Get Out

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"If there's too many white people, I get nervous." That's an excellent quote from Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out, one of the best horror films ever made. Kaluuya plays Chris Washington, an African-American photographer. His white girlfriend, Rose Armitage (played by Allison Williams), is bringing him on a trip to meet her parents, Dean (played by Bradley Whitford) & Missy (played by Catherine Keener) Armitage at their estate in the countryside. Chris is nervous about this because Rose hasn't told her parents that Chris is black. She reassures him that they're not racist by saying that they would've voted for Obama for a third term. After encountering a racist police officer, they arrive at the estate, where Dean tries to act African-American, & Missy offers to help Chris with his smoking habit through hypnosis. While there, Chris encounters the African-American maid, Georgina (played by Betty Gabriel) & the African-American groundskeeper, Walter (played by Marcus Henderson), who act extremely odd.

While they are up there, the Armitages hold their annual get-together of friends, who are all white & act very forward towards Chris. But an encounter with a black person at the party, Logan (played by Lakeith Stanfield), along with a warning from Chris's friend, TSA Officer Rod Williams (played by LilRel Howery) that many African-Americans have gone missing in the area near the Armitages's house, turns Chris's time at the Armitages from off-putting to downright scary.

The cast is amazing. Jordan Peele's direction is excellent. Jordan Peele's screenplay is brilliant. The cinematography by Toby Oliver is phenomenal. The editing by Gregory Plotkin is amazing. The production design by Rusty Smith is excellent. The sound design is impeccable. And Michael Abels' score is fantastic. This is an excellent horror comedy with some of the best social commentary ever, & I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up on my list of the 10 best films of 2017.

Paterson

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"If you ever left me, I'd tear my heart out & never put it back." That's a beautifully poetic quote from Adam Driver in Paterson, one of the year's best films. Driver plays Paterson, a bus driver & poet in Paterson, New Jersey. Every day follows the same pattern: he gets up, goes to work, writes some poetry, leaves work, takes his dog, Marvin, for a walk, goes to the bar & has exactly one beer, then goes home & goes to sleep. His wife, Laura (played by Golshifteh Farahani), is a woman of many changing interests: baking cupcakes, becoming a country singer, etc. She has been begging Paterson to publish or make copies of his poetry for a long time. But Paterson's life is about to be turned upside down.

The cast is phenomenal. Jim Jarmusch's direction & screenplay are both excellent. This is an excellent look at the mundanity of life, showing that poetry truly can be found in the smallest aspects of life.

I Am Not Your Negro

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"If any white man in the world says, 'Give me liberty or give me death,' the entire white world applauds. When a black man says exactly the same thing, he is judged a criminal & treated like one &  everything possible is done to make an example of him so there won't be any more like him." That's a sadly true quote from James Baldwin in I Am Not Your Negro, one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. The documentary is based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript Remember This House. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, the documentary takes a look at the history of racism in the United States through Baldwin's eyes. It also takes a look at the assassinations of 3 prominent civil rights leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Malcolm X; & Medgar Evers.

The documentary is spectacular. Raoul Peck's direction is phenomenal. James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript is brought to amazing heights here. This is the best documentary of 2016.

John Wick: Chapter 2

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"Whoever comes, I'll kill them. I'll kill them all." That's an awesome quote from Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 2, one of the best action films in recent memory. Reeves reprises his role as John Wick, who has gone back to retirement 4 days after the events of the first film. John is asked by crime lord Santino D'Antonio (played by Ricardo Scarmaccio) to fulfill his promise he made years ago. After John refuses, Santino destroys John's house with a grenade launcher. After consideration, John decides to fulfill the promise: killing Santino's sister, Gianna D'Antonio (played by Claudia Gerini) so Santino can claim her seat at the High Table. After the promise is fulfilled, Santino puts out a $7M hit out on John. Now, John must fend off other members of the Continental, & get revenge on Santino.

Keanu Reeves's performance is awesome. Chad Stahelski's direction is excellent. Derek Kolstad's screenplay is brilliant. The cinematography by Dan Laustsen is amazing. The film editing by Evan Schiff is excellent. And the action scenes are awesome. This is one of the few sequels that outshines the original.

