SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY tells the competition, landing at the top spot this weekend at the Box Office with $92.6 million Friday to Sunday. The Disney release plays in 4,381 theatres this U.S. Memorial Day weekend. While Critics were lukewarm on it giving it 71% on the Tomatometer, it maintains its standing with Audiences getting an A- CinemaScore. This places this installment in the Franchise as the fifth-highest opening for a Star Wars Film. The top spot still belongs to 2015’s The Force Awakens with $247 million.
In second is DEADPOOL 2 with $41.2 million from 4,349 theatres for a two-week tally of $216 million for 20th Century Fox.
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR finds itself in third with $15.3 million in its fifth week, a total $624 million grossed to-date for Marvel/Disney.
BOOK CLUB is in fourth with $9.6 million, by no means disgraced considering the company it is in for Paramount Pictures, a total $34.6 million in two weeks.
LIFE OF THE PARTY is in fifth for Warner Bros. with $4.9 million, a total $40.2 million.
RBG rounds-out the Top Ten with $1.2 million from 415 theatres for Mongrel Media/Magnolia Pictures, a four week total of $5.7 million.
We can’t get enough Christopher Robin! Disney unveiled the new Trailer on ELLEN earlier today for the charming Adventure starring Ewan McGregor and Hayley Atwell.
Synopsis:
In the heartwarming live action adventure Disney’s “Christopher Robin,” the young boy who shared countless adventures with his band of lovable stuffed animals in the Hundred Acre Wood is now grown up and living in London but he has lost his way. Now it is up to his childhood friends to venture into our world and help Christopher Robin rediscover the joys of family life, the value of friendship and to appreciate the simple pleasures in life once again.
See the Trailer:
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release CHRISTOPHER ROBIN, coming soon!
(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)
In celebration of YouTube‘s upcoming streaming service launch in Canada, YOUTUBE MUSIC, the Country’s biggest stars in Music stepped-out at Rebel Night Club by Toronto’s waterfront to celebrate the occasion! Hosted by our v. own Lilly Singh, who has found meteoric international success as a YouTube star-turned-Entrepreneur, the packed house including a mixture of ad buyers, Music industry and contest winners.
The audience was treated to three-plus hours of genre-spanning Music including hot musical acts like Brett Kissel, Roy Woods, DVSN, Jessie Reyez, Johnny Orlando, The Glorious Sons, Charlotte Cardin, Scott Helman and headliner, Daniel Caesar. PartyNextDoor originally was to appear but had cancelled unfortunately, although the audience was more than delighted with the evening’s offerings.
Singh along with fellow YouTube personality Humble the Poet, unveiled her new puppy who sat patiently waiting on his mommy at the event with a handler. Singh tells the audience “This was the best decision I ever made”, own taking-on pet ownership. As a tribute to her hometown, she named the puppy “Scarborough” and he is adorable, being hoisted in the air without flinching to feverish cell phone snaps from the sea of adorers.
See some highlights of the night, which as touted truly was unforgettable!
Jessie Reyez
Lilly Singh x Scarborough
Daniel Caesar
“Daniel’s Caesar” – one of the Evening’s official cocktails
Roy Woods
Jazz Cartier
Brett Emmons, The Glorious Sons
Charlotte Cardin
Brett Kissel
DVSN
KRNFX
Jenna Walker, The Reklaws
Sign-up for updates on YouTube Music Canada here.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
It’s only been a few months since we lived and loved the beautiful journey that was Netflix‘s QUEER EYE Reboot. You’ll be pleased to know new episodes are on the way and sooner than you think. We can’t wait to reconnect with our fave FAB FIVE!
Synopsis:
It’s been fifteen years since the Emmy Award-winning series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy revolutionized reality television. The series returned to Netflix in 2018 going global and introducing audiences around the world to a modern aesthetic, diverse perspectives and a brand new Fab Five: Antoni Porowski (Food & Wine),Bobby Berk (Interior Design), Karamo Brown (Culture), Jonathan Van Ness (Grooming) and Tan France (Fashion). This season, the Queer Eye Fab Five return to the Georgia heartland, forging connections with communities from a wide array of backgrounds and beliefs often contrary to their own, touching on everything from self-love and faith, to immigration and how to make the perfect homemade Poké bowls and more!
