Mother!

½★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

"I'm sorry, but not even drugs could result in this film."

That quote from my friend, after I told her the entire plot of Mother!, perfectly encapsulates how I felt about this film. It's such a crazily put-together film that is an absolute cinematic abomination.

The film focuses on Mother (played by Jennifer Lawrence) & Him (played by Javier Bardem), a couple living in an isolated & recently renovated house. Mother is a housewife, while Him is a famous poet suffering from writer's block.

One day, Man (played by Ed Harris) shows up at the house, asking for a room, mistaking it for a bed & breakfast. Him is more than happy to let Man stay; however, Mother is reluctant to let a stranger stay in their house. Eventually, she agrees to let Man stay. Man coughs a lot while he is in their house, & Mother sees a fresh wound near his rib. It is made clear that he is dying, & that he wanted to meet Him before he died.

The next day, Man's wife, Woman (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), arrives at the house. Woman is very upfront with Mother on certain topics, including the fact that Mother & Him have not had children. Not too long after that, Man & Woman's children, Older Son (played by Domhnall Gleeson) & Younger Brother (played by Brian Gleeson) arrive, fighting over who gets more from their parents' will.

Eventually, more & more guests come to the house, all wanting to see Him. But Mother has had enough. She demands everyone leave, & when they don't listen, Mother becomes enraged.

The cast is acceptable. Lawrence & Pfeiffer give the best performances of the film, while Bardem & Harris are good as well. However, due to the material they were given, they don't really come out as great performances.

Darren Aronofsky's direction is unfocused. Aronofsky is a great director, but here, he focuses way too much on style over substance (namely violence for the sake of violence to the point where it becomes extreme overkill), especially in the third act. The film is intended to be a parable on how we're destroying Mother Earth, & I agree with Aronofsky's idea to critique our actions, but the way he did it ends up looking like a complete mess.

Aronofsky's screenplay is absolutely awful. His narrative ranges from confusing & boring over the first two acts of the film, to disgusting & absolutely sick in the final act. The last 30 minutes of the film are the worst I've seen in the history of cinema. It treats its characters terribly, especially Lawrence's character. Also, the way he executed it with the religious metaphors that are dumped like a blizzard onto the script are complete & utter overkill.

Matthew Libatique's cinematography is good. It's great in the first two acts of the film, but by the third act, it becomes so shaky & chaotic that it makes you feel like you're on a bad drug trip.

Andrew Weisblum's editing is horrendous. Weisblum is a great editor (especially for Black Swan), but his editing here is just purely terrible. The film is horribly paced, making the film's 121-minute runtime feel like 4 hours, & because of that, I felt like I was trapped in the theater against my will. Also, the editing tends to be too frenetic, especially in the third act.

And the sound design is a mess. It's too jarring that it completely takes you away from the film, especially in the third act.

I understand why people like this film. I really do. And I like films that are really outside of the mainstream, like this film. However, the way this film was made was just so frenetic & mediocre that I could not like this film one bit. It is the worst film I've ever seen. It has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, & no qualities that make it so bad it's good.

To quote the late, great film critic Roger Ebert, in his review for the 1994 film North, "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every stupid simpering vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to its audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it."

I can't speak for everyone about liking & being entertained by it, but I certainly didn't. I never want to experience this film again.

Mother! was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Friday, September 15, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 121 minutes, & it is rated R for strong disturbing violent content, some sexuality, nudity & language.

It

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

I'm not a horror guy. I'll just put that out there.

I don't see many horror films because: 1. I'm a scaredy cat; & 2. Most recent horror films are awful, as they put an over-reliance on jump scares.

It is an extremely more-than-welcome horror film. It blends the jump scares with an overwhelming sense of dread, something that has been missing in horror films as of late.

