MovieMuse
The MovieMuse team has set ourselves the challenge of watching 500 different films between us in 2017. Every new film we watch will be rated and given a short review as part of our MovieViews database.
November was almost an exact repeat of October in terms of films watched overall, and by each member of the crew, wth the average movie rating also being very close to the previous month. We’ve now watched 444 different films between us which means we just need a final push during December to reach the target of 500!
Below are the stats for the month, including our picks for best and worst films of the month. You can also scroll down to see the reviews written by each team member for every film watched in November.
Overall Stats
| January - June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Films Watched | 282 | 39 | 35 | 63 | 38 | 37 | 74 |
| Unique Films Watched | 258 | 32 | 32 | 51 | 36 | 36 | 66 |
| New Reviews Added | 231 | 30 | 30 | 47 | 33 | 36 | 61 |
| Average Rating Given | 3.30 | 3.09 | 3.29 | 3.25 | 3.03 | 3.08 | 3.18 |
| Challenge Completion | 51.6% | 58.0% | 64.4% | 74.6% | 81.8% | 89.0% | 102.2% |
Team Member Stats for November
| Gordon | Mat | Simon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Films Watched | 18 | 15 | 3 |
| Unique Films Watched | 18 | 15 | 3 |
| New Reviews Added | 18 | 14 | 3 |
| Average Rating Given | 3.08 | 2.97 | 3.33 |
| Best Film of the Month | FAQs for Time Travellers | Unthinkable | Gran Torino |
| Worst Film of the Month | The D-Train | I Am Not a Serial Killer | n/a |
Gordon’s Reviews
| Poster | Movie | Year | Comments | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Beta Test | 2016 | A star beta tester finds that the game he is testing is being played out in real life. It is a standard trope but and the acting and script are beyond awful, but there is fun to be had and a few interesting mechanics to enjoy. | 5 |
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Birth of the Dragon | 2016 | A Bruce Lee biopic about his mythical behind-closed-doors fight with Shaolin master Wong Jack Man. Whilst it is set before Lee's movies it comes across a bit like one of his films with some over the top fight scenes and hit and miss comedy. | 6 |
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Brave New World | 1998 | Despite being what we would term Orwellian, this clumsy made for TV movie is based based on Aldous Huxley's book some 10 years before Orwell's output. Not the adaptation the book deserves, but certainly not a disaster. | 5 |
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Brawl in Cell Block 99 | 2017 | Whilst the name may give people a false impression that this is an action film, it follows the successful formula of S. Caraig Zahler's previous film Bone Tomahawk. Slow character building punctuated with sickening violence. | 7 |
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Brigsby Bear | 2017 | An uplifting indie film that is probably best described as a light hearted comedy version of Room! A delight from start to finish. | 8 |
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Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel | 2009 | Three geeky friends go for a pint and end up traveling through multiple time rifts. in a superb British comedy that feels like an educated feature length spin off from The IT Crowd. | 8 |
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Good Time | 2017 | Whilst only technically a heist movie, the film is actually a tense and frantic thriller with a killer synth-score and some fantastic performances, not least from co-director Ben Safdie. | 8 |
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Ingrid Goes West | 2017 | Starts as an indictment of the Instagram culture, but ends up being more about how people live their lives in the real world. A funny and interesting tale, but it won't make anyone reduce their screen time. | 6 |
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Justice League | 2017 | Too much flash-bang covering up for too little plot, but the rumours of the DCU's demise are greatly exaggerated. Snyder and Wheedon have just about done the league justice. | 6 |
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Loving Vincent | 2017 | Click here for our detailed review. | 8 |
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Manifesto | 2015 | A linear feature made from 13 shorts, all starring Cate Blanchett, that were originally a multi screen art installation. A triumph for the costume and makeup department, but a big fail in her varied accents. | 5 |
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Mayhem | 2017 | An apt title for a viral outbreak in an office block romp. If you imagine Uwe Boll's Postal, set in Nakatomi Plaza then you won't be far wrong. Far more fun than it really should be. | 5 |
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Miracle Mile | 1988 | This schizophrenic film is for the most part this a standard 80s rom-com. But then it peppers you with nuclear war, full frontal nudity, gruesome deaths and a c-bomb. It is hard to know what the director was aiming for, but it is fair to say he missed. | 5 |
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OtherLife | 2017 | Another take on the implanted memory movie, but this time the government want to use the technology to cure prison overcrowding! Interesting and reasonably well made, but could do with more excitement. | 6 |
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Patti Cake$ | 2017 | A joyful journey of self discovery and acceptance as a fat, white, misfit girl and her odd friends follow their dream. 8 Mile with a little less angst and a few more laughs thrown in. | 7 |
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Radius | 2017 | A man wakes up after a car crash and if anyone gets within 50 feet of him they immediately drop dead. An excellent premise played out extremely well. The last 20 minutes are grim, but that is no bad thing. A very pleasant surprise of a film. | 7 |
