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September 3, 2020 leebutler Uncategorized

The Way Back (2020) – Loves Me Some Sportsball!

Released: 5th March
Seen: 2nd September

Ahh, the sports movie. I love a good sportsball movie, I love it. I know all about the sportsball with… the passing and… uh… throwing a ball? OK so I know exactly jack shit about sports and the balls that are used to play them but fortunately sports movies never need you to actually understand the game because they’re never actually about the game. They’re about the scrappy underdog team who starts at the bottom and works their way up the top and the question is always if we’re focussing on the team itself or on the coach of the team and maybe one team member that the coach identifies with. Details may change, like the sportsball game being played or how many times someone yells an obscenity but in general they are all the same and The Way Back is not about to break that pattern, but it does offer a good version of that story.

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September 2, 2020July 22, 2022 leebutler Uncategorized

The Assistant (2020) – Helpful

Released: 24th June
Seen: 31st August

So, this review of The Assistant is going to have to touch on some difficult subject matter AKA we’re talking about sexual harassment in the workplace. Just warning you now that if that’s a trigger for you then just move on knowing that this film is good, a bit too subdued for my taste but it’s still good. This movie basically takes place in the secretary pool of a Harvey Weinstein type person (PS, I can’t wait to hear the phrase “Harvey Weinstein dies in jail”, that’s the energy we’re working with on this subject matter) so be warned that we’ll have to talk about that. OK? Great, on we go.

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September 1, 2020July 22, 2022 leebutler Uncategorized

Dark Waters (2020) – Drink It Up

Released: 5th March
Seen: 30th August

In 2005, chemical company DuPont was fined $16.5 million by the EPA for, essentially, poisoning the water supply of a town with Perfluorooctanoic Acid, a chemical used to create teflon. They were forced to pay this, along with several other settlements with people who they poisoned, thanks to a civil suit filed by Robert Bilott way back in 1999. The full scope of the poisoning and what it did to the people affected by it wouldn’t be known for years and the entire story is one of negligence and capitalism run rampant in a story we’ve heard time and time again, told in the film Dark Waters with a passion that cannot be denied.

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August 31, 2020July 22, 2022 leebutler Uncategorized

The Rhythm Section (2020) – Out Of Sync

Released: 31st January
Seen: 30th August

The revenge film is a very popular and versatile film to make with one of the simpler basic plots to work with. Start with a cruel act that ends in someone dead, give that dead person a loved one who is traumatised by the cruel act, that loved one trains themselves to fight in some way and then goes after the person who hurt them. This very basic structure has led to classics like the John Wick trilogy or most of Liam Neeson’s career since the Taken movies. When done right they can be exciting thrillers that make the audience sit on the edge of their seat in genuine terror, when done wrong you get films like Peppermint or today’s selection The Rhythm Section.

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August 26, 2020August 26, 2020 leebutler Uncategorized

Queen & Slim (2020) – Heartfelt and Powerful

Released: 12th March
Seen: 25th August

On August 24th, video emerged of Jacob Blake being shot 7 times in the back by police officers. He was not resisting arrest, he was not armed, he was not in any way a danger to the officers. He was getting into his car after breaking up a fight and was shot by police 7 times IN THE BACK (that ‘in the back’ part is why I’m not going to be hearing your counter arguments on this. not kidding, don’t bother trying to justify this, you can not). Now, fortunately (at the time I type this) Jacob survived this attempted murder by the police, although he is paralysed from the waist down but he is just another in a long line of unarmed black men who have been shot by police who disproportionately shoot unarmed black men.

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August 25, 2020July 22, 2022 leebutler Uncategorized

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2020) – Extra Creamy Sweet Goodness

Released: 30th January
Seen: 23rd August

Remember way back when the Oscars happened? That night where Parasite won all the awards, making it the last good day of 2020? Well, one moment during that ceremony that got a lot of praise was when Shia Labeouf and Zack Gottsagen came out to present the award for Best Short Film, notably because Gottsagen became the first person with Down syndrome to present an academy award.

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August 24, 2020July 22, 2022 leebutler Uncategorized

Tenet (2020) – Discount Inception

Released: 26th August
Seen: 22th August (Advance screening)

2020 is the year that the act of going to a cinema became a distant memory. Something we did in the before times when the world wasn’t battling against one of the worst plagues we’ve ever had with the worst leadership imaginable helping to make it considerably worse. Throughout this year we’ve seen film after film push back to next year when, hopefully, we’ll be able to go outside without any fear again. One film that refused to push back till next year, or bite the bullet and go to VOD, was Tenet. Christopher Nolan absolutely insisted that his film be seen in a cinema no matter what, adamant that this film be the one to get people back to the cinema. Now that it’s come out, I can honestly say that while it’s good it probably didn’t NEED to be the first thing in cinemas.

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August 23, 2020August 23, 2020 leebutler Uncategorized

Project Power (2020) – Power From The Outside

Over on Soda & Telepaths I took a look at the only superhero movie we’re getting for a while, that being Project Power on Netflix. Go there and read it to make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

August 18, 2020August 18, 2020 leebutler Uncategorized

Force of Nature (2020) – Stormy Weather

Released: 13th August
Seen: 17th August

In 2017 Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. The deadly category 5 hurricane was the worst natural disaster to ever hit those islands, causing over 3000 deaths and doing well over 90 billion in damages. It was a devastating event that was made even worse due to a poor response by the president, who at the time disputed the death toll and in general just did what one would expect a failed businessman to do when a disaster hit. Most people look at Hurricane Maria and they see a tragedy that changed millions of lives and shook the island of Puerto Rico to its core… and some looked at it and said “there’s a movie in that” and for some strange reason no one stopped them.

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August 17, 2020July 22, 2022 leebutler Uncategorized

Work It (2020) – Dance Magic Dance

Released: 7th August
Seen: 11th August

So yesterday I talked about the movie Magic Camp and compared it to the cinematic classic Sister Act 2, except Magic Camp was crap. The idea of a team of underdogs learning some kind of art in order to win a competition is nothing new but when done right it can be a lot of fun. If Magic Camp is an example of taking this story setup and handling it badly, then Work It is a great example of taking that setup and actually making something fun out of it.

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