Aladdin

★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

I didn't see the original Aladdin until Memorial Day. I know, how could a kid have gone his whole life without seeing it? What must have gone wrong in his childhood? I don't know; & nothing went wrong. However, when I saw it, I loved it.

Aladdin is nowhere near as good as the original, but it has just enough to make it work. Based on the 1992 film Aladdin, the film follows Aladdin (Mena Massoud), a street rat in the Arabic city of Agrabah. He & his pet monkey Abu (Frank Welker) make ends meet by stealing, but they are both kind-hearted & do it to survive.

One day, Aladdin rescues Princess Jasmine of Agrabah (Naomi Scott), who wants to explore & not be so sheltered anymore by her father the Sultan (Navid Negahban). The Sultan has actively been looking for a suitor for Jasmine, & has settled on Prince Anders of Skånland (Billy Magnussen), but Jasmine is not smitten with him.

Meanwhile, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), the Grand Vizier, is scheming to overthrow the Sultan. In order to do so, he & his parrot sidekick Iago (Alan Tudyk) must find a magical lamp in the Cave of Wonders; however, only one who is worthy can enter it, the "diamond in the rough," who Jafar decides is Aladdin. Aladdin is forced by Jafar to help him find it, & he does, but is left behind by Jafar; however, Abu steals the lamp back & Aladdin survives. They find themselves trapped in the cave. Aladdin unwittingly rubs the lamp & summons the Genie (Will Smith), a nearly omnipotent being who has lived inside the lamp for ages. The Genie tells Aladdin that he can grant him three wishes; Aladdin uses the first to become Prince Ali of Ababwa in order to impress Jasmine, & promises to save the third wish for freeing the Genie.

Aladdin (as Prince Ali) manages to form a bond with Jasmine, while the Genie becomes smitten with Dalia (Nasim Pedrad), Jasmine's handmaiden. But as Aladdin becomes closer to Jasmine, the more he must realize who he truly is.

The cast is amazing. Mena Massoud gives a great breakout performance. Naomi Scott is also great & shows off her singing talent. But Will Smith is the standout, showing off a lot of humor & bravado, & although he isn't as great as Robin Williams was as the Genie, he definitely leaves an indelible impression on the film.

Guy Ritchie's direction is very good. Although he does have trouble handling all the plot points, Ritchie does have a lot of visual style, & his direction here is a slight improvement from where he was before.

The screenplay by Guy Ritchie & John August is good. The plot is incredibly formulaic, & the characters outside of the main 3 characters are underwritten, but the dialogue is well-done.

James Herbert's editing is mediocre. The cuts in the first half-hour are absolutely horrendous, & while it does get better from there, the bad ultimately outweighs the good.

Michael Wilkinson's costume design is wonderful. The costumes are extravagant, colorful, & just absolutely lovely.

And the music is terrific. The songs are lovingly performed, brilliantly written, & terrifically composed, making the film more enjoyable.

This is a far cry from what it could've been. There are things here that would usually make me not like a film. However, there are so many great moments here that make up for the bad moments, & push it over the line.

Aladdin was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Wednesday, May 29, 2019. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 128 minutes, & it is rated PG for some action/peril.

Booksmart

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

I am now officially a high school graduate. May 28 was my last day of school, May 29 was my prom, & June 1 was my graduation. In the fall, I will be attending Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan for cinema studies. Was I saddened to see my senior year go by so fast? Yes. Was I saddened about not seeing certain people every day anymore? Yes. Was I ready to get out of that school. Yes.

Booksmart is nothing short of an absolute miracle. In a time where most high school films stick to some sort of formula, Booksmart spins the coming-of-age genre on its head & creates something wholly original for the genre. The film follows Molly Davidson (Beanie Feldstein) & Amy Antsler (Kaitlyn Dever), two soon-to-be high school graduates & best friends. Molly is the class president, & Amy has been out as a lesbian for 2 years, which her parents, Charmaine (Lisa Kudrow) & Doug (Will Forte) are somewhat awkward about. Amy also has a crush on Ryan (Victoria Ruesga), a skater girl. These are their last days together for a while, as Amy will be heading to Botswana for the summer to help women make their own tampons. Together, they are 100% focused on their studies & have a deep disdain for the kids that party hard, including class vice president Nick Howland (Mason Gooding), rich kid Jared (Skyler Gisondo), balls-to-the-wall insane Gigi (Billie Lourd), gay theater kid George (Noah Galvin), other gay theater kid Alan (Austin Crute), brutally cruel Hope (Diana Silvers), orally proficient Annabelle, AKA Triple A (Molly Gordon), jock/skater Tanner (Nico Hiraga), & twice-held back Theo (Eduardo Franco). English teacher Mrs. Fine (Jessica Williams) adores them, while Principal Jordan Brown (Jason Sudeikis) finds them to be a bit too dedicated. Nevertheless, Molly & Amy persist.

