Purple Rain

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"Well, for starters, you have to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka." That quote from Prince is from Purple Rain, one of the greatest movies about music ever made. The film has been re-released in theaters after the death of Prince. Prince plays The Kid, the leader of a Minneapolis band called The Revolution. They are one of the headliners at a club called First Avenue. Their biggest rival is The Time, led by Morris (played by Morris Day). The Kid eventually finds a love interest in Apollonia (played by Apollonia Kotero), a young woman waiting to be discovered. The Kid is also battling a volatile home life, with his father (played by Clarence Williams III) being verbally & physically abusive & his mother (played by Olga Karlatos) being emotionally abusive. The Kid is also emotionally distant, refusing to play something that his bandmates, Wendy (played by Wendy Melvoin) & Lisa (played by Lisa Coleman) wrote. Eventually, fueled by Apollonia joining with Morris & his band's internal fighting, The Kid must decide to change his ways & rise past his struggles to reach success.

The film is a musical masterpiece. Prince's performance was spectacular. The direction from Albert Magnoli was great. The screenplay from Magnoli & William Blinn was excellent. And the soundtrack by Prince is one of the greatest soundtracks not just in film history, but in music history. 

It's still extremely shocking for me to believe that Prince is dead, even almost a month after his death. He was definitely one of the greatest musicians ever. And his legacy will live on. This was definitely part of that legacy. This was definitely an amazing film.

Keanu

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"We're in the market for a gangster pet." That quote from Keegan Michael-Key is from the new movie Keanu, an absolutely hilarious film. Key plays Clarence, a huge George Michael fan. His cousin & best friend, Rell (played by Jordan Peele), has just been dumped by his girlfriend. However, Rell's hopes are lifted when a cat appears on his porch. He takes the cat in & names it Keanu. Two weeks later, Keanu is kidnapped, & now Clarence & Rell must deal with drug dealers to get him back.

This was extremely hilarious. Key & Peele were hilarious again, proving that they are some of the greatest comedians out there today. The direction from Peter Atencio was brilliant. The screenplay from Jordan Peele & Alex Rubens was hilarious. And the soundtrack (filled with several George Michael songs) is killer. This is definitely one of the funniest movies of the decade.

The Michigan Movie Guy's Top 10 Films of 2015

2015 was one of the greatest years in film. And now it is time to give my top 10 films list of 2015. This list took a lot of time & preparation, hence the fact that I have not posted this list until now. Alright, let's do this!

10. Spotlight

★★★★★ - This is definitely the greatest film about journalism since 1976's All the President's Men. The acting, direction, screenplay, & editing were all excellent. It was a great choice for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

9. Inside Out

★★★★★ - I think that this is the greatest animated film ever made. I know, the Toy Story movies, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles & Up are animated classics. But an animated film has never affected me in a way such as this. Everything was excellent. It definitely deserved the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

8. Steve Jobs

★★★★★ - This is definitely one of the best biopics of the decade. Great performances (especially from Michael Fassbender & Kate Winslet), excellent editing, great direction, & one of the best screenplays from Aaron Sorkin.

7. Brooklyn

★★★★★ - This is one of the most well-crafted period pieces of the decade. It has great costumes, cinematography & production design, a great film score, masterful direction, an excellent screenplay, & the best performance of the year from Saoirse Ronan.

6. The Hateful Eight

★★★★★ - This is definitely one of Quentin Tarantino's best. Great performances from the cast (especially from Jennifer Jason Leigh), excellent cinematography, a killer screenply, masterful direction, & one of the best film scores of the decade.

5. The Revenant

★★★★★ - The film was Alejandro G. Iñarrítu's best film yet. Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar for this, & he 100% deserved it. Tom Hardy was also excellent, showing that he is one of the best actors today. The direction & screenplay were excellent, & the cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki was definitely the best of the year.

4. Room

★★★★★ - This was one of the most emotional films of the year. Brie Larson's performance was one of the best of the year, & her Oscar win was well-deserved. Jacob Tremblay was also spell-binding in his performance, & it's a shame he wasn't Oscar-nominated. Joan Allen was also excellent, & she was also robbed of an Oscar nomination. The direction from Lenny Abrahamson was excellent, & the screenplay from Emma Donoghue was absolutely masterful.

3. Me & Earl & The Dying Girl

★★★★★ - This was definitely the greatest independent film of the year. Great performances from the cast, excellent direction, brilliant cinematography, & an absolutely amazing & quirky screenplay from Jesse Andrews.

2. Bridge of Spies

★★★★★ - This is definitely one of Steven Spielberg's 5 best films. The direction was definitely top-notch, & the screenplay was excellent. Tom Hanks was wonderful, & Mark Rylance gave the best male performance of 2015. And the score from Thomas Newman was the best of the year. 

1. The Big Short

★★★★★ - This was an absolute masterpiece, & definitely the most important film of the year. Every single member of the cast gave excellent performances. The direction was spectacular. The editing was extremely well-done, & the screenplay was the best of the year. This is definitely the greatest film of the year.

Everybody Wants Some!!

