Ten-episode Israeli series VALLEY OF TEARS is coming to Hollywood Suite next month! The Yom Kippur War-set series comes to Canada after raves in the U.S. after its premiere on HBO Max.

Synopsis:

The series is inspired by the true events of the 1973 Yom Kippur War in Israel. Leading up to the ultimate battle, the series follows young combatants thrust into a war that was later revealed could have been avoided by leaders they blindly trusted.

The Series stars Lior Ashkenazi (Foxtrot), Aviv Alush (The Shack), Lee Biran, Shahar Taboch, Joy Rieger, Ofer Hayoun (HBO’s Euphoria), Imri Biton (Just for Today) and Maor Schwitzer (Shtisel).

See the Trailer:

VALLEY OF TEARS premieres Saturday, December 19, 2020 on Hollywood Suite at 9 PM ET.

(Photo/video credit: Hollywood Suite)

Following the critical acclaim of 2017’s GOD’S OWN COUNTRY, Francis Lee returns with AMMONITE which came out of TIFF ’20 with a deafening amount of buzz. The Drama written and directed by Lee, stars Kate Winslet as reputed British Paleontologist Mary Anning. Having made several famous discoveries hunting fossils in her career, wealthy tourist Roderick Murchison (James McArdle) finds Anning and tasks her with taking his wife Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan) under her wing. She accepts reluctantly out of financial need. While the two women have very little in common coming from entirely different worlds, they realize they might just be what the other has been missing.

We had the pleasure of chatting virtually with Lee about AMMONITE, which sees its release now theatrically, as we enter Awards Season.

Lee was drawn to story of Mary Anning in that he sees many parallels between her and him.

Lee: “The thing that struck me was discovering Mary Anning is that here was this working class woman born into a life of poverty with little or no education, in a deeply-patriarchal and class-ridden society. And through her own ingenuity, courage, strength and will to survive, she became one of the leading Paleontologists of her generation. There were just some parallels there to my own life. I’m not saying I’m as brilliant as Mary Anning was at all, but I grew-up working class in very rural Northern Britain and I didn’t have a great education. I always knew from quite an early age I would’ve loved to write, direct or do both couldn’t see how I could get into such a rarified profession. I couldn’t afford film school or know anyone like me who did what I wanted to do. So there were just some subtle parallels there.”.

There’s been a good bit of controversy surrounding AMMONITE. Anning‘s family even has refuted the idea that she ever had been in a relationship with a woman, calling Lee‘s re-imagination of her, “pure Hollywood”. Lee comments about his decision to portray her in a same-sex relationship.

Lee: “I’m very obsessed with intimate human relationships and I like to explore them because I’m still figuring out how to manage them myself. I wanted to bring a relationship into this world of her’s. I wanted to respect and elevate her in a way that hadn’t happened when she was alive because all these men who came to buy her fossils re-appropriated her work for themselves. In this time, men owned women and giving her a relationship with a man wouldn’t feel equal. And of course there never was any evidence that Mary had a relationship with a man, but there was evidence she had friendships with women. So I felt giving her a relationship with a woman felt so much more respectful and equal in that sense.”.

We ask Lee about the importance of “unstraightening Queer History” which is something explored both in GOD’S OWN COUNTRY and AMMONITE.

Lee: “What’s so fascinating about this debate that’s seemed to have happened, which I didn’t quite realize would be such a big debate. It made me look at history, who records it and how they record history. And it led me down the path to think that history is subjective. It is created. It isn’t a science in a sense. It was really interesting to see where there is absolutely no concrete evidence of a same-sex relationship, historians presume heterosexuality when we know people could be gay, lesbian, asexual or bisexual. The lack of investigation or thought of thinking through what an individual or historical figure could have been or experienced I found really fascinating.”.

“What was interesting about AMMONITE is that there was no evidence that Mary ever had a relationship with a man, there was evidence of her having friendships with women. And there are a couple of historical fiction novels about Mary Anning and in one of them, it does suggest she had a relationship with a man and nobody complained. And it did make me really think where we are at in society where we need absolute concrete proof for anything that is not considered to be hetero-normative. I just felt to myself whether it’s about my character’s working class or how they identify with their sexuality, these characters have had their voices taken away from them and we haven’t heard from them.”.

“Queer Histories haven’t been recorded because a lot of the time it’s been hidden, illegal, with big consequences if you identified with the LGBTQ community. Often people from the community don’t have children, so their stories aren’t passed-on generationally. So for me it feels like if I can give voices to people or situations that have been overlooked or neglected, then I’m very happy to do that.”.

We ask about Winslet and Ronan becoming involved the with project.