On the last day of school, Molly finds herself in the bathroom overhearing Tanner, Theo & Triple A talking about Molly being so stuck-up. Molly comes out of the stall to tell them that while they were out partying & having sex, she was getting into Yale. However, in a shocking discretion, Triple A is also going to Yale. Where is Tanner going? Stanford. Where is Theo going? Not college, but Google, where he will be a coder. How did they party yet still get into high places? They cared about school, but they didn't ONLY care about school like Molly & Amy.

Molly is stunned by this. She then comes up with an idea: in order to change their stories, she & Amy will go to Nick's big party that night to cram four years of partying into one night. Amy is shocked & refuses at first; however, after some coercion, including the fact that Ryan will be there, she agrees to go. But that night will be incredibly life-changing in ways neither of them will have ever expected.

The cast is wonderful. Beanie Feldstein's performance is extremely outgoing, vocal, & incredibly hilarious. Kaitlyn Dever's performance is more shy, quiet, & still in her shell, & is a perfect yin to Feldstein's yang. Both of these performances are the best female performances of the year.

From the supporting cast, Billie Lourd is, by far, the standout. She is the biggest scene-stealer in a comedy I've seen in years. She is fierce, crazed, energetic, & uproariously funny. Jason Sudeikis also gets in some great moments (one of which got the biggest laugh from me). And the rest of the cast, especially Williams, Kudrow, Forte, Gisondo, Galvin, Crute, & Silvers, give great supporting performances.

Olivia Wilde's direction is phenomenal. Wilde paints the film with an incredibly warm feeling & a visual eye that is absolutely stunning for a first-time director. This is the best directorial debut of this decade.

The screenplay by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel & Katie Silberman is brilliant. The plot is the freshest for a coming-of-age film in years. The characters are so incredibly human & 3-dimensional, down to the smallest of roles. And the dialogue is superbly realistic & riotously hilarious.

Jason McCormick's cinematography is amazing. The lighting is incredible, & there's an absolutely wondrous long take that is just impressively gorgeous.

The editing by Jamie Gross & Brent White is excellent. The film is cut very well, especially for a comedy, & there's one scene where it's just incredible.

And the soundtrack is fantastic. The soundtrack is filled with modern alternative & rap songs, which are both right up my alley.

Booksmart isn't just the best film of the year so far. It isn't even the best film of this decade. It is, by far, the best film I've ever seen. It will certainly be my favorite film for many years to come. It is a perfect film that gets how it is to be right on the precipice of leaving high school & going off to college, & how it is to have a friendship that makes you feel so warm inside. Mark my words: this will be a cult classic. I'm glad I saw this when I did.

Booksmart was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Friday, May 24, 2019. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 102 minutes, & it is rated R for strong sexual content & language throughout, drug use & drinking - all involving teens.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

The revival of the career of Keanu Reeves can only be described as a miracle. Destined to appear in straight-to-video films for the rest of his career after a series of critical & commercial flops, Reeves found a rebirth with John Wick. It changed how people viewed him: where he was once thought as a bad actor that was past his prime, he then gained new respect as an actor & action film icon. As the years went on, he solidified that status with John Wick: Chapter 2.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is the best film of the John Wick franchise. The film continues the story of John Wick (Keanu Reeves), a hitman in New York. After having previously killed Santino D'Antonio (Ricardo Scamarcio) in The Continental, Wick has been deemed "excommunicado" by Winston (Ian McShane), & now has a $14 million bounty on his head, but Winston has given him a 1-hour headstart.

On the run, Wick leaves his dog with Charon (Lance Reddick), the concierge of The Continental. After fighting off several assassins, Wick finds himself with The Director (Anjelica Huston), a woman from his distant past, who lets him pass safely to Casablanca as one last favor. In Casablanca, Wick reunites with Sofia (Halle Berry), an old friend & manager of the Casablanca Continental, who will help him get his bounty waived.

