The #1 Ultimate Movie Review Template for Spectacular Journaling

As a movie and TV enthusiast, you may often find yourself staring at screens for long periods of time with no movie review template to guide your thoughts. Mindlessly staring at screens can not only cause eye fatigue, poor sleep, and headaches, but the many distractions that devices bring can reduce productivity significantly.

Because of this, it is highly recommended to take on activities that don’t require a screen, like physical exercise or even mental exercise in this case. The following movie journal template is the perfect solution for immersing yourself in a movie without piling on the screen time.

Increased screen time is detrimental to one’s focus but it’s impossible to build a movie blog without screens. So the question is, how can you make progress on your movie reviews without staring at a screen for hours?

This question led me to research some movie review journal options that I could get into. The issue I kept running into was either there was not enough room in the journal entry to really expand on the movie opinions and make it my own or there was too much blank space which made starting the review feel intimidating.

I came across this YouTube video during my movie journal search and I really loved the full-spread layout. The visual and written essence of the film is displayed boldly in a paper-based widescreen format.

This is what led me to design and create the ultimate movie review template for a fun, simple, and creative film journal.

Free Movie Review Template!

Movie Review Journal Template Tour

Below is the blank movie review template:

On the left page of the spread, there is a guided fill-in that outlines the basic essentials for identifying and judging a film.

You would simply fill out the film’s title, the date you watched the film, the director, main actors, genre, jot your compliments and main critiques of the film, conclude whether you would recommend watching the film, and finally rate the film on a 10-popcorn rating scale.

The left side of the spread organizes your thoughts neatly which mentally prepares you for the more creative right portion of the movie review template.

The right side of the spread is meant for more creative freedom.

My favorite part of this whole movie review template and the portion that I really put extra time into is the word cloud at the bottom of the right page spread.

Writing a good movie review means being able to be descriptive and using carefully chosen adjectives that best express your sentiments towards the film. The word cloud included on the right side is a means to incredible adjective brainstorming (get it, word cloud leads to brainstorming…).

After organizing your thoughts on the left side of the spread, move on to the adjective word cloud to further get your thoughts and feelings on the film flowing.

What I like to do is emphasize the words that best describe the film for me in a color close to the film’s color palette. A little pop of color against the gray.

The biggest words in the word cloud are “good”, “neutral”, and “bad”, the most basic descriptors of a movie review. It’s fun to emphasize the main sentiment towards the movie with a new font or new color so that at first glance, someone is able to tell how you felt towards the movie.

The top portion of the right page is a free-for-all section. It gives you the freedom of visual creation for the movie and the ability to store little mementos in your journal.

The empty space is perfect for storing movie tickets, stickers, movie images, extra thoughts on the film, random pattern drawings, sketches, and anything that adequately represents the movie for you.

Movie Review Template Journal Examples

In this movie review journal entry of The Woman King, I decided to forgo the word cloud and fill the entire left page with mementos, images, and quotes from the movie because I had a lot of visual elements that I wanted to portray.

This movie review for Not Okay utilizes the word cloud and adds a few movie-themed doodles to fill in the empty spaces. The upper half of the right page includes a faux movie ticket (since it’s a movie that streams on Hulu) and just some extra notes on prevalent themes I noticed throughout the film.

This movie journal review for Lightyear is also very word driven. I filled in the empty spaces within the word cloud with notes on lessons and themes within the film and sprinkled the right page with prominent quotes within the film.

I genuinely did not have much to say about the film Me Time so I stuck with the basics and wrote in big font with pops of color. A really quick and simple review, yet it still quickly conveys my sentiment toward the film.

Journaling is a great way to hold on to some memories, immerse yourself in some film reflection, and maximize your film-watching experience. Looking at a full spread of a review I just created makes me feel so accomplished and focused. It completely fights off the post-screening brain fog.

Movie Review Journal Design

After I figured out the movie review template that I wanted to duplicate for a comprehensive film journal, I then had to figure out the journal’s cover design.

Choosing a spiral-bound journal was a very intentional decision. Spiral-bound journals give your movie-themed spread the ability to lay flat neatly. You can also jot your ideas easily without pages folding back on your hands, and it’s seamless to write on any surface.

For the cover, I wanted something simple, neutral, and movie-centric. I try to aim for a classy and clean look to complement the professional movie review template. After much trial and error, I landed on a simple empty clapboard look that extends to the back cover of the journal. It’s easier to show you:

The matte finish over the cover adds a little bit to the structural integrity and creates a smooth texture.

Start Your Journal Today!

I know I’m not the only one who has felt the urge to use my hands less for mindless swiping and more for creative projects.

This movie review template bounded in journal form allows for 52 complete reviews as well as additional pages for extra notes and a table of contents. The journal provides the perfect structure for increased productivity and creative input into your movie reviews.

It also creates a beautiful catalog of movies and memories to reminisce on.

Click here to get your very own movie review journal and let’s get journaling together 🙂

Free Movie Review Template!

What are your thoughts on the movie review template for the ultimate movie review journal? Let me know in the comments below!

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Peace, love, and lots of popcorn,

IMO