Lee: “It’s quite a boring story, Will. I thought about who I’d like to be in it. First of all, Kate was top of my list because regardless of what she has been in, there’s always been such a truth and honesty to her performances. She felt like a very natural choice for me. Her agent read the Script and sent it to Kate the same day and said, ‘You have to read this because if you don’t say yes, somebody will take it immediately.’. So Kate came back the next day and said she’d like to do it. Pretty much the same thing happened with Saoirse. She got the Script, read it and rang me up to say she’d like to do it! (laughs) I wish it was more about I was in the supermarket and I bumped into somebody and their wife’s brother’s husband once cleaned for Kate Winslet and sent it to her but it wasn’t like that!”.

“The lovely thing is that this is only my second film. The first movie I did was made for no money whatsoever and not-so-famous actors. Nobody really cared about it when I was making it. What was lovely about this film was getting access to actors who not only are at the top of their game but also are very, very established and famous. And the way in which they wholeheartedly jumped on-board with me and wanted to work with me in a way in which I like to work.”.

Lee elaborates more on how working with Kate Winslet actually got weird.

Lee: “What was brilliant about working with Kate is that we like to work in a similar way. It’s very, very much about research and character building. I worked with Kate four or five months before the shoot one-on-one and we really built this character from scratch from the moment she’s born to the moment we first see her in the Film. We worked through every detail and knew every detail about the Mary we were creating. Kate has a real ability and not every actor does, to really transform herself into being somebody else.”.

“So when we were shooting, I wouldn’t recognize one part of the Kate that I knew in that character. She’s very demonstrative, she’s very physical and she talks with her hands. She’s very open emotionally. One of the things we worked so hard on was stillness, silence and internalized emotion and playing everything with looks, gestures and subtleties. I remember finishing the Film and I hadn’t seen Kate for quite some time because I was in the edits and she was away working. I couldn’t look her in the eye, I couldn’t speak to her because I didn’t know who she was, because of who I’d been looking at for the last eight or nine months was not this person. And I was quite shy. It was difficult to switch from Kate‘s performance as Mary to Kate as a human being. It took me a while to adjust.”.

“The way I see Kate now is in Mary Anning, which is so different from who Kate is. It’s kind of a bit weird. Once on-set, there was a scene she wasn’t in and I was working. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone walking around and looking around. I’m quite private and aware, so I turned to the First Assistant Director and asked ‘Who the fuck is that?’. And he said ‘It’s Kate!’. I literally didn’t recognize her because the only time I’d see her is her as Mary Anning.”.

Following-up on two very well-received films can be a daunting task. We ask Lee what’s next.

Lee: “I am writing and finding writing much slower than normal because of COVID, because I find my focus is a bit allover the place. It’s a bit worrying but I’m getting through it. I can tell you that it is a Horror film exploring the same themes I always obsess about – deep human relationships, landscape and loneliness but hopefully with some hope.”.

Elevation Pictures release AMMONITE, now playing in theatres. It will be available on Premium Digital and On-Demand December 4, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

Rachel Griffiths is back in Amazon Prime Video Series THE WILDS, coming soon! See the new Trailer!

Synopsis:

Part survival drama, part dystopic slumber party, The Wilds follows a group of teen girls from different backgrounds who must fight for survival after a plane crash strands them on a deserted island. The castaways both clash and bond as they learn more about each other, the secrets they keep, and the traumas they’ve all endured. There’s just one twist to this thrilling drama… these girls did not end up on this island by accident. 

The Series stars  Rachel Griffiths, as well as a mix of familiar and fresh faces that include Sophia Ali, ,Shannon Berry, Jenna Clause, Reign Edwards, Mia Healey,  Helena Howard, Erana James, Sarah Pidgeon, David Sullivan, and Troy Winbush. 

See the Trailer:

THE WILDS arrives on Amazon Prime Video Friday, December 11, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Amazon Prime Video)

Great news, Quentin Tarantino fans! The Visionary Filmmaker has just inked a two book deal with HarperCollins, the first book to come out in 2021.

Tarantino debuts Summer 2021 with ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, a Novel which expands upon the characters Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth from his Oscar-winning Film of the same name. The Novel goes back and forward in time. A Hardcover version will be available Fall 2021.

The second book is non-fiction, titled CINEMA SPECULATION. This is said to be a deep dive into the movies of the 1970’s with a mix of essays, reviews, personal writing, and tantalizing “what if’s”.

Artwork:

We can’t wait!

(Photo credit: HarperCollins/Sony Pictures)

Cinéfranco is back in its 23^rd edition later this month! The Festival celebrating French Cinema on a Canadian and international scale runs November 20-November 28, 2020.

