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
Masterpiece/Top 10 Worthy
Exceptional
Quality
Mediocre
Poor
Reviews published in
Road to the Oscars: 2019 Predictions
This insane Oscar season finally comes to an end this Sunday night, which will not have a host and, after so much controversies and mix-ups, all 24 categories will be aired live. Ratings are projected [...]
1st Annual Defacto Film Awards: Robert Butler’s Picks
To celebrate the Oscars, I am pleased to announce the Best of 2018 nominees and winners in fourteen categories. I selected the top five picks in the following categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best [...]
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
by Ben Rothrock It’s easy to remember the days when DreamWorks wasn’t necessarily the highest standard for animated family fare. Back in its early days, they were known for essentially making mockbusters of Disney and [...]
Road to the Oscars: Alfonso Cuarón Retrospective
Alfonso Cuarón is a pure filmmaking genius. He's directed a total of 8 very impressive feature films. I've seen every single one, and everyone is impressive in their own right. What makes Cuarón such a [...]
Isn’t It Romantic
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead! Romantic comedies have been a staple in the film industry since the very beginning. The classic story of man meets woman is part of everyday life, and a movie that adds hints [...]
Happy Death Day 2U
by Ben Rothrock It hasn’t even been two years since the surprisingly good Happy Death Day, from Universal and Blumhouse, hit theaters. From the initial trailers, it seemed like a slasher version of Groundhog Day, [...]
Alita: Battle Angel
After being stuck in production limbo for nearly 20 years, the long-awaited big screen adaption of the classic manga has finally arrived. Penned by James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez, “Alita: Battle Angel” combines [...]
Road to the Oscars: Paul Schrader Retrospective
With many stellar screenplays in his array that include Sydney Pollack's "The Yakuza" (1975), Brian De Palma's "Obsession" (1976), Johnny Flynn's "Rolling Thunder" (1978), Peter Weir's "The Mosquito Coast"(1986), Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" (1976), "Raging [...]
Road to the Oscars: A Star Is Born
For being a fourth version of the classic cinematic version, the 2018 version of "A Star is Born" is an impressive directorial debut that showcases Bradley Cooper as an actors director, and if all else [...]
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
In 2014, Warner Bros. relaunched their long dormant animation division with the adventure comedy The Lego Movie. Based on the construction toys of the same name, the film completely exceeded everyone’s expectations and became something [...]
The Prodigy
“The Prodigy” follows an idealistic couple welcoming their son, Miles. Miles has proven himself to be wise well above his years, hence the title Prodigy. When Miles grows to be 8, he begins to [...]
The Wild Pear Tree
Mature by design, evocative of Turkey's current culture and political climate, and artfully executed, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s latest feature film, "The Wild Pear Tree" is a film made by a modern artistic master. We are [...]
Miss Bala (2019)
You would think director Catherine Hardwicke would have had a steadier film career, one that would have mirrored Sofia Coppola or Claire Denis. Her debut film was the independent Sundance darling "Thirteen" which went on [...]
The Kid Who Would Be King
by Ben Rothrock The King Arthur legend is one of the oldest in our history. The timeless story of a kid from nothing who discovers that he’s destined to rule as a king against those [...]
Road to the Oscars: BlackKklansman
Spike Lee's "BlackKklansman" purports itself in being a satirical comedy about racism that ties in modern parallels with the current Trump administration and the script comes off potent, yet too ham handed and forced [...]
Serenity (2019)
Serenity is a difficult film to review. It’s not rare for a films marketing to sell you something completely different from the final product. As a reviewer, I try to keep my head clear of [...]
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek
After hearing of a deadly shooting at a Police funeral nearby, a militia group barricades themselves in a warehouse when they suspect one of them is the shooter. From writer/director Henry Dunham, in his directorial [...]
The Upside
by Ben Rothrock Whether you like it or not, friendship is something our species can’t live without. The feeling of affection between us humans is something that’s been with us since the beginning of time. [...]
2019 Oscar Nomination Predictions
The Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards have came and gone, and the British Academy Awards made their favorites known. The road to the Oscars narrows it's journey on early Tuesday morning, the Academy will [...]