Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)

For his latest movie, Lee Daniels (Precious) acts more as producer than director. First, there’s the matter of his name in possessive being attached to the title. And then there’s the story: exhaustive and sweeping, yet unnaturally literal in its attachment to major historical events. Good direction would have led Lee Daniels’ The Butler away from becoming a primer on the civil rights movement to focus on smaller, more personal reactions to major moments in history. Instead, producer Daniels embraces the ambitious scope, and in the process loses any sense of authenticity. Read the full review here.