Based on Stephen King's 1986 novel & set in the summer of 1989, the film centers on Bill Denbrough (played by Jaeden Lieberher), a twelve-year-old boy in Derry, Maine. Bill's seven-year-old brother, Georgie (played by Jackson Robert Scott), disappeared nine months earlier. Fearful of the bullies who will have free reign towards him for 3 months, Bill takes solace with his friends: foul-mouthed Richie Tozier (played by Finn Wolfhard); hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak (played by Jack Dylan Grazer); & mysophobic Stanley Uris (played by Wyatt Oleff).

Meanwhile, Beverly Marsh (played by Sophia Lillis), a burnout who has had rumors about her spread throughout the school, also has to deal with her father's (played by Stephen Bogaert) sexual & physical abuse. Before school ends for the summer, Beverly meets Ben Hanscom (played by Jeremy Ray Taylor), a new kid in Derry who is also bullied for his weight. They immediately take a liking to each other.

During the summer, many kids go missing, just like Georgie. Bill, Richie, Eddie & Stanley go to the Barrens to search for Georgie, whom Bill thinks is still alive. Ben ends up down there after being attacked by the gang of bullies.

The next day, everyone sees visions of their biggest fears & nightmarish visions of Pennywise (played by Bill Skarsgård), a terrifying clown. The 6 kids encounter Mike Hanlon (played by Chosen Jacobs), a homeschooled orphan who is also terrorized by Pennywise. They find that Pennywise assumes the identity of their biggest fear, & appears once every 27 years for 12-16 months. They decide to fight off Pennywise once & for all as "The Losers Club."

The cast is one of the best ever in a horror film. Lieberher, Wolfhard & Lillis are the best out of the young cast. But the standout of the entire cast is Bill Skarsgård, who is absolutely haunting every moment he's on the screen.

Andy Muschietti's direction is astounding. Muschietti, most known for directing the 2013 horror film Mama, is at the top of his game here, setting an overwhelmingly dark & terrifying mood.

The screenplay by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga & Gary Dauberman is excellent. Their script does an excellent job of adapting Stephen King's novel, & It doesn't have the characters you'd usually see in a horror film (i.e. the stupid teenage characters). The characters feel really human, & are actually smart, & don't make stupid decisions.

Chung-Hoon Chung's cinematography is amazing. The way he frames the characters is excellent, & every shot looks perfect.

The editing by Jason Ballantine is excellent. Ballatine has perfectly paced & assembled this film, & unlike other horror films, he doesn't use a lot of jump cuts.

Benjamin Wallfisch's score is haunting. His score, primarily using a piano, makes an already scary film even scarier, building the terror to a breaking point.

The sound design is excellent. All the sounds in the film manage to scare the absolute crap out of everyone who hears them.

And the makeup & hairstyling is nothing short of amazing, especially the makeup used on Pennywise, which makes It extremely terrifying.

This is one of the best horror films of the century. They sadly do not make horror films like these anymore. I truly cannot wait for It: Chapter Two.

It was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Friday, September 8, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 135 minutes, & It is rated R for violence/horror, bloody images, & for language.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

This goes without saying, but Steven Spielberg is a master.

Since his theatrical debut, 1974's The Sugarland Express, Spielberg has captivated the minds of the young, the old, & everyone in between, with films like Jaws, the Indiana Jones franchise, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, The Color Purple, Hook, the Jurassic Park francise, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Lincoln, & Bridge of Spies.

Now, for its 40th anniversary, Columbia Pictures has re-released Steven Spielberg's 1977 sci-fi masterpiece, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This was my first time seeing this film. And it was such a glorious experience.

The film focuses on Roy Neary (played by Richard Dreyfuss), an electrical worker in Muncie, Indiana. He lives a mostly uneventful life with his wife, Ronnie (played by Teri Garr) & their three children: Brad (played by Shawn Bishop); Toby (played by Justin Dreyfuss); & Silvia (played by Adrienne Campbell).

One night, the power suddenly goes out in town, & Roy is called into work. While driving to work, the metal objects in his truck suddenly move around, & a strange craft appears overhead. It's a UFO. After returning home, he tells his family, but they don't believe him.

