Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

★★★½ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"They are using their sexuality as a weapon!" That hilarious Seth Rogen quote is one of a few hilarious quotes in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, a hilarious sequel to 2014's Neighbors that almost reaches the first film's comedic heights. The film continues the story of Mac (played by Seth Rogen) & Kelly Radner (played by Rose Byrne), who are trying to sell their home, now that they are expecting another child, alongside their first child, Stella (played by Elise & Zoey Vergas). A young couple is looking to buy the home, & though Mac & Kelly are excited to buy a new home, they are told that they are in escrow for 30 days. Also, their once-again married friends Jimmy (played by Ike Barinholtz) & Paula (played by Carla Gallo) are expecting as well. Meanwhile, Teddy Sanders (played by Zac Efron) is living with Pete (played by Dave Franco) & Pete's boyfriend Darren (played by John Early). Pete & Darren are getting married, so Teddy has to move out. And also, college freshman Shelby (played by Chloë Grace Moretz), disillusioned with the fact that sororities can't throw parties, teams up with fellow college freshmen Beth (played by Kiersey Clemons) & Nora (played by Beanie Feldstein) & create a new sorority, Kappa Nu, &, with the help of Teddy, sets it up at the house next door to Mac & Kelly, the same house that Teddy's fraternity used to live in the first film. The girls' parties eventually become successful, much to the chagrin of Mac & Kelly, who try to complain to Dean Gladstone (played by Lisa Kudrow), who denies their complaint once again. Eventually, Teddy is voted out by the girls, & teams up with Mac, Kelly, Jimmy & Paula to take down Kappa Nu.

Rogen, Efron & Byrne are hilarious again, but Chloë Grace Moretz was by far the most hilarious in the film, along with Clemons & Feldstein. Nicholas Stoller's direction is solid, & the screenplay by Stoller, Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Andrew J. Cohen & Brendan O'Brie is solid as well. It does fall short of Neighbors, but it certainly is one of the funniest films of the year so far.

The Nice Guys

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I think I'm invincible. I don't think I can die!" That's a hilarious quote from Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys, one of the best comedies of the century, & one of the best films of the year so far. Gosling plays Holland March, an alcoholic private investigator with a young daughter, Holly (played by Angourie Rice). March seems to be down on his luck lately, namely being asked to by an elderly woman to find her husband, although an urn with his name is on the mantelpiece. March is also trying to find a girl named Amelia (played by Margaret Qualley), after being hired by a woman to find her niece, porn actress Misty Mountains (played by Murielle Telio), after noticing her a few days prior. However, she really saw Amelia, because Misty died in a mysterious car crash (crashing into a house after driving down a hill). Problem is, Amelia doesn't want to be found, so she hires enforcer Jackson Healy (played by Russell Crowe) to find March & tell him to stop looking for her. So Healy goes & finds March & breaks his arm. Healy is then approached by two men, an Older Guy (played by Keith David) & Blueface (played by Beau Knapp), who are also trying to find Amelia. They escape after being sprayed with blue dye. Healy & March meet again & decide to work together to find Amelia, eventually finding themselves in a web of lies, deceit, porn, the Mafia, pollution, & "experimental filmmaking."

This was a comedic tour-de-force. Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling were excellent, & their chemistry is undeniably terrific. But the greatest performance of all was by Angourie Rice, who was spell-binding here, portraying well beyond her years. The direction from Shane Black was great, directing another great film after 2013's Iron Man 3 & his 2005 masterpiece Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The screenplay from Black & Anthony Bagarozzi was brilliant. And the soundtrack is one of the best of the century. Although it does fall slightly below Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, it still is a brilliant film. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a better comedy this year. It definitely reached comedic greatness.

Money Monster

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"We're human beings. We're not computers. We have a conscience." That quote from George Clooney is from Money Monster, one of the best & most original thrillers of the decade. Clooney plays Lee Gates, a Jim Cramer-esque host of the TV show, Money Monster. His longtime director, Patty Fenn (played by Julia Roberts) is leaving after the day's show. IBIS Clear Capital CEO Walt Camby (played by Dominic West) is scheduled to be on the show to be interviewed about a crash caused by a glitch that cost investors $800 million. However, Camby is on a plane to Geneva. Midway through the show, Gates is taken hostage by Kyle Budwell (played by Jack O'Connell), an irate investor who lost $60,000 that he inherited from his late mother due to the crash, money he invested after Gates endorsed IBIS a month ago. He forces Gates to put on a vest filled with explosives. If Gates doesn't give Budwell any answers, Budwell will detonate the explosives. Now, Gates, Fenn & Budwell, along with IBIS PR head Diane Lester (played by Caitriona Balfe), must find the answers about what went wrong, discovering a web of lies & deceit.

The film was excellent. Clooney, Roberts, O'Connell, West & Balfe were excellent. The direction from Jodie Foster was extremely well-done, along with the screenplay from Alan Di Fiore, Jim Kouf & Jamie Linden. The editing was excellent, brilliantly assembling the film's use of real-time. This is definitely an excellent thriller.

Captain America: Civil War

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"He's my friend." "So was I." That is part of a brutally honest conversation between Chris Evans & Robert Downey Jr. in Captain America: Civil War, the greatest superhero film ever made. Evans portrays Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, who has just been involved in a severe incident, involving him, Sam Wilson, AKA Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie), Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow (portrayed by Scarlett Johansson), & Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen), who had caused the incident by accidentally killing 11 missionaries from the Republic of Wakanda in an attempt to stop the theft of a biological weapon. The Avengers, save for Bruce Banner, AKA Hulk (who is in hiding), & Thor (who has returned to Asgard), are notified of the ratification of the Sokovia Accords, which will have the Avengers run by the UN. Rogers is against this, while Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) is for it. 

However, at the ratification of the Accords, a bomb allegedly set by James "Bucky" Barnes, AKA The Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan), explodes & kills Wakandan King T'Chaka, leaving his son, T'Challa, AKA Black Panther (played by Chadwick Boseman) to take his place & go after Barnes. The differing opinions between Rogers & Stark create friction in The Avengers. Rogers believes that Sokovian villain Helmut Zemo (played by Daniel Brühl) was behind the bombing; however, he is unable to apprehend him. 

Eventually, the infighting between the Avengers divides them into 2 factions: one led by Rogers, including Wilson; Maximoff; Barnes; Clint Barton; AKA Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner); & Scott Lang, AKA Ant-Man (played by Paul Rudd); & the other faction, led by Stark, including T'Challa; Romanoff; Vision (played by Paul Bettany); James Rhodes, AKA War Machine (played by Don Cheadle), & Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland), culminating in a fight that could irreparably damage the Avengers once & for all.

The film was an action masterpiece. The acting was superb. The direction from the Russo brothers was excellent. The screenplay from Christopher Markus was great. And the visual effects were stunningly excellent. This is definitely the best superhero film ever made. Note to DC: This is how you make a good superhero rivalry movie.

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.