Did they say Poké bowls???
Artwork:
Don’t forget to check-out the official QUEER EYE Site here.
QUEER EYE Season Two launches globally on Netflix Friday, June 15, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to take Toronto, Vancouver + Montreal Readers a chance to see WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? Screenings take place Wednesday, June 6, 2018 in Toronto and in Vancouver and Montreal on Monday, June 11, 2018.
Synopsis:
From Academy Award® -winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom), Won’t You Be My Neighbor? takes an intimate look at America’s favorite neighbor: Mister Fred Rogers. A portrait of a man whom we all think we know, this emotional and moving film takes us beyond the zip-up cardigans and the land of make-believe, and into the heart of a creative genius who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination.
See the Trailer:
Artwork:
To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate for us your City. Tell us what Mr. Rogers means to you!
Universal Pictures Canada release WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? in Toronto Friday, June 8, 2018 and in Vancouver and Montreal Friday, June 15, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)
By David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
“I wanted the Film to feel evil.”
It is a rather innocuous quote, but one that perfectly describes the aura around Ari Aster’s critically-acclaimed Film Hereditary. The first-time feature Writer/Director has received unanimous praise out of both Sundance and SXSW for his Tale of a grieving family who, in the wake of their matriarch’s death, discover nightmarish secrets relating to their ancestry. Aster presented the Film at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Wednesday evening – the first Canadian public screening – and followed with a Q&A with the George Stroumboulopoulos.
And when your Film is being touted on posters as the “scariest Film since The Exorcist”, you know the audience is in for something special.
The less said about the shocks and surprises found within Hereditary, the better. For Aster, he just wanted to “make a Movie about grief and trauma.” But having watched various Oscar-type movies during his schooling at AFI and Sundance, he knew he had to make something more unique and outside the box: “It’s in me to see [those kinds of movies] and think, what’s the worst thing I can do here?” He doubled down by suggesting the whole point of Hereditary was to “make a Film that didn’t let people off the hook” for what they were involved with, suggesting not so-subtly that “everything that’s coming is inevitable.”
Another important element of Aster’s discussion with Strombo was regarding the Film’s Sound Design. Much of the sounds came directly off the pages of Aster’s Script, but his Sound Team was determined to use them in radically different ways. “We played a lot with using different speakers,” Aster says, using them to express not just the sounds on-screen, but the different emotions and feelings of the characters. He stressed that some effects – including mouth clicking that becomes progressively more horrifying – were designed to be “played in different parts of the room” at all times. As Aster recalled, listening on a conventional stereo system completely ruined the terrifying effects he was going for (and in turn, Colin Stetson’s enigmatic Score), remarking that he “wanted this sub base thing that you feel in your guts more than you hear it.”
But no matter where the conversation went (including a brief mention of how proud he was of Lead Actress Toni Collette’s “kamikaze” performance), Aster kept circling back to the feeling he was trying to evoke through every twisted frame of Hereditary. “I wanted to test your patience,” he told the packed audience, noting that “As the [characters] were suffering, the Movie is smiling.” And while he describes the Film as “sinister” and “mean-spirited”, he continues to be both shocked and delighted at the acclaim the Film keeps receiving – he just assumed he was “making a really alienating movie that made people feel bad.”
I will save my full thoughts on Hereditary for my upcoming Review but will note that I do not remember the last time I was so unsettled and unnerved watching a Movie. So skip the Trailers and start mentally preparing yourself – you will not want to miss out on this future Horror classic.
Elevation Pictures release HEREDITARY on June 8, 2018.