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The D Train | 2015 | A dreadfully predictable low-rent script about the fat kid and the cool dude meeting ahead of a high school reunion. It has an interesting twist around the middle, but even that is betrayed by a dreadfully trite ending. Black and Marsden are wasted. | 3 |
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Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets | 2017 | Despite too many Star Wars tropes and sci-fi staples, this Spy Kids vs The Fifth Element is plenty of fun and a return to some kind of form for Luc Besson. | 6 |
Mat‘s Reviews
| Poster | Movie | Year | Comments | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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12 Years a Slave | 2013 | Superbly shot and acted, it feels harsh to pick fault with a film like this, but the story is rather uneventful except for the first and last 15 minutes, which doesn?t make for particularly engaging viewing. | 7 |
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Clerks II | 2006 | Tries to recreate the irreverent, conversation-led comedy of the original but many scenes are ruined by excessive crudeness and gross-out 'humour'. There are still some good moments but overall it's a disappointing sequel. | 6 |
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I Am Not a Serial Killer | 2016 | The premise of a sociopath tracking down a serial killer is great and the casting choice for the killer is excellent, but the introduction of supernatural elements to the story completely spoil an otherwise great concept. | 4 |
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Kingsman: The Secret Service | 2015 | An unexpected highlight of 2015, "James Bond with chavs" should never have worked, but succeeds thanks to Taron Egerton's engaging performance, sharp humour and some gloriously choreographed violence. | 8 |
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Man on Fire | 2004 | A film of two halves, as a heartwarming redemption story becomes a violent revenge thriller, but both are compelling thanks to Denzel's multi-facted performance. The only real problem is it's way too long for a film of this type. | 7 |
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Now You See Me 2 | 2016 | Continuing the story from the first film, this is more of the same, with some spectacular set-pieces performed by a bunch of characters that are way too pleased with themselves. The highlight is an inspired and witty bit of casting for the main villain. | 5 |
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Red Dog | 2011 | A funny, heartwarming and inevitably heartbreaking story that centres on a four-legged friend but has some great Aussie characters around him. How much of the story is true is debatable, but that's what legends are about. | 7 |
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The Caller | 2011 | The time-twisting plot is quite clever and creates some interesting scenarios for the protagonist to deal with, but none of the characters are particularly strong and the film rather fizzles out before the pointless twist ending. | 5 |
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The Howling | 1981 | This werewolf story takes an age to get going but offers some entertainment once it does, along with some decent effects. It's also comedic, some of it intentional and some as a result of the terrible 80s fashions and abundance of moustaches! | 5 |
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The Last Boy Scout | 1991 | Time has not been kind to this movie, with gritty and violent action sequences totally at odds with attempts to inject comedy. The dialogue is little more than a stream of cliched one-liners and everyone involved should frankly be embarrassed. | 4 |
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The Last Stand | 2013 | A decent return to full-time acting for Arnie in an undemanding but enjoyable action film. It has all the explosions, gun fights and car chases you could ask for and a decent cast of character actors supporting the big man. | 7 |
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The Strangers | 2008 | An early modern offering from the Home Invasion Horror genre, and a particularly creepy one at that. Tension is built subtly and effectively until the logical conclusion, which is sadly a little underwhelming. | 7 |
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Thinner | 1996 | A pretty faithful adaptation of one of my favourite Stephen King novels, but it is ruined by hammy over-acting from virtually everyone involved and a lack of any likeable characters. It would've benefitted from a more ruthless editor. | 4 |
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Unthinkable | 2010 | Gripping, yet hard to watch due to the torture scenes, this thriller features brilliant performances from Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Sheen and may prompt interesting discussions about where your moral compass points. | 7 |
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Yogi Bear | 2010 | The plot is paper thin and the characters one dimensional, but the humour is suprisingly grown-up at times and Aykroyd and Timberlake are excellent as the voices of Yogi and Boo Boo. A pretty successful recreation of the cartoon show. | 6 |
Simon’s Reviews
| Poster | Movie | Year | Comments | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Gran Torino | 2008 | I'm a big fan of Clint as a director and an actor. This is a great film which covers both areas of Clint's repetoire. Gritty, but poignant and warming, well written and the story pans out superbly. An angry Clint is the best Clint. | 8 |
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | 2007 | Arguably the least interesting book in the series and similarly the film is my least favourite, but that's not to say it is a bad film. It pretty much follows the book closely and to me that is its downfall slightly. Still watchable though. | 6 |
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The Day After Tomorrow | 2004 | A typical meteorlogical disaster flick, not particularly gripping, OK effects, and paints a message about ruining the planet. It's not bad but not that great either. Still watchable enough. | 6 |