Thriller – Page 12 – Movie Meister Reviews

November 12, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Review

Don’t Breathe 2 (2021) – Take My Breath Away

Released: 12th August
Seen: 11th November

The 2016 film Don’t Breathe was one of the best horror films of the 2010s, certainly one of the most fascinating. It was dark, unapologetically so, with a creative set of visuals (That I have talked about in a previous article) and a truly fascinating antagonist in the form of The Blind Man. It was a film that let every character live in the grey area, no one was perfectly good and no one was perfectly evil. It was a fascinating little film that really pushed some buttons… so the sequel decides to play it safe and just turn The Blind Man into a hero, because we can’t have nice things.

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November 9, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Review

Wrath Of Man (2021) – That’s Some Good Wrath

Released: 29th April
Seen: 5th November

Guy Ritchie is one of those directors who can be a lot of fun when he really wants to be, presenting an over the top world of blokey blokes doing obscene amounts of violence to each other while yelling as many assorted curse words as they can imagine in thick English accents. When he’s at his best, he creates great things like The Gentlemen, a rip roaring grand old time that I still regularly think about to this day (especially Fletcher, one of the best characters Guy Ritchie has ever created and one of the best performances Hugh Grant will ever give in his life). When he’s at his worst, he phones in absolute garbage like Aladdin, which is still a pale, painful imitation of a classic film that didn’t need a remake. So, what does just an average Guy Ritchie film look like? Probably something like Wrath Of Man… which, hilariously, is itself a remake.

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November 1, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Review

Halloween Kills (2021) – This Is Halloween?

Released: 14th October
Seen: 31st October

If I were to rank my favourite horror franchises, Halloween would be in the top five. Hell, I’m sure EVERY horror fan would put Halloween up there in their top five franchise list. It’s a generally good franchise that tends to be good at delivering the scares… sure it has some down parts (Curse, Resurrection, The Rob Zombie ones) but more often than not these films are good. The last one, Halloween (2018) might be one of the best in the franchise. I certainly loved it enough to give it a glowing 4 star review and have spent the last 3 years excitedly waiting for this sequel, Halloween Kills. So, let this be a lesson for you kids, never hope for anything because you will be let down every damn time.

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October 26, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Review

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) – God Damnit!

Released: 3rd June
Seen: 25th October

Ed and Lorraine Warren were complete and utter con artists whose damage to the people they claimed to help won’t be fully known for years to come. For literally decades they would go from town to town and “investigate” strange goings-on and somehow come to a scientific basis that this meant they found some form of demon. All the time just a whole mess of demons, it’s never mental illness or epilepsy or strange coincidences… nope, always demons. This would eventually lead to them taking part in the case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, which would become the basis for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. So now you know what I think about the people this is based on, don’t be shocked when that impacts how I view the movie.

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October 21, 2021 leebutler Review

The Forever Purge (2021) – So Close

Released: 22nd July
Seen: 18th October

The Purge franchise might be one of the most overtly political horror franchises in recent years, which is saying a lot considering how political the Horror genre can get. Pretty much since the second movie, the franchise has been a metaphor for classism, racism and the way fascism can spread fast through a population which has even the hint of a suggestion that such behaviour is allowed. It’s always been a little controversial and very blunt, but usually, it can make for a half-decent time… The Forever Purge certainly has some political ideas that resonate today, just doesn’t really go all-in on them and that makes for a frustrating watch.

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October 15, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Uncategorized

There’s Someone Inside Your House (2021) – Nobody Home

Released: 6th October
Seen: 12th October

The slasher genre seems to be enjoying another big resurgence lately. With the monster hit Halloween, the upcoming Halloween Kills and the Scream reboot (along with Candyman, The Fear Street franchise, Wrong Turn and Spiral to name a few) all getting a ton of attention it seems as though everyone wants to revive the darling of 80s horror that was the slasher movie. The trick with slasher movies is you need to have a good villain to work with, an interesting array of victims and hopefully a lot of creative gore to excite the fanbase… There’s Someone Inside Your House certainly has some of those and an interesting idea, but that’s about it.

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September 26, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Review

Bad Girls (2021) – Talking About Bad Girls

Seen at the Sydney Underground Film Festival

The gloriously unsubtle is basically the bread and butter of the Sydney Underground Film Festival (which, by the time you read this, will possibly be finished for the year). Every time I’ve gone to see what they’re showing, most of their films are some level of bonkers, no ifs ands or buts. Well, it looks like someone’s stealing the show and decided to be the most bonkers thing around… ok second most bonkers, you can’t top Ninja Badass.

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September 1, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Review

Let Him Go (2021) – Can’t Hold Back Anymore

Released: 4th February
Seen: 29th August

Let Him Go follows elderly couple Margaret Blackledge (Diane Lane) and George Blackledge (Kevin Costner), proud parents to their son James (Ryan Bruce) who is married to a young woman named Lorna (Kayli Carter). James and Lorna have their own son, little Jimmy, and things seem to be going well for this little family until one day when James falls from his horse and breaks his neck.

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August 30, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Review

The Courier (2021) – It Absolutely Delivers

Released: 1st April
Seen: 25th August

In a recent review of the movie Six Minutes To Midnight I pointed out that there were so many war films, particularly about the two big ones that the whole world took part in, that we had hit a point where it was hard to imagine someone doing something new with the genre. It’s grown stale, there is no real new story to tell and to back me up on this we have The Courier, a film that feels like it should bore me with its familiarity… but surprise, this one is actually good enough to work despite its recognizable tone.

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August 29, 2021July 22, 2022 leebutler Review

Six Minutes To Midnight (2021) – Too Slow

Released: 4th March
Seen: 23rd August

The “story about a small event that happened during one of the world wars” film is something that seems to come about yearly, either a film set during one of the wars that uses the horrific events as a backdrop for something else (such as the 2019 film The Aftermath) or actually telling a story that happened during either war (such as the 2020 film 1917). At this point it feels like we’ve been told every possible story about these two wars and yet they keep on making them for no perceivable reason other than an enjoyment of using the grimy filter that probably came with the cameras when they bought them… it certainly can’t be because there’s an interesting story worth telling because I just sat through Six Minutes To Midnight and it definitely didn’t have one of those.

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