Meanwhile, The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) has come to tell Winston & the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) that they have 7 days to give up their leadership or face consequences for their indecision in not killing John Wick for his murder of Santino; they both refuse to resign. As a result, The Adjudicator sends the assassin Zero (Mark Dacascos) to do their bidding to enforce the rules of the High Table. Now John must continue to fight off the assassins & try his best to get back in the good graces of the High Table.

The cast is terrific. Keanu Reeves is at his best yet, seeming to get better with age. Ian McShane is spectacular in his supporting role. And Asia Kate Dillon is easily the standout of the supporting cast with their wonderfully devilish performance.

Chad Stahelski's direction is excellent. Stahelski's visual style is very striking & vibrant, & his handling of the big action set pieces is very well-done.

The screenplay by Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins & Marc Abrams is amazing. The plot doesn't fall into any of the sequel plot traps, the characters are well-written, & the dialogue is superbly written.

Dan Laustsen's cinematography is wondrous. The lighting, especially the use of neon lighting in nighttime sequences, is just absolutely marvelous.

And Evan Schiff's editing is phenomenal. Schiff makes sure that there are cuts only when they are absolutely necessary, which is a breath of fresh air considering that most action films use fast cutting, the vast majority of them in the wrong manner.

This is a terrific action film. It's the best in a franchise full of great action films, & I can't wait for John Wick: Chapter 4 on May 21, 2021.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 on Saturday, May 18, 2019. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 130 minutes, & it is rated R for pervasive strong violence, & some language.

The Farewell

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

How do we say goodbye to the ones we love the most? How do we properly wish our loved ones off before they die? There's no definitive answer to this series of questions, but many of us have our own answers to them, & none of them are wrong, either. Personally, I don't have a definitive answer as to how I would do it, but I know I would do it sincerely.

The Farewell takes a look at saying goodbye to the ones we love the most, & it's done in a dryly funny yet sincere way. Based on an actual lie, the film follows Billi (Awkwafina), a Chinese-American girl in New York. A Chinese immigrant, Billi feels more & more disconnected from the Chinese part of her culture every day, & is all but completely Americanized. Although Billi is an aspiring writer, she was just denied the Guggenheim Fellowship, a fact she keeps secret from everyone else, mainly her parents, Haiyan (Tzi Ma) & Jian (Diana Lin).

One night, Billi is told by her parents that her grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, & that she only has about 3 months left. They will be going to China to spend time with her before she dies; however, they will not tell her that she has cancer, as Chinese culture believes that it is better not to tell for the belief that it won't put the emotional burden on the ill person. In order to not make the family's arrival look suspicious, the family decides to create a wedding between Billi's cousin Hao Hao (Chen Han) & his girlfriend Aiko (Aoi Mizuhara). However, Haiyan & Jian tell Billi that it is best that she doesn't come, as they believe that she won't be able to hold up her part of the lie.

Billi travels to China anyway, since there's not much for her to do in New York as she struggles to pay rent. While in China, she reconnects with some family members she hasn't seen in a long time, including her great-aunt Little Nai Nai (Lu Hong) & her uncle Haibin (Jiang Yongbo). But the longer Billi stays in China, the more she yearns to reconnect with her roots & wants to tell the truth about what's going on.

The cast is phenomenal. Awkwafina is nowhere near her normal energetic self, but that's not an insult; in fact, this is the best performance of her young career. Tzi Ma is also terrific, making a step into the forefront from his years as an understated character actor. And Zhao Shuzhen gets in some great moments as well.

Lulu Wang's direction is excellent. Considering her work here, it's shocking to realize that this is only Wang's second feature film, as she has the visual eye & personal touch of a seasoned director.

And Lulu Wang's screenplay is amazing. Since this is a personal story for her, Wang puts her heart into the screenplay & it shows, & the focus on realistic characters & realistic dialogue is very reminiscent of the films of Mike Leigh.

This is one of the best films of the year so far. It's an often hilarious yet emotional look at a dysfunctional family.