Another Muncie resident, Jillian Guiler (played by Melinda Dillon), lives with her son, Barry (played by Cary Guffey). The UFO appears by their house, & just like the metal objects in Roy's truck, Barry's toys suddenly start turning on & operating.

Meanwhile, French scientist Claude Lacombe (played by François Truffaut) & his American interpreter, cartographer David Laughlin (played by Bob Balaban) investigate the strange incidences of a pilotless flight in the Sonora Desert, a lost cargo ship in the Gobi Desert, & a five-tone sequence from a UFO in Northern India. The noise is sent to space, with the response being a set of coordinates, pointing to Devils Tower in Moorcroft, Wyoming.

Eventually, all three of these stories will converge at Devils Tower, leading to an eye-opening discovery.

The cast is excellent. Dreyfuss does an excellent job of documenting his character's descent into madness after encountering the UFO. Truffaut, in his only English-language performance (& his only performance in a film he didn't direct), shines in every moment he's on the screen. And Dillon gives an amazing performance that was well-deserved of her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Steven Spielberg's direction is phenomenal. He re-defined the sci-fi blockbuster with this film, & his vision for this film is unparalleled. At every moment, his direction exhibits a strong, childlike wonder in the audience.

His screenplay is also amazing. The characters are extremely well-written & feel so human, & the plot is so intricate.

The cinematography by the late Vilmos Zsigmond is nothing short of spectacular. Every single shot is immaculate, & the way he frames the characters is amazing.

The editing by Michael Kahn is excellent. The film is perfectly paced & assembled, & with this film, Kahn jumpstarted his way into becoming the most awarded editor in film history.

The production design by Joe Alves & Daniel A. Lomino is excellent. The sets are so immersive, especially the designs of the UFO's.

The score by John Williams, the greatest film composer of all time, is amazing. His large-scale orchestral style of music is definitely on play here (notably the famous five-tone sequence), & it is so perfect.

The sound design is impeccable. The five-tone sequence, the sounds of the UFOs, & all the other sound effects are so indescribably amazing.

And the visual effects are so awe-inspiring, & way ahead of their time. They don't feel like the style of regular effects from 1977. And honestly, they don't feel that dated. The effects here, along with the visual effects from the other sci-fi masterpiece from 1977, Star Wars, redefined the way effects can be put into film.

This is truly one of the greatest films ever made. It's a groundbreaking, wondrous, & overall perfect cinematic experience.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind was seen by me at the Emagine Macomb in Macomb Township, MI on Saturday, September 2, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 137 minutes, & it is rated PG for some intense sci-fi action, mild language & thematic elements.

Ingrid Goes West

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

I hate the world I'm growing up in.

Not just because I'm growing up in a world with a horrible political climate, but because I'm growing up in a world where so many people I know live for one thing: social media. They show us what they're doing, what they're eating, what clothes they're buying, & so many other things. They live for the likes & comments & shares & retweets & screenshots. It's so ludicrous.

Ingrid Goes West gives us an amazing satirical look at the age of social media & how it has made us more disconnected from life. The film follows Ingrid Thorburn (played by Aubrey Plaza), an extremely mentally unstable woman from Pennsylvania. Ingrid has been reeling after her mother's death. After macing an ex-friend at her wedding for not inviting her, she is institutionalized. Ingrid is absolutely attached to one thing: Instagram.

Ingrid learns of Instagram icon Taylor Sloane (played by Elizabeth Olsen) while reading a magazine. She then follows her on Instagram, becoming jealous of her seemingly perfect life. She comments on one of her post & receives a reply from Taylor that most would deem inconsequential. Ingrid, however, becomes ecstatic at Taylor's reply. With the $60,000 from her mother's insurance policy, Ingrid decides to move to Los Angeles to become Taylor's friend. She rents a house in the neighborhood of Venice from Dan Pinto (played by O'Shea Jackson Jr.), an aspiring screenwriter & avid fan of Batman. Ingrid gets a makeover & decides to emulate Taylor's lifestyle.