(Photo credit: David Baldwin)
Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to attend an Advance Screening of SKYSCRAPER starring Dwayne Johnson! Screenings take place Wednesday, July 11, 2018 in TORONTO, MONTREAL, CALGARY, VANCOUVER, EDMONTON. Venues as follows:
TORONTO WEDNESDAY JULY 11 7:00 PM Cineplex Yonge Dundas
MONTREAL WEDNESDAY JULY 11 7:00 PM Cinema Banque Scotia
VANCOUVER WEDNESDAY JULY 11 7:00 PM Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver
EDMONTON WEDNESDAY JULY 11 7:00 PM Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton
CALGARY WEDNESDAY JULY 11 7:00 PM Scotiabank Theatre Chinook
Synopsis:
3,500 FEET. 240 STORIES. THIS SUMMER, THE WORLD’S TALLEST BUILDING… GETS ROCKED. UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES PRESENT DWAYNE JOHNSON IN THE BIGGEST ADVENTURE OF THE YEAR! SKYSCRAPER. IN THEATRES AND REAL-D 3D JULY 13TH.
See the Trailer:
Artwork:
To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate your City. Tell us in the comments one time you got accused of something you didn’t do! Click “share” from there for an extra chance or Re-Tweet this Contest Post from @mrwillw on Twitter.
Universal Pictures Canada release SKYSCRAPER Friday, July 13, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures)
Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to attend an Advance Screening of MAMMA MA! HERE WE GO AGAIN! Screenings take place Wednesday, July 18, 2018 in the following cities:
TORONTO PROMO confirmed at Cineplex Yonge & Eglinton Wednesday, July 18th at 7:00PM
MONTREAL PROMO confirmed at Cineplex Montreal Forum Wednesday, July 18th at 7:00PM
VANCOUVER PROMO confirmed at Cineplex International Village Wednesday, July 18th at 7:00PM
CALGARY PROMO confirmed at Cineplex Sunridge Spectrum Wednesday, July 18th at 7:00PM
OTTAWA PROMO confirmed at Cineplex Landsdowne &VIP Wednesday, July 18th at 7:00PM
Synopsis:
YOU CAN DANCE. YOU CAN JIVE. HAVING THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE AT THE FEEL-GOOD MOVIE OF THE SUMMER!
UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN. THE PARTY BEGINS JULY 20TH.
See the Trailer:
Artwork:
To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate there your City. In the comments, tell us your favourite ABBA song! Click “share” on this Post from there for an extra chance or Re-Tweet this Contest Post from @mrwillw on Twitter!
Universal Pictures Canada release MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN Friday, July 20, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)
Running May 24 to June 3, 2018 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, the INSIDE OUT LGBT FILM FESTIVAL is set to kick-off! Several high-profile Films set to premiere at the Festival including Opening Night Gala A KID LIKE JAKE starring Jim Parsons and Claire Danes, HEARTS BEAT LOUD starring Kiersey Clemmons and Nick Offerman and THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST for which Chloë Grace Moretz won Best Actress at Sundance earlier this year. Hotly-tipped also is HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman, which will see a digital release in early June.
Our Team preview for you some of the Festival’s most-talked-about titles and we will be providing you updates on some of these as the Festival commences!
In the meantime, here are some hidden treasures at Inside Out:
A MOMENT IN THE REEDS
Review by George Kozera
A MOMENT IN THE REEDS opens with Leevi (Jaume Puustinen) in a car with his father Jouko (Mika Melender) driving through the Finnish countryside. The emotional estrangement between the two is palpable. Leevi just arrived from Paris, where he is studying literature, to help renovate the family lake house and pointedly deflects the questions from his dad about his life and living arrangements. Arriving at the cottage, Leevi learns that his father hired a handyman to help with the renovations. A foreigner. Fortuitously, Tareeq (Boodi Kabbani) arrives, and whereas he cannot speak Finnish, his carpentry skills far outweigh Leevi’s and the father and son communicate with him in English.
When the father is called away on business, the two young men bond while working together, then drinking beers in the sauna and on the porch afterwards. The attraction between them is tangible and intense and they eventually wind up in bed together.
Whereas the plot of A MOMENT IN THE REEDS is somewhat derivative of many gay-themed dramas, the romance between Leevi and Tareeq is realized exquisitely with moments of sensuality coupled with revelations shared (Tareeq’s struggles with being a Syrian refugee living in Finland and Leevi’s emotions dealing with his dead mother). Billed as the first LGBT Romance from Finland, Writer/Director Mikko Makela fashioned a beautifully-accomplished, emotionally involving Movie. Kudos.
