Clickonline writes: "There’s no doubt that the quest for equal civil rights in the 20th Century is a subject worthy of the cinema screen and one worth exploring in a mainstream form but Daniels isn’t the right man for the job. He’s too focussed on bizarre cameos, melodrama and prostheses to get to the bottom of any of the noble subjects the film is trying to explore."
TF:
It’s hard to watch The Butler and not fast-forward to the awards speeches that are no doubt set to follow. Everything from the subject to the cast to its director’s history screams for serious attention.
In many ways, it will be well deserved. Loosely based on the life of real US presidential servant Eugene Allen, The Butler stars the always-excellent Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, an eyewitness to 34 years of political history.
It may skip so quickly through historic events that it can feel rushed and flimsy, but excellent performances elevate it to serious Oscar contender.
Metal Arcade: Zack Kircher writes:
There are some films that tackle serious issues (whether they be from the past or present) with the purpose of truly moving us to change as a society. And then there are films that have an agenda of simply winning awards. From the trailer, it appeared the latest concoction of The Weinstein Company – The Butler (and no, I am not calling it by its “proper” title) – would be just that, a drama about race created mainly to win the hearts of Academy voters. However, does director Lee Daniels’ new film ultimately rise above expectations and become something more than that?
LRA writes:
As the 2013 summer movie season comes to an end, we find ourselves overwhelmed with a number of films to talk about including "Mortal Instruments: City of Bones", "You're Next", "Jobs", "Kick-Ass 2", "The Butler" and "The World's End". Before we even get into that exhaustive list of films, we cover some hot topic news tidbits including the big reveal of who was cast as our next Batman that had the internet in an uproar last week. We also go over some listener emails and answer some burning questions and at the very end, I give my impressions on the AMC Dine-In Theater experience. Featured music this week is from "The World's End" motion picture soundtrack.
