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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Don’t Look Up | 2021 | Comedy, Drama | Hilarious and biting satire targeting almost every aspect of modern culture is given extra gravitas by being delivered by top quality actors like Di Caprio and especially Jennifer Lawrence, who is just brilliant. | 4 |
 |
Christmas at Dollywood | 2019 | Drama, Romance | A formulaic Hallmark Christmas movie that could have been a fantastic advertisement for Dollywood if only they'd actually shot more than about ten minutes in the park! | 2 |
 |
Santa Stole Our Dog | 2017 | Comedy, Family | The acting is poor at times and some of the SFX are terrible, but to be fair this is less patronising than the average kids Christmas movie and kudos to the producers for bringing Ed Asner in to play Santa. | 2.5 |
 |
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | 1992 | Comedy, Family | Largely a retread of the first film in a new environment, the blend of Looney Tunes style violence and more heartwarming moments is odd but works about as well as it did in the original, though by the end you'll be sympathising with the hapless villains. | 3 |
 |
Free Guy | 2021 | Action, Comedy, SciFi | The GTA-style game environment is realised well and the film does pose interesting moral questions about Artifical Intelligence, but the real-world technology elements are poorly portrayed and Taika Waititi's character is just horrendous. | 3 |
 |
Chef | 2014 | Comedy, Drama | Starts off more like a cookery show than a film, but once it gets going this a great feelgood road movie that celebrates how the love of food can bring people together. | 3.5 |
 |
Black Widow | 2021 | Action, Thriller | More low-key and grounded than any of the Phase 3 MCU movies, this is quite a refreshing change and while the story is quite predictable, good performances from the newcomers and some decent action sequences make this a worthy swansong for the character. | 3.5 |
 |
Walking Out | 2017 | Adventure, Drama | With a plot as bleak as the wintery environment that it takes place in, this is not a lot of fun to watch but it does remain intense and gripping throughout. | 3 |
 |
Ron's Gone Wrong | 2021 | Animation, Comedy, SciFi | One of the smartest animated films outside of Pixar, with cute characters and slapstick humour for the kids, satire of tech giants for the adults and warnings about misuse of personal data for both. The only letdown is a fairly generic final act. | 3.5 |
 |
The Dead Don’t Die | 2019 | Comedy, Horror | Funny at times and downright bizarre at others, the most impressive thing about this film is how the producers managed to convince high calibre stars like Murray and Driver to be involved, and the intentionally nonchalant approach they took to it. | 3 |
 |
Lords of Chaos | 2018 | Biopic, Drama, Music | This fascinating dramatisation of a dark period in the history of heavy music mixes gruesome, shocking scenes with some that are quite humorous, which helps reinforce just how silly these people's antics were back in the 90s. | 3.5 |
 |
The Guilty | 2021 | Thriller | The concept is quite smart with most of the events left to the viewer's imagination, but Gyllenhaal's character is too obnoxious to get behind and the story gets more and more ridiculous until the fairly predictable twist ending. | 2.5 |
 |
The Omen | 1976 | Horror, Thriller | As with many 70s films, the exposition is painfully slow at times but the acting is great, the story and lore is clever and it is ominously effective without being especially scary. | 3.5 |
 |
Red Notice | 2021 | Action, Comedy, Thriller | Johnson, Reynolds and Gadot turn in exactly the performances you'd expect in a well-made, entertaining but completely formulaic 'event movie' that certainly wasn't worth the money spent to make it. | 3 |
 |
Out of the Blue | 2006 | Crime, Drama | This harrowing recreation of one of New Zealand's most tragic events conveys the sense of panic and bewilderment that the community must have felt really effectively, along with the gunman's mental state as he remorselessly kills his neighbours. | 3.5 |
 |
Window Wonderland | 2013 | Comedy, Romance | The premise has potential but after an amusing opening, this reverts to the usual romantic festive fodder that Hallmark is famous for. Perfectly watchable if you know what to expect. | 2.5 |
 |
Jungle Cruise | 2021 | Adventure, Family | Delivers pretty much what you'd expect from a movie inspired by a theme park ride, with the influence of Indiana Jones and The African Queen pretty blatant. The cast is good but the over-use of CGI sequences and long running time don’t do it any favours | 3 |
 |
Fear Street Part Two: 1978 | 2021 | Horror, Thriller | The history of the Shadyside curse is explored further in classic summer camp slasher movie style, with the visuals and music well on point. Fans of such films will be entertained but once again it's the bigger story that makes this more interesting. | 3.5 |
 |
The Pact | 2012 | Horror, Mystery | The acting is not the best but this modestly-budgeted film builds up an ominous feeling with its cinematography and audio, the story has some clever twists and there's some smart use of technology within it too. It's also very creepy at times! | 3 |
 |
Boss Level | 2021 | Action, SciFi, Thriller | The premise is well-worn but the delivery is spot on, with a true video game feeling created as the hero with a heart burns through infinite lives to reach the end of the story, while the action and humour help make this one of the best films of the year. | 4 |
 |
Salem's Lot | 1979 | Horror | Over-long scenes, shaky editing and below-par effects lay bare its TV movie origins, but the main actors are good and the latter half does still have some effective moments, even though it's far more amusing than it was in its time. | 3 |
 |
Missing Link | 2019 | Adventure, Animation | It's hard to comprehend this is really stop-motion animation at times, but it is impressive, packed with charm and some high quality voice acting. Plot-wise it is fairly generic but there's enough action and humour to entertain young and old. | 3 |
 |
Fear Street Part One: 1994 | 2021 | Horror, Thriller | The plot is obviously inspired by 90s slashers like Scream, with a great alt-rock soundtrack accompanying the gory action, but the wider back story of a town cursed for centuries sets up a smart mythology that allows for more stories to be told. | 3.5 |
 |
Run Hide Fight | 2020 | Action, Thriller | Starts off as if it has something to say about how easily a high school shooting can take place and the desire for social media stardom, but ultimately turns out to be a more generic Die Hard-style action thriller with an admittedly kick-ass female hero. | 3 |
 |
Gunpowder Milkshake | 2021 | Action, Thriller | Elements of Kill Bill and Kingsman are blended in a vibrant, relentless action thriller with some brilliantly choreographed violence and a talented mostly-female cast. Hardly the most original film but it's a lot of fun. | 3.5 |