What a fantastic year in Cinema 2024 was! The Team – Nicholas Porteous, Amanda Gilmore, Justin Waldman, David Baldwin and Mr. Will unveil for you their best-of 2024 film lists here which you absolutely cannot miss! There are some surprises!

What were your faves? Let us know on IG and FB!

We thank you so much for your supporting all these years including 2024 and cannot wait to bring you the goods in 2025 whether it be first looks, screening pass giveaways, reviews or interviews, we will continue to be there for you!

To an epic 2025!

Team Mr. Will

Today, Disney+ released a brand-new trailer, key art and images for Marvel Animation’s upcoming, original series “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” The 10-episode animated series launches one month from today—January 29, 2025—exclusively on Disney+.

“Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots.

The talented voice cast includes Hudson Thames, Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy and Charlie Cox. The head writer is Jeff Trammell and Mel Zwyer is the supervising director. Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt and Trammell serve as executive producers.

It’s justice for MUFASA: THE LION KING which climbs to the summit position in its second week out for Disney, taking $37 million from 4,100 theatres. This brings its run domestically so far to $111.4 million.

In second is SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 with a great $38 million from 3,769 theatres for Paramount Pictures, a run of $137.5 million over two weeks.

Third is gothic Horror NOSFERATU debuting with a stellar $21.1 million from 2,992 theatres for Focus Features/Universal Pictures. This latest effort from Robert Eggers gets 86% on the Tomatometer.

WICKED takes fourth with $19.4 million, a tally of $424.6 million for Universal Pictures over just six weekends.

Rounding out our Christmas Box Office is MOANA 2 with $18.3 million, a total $394 for Disney over five weekends.

Opening January 2025, Union Hotel brings a bold new take on locally inspired hospitality to the heart of Toronto’s financial district. It blends the city’s dynamic history and modern energy into an unforgettable experience.

The hotel is owned by Silver Hotel Group, the same team behind Anndore House in Toronto and The Westley in Calgary.

Located just steps from the iconic Union Station in Toronto, this hidden gem is anything but ordinary. Highlights include:

–A bold charcoal facade featuring a mural that pays tribute to Toronto’s unofficial raccoon mascot 

–189 uniquely styled rooms, designed with vintage flair and nostalgic charm. A few even come with a raccoon view.

–Curated in-room experience that includes customized music and thoughtfully selected amenities including products by sustainable innovators Cryc.

–Art from local artists that celebrate Toronto’s culture and diversity can be found at every turn.

–Thoughtfully selected amenities that showcase At the heart of it all is Humble Donkey, the hotel’s chic café and lounge. Equal parts relaxed, friendly, and refreshing, it’s your go-to spot for Sam James Coffee Bar brews by day and expertly crafted espresso martinis by night.

Union Hotel is now accepting reservations – be the first to experience it! Visit unionhoteltoronto.com, follow along on Instagram at @unionhotelto for sneak peeks and exciting updates, and get a first look at Union Hotel rooms here.

Located at: 60 York St, Toronto Ontario, M5J 1S8

HAPPY GILMORE 2 arrives on Netflix in 2025! Today we get a new Teaser!

Details:

DIRECTOR: Kyle Newacheck
WRITERS: Tim Herlihy & Adam Sandler
PRODUCERS: Adam Sandler, Tim Herlihy, Jack Giarraputo, Robert Simonds
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Judit Maull, Kevin Grady, Dennis Dugan, Barry Bernardi, David Bausch, Dan Bulla
CAST: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Travis Kelce, Conor Sherry, Ethan Cutkosky, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Philip Fine Schneider

(Photo/video credit: Netflix Canada)

Cobra Kai‘s Final Blow Hits Netflix February 13, 2025.

Synopsis:

After a shocking result in the Sekai Taikai, Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai must reckon with their pasts while facing an uncertain future both on and off the mat. Almost 40 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, it’s all been leading to this.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
Part 3 Synopsis: After a shocking result in the Sekai Taikai, Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai must reckon with their pasts while facing an uncertain future both on and off the mat. Almost 40 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, it’s all been leading to this.
Premiere Dates: Part 3/The Finale Event: February 13, 2025
Producers: Cobra Kai is written and executive produced by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg via their production company, Counterbalance Entertainment. Will Smith, James Lassiter and Caleeb Pinkett executive produce for Westbrook Studios along with Susan Ekins in association with Sony Pictures Television. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka also serve as executive producers.
Cast: Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso), William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence), Martin Kove (John Kreese), Thomas Ian Griffith (Terry Silver), Xolo Maridueña (Miguel Diaz), Jacob Bertrand (Hawk), Mary Mouser (Samantha LaRusso), Tanner Buchanan (Robby Keene), Peyton List (Tory), Gianni Decenzo (Demetri), Courtney Henggeler (Amanda LaRusso), Vanessa Rubio (Carmen), Dallas Dupree Young (Kenny), Yuji Okumoto (Chozen), Alicia Hannah-Kim (Sensei Kim Dae-Un), Griffin Santopietro (Anthony), Oona O’Brien (Devon), Rayna Vallandingham (Zara), Patrick Luwis (Axel) and Lewis Tan (Sensei Wolf)

Today we get a new Trailer for DISCO’S REVENGE, coming January 7, 2025 on all digital platforms via Elevation Pictures.

