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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Brothers in Arms (AKA Semper Fi) | 2019 | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Testosterone-fueled nonsense permeates the opening act and the Iraq war scenes have virtually no relevance, but the gripping, well orchestrated prison break sequence that closes out the movie makes it worth sitting throught the mediocre first half. | 3 |
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Anna | 2019 | Action, Thriller | Good acting, more twists than you can keep track of and a seriously sexy lead actress make for a decent action film that is somewhat spoiled by the annoying use of technology that never existed in the era it was set. | 3 |
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Masterminds | 2016 | Comedy, Crime | Hardly the career highlight of any of the actors involved and there are a number of cringeworthy gross-out scenes that lower the tone, but the verbal and physical comedy isn't bad and the fact it's based on a true story helps. | 2.5 |
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Ready or Not | 2019 | Horror, Thriller | Another variation on the theme of an unexpectedly resourceful female character fighting off a group of assailants, this has a great mix of black comedy and gruesome violence and while it doesn't really do anything new, it’s a lot of fun. | 3.5 |
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Timecop | 1994 | Action, SciFi | The cheesy dialogue, over-acting and gratuitious nudity place it very much in the 90s, but despite those shortcomings, the time travel story is well written and the action sequences are good. | 3 |
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The Man Who Killed Hitler and then the Bigfoot | 2018 | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy | Sam Elliott is his usual engimatic self in this film that takes a bizarre story and plays it dead straight, providing funny moments as a result. There's also some surprisingly heartfelt drama as the main character's back story is revealed via flashbacks. | 3.5 |
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Alpha | 2018 | Adventure | A brave idea, set in prehistoric times and using a fictional language, and while some of the CGI is below-par, the landscapes are spectacular and the story of how wolves theoretically began their journey to become domestic dogs is interesting. | 3.5 |
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Dead Poets Society | 1989 | Drama | Not the kind of film I would ever choose to watch myself, but Robin Williams is brilliant as the teacher inspiring his students to think outside the box. It's just a shame the downbeat ending makes it a far less uplifting story than it could have been. | 3.5 |
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Last Shift | 2014 | Horror | Story-wise it is generic and confusing, but if you're looking for an endless onslaught of terrifying scenes that tick all the horror boxes then this delivers them in spades. | 2.5 |
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Say Your Prayers | 2020 | Comedy, Drama | Amusing and a little tragic, this takes a very British look at religious fundamentalism and the lengths some people might go to doing their god's work, whilst also packing in quite a few funny scenes and some hilarious dialogue. | 3 |
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The Evil Dead | 1981 | Horror | The low budget shows in many ways and it is far less terrifying than it would have been 40 years ago, but some of the effects and camerawork are brilliant and the almost never-ending blitz of gruesome scenes is still quite something to behold. | 3 |
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Rambo: Last Blood | 2019 | Action, Thriller | This excessively violent revenge movie steals the plot of Taken for the most part and is incredibly generic, with the worst thing being that it doesn’t feel like a Rambo film at all and is an insult to the legacy of Stallone's iconic character. | 2 |
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Benny Loves You | 2019 | Comedy, Horror | Takes liberal influence from other 'demonic toy' films and the low budget shows in the acting quality and cinematography, but the special effects are generally quite impressive and the story and dialogue are amusing in places. | 2.5 |
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Disappearance at Clifton Hill | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller | This could have been a decent mystery film as the set-up is good and the acting is fine, but it's spoiled by the over-complicated story and simply horrendous freeform jazz score. | 2.5 |
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The Hidden | 1987 | Action, SciFi | The true nature of the antagonist is given away way too early and there is a fair amount of 80s cheese, but the acting talent is good and there's a decent mix of action and black comedy in this cult favourite. | 3.5 |
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His House | 2020 | Drama, Horror | A creepy haunted house story that also dwells on the isolation and loss of identity experienced by asylum seekers, this probably tries to cram too much into a 90 minute film but the acting is excellent and the scary moments are well executed. | 3.5 |
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James vs His Future Self | 2019 | Comedy, Drama, SciFi | Daniel Stern is the star attraction as the deranged older version of a man trying to convince his younger self not to invent time travel. An amusing movie that is less about Sci-Fi and more about learning to enjoy the lighter side of life. | 3 |
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Kill Command | 2016 | Action, SciFi | There are few better films to take liberal influence from than Terminator, Aliens and Predator so while this may not be very original, it's actually quite entertaining with better special effects than expected given its B-Movie status. | 3 |
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Zombieland: Double Tap | 2019 | Comedy, Horror | Does nothing that the first film didn't already do and is less impressive as a result, but still provides plenty of laughs, entertaining characters and its fair share of excessive violence. | 3.5 |
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An American Pickle | 2020 | Comedy | A ridiculous premise and a typical Seth Rogen vehicle with plenty of digs at religion and politics, but it also has some heart and enough funny moments to make it enjoyable. | 3 |
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The Faculty | 1998 | SciFi, Thriller | Invasion of the Body Snatchers for the Buffy generation, with nods to The Breakfast Club and The Thing along the way, but with snappy dialogue and a cool cast to help it stand out from the glut of similar movies from this era. | 3.5 |
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Biggles | 1986 | Action, SciFi, War | An odd use of the Biggles license, mixing it with an 80s time travel story where nobody is at all concerned about being zapped 70 years into the past or future. There are a few good action scenes though and it helps that nobody is taking it too seriously. | 2.5 |
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The Mitchells vs the Machines | 2021 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy | Despite being producers and not directors for this film, Lord and Miller's chaotic style and humour are all over this terrific family adventure. Think iRobot crossed with The Lego Movie. | 4 |
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Taken | 2008 | Action, Crime, Thriller | The film that created Liam Neeson as an action star still holds up strong today and whilst it isn't as clever as some of its contemporaries, it has enough thrills to easily sustain its short run-time. | 3.5 |
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Promising Young Woman | 2020 | Crime, Drama | A young woman seeks revenge against men for the traumatising effects of her past. Takes a few turns you probably won't expect and delivers a punch to the face for institutional misogyny. | 4 |