Lights Out

★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"If she's not a ghost, then what is she?" That's a disturbingly inquisitive quote from Teresa Palmer in Lights Out, a great horror film that falls just shy of being a horror classic. Palmer plays Rebecca, a woman living alone in an apartment who is estranged from her mother, Sophie (played by Maria Bello), who is mentally ill & suffers from depression. Rebecca left home after her father abandoned them. Sophie talks to an imaginary "friend" named Diana (played by Alicia Vela-Bailey). Rebecca's younger brother, Martin (played by Gabriel Bateman), has suffered from insomnia after seeing Diana. Rebecca, fearing for her brother's safety, takes Martin with her to live with her & her lover, Paul (played by Alexander DiPersia). However, social services takes him back to Sophie, where she tells Martin that Diana was a childhood friend of hers when she was at a mental institution for her depression. Diana was extremely sensitive to light, & she died after being exposed to it for too long. Diana is trying to kill anyone who gets between her & Sophie, so now, Rebecca, Martin & Paul must stop Diana at any price.

Palmer, Bello & Bateman were great. The direction from David F. Sandberg is great, along with Eric Heisserer's screenplay. And the editing from Michel Aller is really good. Although it does have a few rough spots, it does provide legitimate scares.

Sausage Party

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I have to try. Everyone will die otherwise!" "Oh, yeah, that's a good point." That's part of a hilarious eye-opening conversation between Seth Rogen & Bill Hader in Sausage Party, the year's funniest & raunchiest film, & the funniest animated film ever made. Rogen voices Frank, a sausage in a package at a supermarket called Shopwell's, along with Carl (voiced by Jonah Hill), Barry (voiced by Michael Cera), a deformed sausage, & Troy (voiced by Anders Holm). All the food wants to do is be chosen by humans & sent into "The Great Beyond." Frank especially wants to be in The Great Beyond with his girlfriend, Brenda (voiced by Kristen Wiig), a hot dog bun. Both of their packages are chosen by a woman aptly named Camille Toh (voiced by Lauren Miller), who also chooses a Middle Eastern lavash named Kareem-Abdul Lavash (voiced by David Krumholtz), a Jewish bagel named Sammy Bagel Jr. (voiced by Edward Norton), & a douche simply named Douche (voiced by Nick Kroll), but not before a jar of Honey Mustard (voiced by Danny McBride) warns them that The Great Beyond is not what it seems. Eventually, in a cart collision, Frank, Brenda & Douche fall out of the cart, & Honey Mustard kills himself. Douche's nozzle is damaged, blaming Frank, & swearing revenge after being thrown away by Darren (voiced by Paul Rudd), a nerdy clerk.

Frank eventually learns the truth about The Great Beyond from Firewater (voiced by Bill Hader), a Native American bottle of liquor, & Mr. Grits (voiced by Craig Robinson), a box of grits. Frank learns that humans will eat them. Frank, Brenda, Kareem, & Sammy try to find their way back, encountering a lesbian taco named Teresa Del Taco (voiced by Salma Hayek) along the way, while trying to avoid Douche, while Barry encounters a Druggie (voiced by James Franco) & tries to make it back to Shopwell's, & Frank, now knowing the full truth, must tell everyone, even though no one will believe him.

The voice cast is excellent. The direction from Conrad Vernon & Greg Tiernan is great, along with the screenplay from Rogen, Hill, Evan Goldberg, Kyle Hunter & Ariel Shaffir, which is also gleefully profane. But the last 10 minutes of the film are shockingly bizarre, & will either make you laugh, make you feel repulsed, or both. This is a delightfully profane parody of Disney & Pixar films.

Jason Bourne

★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I remember. I remember everything." That's a thrilling quote from Matt Damon in Jason Bourne, an excellent action-filled thriller that almost reaches the heights of the previous films. Damon reprises his role as Jason Bourne, who has recovered from his amnesia. He now takes part in illegal fighting rings. Nicky Parsons (played again by Julia Stiles) has been working with a hacktivist group in Reykjavík, trying to expose the CIA's black ops programs. After finding information about Bourne's recruitment into the CIA & his father's involvement, she travels to Greece to find him, but not before her hacking activities are discovered by CIA Director Thomas Dewey (played by Tommy Lee Jones) & CIA Cyber Ops head Heather Lee (played by Alicia Vikander).

The CIA then sends the Asset (played by Vincent Cassel) to go after Bourne & Parsons. After unforeseen circumstances, Bourne must travel alone to Berlin & London to find more information about why he was chosen & what his father's role in it was, eventually culminating in Las Vegas at a surveillance convention with Aaron Kalloor (played by Riz Ahmed), CEO of social media enterprise Deep Dream, which Dewey is using to create mass surveillance.

Damon, Jones, Vikander, Cassel & Stiles give great performances. The direction from Paul Greengrass is great, along with the screenplay by Greengrass & Christopher Rouse. The editing from Rouse is excellent. Although it does fall below the previous films (except for The Bourne Legacy, which is on par with this film), it is still a great take on the current era of government surveillance, & keeps you wanting more of the Bourne franchise.

Suicide Squad

★½ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"Stay evil, doll-face." That's an awful quote from Will Smith in Suicide Squad, a deeply flawed superhero film that manages to be DC's worst film of 2016. Smith portrays Floyd Lawson, AKA Deadshot,  a hitman who is an excellent marksman, who is selected by intelligence operative Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis) & Army Col. Rick Flag (played by Joel Kinnaman) to be part of Task Force X, a group of imprisoned dangerous criminals to be used in high-risk missions for our government.