Directed by: Omar Majeed and Peter Mishara

DISCO’S REVENGE is a feature-length documentary that sets the record straight: Disco. Never. Died.

In the early 70s, the beat child of New York’s Black and LGBTQ+ communities was born on the city’s underground dance floor. Disco emerged as an exuberant musical genre, a vital social movement and a vibrant culture before enduring a vicious backlash nearly a decade later. In our collective pop-culture imagination, Disco’s merely a fad relegated to soft-focus memories of Saturday Night Fever and Studio 54.

It is a pulsating deep dive into the very soul of disco music and its enduring impact across genres and history, told by the people who created it, nurtured it, and in turn, discovered themselves on the dancefloor. The film asks: Why does disco matter and, in these divisive times, why does disco matter now more than ever?

Featuring interviews and performances by Nile Rodgers and Chic, Billy Porter, Nona Hendryx and LaBelle, Grandmaster Flash, Fab Five Freddy, Nicky Siano, Earl Young and The Trammps, Jellybean Benitez, Kevin Saunderson, Sylvester and Martha Wash and many others.

By David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Awards Season is in full swing, and if you have been following the buzz, chances are you have been reading or hearing all about THE BRUTALIST. The Film has been on the tip of many filmgoers’ tongues since its World Premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival where its Co-Writer/Director Brady Corbet won the Silver Lion. The Film had its North American premiere at TIFF (read our Nicholas Porteous’ capsule coverage here) and is finally landing in Canadian theatres starting this week.

The Film centers on László Tóth (Oscar-winner Adrien Brody in one of his finest performances), a brilliant Hungarian-Jewish architect who has fled Europe for America following WWII. When he is tasked with building a community centre for wealthy industrialist Harrison Van Buren (the impeccable Guy Pearce), László envisions achieving the American Dream and the start of a new legacy. But as conflicts and competing egos arise, he quickly realizes there may not be any room for him or his art in his new country.

We had the incredible privilege of speaking to Corbet during a Zoom junket the day after he presented the film in 70mm at an Advance Screening at the TIFF Lightbox mid-December. Here are some of the things we learned during our candid and fascinating conversation:

What is your process or organizing principle when writing your Screenplays?

Corbet: I always start a project with themes as opposed to starting with characters. For me, each character is emblematic of an idea [or] is a mouthpiece for that idea. I think that that my wife [Co-Writer Mona Fastvold] and I write intuitively. We usually have spoken about a project for at least a year, if not two years before sitting down to execute a draft, so we know it very well. But before we put pen to paper…I’m constantly thinking about the defining events of an epoch. And all of my films are virtual histories and they’re concerned primarily with American culpability.

My first film, The Childhood of a Leader, is about how Woodrow Wilson and his team inadvertently paved the way for fascist uprising with their participation in in the Paris Peace Conference and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Of course, Vox [Lux] is a film that is about 9/11 and Columbine being the sort of jumping-off point for the new Millennium [and how] the last twenty-five years having really been defined by those two events. And then [THE BRUTALIST] is a film about the post-war generation, which is a period of time [where] Conservatives in the US really romanticize[d] this 1950s Americana, when of course, everyone was processing the events of the 1940s [which] almost everyone in the world was affected by one way or another.

I think that I struggle a lot with Biographies, and I certainly struggle with most Biopics because they often represent history as being something linear. It’s a series of dates and figures. It’s cause and effect, cause and effect. Whereas I’m more interested in a sort of ambient tyranny. You know what is in the air? What’s in the water? What’s in the atmosphere that, you know is all contributing to these defining historical events and happenings?

How challenging was it to get THE BRUTALIST into production?

Corbet: I remember when we finished the Screenplay with this line from Zsófia as an adult saying, “In fact it is the destination, not the journey;” it dawned on us back in 2017, or whenever we first started, that it would probably be a long road. It was longer than we expected mostly because of Covid and the shutdowns. We were originally meant to shoot the film in Poland and the very day that my Crew was supposed to arrive to start pre-production, Poland shut their borders. And then the tax credit for a period of time became unstable a year later because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And so, we had to pivot and shoot the Film in Hungary…Finally we arrived at the top of 2022 and shot the Film in March. Then I was in post-production for two years. Primarily, because of the length of the picture. Also, for financial reasons.