The Farewell was seen by me at the Emagine Royal Oak in Royal Oak, MI for the 2019 Cinetopia Film Festival on Thursday, May 16, 2019. It will be released in limited release in the United States on Friday, July 12, 2019. Its runtime is 98 minutes, & it is rated PG for thematic material, brief language & some smoking.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu

★★★½ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

In my late elementary school & early middle school years, I absolutely loved Pokémon. I had all the movies, I watched the show (the original one), I played the games (the first 3 generations only). I wanted nothing more to become a Pokémon Master. As I've got older, I've weaned off the Pokémon fandom, but I'm still a Pokémon fan at heart.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu isn't anywhere near perfect, but it is a lot better than it should be. Based on the 2018 game Detective Pikachu, the film follows Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), a 21-year-old insurance salesman. Due to the death of his mother & being abandoned by his father Harry, Tim has given up on his childhood dream of becoming a Pokémon Master.

One day, Tim is told that by Ryme City Police Lt. Hideo Yoshida (Ken Watanabe) that Harry died in a car crash. Tim then travels to Ryme City, a city created by Howard Clifford (Bill Nighy), who sought to ensure bonds between humans & Pokémon. While there, Tim is approached by Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton), an aspiring journalist working for Roger Clifford (Chris Geere). Lucy is suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Harry's death.

When he returns to his father's apartment, Tim hears something strange. He then finds Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds), a Pikachu wearing a deerstalker hat & a trenchcoat who is a world-class detective & can communicate only with Harry. Pikachu was Harry's police partner who has suffered from amnesia as a result of the crash Harry died in. But Pikachu does not believe Harry is dead; rather, he believes that Harry is very much alive. However, they are at a crossroads, as Pikachu cannot remember who he is or where Harry is. They must work together to rediscover Pikachu's identity & find Harry, with the help of Ms. Norman (Suki Waterhouse) & Sebastian (Omar Chaparro). But the road to finding Harry will be a tough one.

The cast is excellent. Ryan Reynolds is perfect to voice Pikachu. Justice Smith has a lot of chemistry with Reynolds. And Kathryn Newton does well with her limited screen time.

Rob Letterman's direction is great. Although Letterman has some trouble shifting between tones, he overcomes that with a warm-hearted sensibility & a keen visual eye.

The screenplay by Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Rob Letterman, Derek Connolly & Nicole Perlman is very good. Although the plot is very predictable & most of the supporting characters aren't well-written, the dialogue is often very humourous.

And the visual effects are astonishing. The CGI is very well-done, but the best effects come in the form of the creature design & motion capture, which is flawless.

This is, due to the lack of such films, easily the best video game film ever made. Although it doesn't reach its full potential, it still manages to be very entertaining & solidly made.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Friday, May 10, 2019. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 104 minutes, & it is rated PG for action/peril, some rude & suggestive humor, & thematic elements.

Long Shot

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

Seth Rogen films never seek to reinvent the wheel, but I love them nonetheless. I don't know what loving his style of mixing sex humor & weed humor says about me, but I'm drawn to that like a moth to a flame.

Long Shot is one of my favorite Seth Rogen comedies of this decade. The film follows Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen), a rambunctious & aggressive but nonetheless determined news reporter for a small liberal newspaper. However, the newspaper he works for has been recently bought out by Parker Wembley (Andy Serkis), a conservative media mogul. In protest, Fred quits; unfortunately, no one else will hire him.

Discontent with his current situation, Fred turns to an old friend, Lance (O'Shea Jackson Jr.). In order to cheer him up, Lance takes Fred to a charity event that night where Boyz II Men will be performing. At the event, Fred is surprised to see that Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) is there. Charlotte is one of the most popular members of the cabinet of President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk), & has been romantically linked to Canadian Prime Minister James Steward (Alexander Skarsgård). But Fred seeing Charlotte there is a blast from the past, as Fred & Charlotte once knew each other very well: Charlotte was Fred's babysitter & crush when they were in high school.

Charlotte has something big coming up: as President Chambers will not be running for reelection due to his interest in going back into acting, he is prepared to endorse her as a presidential candidate. After meeting up with Fred, Charlotte reads some of his articles & decides to hire him as her speechwriter, much to the chagrin of her head staffer Maggie (June Diane Raphael), who considers Fred to be way too outrageous.

As Fred & Charlotte begin to spend more time together, a romantic connection develops between them. But as the political spectrum grows tighter & the public becomes more receptive to Charlotte's ideas, their relationship might be over just as soon as it started.