A MOMENT IN THE REEDS plays at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, June 3, 2018, 4:45 pm
HURLEY
Review by Justin Waldman
Derek Dodge’s Documentary Hurley focuses on racecar legend Hurley Haywood, and his struggles with being gay in such a “macho” sport. The Documentary focuses on Hurley’s career as well as his relationship with Peter Gregg on and potentially off the racetrack. This also serves as Hurley Haywood’s official ‘coming-out’, as he was worried that doing so would dampen his career and he would not be accepted by the racing world.
This is a Sports Documentary with an LGBTQ underbelly. It focuses more on Haywood’s career than it does his personal life and relationships. However, when it does get into his personal life and relationships it becomes a beautiful story of courage and acceptance and shows that sometimes in life being who you want to be is harder than it should have to be.
Hurley is an eye-opening examinayion about his career and the toxic masculinity that surrounded the sport in the ’70s and arguably even today, and the love that is shared between his partner and himself for being able to overcome the adversary that is Motorsport.
Hurley screens at Inside Out on Monday May 28, 2018 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, 7 pm.
GRIMSEY
Review by George Kozera
Bearded hunky Spaniard Bruno (Richard Garcia) arrives in Reykjavik, Iceland to look for his companion, Norberto, who left him without any explanation. While waiting for any kind of information from the police, his sister tells him to meet up with another ex-pat Spaniard, Arnau (Raul Portero) while there. Thus begins GRIMSEY, a journey around Iceland about a man looking for answers and/or closure.
Arnau, a tour guide, meets up with Bruno who is somewhat rude to him. When Bruno is told by the police that Norberto was last seen in a little town of Vik, he phones Arnau to apologize for his behaviour earlier and tells him he’s on his way to the small town north of Reykjavik to continue his quest. Suspension of disbelief number one: who shows at Bruno’s rental seconds before he leaves? Arnau. (How did he find Bruno and how did he know which car rental he was at?)
Arriving in Vik, only to be told that Norberto left three weeks prior heading further north, suspension of disbelief number two occurs: they meet another ex-pat gay couple from Spain who actually met and dined with Norberto. Back in the car. Scene after endless scene where we hear Bruno’s messages to Norberto which include pearls like “I feel my heart as a hotel. A hotel that you can leave without saying goodbye” and confessing that he was always a terrible travel companion with him and had been unfaithful. (No wonder Norberto ran away without a trace). We also hear Arnau’s messages to an ex-boyfriend which also doesn’t paint him in a positive light.
As a Road Trip Movie, GRIMSEY is endlessly fascinating. Iceland is a country rich in diverse landscapes and the cities they stop at are picturesque. The real star of this Movie is the beauty of Reykjavik. Written and directed by the two leads, as a narrative this Film is a bit lagging with scenes lasting longer than they should or have touches that suggest that GRIMSEY perhaps veers a bit to much to vanity rather than substance.
GRIMSEY plays at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, May 25, 2018, 7:15 pm.
OCTAVIO IS DEAD!
Review by George Kozera
In OCATVIO IS DEAD!, Tyler (Sarah Gadon) just lost her job when she finds out the father she never met had passed away and she is the sole beneficiary of his estate. Her mother Joan (played in full throttle eccentric mode by Rosanna Arquette) sees this as an opportunity to stop her years’ long medical insurance fraud and sponge off her daughter but Tyler decides to run away in the middle of the night and go to her father, Octavio’s (Raoul Trujillo), house to learn more about the man she knew nothing about. Thus begins Canadian Writer/Director Sook-Yin Lee’s atmospheric new Drama.
While rummaging through her father’s belongings in his filth-covered, book-lined apartment, Octavio appears to her in the form of a ghost. She also finds a photo of him besides a handsome young man, who she ultimately finds working at a gentleman’s club. To gain access to the facility, she lops off her hair, puts on her daddy’s suit, shirt and ties and successfully meets Apostolis (Dimitris Kitsos). They immediately bond and, consequently, secrets are revealed.