Ingrid follows Taylor to her house & kidnaps her dog when she's not home, & returns her saying she found him during the night & kept him overnight. Taylor & her pop artist husband, Ezra (played by Wyatt Russell), invite Ingrid inside their house for dinner.

And at that moment, Ingrid & Taylor become friends. At last, Ingrid seems happy. But as their friendship grows, Ingrid becomes more unhinged, & as Taylor's narcissistic recovering drug addict brother, Nicky (played by Billy Magnussen) arrives with his friend, fashion blogger Harley Chung (played by Pom Klementieff), Ingrid arrives at a breaking point, wanting Taylor as her friend forever, no matter what the cost.

The cast is spectacular. Aubrey Plaza's performance is a revelation, & she gives the best performance of the year so far. She is extremely crazy in the film, & we are absolutely shocked at the depths her character goes to. Elizabeth Olsen & O'Shea Jackson Jr. also give excellent performances, providing strong supporting roles to Plaza.

Matt Spicer's direction is excellent. In his directorial debut, Spicer has an excellent satirical edge in his work.

And the screenplay by Matt Spicer & David Branson Smith is brilliant. The dialogue is scathingly funny, & we can't help but laugh at the people in the film for being such stuck-up snobs.

This is one of the best films of the year so far. It shows us how we have become basically connected to social media & how we are so obsessed with how people react to our daily lives & activities, & that the people we see on social media whose lives look so well-planned & perfect are actually just as screwed up as we are.

Ingrid Goes West was seen by me at the MJR Troy Grand Digital Cinema 16 in Troy, MI on Friday, August 25, 2017. It is in 12 theaters in the Detroit area, including the MJR Troy Grand Digital Cinema 16 in Troy, MI, the AMC Forum 30 in Sterling Heights, MI, the AMC Star Great Lakes 25 in Auburn Hills, MI, & the Emagine Canton in Canton, MI. Its runtime is 97 minutes, & it is rated R for language throughout, drug use, some sexual content & disturbing behavior.

Good Time

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

I never thought Robert Pattinson could act.

After watching 2 of the Twilight films a long time ago, I was convinced he didn't have a single ounce of acting ability in his body.

I was wrong. I mean, I was REALLY wrong.

Good Time, an excellent crime film, has shown me how great of an actor Robert Pattinson is. The film focuses on Connie Nikas (played by Robert Pattinson), a bank robber in New York. His brother, Nick Nikas (played by Benny Safdie), is extremely mentally handicapped. After robbing a bank for $65,000, Connie & Nick try to get away, but a pack of red dye goes off in the getaway car, forcing them to flee.

Two police officers spot them; Connie remains calm, but Nick freaks out & runs, forcing the cops to chase them. Connie succesfully evades the cops, but Nick is arrested & held at Rikers Island.

Connie tries to bail him out, but he is $10,000 short, & Connie's girlfriend, Corey (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), is unsuccessful at using her credit cards to cover the $10,000. He later finds out Nick is in a hospital after being beaten unconscious in a fight. All of this leads to a wild & crazy night involving Ray (played by Buddy Duress), a recent parolee; Dash (played by Barkhad Abdi), an amusement park security guard); & Crystal (played by Taliah Webster), a 16-year-old girl.

The cast is excellent. As I mentioned before, Robert Pattinson is nothing short of spectacular in this film. He has proven me dead wrong with this performance. Also, Benny Safdie is excellent in giving a mentally handicapped portrayal without coming off as unintentionally hilarious or heavy-handed.

The direction by Benny & Josh Safdie is amazing. They have brought an extreme amount of wild thrills to this film unlike many other crime films in recent memory.

The screenplay by Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein is brilliant. The dialogue is excellent, & the story is excellently written.

