MovieMuse
T
he MovieMuse Reviews (MovieViews) database is a searchable collection of films that the team have watched. 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. Over time this will build into a comprehensive guide about what to watch and what to avoid.
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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Flora & Ulysses | 2021 | Adventure, Comedy, Family | A fun family film that comes across like an Americanised (and squirrelised) version of Peter Rabbit. Disney manage to introduce a child actor full of character without them becoming obnoxious and a silly animated sidekick that isn't too in-your-face. | 3.5 |
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Baby Done | 2020 | Comedy | Another fine reminder that New Zealand makes the best quirky comedy on the planet. Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter gets a rough ride when his girlfriend gets pregnant but refuses to accept it. | 3.5 |
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Quiz Show | 1994 | Biopic, Drama | Robert Redford directs a boring film about an incredibly dull 'scandal', when a government lawyer uncovers match fixing in a TV game show. Ralph Fiennes insipid character only exacerbates the tedium. | 2.5 |
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Poppy Shakespeare | 2008 | Comedy, Drama | An odd little film about a day patient at a north London psychiatric hospital and how her life is changed when a glamorous new patient is admitted. Well acted, but does get a little disjointed as it goes on. | 3 |
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21 | 2008 | Adventure, Biopic, Drama | An entertaining account of how a team of MIT students took Las Vegas casinos for millions by card counting is entertaining, but trivialises the true story by changing the characters ethnicity and adding wild drama to give the story a more thrilling edge. | 3 |
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I Care A Lot | 2020 | Crime, Thriller | When an unscrupulous legal guardian picks the wrong 'helpless' old lady as her next mark, her life is turned upside down. A refreshing thriller that paints Rosamund Pike as villain, hero and victim in equal measures. | 3.5 |
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Animal Crackers | 2017 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy | Another passable but not entirely successful CGI kids movie sees a former circus performer transmogrify when eating magic animal shaped cookies and uses this power to foil his unscrupulous uncle's attempts to steal the family businesss. | 3 |
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The Little Things | 2021 | Crime, Drama | A big name cast and a rather tame plot with some of the dumbest 'smart' cops, combine for a good but not great crime thriller. The score is excellent but Rami Malek comes of as a bit of a Mad Men character. | 3 |
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The Prestige | 2006 | Drama, Mystery, Period | An intriguing mystery that sees two rival magicians stop at nothing to outdo the other. But for a ludicrous fantastical 'magic' trick near the end and some dodgy acting from both leads it could have been great. | 3.5 |
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Hope Gap | 2019 | Drama | A couple approaching their 29th anniversary are thrown into turmoil as, out of the blue, the husband declares he is leaving. Interesting and engaging for the most part, but like their relationship, it felt like there was something missing. | 3 |
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Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | 2012 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy | With a fun story and great voice performances, Madagascar 3 sees the franchise on fine form as the New Yorker animals join a European travelling circus. | 3.5 |
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Immortal | 2004 | Action, Crime, Fantasy | A shockingly poor film that looks and feels unfinished. It doesn't know if it wants to be a CGI film or live action. The worst possible Fifth Element clone you could imagine. | 1 |
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Gangster Squad | 2013 | Action, Crime, Drama | Not quite the updated Untouchables I was hoping for. | 2.5 |
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The Amazing Spider-Man | 2012 | Action, Adventure, SciFi | Another pointless retread of the Spider-Man origin. Garfield doesn't get close to Toby Maguire's portrayal of Peter or Spidey. | 3 |
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Seven Psychopaths | 2012 | Comedy, Crime | A screenwriter gets mixed up with the criminal underworld when his friend steals a gangstar's dog. A woeful film that tries so hard to be funny that it is hard to watch. Farrell's acting is appropriately awful. | 1.5 |
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88 Minutes | 2007 | Crime, Drama, Mystery | A forensic psychiatrist whose evidence put away a seril killer reeives a call to tell him he only has 88 minutes to live. Pacino is far too good to me making films this bad. | 1.5 |
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Wrath of the Titans | 2012 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | Perius has been living a quiet life since defeating the Kraken, but it doesn't last as Zues is imprisoned in the Underworld. An Ok film with some good effects, but the acting is terrible. | 3 |
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Ida | 2013 | Drama | Like every stereotype of cold war eastern bloc films it really isn't very accessible. Black and white, subtitled, 4:3 aspect ratio, no score, religious themed, slow paced. But I still found it quite intriguing. | 3 |
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Mr. Turner | 2014 | Biopic, Drama | A fascinating account of the painter J.M.W. Turner. It is unbelievable that Timothy Spall was overlooked by BAFTA for his performance. | 4 |
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The Interview | 2014 | Adventure, Comedy | Journalists travel to North Korea with a secret CIA mission. One or two mildly funny bits raise it above dreadful, but it never comes close to being good. | 2 |
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Wild | 2014 | Adventure, Biopic, Drama | Apart from the bad girl scenes where I just couldn't accept Witherspoon as a druggy-nympho, Wild is an interesting and well directed tale of someone walking themself back to the person they want to be. | 4 |
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Boyhood | 2014 | Drama | As an experiment of making a film over a long period it is fine (though they do overdo the iconography in the early years), but with no story at all it feels more like 5 episodes of a dull soap opera than a movie. | 3 |
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American Sniper | 2014 | Action, Biopic, Drama | A thought provoking true story of the casualties of war as sniper Chris Kyle tries to deal with the path he has taken. | 4 |
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Foxcatcher | 2014 | Biopic, Drama, Sport | Another interesting story dragged out into tedium. Further let down but Tatum playing half the film like he is retarded and half like he is not. The director also overuses the profile shot of Carrell's prosthetic nose. Ruffallo is great though. | 2.5 |
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Lilting | 2014 | Drama | When his male lover dies, Richard tries to connect with the bereaved mother, even though they don't speak each others language. A wonderful film that should have got more attention. | 4.5 |