★★★★★ | A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"Do you notice everything around here is a competition?" That's a hilarious quote from Blake Jenner in Everybody Wants Some!!, one of the funniest films of the decade. Jenner plays Jake Bradford, a freshman at Southeast Texas University in 1980. He is a new pitcher for the baseball team. When he gets to the dorm house for baseball players, he meets his teammates: Kenny Roeper (played by Ryan Guzman); Glen McReynolds (played by Tyler Hoechlin); Finnegan (played by Glen Powell); Billy Autrey, AKA Beuter Perkins (played by Will Brittain); Coma (played by Forrest Vickery); Plummer (played by Temple Baker); Brumley (played by Tanner Kalina); Nesbitt (played by Austin Amelio); Dale (played by J. Quinton Johnson), along with 2 transfers: Willoughby (played by Wyatt Russell), a stoner from California; & Niles (played by Juston Street), a kid from Detroit with a 95 mph fastball  & an extremely arrogant attitude. Jake also becomes infatuated with Beverly (played by Zoey Deutch), a performing arts major. Eventually, all of them try to make the most of their last 5 days before class starts.

The film was hilariously amazing. The acting was excellent, considering that they were all virtual unknowns, & I expect great things from the cast in the future. The direction & screenplay from Richard Linklater was brilliant, & I think it's one of his best films, along with 1993's Dazed & Confused, & 2014's Boyhood. And the soundtrack is excellent, & is definitely the best film soundtrack since the 2000 classic film Almost Famous. This is an excellent film, & one of Richard Linklater's best films.

Demolition

★★★★★ | A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I find I'm suddenly starting to notice things I never saw before. Well, maybe I saw them. I just wasn't paying attention." That's a deeply emotional quote from Jake Gyllenhaal in Demolition, one of the best films of the year so far. Gyllenhaal plays Davis Mitchell, a successful banker who loses his wife in a car crash that leaves him unscathed. However, he doesn't feel any emotion at all. This startles many people, including his father-in-law (& boss), Phil (played by Chris Cooper). After being upset at a vending machine not working in a hospital, Davis writes a letter to the vending machine company, eventually spilling the beans about his life & the death of his wife. Eventually, Davis receives a call from Karen Moreno (played by Naomi Watts), a customer service representative from the vending machine company. She admits that she was moved to tears by his letter, & listens to him & offers sympathy. Karen is going through problems as well. She is trying to deal with her rebellious classic rock-loving son Chris (played by Judah Lewis), who is trying to come to terms with his sexuality. Davis befriends Karen & Chris, & helps Chris come to terms with his sexuality. Davis is also beginning to notice things he never saw before (or wasn't paying attention to), & is now trying to feel emotions.

The film was brilliantly done. Gyllenhaal was excellent yet again, proving that he is one of the greatest actors of the century. Watts was also excellent, along with Cooper. But the real star here is Judah Lewis, who in his feature film debut, gives an excellent performance, & I expect many things from him in the future. The direction & editing from Jean-Marc Vallée is excellent, & it is one of his best films, along with 2005's C.R.A.Z.Y., 2013's Dallas Buyers Club, & 2014's Wild. The screenplay from Bryan Sipe is excellent, considering that this is only his second film script. Overall, this is not only one of the best films of the year so far, it is one of the best films of the decade so far, & I wouldn't be surprised if this ranks very highly in my top 10 films of the year list at the end of the year.

Zootopia

★★★★★ | A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I mean, I am just a dumb bunny, but we are really good at multiplying." That's an excellently hilarious quote from Ginnifer Goodwin in Zootopia, one of the best animated films of the 21st century. Goodwin plays Judy Hopps, a bunny from the small town of Bunnyburrow who dreams of becoming the first bunny cop in Zootopia. After a lot of training, she becomes the first bunny cop. She is looked at with disdain by the other cops, & she is assigned parking duty by Chief Bogo (played by Idris Elba). During a shift, she meets Nick Wilde (played by Jason Bateman), a con man. She abandons her post to go after a thief who only stole onion bulbs, & is reprimanded by Chief Bogo. Judy then finds out about 14 unsolved missing mammal cases, & she & Nick team up to solve the cases, eventually uncovering something a sinister plot to destroy the predators who try to kill their prey. 

The film was excellent. Goodwin & Bateman were great, & they had a lot of chemistry together. Elba was menacingly good. The direction from Byron Howard & Chris Moore was great, along with the screenplay by Jared Bush & Phil Johnston. But the best thing about it were its themes of prejudice, police bias & stereotypes, which reflect well with today's society. It's sad that those are all too prevalent in society today, & it's up to us to end it. Overall, it is an excellent animated film with excellent themes.

The Boss

★★★ | A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"Oh! That batch is burnt!" That's a hilarious quote from the always hilarious Melissa McCarthy in the new comedy The Boss, a funny film that does disappoint at times. McCarthy plays Michelle Darnell, a Martha Stewart-type businesswoman who proudly says that she is the 47th-wealthiest woman in America. She was adopted & returned 3 times in her childhood, eventually giving her a will to succeed & a vulgar sense of mind. Her enemy & former lover Renault (played by Peter Dinklage) finds out that she has been committing insider training. Right after leaving an interview, she is arrested & convicted for insider trading, & sentenced to 5 months in prison. When she leaves, she discovers that her assets have been frozen, & she must now find a new place to live. She then decides to move in to the Chicago apartment of her former assistant Claire (played by Kristen Bell). After doing nothing & sitting on the couch for 3 weeks, Michelle is told by Claire to take her daughter, Rachel (played by Ella Anderson) to a Girl Scouts meeting. After realizing that the girls don't profit from selling cookies, Michelle decides to start her comeback by creating a brownie empire. Claire reluctantly agrees to help out, & Michelle & Rachel gather recruits to start her comeback.

The film was funny, even though it did fall apart in the second half. Melissa McCarthy was hilarious once again, proving that she is one of the funniest women out there. The direction from McCarthy's husband Ben Falcone was solid at best, & mediocre at worst. The screenplay from Falcone, McCarthy, & Steve Mallory was good. Overall, this is a good comedy that does have several faults.