The cinematography by Sean Price Williams is amazing. Every single shot has a lot of flair to it, especially one shot of a car speeding down a street, reminding us of a helicopter TV camera zooming out on a car chase.

The editing by Ben Safdie & Ronald Bronstein is excellent. The breakneck editing style reminds us of the style used in films by Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, & Edgar Wright.

And the score by Oneohtrix Point Never is absolutely astounding. The synthesizer-led score drives the entire film, & it is what helps keep the film so thrilling.

This is one of the best films of the year so far, & is one of the best crime films in recent memory. It's a brilliant ode to the classic crime films of the 1970's.

Good Time was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Thursday, August 24, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 100 minutes, & it is rated R for language throughout, violence, drug use & sexual content.

Wind River

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

Taylor Sheridan has written some of the best films of the decade so far.

In 2015, he wrote the script for Denis Villeneuve's Sicario, one of the best crime films of the decade.

In 2016, he wrote the script for David Mackenzie's Hell or High Water, THE best crime film of the decade.

And now, in 2017, Taylor Sheridan has ended his Frontier Trilogy by not only being the screenwriter, but also making his directorial debut in Wind River, an absolute masterpiece.

The film focuses on Cory Lambert (played by Jeremy Renner), an agent of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Wyoming. He is separated from his Native American wife, Wilma (played by Julia Jones), with whom he has a son, Casey (played by Teo Briones).

One day, while hunting, Lambert discovers a body on the Wind River Indian Reservation. He discovers it is the body of 18-year old Natalie Hanson (played by Kelsey Asbille), the daughter of Martin Hanson (played by Gil Birmingham), a family friend. Her corpse is frozen, barefoot, without proper winter clothing, & has a blood stain on her groin.

After Tribal Officer Ben (played by Graham Greene) starts to investigate, FBI Agent Jane Banner (played by Elizabeth Olsen) comes in from Las Vegas to take over the investigation. She is the dictionary definition of a fish-out-of-water here, as she comes in wearing an FBI windbreaker, a pantsuit, & heels, eventually borrowing some winter clothing from a local resident.

The autopsy confirms Lambert's belief that Natalie died from a pulmonary hemorrhage after receiving blunt trauma & being raped; however, nothing confirms that she was murdered. Still steadfastly believing Natalie was murdered, Banner decides to stay & keep investigating, eventually asking Lambert to help find who murdered Natalie. But on one of the biggest Native American reservations in the country, nothing is easy to solve.

The cast is excellent. Jeremy Renner & Elizabeth Olsen give their best performances yet, & both deserve Oscar nominations. Gil Birmingham also further cements his status as one of the best (& most underrated) character actors in film.

Taylor Sheridan's direction is spectacular. After writing Sicario & Hell or High Water, Sheridan has gone behind the camera for this film. And what a directorial debut this is. This is the type of film you'd expect from a seasoned veteran director, not a first-timer. I expect Sheridan to keep making excellent films.

His screenplay is also spectacular. Like his screenplays for Sicario & Hell or High Water, it's filled with so many twists & turns that you don't see coming. He is slowly reinventing the thriller genre.

The cinematography by Ben Richardson is absolutely astounding. There are an abundance of breathtakingly beautiful shots of the desolate, mountainous, snowy landscape of the reservation & the areas surrounding it, & they are so perfectly put onto film by Richardson.

The editing by Gary D. Roach is amazing. The film doesn't feel rushed or drags on for too long. It's perfectly paced.

The sound design is incredible. From the sounds of the wilderness to the gunshots in the film, the sounds are absolutely perfect.

And the score by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis is amazing. It's absolutely haunting, & with this score, Cave & Ellis are making a name for themselves as some of the best film composers today.

This is, without a doubt, the best film of the year so far. It shines a light on the sad life of Native Americans on reservations, how many unsolved murders there are on reservations, & how we need to raise awareness of their plight.