How much did THE BRUTALIST cost to produce and did the budget cause any issues during post-production?

Corbet: We were continuing to raise money throughout the entire [production] because we actually started the Film with a budget of closer to $8-million. And it really didn’t fit inside of that box. I mean, you know $10-million was really the minimum and the maximum that the market would allow it to be made for…[The budgetary restrictions] mostly just affected our quality of life while we were making the Film. I believe it would have been the same Film [even] if we had an additional one and a half or two million dollars, I really do. But we wouldn’t have had to work seven days a week. We wouldn’t have had to work twenty-hour days. I mean, there was literally one day in the mix that was like twenty-three-hours long…I wouldn’t have wanted more [money] because with more money would have come more voices. More checks, more voices, more people – you know, more cooks in the kitchen.

And for me, when I pick up a novel, I don’t want to read a book that was written by twenty-four people. I certainly don’t want to read a book that was that was written by twenty-four executives at a streamer…A singular vision or singular point of view matters, and it’s something that we should encourage and foster culturally. Audiences actually do speak up. It seems to happen a lot in the world of these superhero films, where people hear about a Director’s Cut and start beating on a drum about it. But in fact, everyone should be beating on a drum for the Director’s Cut of absolutely every film.

The Film has more sexual content than many of its contemporary American brethren. Was that always the case, and has there been any pressure to remove any of it?

Corbet: Well, the Film was finally rated R, but I think it was kind of on the bubble for an NC-17. And you know, I just think it’s preposterous. I don’t know where [this Puritanism] comes from. It’s 2024 for Christ’s sake. And I mean this is how we all got here, so I find it odd to condemn the human body. I mean, you walk around a museum, and you know everyone’s fucking in every single painting.

I think that there’s a few things that are very important for this Film in particular, which is that this Movie is about a character that is trying to reclaim his body of work and about him reclaiming his body. We understand in the first ten minutes that he’s impotent following the war, and that even when he and his wife reconnect, it takes them a long time to physically reconnect. Imagine being away from your partner for seven to ten years – of course it’s like touching a stranger! You don’t know how to interface anymore. And so, it was very important to me to portray two survivors that are trying to reclaim their bodies for themselves again. Because they’ve been used and abused for over a decade at that point in the story. So yeah, I don’t know. I just don’t have…my wife is Norwegian and my in-laws are always skinnydipping and stuff during the holidays. I just I don’t think anything of it. It didn’t even occur to me that this Film might get an NC-17. And I’m very glad that finally it didn’t, because I never would have changed anything anyway. I don’t give a fuck.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

Stay tuned for our full review!

Elevation Pictures release THE BRUTALIST exclusively in Toronto on
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 and throughout Canada starting in January 2025.

Who would’ve known all this beauty was just 90 minutes outside the City? Elora is a true treasure and they have the most charming, festive Christmas Market showcasing local vendors and their artisinal delights – whether it be houseware, ornaments, clothing, food, drink and more!

We had the pleasure of dining at Elora’s finest, the Elora Mill which in a previous life, was a gristmill built in 1832, producing wood, cereal and flour primarily. Today is is a four-star hotel with a scenic view, spa and world-class dining. We are still in awe at the view we took-in. I would definitely come back again just to relax.

At the center of the Christmas Market is a picturesque Greenspace, perfect for photo ops with your loved ones. Needless to say, you really have to visit after sunset for maximum effect.

Such a joy doing a bit of shopping around town. Some of our favourite vendors include TERREBLEU which sells all things lavender. Getting the Instagram generation, there are even aesthetic photos ops inside. DAR’S COUNTY MARKET sells all things local including cured meats, cheeses, jams, snacks and baked goods among others. We couldn’t stop filling our basket. And SEASONS HOME & GIFT was an explosion of Christmas, filled with beautiful handcrafted houseware, gift ideas, confections and condiments. A good excuse to go warm up. These are just a few.

Elora was definitely lit during my visit. The Christmas Market crammed with visitors looking to experience that holiday magic before it is too late.

The Christmas Market runs only till December 29th. More here.

Highlights here:

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 opens with a stellar $70.5 million from 3,761 theatres for Paramount Pictures pre-Christmas weekend. The Series’ best opening belongs to 2022’s SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 with $72.1 million. This installment gets 85% on the Tomatometer.

MUFASA: THE LION KING debuts in second with $38 million from 4,100 theatres for Disney. By contrast, its 2019 predecessor debuted with $191 million. The origins story gets 57% on the Tomatometer.

MOANA 2 gets third $16 million from 3,600 theatres in its fifth weekend, totalling $360 million domestically, for Disney.

Fourth goes to WICKED with $14 million from 3,296 theatres, a total run of $384 million for Universal Pictures.

Angel Studios’ HOMESTEAD gets $5.5 million in its debut from 1,886 theatres. This gets 40% on the Tomatometer.