Movie Review Application

A full-stack application for browsing movies, reading/writing reviews, and finding streaming links.

Features

• Browse trending and popular movies
• Search for movies
• Read and write reviews
• Star rating system
• Direct links to streaming platform
• Responsive design

Prerequisites

1. Node.js (v14 or higher)
2. MongoDB Community Server
3. npm or yarn

MongoDB Setup

1. Download MongoDB Community Server from https://www.mongodb.com/try/download/community
2. Run the installer
3. Choose "Complete" installation
4. Check "Install MongoDB as a Service"
5. Add MongoDB bin directory to system PATH (typically C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\[version]\bin)
6. Create data directory: C:\data\db

Installation

1. Clone the repository

2. Install frontend dependencies:

   npm install

3. Install backend dependencies:

   cd backend
   npm install

Running the Application

1. Start MongoDB service (if not running):

   • Windows: The service should start automatically
   • Manual start: Open Services app and start "MongoDB"

2. Start the backend server:

   cd backend
   npm run dev

3. Start the frontend development server (in a new terminal):

   npm run dev

4. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:5173

Environment Variables

Backend (.env):

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/movie-app
NODE_ENV=development

Features Added

• Enhanced error handling
• Input validation
• Loading states
• Improved UI/UX
• Star rating interface
• Character counter for reviews
• Sorting reviews by date
• Retry logic for MongoDB connection

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React + Vite
• Backend: Node.js + Express
• Database: MongoDB
• Styling: Tailwind CSS