Wind River was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Tuesday, August 22, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 107 minutes, & it is rated R for strong violence, a rape, disturbing images, & language.

The Glass Castle

★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

I haven't read Jeannette Walls's 2005 autobiography The Glass Castle. I was meaning to read it before seeing The Glass Castle, but I ended up not reading it. However, I did read a very detailed synopsis of the book before seeing the film, so I did go into the film with a lot of knowledge surrounding it, hoping it would stay truthful to the book.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. There were a few major things that were left out of the film, & unlike the book, the film tried to do some things the book didn't do.

The Glass Castle focuses on Jeannette Walls (played as a child by Chandler Head, as a preteen by Ella Anderson, & as an adult by Brie Larson), the second-oldest child in the Wells family from Welch, West Virginia. Her older sister is Lori (played as a child by Olivia Kate Rice, as a preteen by Sadie Sink, & as an adult by Sarah Snook), her younger brother is Brian (played as a child by Iain Armitage, as a preteen by Charlie Stowell, & as an adult by Josh Caras), & her younger sister is Maureen (played as a baby by Charlie & Noemie Guyon, as a child by Eden Grace Redfield, as a preteen by Shree Crooks, & as an adult by Brigette Lundy-Paine). Their parents are Rex (played by Woody Harrelson) & Rose Mary (played by Naomi Watts). Rex is an alcoholic, while Rose Mary is an artist.

The family moves around every so often, from Phoenix to San Francisco to Battle Mountain, Nevada to Welch, West Virginia, where they settle in a three-room house without plumbing or heat. The children try to grow up in a home where alcohol-fueled abuse is common. Rex, when sober, tries to plan to build a glass castle for them to live, but never gets to it.

Years later, the four children live in New York. Jeannette is engaged to David (played by Max Greenfield), a yuppie, the complete opposite of who Jeannette once was. Some time later, Rex & Rose Mary move to New York & squat in an abandoned building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The children aren't that happy to see them there, namely Jeannette, who still shows anger towards Rex & Rose Mary for raising them the way they did. But they must all come together in the end.

The cast is overall great. Larson, Harrelson, Watts & all of the child actors give excellent performances, with the 3 main actors giving some of their best performances yet. However, Greenfield is extremely miscast here. Greenfield, most known for his role as Schmidt on the sitcom New Girl, does not have the ability to pull off a dramatic performance & ends up being a caricature, who could've been more than that in the hands of a better actor.

Destin Daniel Cretton's direction is underwhelming. His last film, 2013's Short Term 12 (which also starred Brie Larson in her best performance yet), is one of the best films of the decade & one of my 10 favorite films of all time. However, he doesn't do justice to the source material. Some moments are well-directed, but some aren't. If anything, this shows that Cretton should go back to directing films that are original & small, like Short Term 12.

The screenplay by Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham is extremely bad. I can safely tell you that had Cretton done the screenplay by himself, this film would be overall good. However, Lanham really brings the film down. The last film that Lanham co-wrote was 2017's The Shack, which was considered to be an awful film. The screenplay is too emotionally manipulative, & for the last 20% of the film, the film tries to make us like Rex & Rose Mary, after showing us for the first 80% of the film how horrible they are as parents. Thankfully, I didn't fall for that. Also, as I previously mentioned, the screenplay removes a few somewhat pivotal elements from the book. I hope to see a film that stays as true as possible to the book. Hopefully, that will come soon.

And the cinematography by Brett Pawlak is great. There are a few long-take shots in the film, as well as some excellent wide shots, & Pawlak shoots them really well.

This is, for me, the most disappointing film of the year. I never would've thought a film starring my favorite actress, Brie Larson, along with 2 excellent actors in Woody Harrelson & Naomi Watts, & directed by the director behind one of my all-time favorite films would have failed to be at least great. I was sadly mistaken.

The Glass Castle was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Sunday, August 20, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 127 minutes, & it is rated PG-13 for mature thematic content involving family dysfunction, & for some language & smoking.