Joining him are: Dr. Harley Quinn, AKA Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie), a former psychiatrist turned bad by her lover, The Joker (played by Jared Leto); Chato Santana, AKA El Diablo (played by Jay Hernandez), a former L.A. gang member who can shoot fire; George "Digger" Harkness, AKA Captain Boomerang (played by Jai Courtney), an Australian thief noted for his deadly boomerangs; Waylon Jones, AKA Killer Croc (played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a villain with reptilian features; & Christopher Weiss, AKA Slipknot (played by Adam Beach), a mercenary known for his excellent grappling & scaling. Also joining them are: Col. Flag's girlfriend, Dr. June Moone, AKA Enchantress (played by Cara Delevingne), an archaeologist possessed by an ancient evil force that turns her into a great sorceress; & Tatsu Yamashiro, AKA Katana (played by Karen Fukuhara), a Japanese martial arts master. All of them, save for Flag, Moone & Yamashiro, have micro-bombs implanted in their necks, set to go off if they abandon the team. Eventually, Enchantress takes over complete control of Moone, & goes on a rampage, & it is up to the team to stop her.

The cast is a mixed bag; Smith & Robbie are great, while Leto is awful. The direction & screenplay from David Ayer are both mediocre. And the visual effects are terrible. Although it does have its moments, it somehow manages to be worse than the already awful Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates

★★★½ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"WE DON'T RILE EACH OTHER UP!" "WE NEVER GET RILED UP!" That's part of a hilarious conversation involving Zac Efron & Adam Devine in Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates, one of the funniest films of the year. The film is based on the true story of Mike & Dave Stangle, who, in 2013, went to Craigslist to find dates for their sister's wedding, eventually landing them on The Wendy Williams Show. Efron & Devine portray Dave & Mike Stangle, respectively, who after screwing up countless family gatherings, are forced by their parents (played by Stephen Root & Stephanie Faracy) to find sensible dates for their sister Jeanie's (played by Sugar Lyn Beard) wedding in Hawaii. 

After finding no luck, Mike & Dave decide to go to Craigslist & post an ad seeking sensible women to bring as dates for an all-expenses paid trip, eventually leading to an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show. Alice (played by Anna Kendrick) & Tatiana (played by Aubrey Plaza), 2 best friends, see them being interviewed. Alice had been dumped at the altar some time before, still feels guilt for it. Tatiana decides that this will be the vacation they need. Problem is, Alice & Tatiana are absolute party girls. They desperately clean up their acts, & eventually become Mike & Dave's dates to the wedding, but the trip to Hawaii is definitely not as it seems.

The cast, especially Aubrey Plaza, is hilarious. The direction from Jake Szymanski is good, along with the screenplay from Andrew J. Cohen & Brendan O'Brien. Although the film does fall apart somewhat in the final act, it is still one of the year's most hilarious films.

The Conjuring 2

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I had a premonition of your death. Something inhuman wants to kill you. If we keep doing this, you're going to die." That's a disturbingly scary quote from Vera Farmiga in The Conjuring 2, one of the best horror films ever made & one of the few sequels that lives up to the original. As was the case with the first film, this is based on the case files of husband-&-wife paranormal investigators, Ed & Lorraine Warren. Farmiga reprises her role as Lorraine Warren, who, in 1977, with her husband Ed (played by Patrick Wilson), have just finished with the infamous Amityville case. Lorraine has become increasingly concerned with Ed, having witnessed a vision of his death.

Meanwhile, in the London borough of Enfield, strange things have occured at the home of Peggy Hodgson (played by Frances O'Connor) & her 4 children. Her second-oldest daughter, Janet (played by Madison Wolfe), has been possessed by the spirit of Bill Wilkins, a man who previously owned the house & died in it. Fearing for their safety, Peggy & her children seek refuge at a neighbor's house, with the story eventually reaching the Warrens. Ed & Lorraine travel to Enfield to assist with the case, although Lorraine is reluctant, eventually seeing the vision again, & must now try to expel the demon possessing Janet.

Farmiga, Wilson, O'Connor & Wolfe's performances were terrifyingly spectacular. James Wan's direction was great, along with the screenplay by Wan, Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes, & David Leslie Johnson. And the cinematography by Don Burgess is one of the best of the year, with such excellently bleak shots. This is a film that definitely terrifies, & doesn't pull any punches.

Finding Dory

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"Sigourney Weaver is going to help us!" That's a hilarious quote from Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Dory, one of Pixar's best sequels & one of their best films. DeGeneres reprises her role as the forgetful Dory, & 1 year after teaming up with Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) to find his son, Nemo (voiced by Hayden Rolence), she is helping raise Nemo. One day, she remembers her parents: Jenny (voiced by Diane Keaton) & Charlie (voiced by Eugene Levy), eventually remembering that they lived at a marine institute in California. Now, Dory, Marlin & Nemo must travel across the Pacific to find Dory's parents, encountering old friends, such as Crush (voiced by Andrew Stanton) & Squirt (voiced by Bennett Dammann), & an octopus named Hank (voiced by Ed O'Neill) along the way.

DeGeneres, Brooks & O'Neill's voice talents were spectacular, & the marine institute cameo narration by Sigourney Weaver was one of the many highlights of the film. The direction from Andrew Stanton is spellbinding, along with the screenplay by Stanton & Victoria Strouse. The film score by the incomparable Thomas Newman was one of his absolute best, along with his scores to The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, In the Bedroom, & Finding Nemo. And the animation, as it is with all Pixar movies, is astoundingly beautiful. This is one of the best animated films of the year so far.