The Lego Batman Movie

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I have aged phenomenally." That's an awesomely funny quote from Will Arnett in The Lego Batman Movie, the best Batman movie in a few years. Will Arnett voices Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman, who is still fighting crime in Gotham City. During a fight with The Joker (voiced by Zach Galifianakis), Batman tells him that he isn't as important to him as The Joker thinks he is. The next day, Batman, appearing as Bruce Wayne, goes to a party celebrating the retirement of Commissioner Gordon (voiced by Héctor Elizondo) & the promotion of his daughter, Barbara (voiced by Rosario Dawson) to Commissioner. The Joker & his team of villains crash the party, but surrender. Realizing that this makes him irrelevant to the safety of Gotham City, Batman assumes The Joker is up to something, & decides to send The Joker to the Phantom Zone, a prison for the most dangerous villains in the universe. As he plans to steal the Phantom Zone Projector, Batman is interrupted by his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), who tells him to take care of his newly adopted son, Dick Grayson (voiced by Michael Cera). After The Joker is sent into the Phantom Zone, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, AKA Harley Quinn (voiced by Jenny Slate) breaks him out, unleashing him & numerous other villains. It's now up to Batman, Dick (now Robin), Barbara (now Batgirl) & Alfred to stop The Joker & the most dangerous villains in the Lego Universe.

The voice acting is amazing. Chris McKay's direction is great. The screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern & John Whittington is brilliant. And the animation is amazing. This is the best animated film of the year.

The Michigan Movie Guy's 2017 Oscar Nomination Reactions

The Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday, & while there weren't any real surprises in the Best Picture or the screenplay categories, there were certainly a lot of surprises in the other categories. Here's some of my reactions to the nominations.

1. The Best Picture nominees are really good. The films that are nominated are just about what I predicted would be nominated. However, I disagree with the current Best Picture nomination system. There should either be 5 nominees for Best Picture, or 10 nominees for Best Picture, nothing in between. I personally believe there should be 10 nominees.

2. Mel Gibson's Best Director nomination for Hacksaw Ridge was somewhat surprising, especially considering his previous incidents. While he wouldn't have been my choice for the last nomination, it is a well-deserved nomination.

3. The Best Actor category looks exactly how I predicted it would be. I still haven't watched Captain Fantastic yet, so I will have to see how good Viggo Mortensen's performance is.

4. The Best Actress category was the most surprising. I definitely thought Amy Adams would've been nominated for her amazing performance in Arrival, & I also thought Annette Bening would've been nominated for her career-best performance in 20th Century Women. I was shocked to see that they weren't nominated, & that in their places, Ruth Negga was nominated for her performance in Loving, & Meryl Streep was nominated for the 20th time for her performance in Florence Foster Jenkins. Amy Adams & Annette Bening should've been nominated over Ruth Negga & Meryl Streep. Also, Isabelle Huppert's nomination for Elle was also somewhat surprising.

5. The Best Supporting Actor category was almost exactly how I predicted, for I did not predict Michael Shannon's nomination for Nocturnal Animals.

6. The Best Supporting Actress category was not surprising; however, Viola Davis should have received a Best Actress nomination for Fences instead of a Best Supporting Actress nomination; in her place, I would have nominated Greta Gerwig for 20th Century Women.

7. The Best Original Screenplay category was exactly how I thought it would look. I loved that The Lobster got nominated in this category. And I especially loved that 20th Century Women got nominated in this category.

8. The Best Adapted Screenplay category worked out how I thought it would; however, I thought that Nocturnal Animals had a shot at being nominated here.

9. Silence only got nominated for Best Cinematography? This deserved a few more nominations than that.

10. Arrival should've been nominated for Best Visual Effects. The visual effects in that film were so astounding.

So, those are my 10 biggest reactions to the Oscar nominations. Soon, I will be posting my Oscar predictions, my Top 50 films of 2016, & my film awards for 2016. And also, don't forget to watch the Oscars on Sunday, February 26 at 8:30pm on ABC!

Silence

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I pray but I am lost. Am I just praying to silence?" That's an amazing quote from Andrew Garfield in Silence, one of Martin Scorsese's best films. The film is based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō. Set in the 17th century, Garfield portrays Father Sebastiaõ Rodrigues, a Portuguese Jesuit priest in Macau. After priest Alessandro Valignano (played by Ciarán Hinds) receives word that Father Cristóvaõ Ferreira (played by Liam Neeson) has renounced Christianity after being tortured, Valignano sends Rodrigues & Father Francisco Garupe (played by Adam Driver) to Japan to find Ferreira. Arriving in Japan, Rodrigues & Garupe find Japanese Christians living underground, hiding from Inquisitor Inoue (played by Issey Ogata), a samurai looking for suspected Christians, whom he tortures & kills in hideous ways unless they renounce Christianity. Rodrigues & Garupe end up being a big help for the Christians in Japan, but they may pay a heavy price for it.

The cast is excellent. Martin Scorsese's direction, as always, is spectacular. The screenplay by Scorsese & Jay Cocks is amazing. The cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto is absolutely stunning. The film editing by Thelma Schoonmaker is brilliant. The costume design & production design by Dante Ferretti are amazing. And the film score by Kathryn Kluge & Kim Allen Kluge is beautiful. This is one of the best films of the year.