The cast is fantastic. Seth Rogen is at his funniest since This is the End. Charlize Theron is as enigmatic as ever & is the funniest she's been since Young Adult. And O'Shea Jackson Jr. is a definite bright spot in his supporting role.

Jonathan Levine's direction is excellent. After hitting a couple bumps in the road with The Night Before & Snatched, Levine finally delivers on the promise he showed with 50/50, with his ability to keep the film on a consistently warm & hilarious tone, & some visual style.

And the screenplay by Dan Sterling & Liz Hannah is amazing. The plot feels refreshing, the characters are well-written, & the dialogue is clever & very funny.

This is the biggest surprise of the year so far. It's fueled by the cast (especially the chemistry of its two leads) & one of the funniest screenplays of the past few years.

Long Shot was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Saturday, May 4, 2019. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 125 minutes, & it is rated R for strong sexual content, language throughout & some drug use.

Avengers: Endgame

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

11 years. 21 films. That's the existence length & film count of the Marvel Cinematic Universe up through April 25. In those 11 years, we have been introduced to so many characters, some of us practically growing up with them, through their rises & falls, through the good films & the bad films. But, as the old adage goes, "all good things must come to an end."

But what an end Avengers: Endgame is. It is the perfect conclusion to The Infinity Saga. The film follows The Avengers: Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.); Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America (Chris Evans); Bruce Banner, AKA Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); Thor Odinson, AKA Thor (Chris Hemsworth); Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson); & Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). The Avengers are reeling from their loss to intergalactic despot Thanos (Josh Brolin), which took from them many people closest to them: Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), T'Challa, AKA Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman); Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man (Tom Holland); Gamora (Zoe Saldana); Hope van Dyne, AKA Wasp (Evangeline Lilly); Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen); Sam Wilson, AKA Falcon (Anthony Mackie); James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, AKA Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan); Loki (Tom Hiddleston); Mantis (Pom Klementieff); Drax (Dave Bautista); Shuri (Letitia Wright); Hank Pym (Michael Douglas); Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer); Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders); Groot (Vin Diesel); Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), & Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), along with half of the living creatures in the universe.

Amidst their grief, The Avengers, along with James "Rhodey" Rhodes, AKA War Machine (Don Cheadle); Scott Lang, AKA Ant-Man (Paul Rudd); Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel (Brie Larson); Nebula (Karen Gillan); Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper); Okoye (Danai Gurira); Wong (Benedict Wong); Harold "Happy" Hogan (Jon Favreau); & Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), try to come up with a plan to defeat Thanos & bring back everyone that disappeared in The Snap. They will do whatever it takes to see this succeed.

The cast is phenomenal. Robert Downey Jr. gives the best performance of the MCU & of his career with an emotionally staggering performance. Chris Evans also gives a superb performance. And Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd & Josh Brolin give great supporting performances.

The direction by Joe & Anthony Russo is terrific. The Russo brothers perfectly balance (pun intended) comedic & dramatic tones, & also terrifically visualize the action sequences, especially the main battle, which is the best battle sequence depicted on screen since the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

The screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely is amazing. The narrative is very emotionally powered, the characters are well-developed, & the dialogue is very well-written.

Trent Opaloch's cinematography is astounding. The color palette is greatly varying, & the shot composition is very well-composed.

The editing by Jeffrey Ford & Matthew Schmidt is excellent. Not only is the film cut very well, but it makes the film's immense 3-hour runtime feel brisk.

Charles Wood's production design is superb. The set design of the various locales on Earth & on other planets is completely immersive.

The makeup & hairstyling is fantastic. The makeup truly transforms the actors into truly unrecognizable characters.

The sound design is impeccable. The sounds of the action are well-created & perfectly mixed to create a loud, immersive experience.

The visual effects are incredible. The CGI is absolutely flawless, & the practical effects have also been realized to their full potential.

And Alan Silvestri's score is a masterwork. Buoyed by an orchestra, the score is able to provoke so many emotions, & is easily Silvestri's best work yet.

This is the best film of the MCU, & the best superhero film ever made. It is an emotional send-off to one of the greatest sagas in all of film history.

Avengers: Endgame was seen by me at the AMC Forum 30 in Sterling Heights, MI on Friday, April 26, 2019. It is currently in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 181 minutes, & it is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence & action, & some language.