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About Defacto Film Reviews

Defacto Film Reviews is a unique site where the film critics are also filmmakers themselves. It will feature weekly reviews as well as lists and more.

Originally formed in 2002 under Defactoweb.com, our website’s chief film critic is Robert Joseph Butler. His top ten lists were featured under Movie City News.  His reviews have also been published at Michigan Movie Magazine and on Michigan’s longest running film school website, MPIFilm.com. His reviews have also been featured and published in The Oakland Press as well, which is one of Michigan’s largest newspaper publications. 

He later went on to become an award-winning filmmaker of several independent short films including such festival hits as The Spirit of Isabel and Within, which won the Audience Choice Award at the 2015 Cinetopia International Film Festival. His short film “The Girl on the Mat” won Best Screenplay at the 2017 Queens World Film Festival. His most recent feature length movie, “Blood Immortal,” won Best Horror Feature Film at the 24th annual Indie Gathering International Film Festival and is now available to own on DVD and is available on Digital streaming platforms.

Using grassroots support, the site is devoted to celebrating independent and art-house cinema, as well as to high-crafted films that tell engaging stories with vision, focus, and skill.

Defacto Film Reviews is a unique case where the film critics are also filmmakers themselves. We will give readers comprehensible, honest, and erudite analysis of each film.

Rating System–4 Stars

4 Stars Masterpiece/Top 10 Worthy

de facto film reviews 3.5 stars Exceptional

de facto film reviews 3 stars Quality

de facto film reviews 2 stars Mediocre

de facto film reviews 1 star Poor

Reviews published in

The Oakland Press – Oakland County, MI News, Sports, Weather, Things to Do

Silent Night

By |12/03/2023|1-Star, 2023, Film Review|

“Start Gang War?” This annotation, a calendar reminder written by the film’s protagonist Brian Godluck (Joel Kinnaman), is a perfect encapsulation of just how stupid Silent Night is. Legendary director John Woo returned from a [...]

Napoleon

By |11/22/2023|2 Stars, 2023, Film Review|

Surprisingly, the legendary historical figure Napoleon Bonaparte has never had a historical Hollywood epic, and the grandiose new epic Napoleon doesn't live up to the potential this story has to offer. Despite some stunning battle [...]

Monster

By |11/21/2023|2023, 4-Stars, Film Review|

The transition from childhood into the teenage years can be among the most turbulent years of a person’s life. Thoughts, actions, and relationships change, and kids often feel alone during this time. Even those with [...]

Saltburn

By |11/21/2023|2023, 3-Stars, Film Review|

The massive undisclosed mansion at and around Drayton House, Northamptonshire, is the stage for desire, imitation, and obsession in Saltburn, the sophomore feature by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman). Though even more [...]

Nyad

By |11/10/2023|2023, 3-Stars, Film Review|

Based on the remarkable and nearly impossible biographical true story of long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad's persistent efforts to swim straight from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, Nyad, the latest Netflix sports movie, is [...]

Radical

By |11/07/2023|2023, 3-Stars, Film Review|

An inspiring teacher seeks to switch up traditional teaching methods for himself and his troubled students, only to find that there are many roadblocks set against his good intentions. Persistence for needed change is the [...]

Priscilla

By |10/30/2023|2023, 4-Stars, Film Review|

Melancholic, poetic, and deeply empathetic, Sofia Coppola's biopic Priscilla follows Priscilla Presley and her relationship, marriage, and breakup with Elvis Presley. The film is a compelling, stylish portrait of a vulnerable soul. Cailee Spaeny delivers [...]

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