leebutler Uncategorized

Thor: Ragnarok

Released 26th October

Seen 8th November

Thor Ragnarok.jpg

Directed by Taika Waititi
Written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost
Produced by Marvel Entertainment & Walt Disney Pictures
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston & Cate Blanchett

Every Marvel film since the start of the MCU has had a very specific format. When you break it down to its core component they all have this “World is ending, main character only one who can stop it” narrative and all you have to do is change the name of the character and possibly the severity of the threat, but they all have that same basic idea. For Marvel to really take a risk and break out of that strict mould would take a lot. Thor: Ragnarok might not break that mould, but it’s worn the edges of it down considerably and that’s enough of a welcome change for me.

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leebutler Uncategorized

CHiPS

Date Released: 6th April 2017 (Australian release date)

Date Seen: 31st October 2017

Chips.jpg

Written and Directed by Dax Shepard
Produced by Primate Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment & Warner Bros.

A trend has emerged recently of big budget comedies based on classic TV series. We had the excellent 21 Jump Street movies, we had the mediocre Baywatch movie… naturally, we need the awful movie adaptation to round out the trilogy and lucky us, we got it.

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leebutler Action, Review, Thriller

American Assassin

Seen 30th September

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Why do these movies start with “American” when the country of origin is really non-essential to the plot? Big movies with this title thing include American Pie… then American Psycho… then American Hustle, American Sniper, American Honey, American Gangster, American Mary, American Me, American Pastoral, American Ultra, American Graffiti, American History X, American Satan, American Beauty, American Made, American Wedding, American Pop, American Violence, American Hero, American Reunion, American Fable, American Gigalo, American Heist MY POINT IS ENOUGH WITH CALLING THINGS AMERICAN (NOUN)!… so, American Assassin

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leebutler Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Review, Sci-Fi, Thriller

The LEGO NINJAGO Movie

Seen September 23rd

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First there was the Lego Movie, and it showed everyone that you could create a piece of art using a licenced toy that was actually good. Then came Lego Batman, which showed you coulde play around in multiple established universes and still tell your own story. Then there was Ninjago… it was a movie.

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leebutler Action, Comedy, Crime, Review, Thriller

The Hitman’s Bodyguard

Seen 26th August

The Hitman's Bodyguard Poster.jpg

Sometimes, a film doesn’t need that much to be a good time. A good script, a decent set of shot choices and a fun story can often make a good film an easy way to kill 90 minutes. What makes it work best is if you can take all these elements and hand it to two insanely charismatic stars who can carry the film and kick it up several notches through sheer force of personality alone… this film found four such stars and thank god for that.

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leebutler Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Review, Sci-Fi

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

Seen 13th August

Valerian and the City Of A Thousand Planets.jpg

For years now, Luc Besson has been known for his visual aesthetic. The man knows how to create a world and breathe life into it, his film The Fifth Element is proof that he knows how to paint a glorious picture with his camera… Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets is proof that he needs to work more on his stories and casting because he’s losing his touch.

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