Sarah Gadon (Alias Grace), looking very much like and channeling a young Angelina Jolie, gives a compelling performance as Tyler, however unbelievable she looked and acted as a guy. It is accomplished and interesting. Best known for her work on Much Music, CBC Radio and in Film (Shortbus), Sook-Yin Lee’s writing and directing seem to be influenced strongly by David Lynch. Trying to combine supernatural elements with grotesque secondary characters and surreal imagery doesn’t always work in her favour but it doesn’t fail her vision either. Kitsos has very little to do but look pretty and be half-naked and Trujillo provides menace, tinged with sadness.
OCTAVIO IS DEAD! may be overreaching at times, but it is rarely uninteresting. It plays at TIFF Bell Lightbox on June 2, 2018 at 9:15 pm.
M/M
Review by George Kozera
In Ryerson University graduate, Drew Lint’s, feature length debut, M/M, this Writer/Director takes us deep inside a world of sexual and psychological obsession to a techno beat and rhythm. Golden-haired Matthew (Antoine Lahaie) recently moved to Berlin from Montreal. His is a lonely existence, made even more untenable with occurring dreams of statues staring at him. While at his job working at an indoor swimming pool facility, he gets a message on his cellphone, via a gay dating app, from Matthias (Nicolas Maxim Edlicher), seductively lounging across from him. Whereas nothing happens after that first communication, Matthew follows Matthias where he watches him shower, then trails him all the way to his apartment where he sees him in a sexual embrace with another guy. The obsession with the sexually voracious Matthias intensifies to not only stalking him but to Matthew changing the way he looks and dresses to mirror Matthias. When Matthias is hospitalized in a coma after a motorcycle accident, Matthew moves into his apartment and starts to live his life as Matthias does. Is it no surprise they share the same name; are they, in essence, the same person?
M/M is the most visually impressive directorial Feature Film debut I’ve seen since Kogonada’s Columbus. Drew Lint masters colours and textures seamlessly and breathtakingly. His use of whites and grays delights as does the occasional use of computer graphics. His storytelling is also impressive as it concisely encompasses many themes: loneliness, sexuality, the Social Media, art as a commodity. There are moments in the Movie that go on a bit too long or add nothing to the narrative but that can be attributed to a first-timer throwing all that he can to stimulate the senses.
M/M is a provocative, atmospheric and fascinating. Drew Lint is a name to remember and follow.
M/M plays at the TIFF Bell Lightbox May 30, 2018 at 9:15 pm
More on tickets and schedule here!
We are super-excited about Toronto’s own Jessie Reyez and have been following her on her rise over the past couple years closely. The Singer-Songwriter who hails from Brampton, has seen a significant boost in her profile beginning with her soulful and minimalistic radio staple Figures, which has been a mainstay since 2016. Rarely with a moment to rest, Reyez has been busy balancing the recording of her forthcoming debut Disc with strategic planning and performances on both sides of the Atlantic. Finally we got to meet this brilliant young woman whom we are touting as Music’s next major force!
Hot off the release of new Single Body Count, which is a cut from the same cloth as Figures with a sassy punch, Reyez visited Times Square in New York City yesterday, posing in front several LED Billboards advertising her new Single on Spotify! Prior to that the JUNO Award winner was in L.A working on some new Music and even did a Q&A with fellow Torontonan Lilly Singh too!
We are overjoyed we got to meet Reyez finally who is everything we thought she would be, embracing us with a hug in appreciation of our support. We asked her how far along her Album is and she assures us it’s almost done. She tells us, “The thing is I recorded like 200 songs for it and now I’ve got to narrow it down.”. I asked if her first few Singles will be on it, although she still isn’t sure if she will include Greater One and Figures on it. Either way, we are so buying it!
If you haven’t checked-out Body Count‘s Salem Witch Hunt-inspired Video, you can do so here:
In case you aren’t up to speed on Reyez‘s amazing Music and compelling vocals, check it out below:
GREATER ONE
FIGURES
We’ll be seeing Reyez again in a couple days and we’re so stoked! More to come!
See our Snaps!
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Universal Music)
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