A gentle indie comedy that doesn't quite hit the heights it could have. | 7 |
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Self/Less | 2015 | Action, 17, 20 | An entertaining, but wholly predictable Bourne-alike body swap thriller that sees sick billionaire Ben Kinglsley's consciousness transferred to the body of Ryan Reynolds, only for the past to catch up with him. | 6 |
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The Sugarland Express | 1974 | 4, 5, 7 | Spielberg follows up Duel with another road movie, but this one is a lot lighter in tone. Drags a bit in the middle but has a funny start with some hilarious incidental characters and a tense ending. Goldie Hawn is great. | 7 |
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Scenes of a Sexual Nature | 2006 | 4, 7, 16 | Despite its big name cast, this exploration of seven very different couples as they spend a sunny day on Hampstead Heath is as pedestrian as the park's patrons due to the cliched stories they have to tell.. | 5 |
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Madagasgar | 2005 | 1, 2, 4 | Zoo animals dream of visiting the wild and then get stuck there. If it wasn't for Chris Rock lighting up his scenes as an overly optimistic zebra the film would probably not have received its many sequels. | 6 |
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Turbo | 2013 | 1, 2, 4 | With a great and unexpected voice cast (Samuel L Jackson and Snoop Dogg!!), this fantastical but somehow acceptable story of a snail at the Indy 500 feels shorter than its runtime, which is always a good thing. | 8 |
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Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan | 1982 | Action, 1, 17 | Star Trek 2 addresses many of the issues with the first film by adding a little more action and a proper viallain, but it is still bogged down in too much politics and dialog at the expense of humour and plot. | 6 |
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture | 1979 | 1, 17 | A Star Trek B-movie that doesn't deserve its name. 35 minutes of exposition before they even start the mission, awful effects, acting and dialogue. All in a hideous grey colour scheme. Even the cast’s significant charisma can’t save it. | 4 |
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The Night Before | 2015 | 4 | A typical Seth Rogen "boys night out" comedy for the most part, but there are enough funny scenes to make it enjoyable and the many nods to well-known Christmas movies are cleverly done. | 6 |
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Jingle All The Way | 1996 | Action, 4 | A fairly joyless plot, cringeworthy humour, detestable characters and woeful acting make this a Christmas dud for the most part, though the action-packed last 20 minutes do redeem it slightly. Still one of Arnie's worst though! | 4 |
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Miracle on 34th Street | 1994 | 4, 7, 9 | Richard Attenborough is fantastic in this delightful, frequently hilarious story that also has great courtroom drama scenes and retains the old-fashioned charm of the era that the original version was made. | 8 |
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Happiest Season | 2020 | 4, 7 | This Christmas-set LGBT twist on Meet the Parents is not particularly festive but the story is good, it features some great acting talent and there are just enough comedic moments to counteract the heavier relationship drama. | 6 |
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Love Actually | 2003 | 4, 16 | Over the top, sentimental, awkward, comical and packed with cheese - Love Actually is all of these things but so is Christmas, so as a heart-warming festive feelgood movie it's hard to beat. | 7 |
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Mercy Christmas | 2017 | 4, 11 | A bizarre movie that takes the normal stress of cooking Christmas dinner and makes it all the more difficult by the main course being human beings! Low budget with limited acting, but still offers some original and humorous moments. | 5 |
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Mortal Engines | 2018 | Action, 17 | Visually impressive and conceptually interesting, but the characters and story are dull, the pacing is off and the action sequences are boringly predictable. | 5 |
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The Secret Life of Pets 2 | 2019 | 2, 4 | An undemanding but entertaining kids film that captures some of the more amusing pet bahaviours well, but the highlight is the inspired casting of Harrison Ford voicing a grumpy, disinterested sheepdog. | 6 |
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Official Secrets | 2019 | 7, 20 | A fascinating, tense and emotional true story about moral versus legal obligations with an excellent, unglamorous performance by Keira Knightly in the lead role and a great supporting cast. | 8 |
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Herbie Rides Again | 1974 | 4, 9 | The sentient VW Beetle returns in a story that lacks the coherence of the first film and comes across more like a series of cartoon sketches, but still has some amusing scenes and impressive stunts for the era. | 6 |