For the first time ever, fans across Canada can access the Festival which is available on a digital platform. It is comprised of 17 features, 2 shorts programs, post-screening Conversations, and Panels.

Among the Films to premiere at the Festival this year are:

BELLE FILLE (OPENING NIGHT) – When Louise (Alexandra Lamy) escapes her cheating husband in Corsica for a wild night of passion with a man who ends up dead, she’s mistaken for his secret long-time girlfriend by his fearsome and loving mother played by Miou-Miou.

MONT FOSTER (OPENING NIGHT) –  Chloe (Laurence Leboeuf) and Matthieu (Patrick Hivon) retreat to their country house to reconnect as Chloe’s fragile mental state deteriorates

QUEBEXIT –  When the construction of an interprovincial pipeline results in a successful third Québec sovereignty referendum, a small road at the Québec-New Brunswick border becomes a lightning of conflict between the new Québec military, the Canadian Armed Forces and two indigenous women who cross the border frequently. 

VACARME – Thirteen-year old Émilie placed in a group home is subjected to the bad influence of her roommate and chafes against the strict rules.  Choosing to escape she learns the art of resilience and confidence in this social drama that breaths fresh air to the theme of children under youth protection.

NADINE BUTTERFLY (CLOSING NIGHT) – Olympian Katerine Savard stars as Nadia, who decides to retire from pro swimming after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to escape a rigid life of sacrifice.

Our George Kozera had the pleasure of previewing some of the Festival’s key titles. Some of his favourites below.

BELLE FILLE

What does a woman do when not only does she finds out that her husband is having an affair, she also has a hugs fight with her rebellious teenaged daughter who want to play house with an older guy? In Cinéfranco’s opening night film, BELLE FILLE, Louise (a luminous Alexandra Lamy) leaves her home and flies to Corsica, where she meets hunk-du-jour, Florent (Thomas Dutronc who also composed this Movie’s Score). Their initial meeting and shared dinner turns into an alcohol and drug-fuelled, sexually-uninhibited raucous and rambunctious night. In the morning, Louise is very hungover and Florent is very, very dead. Not only is the detective assigned to the case Florent’s brother Anto (a wonderful low-key performance from Jonathan Zaccai), the boys’ mother Andrea (French megastar Miou-Miou) is convinced that Louise is Florent’s fiancée.

Director Meliane Marcaggi skillfully keeps this comedy of errors moving briskly and believably while incorporating the stunning vistas of Corsica and its countryside and keeping maudlin sentimentality to a bare minimum. BELLE FILLE is a joyous romp. Bravo!

LA BELLE EPOQUE

If you missed this critically-acclaimed and audience favourite at TIFF ’19, here’s your chance to bask in the glory that is LA BELLE EPOQUE. It is a high-concept Comedy about revisiting one’s glory days. Time Travellers is a service that immerses clients in whatever moment they wish to to relive, whether it be historical, fantasy or personal. Long-time married couple Victor and Marianne (the legendary Daniel Auteuil and Fanny Ardant) have reached the end of the rope and separate. Victor decides to use Time Travellers, run with dictatorial fervour by Antoine (an excellent Guillaume Canet) to return to Lyons 1974 when he first met Marianne, who will be played by actress for hire Margo (Doria Tllier).

LA BELLE EPOQUE is fiercely original and tackles a myriad of themes and topics with insight, humour and intelligence. Does love prevail? Do daily technological advances help or hinder or overwhelm us and stifle our innate creativities? I enjoyed LA BEEL EPOQUE equally, if not more, the second time around.

LA BELLE EPOUSE

Set in the late ’60s when Paris was rocked by students uprising and revolution was thick in the air, there were still schools in smaller towns that focused singularly on turning young teenaged girls into the perfect, subservient wife. One such institution is run by Paulette Van De Beck (Juliette Binoche), her sister-in-law Gilberte (Yolande Moreau) and Marie-Therese (Noemie Lvovsky) who happens to a nun. LA BELLE EPOUSE (HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE) is a Comedy rife with Sapphic alliances, death by asphyxiation, re-establishing bygone love affairs, some fun recipe ideas, tips on how to be the perfect wife if you lived the decade of “Leave it to Beaver”, rifle-toting nuns and even a choreographed song and dance routine. One rarely sees Binoche’s fun freak flag fly and watching her immerse herself into this outlandish character is enjoyable.

ENORME

In ENORME, Claire (Marina Fors) is a world class concert pianist whose career is managed by her husband Fred (Jonathan Cohen). Claire is even more self-absorbed than she is talented to the point that Fred offers to take her debit card to buy himself a birthday present from her as she forgot his 40^th birthday. Happily childless, Fred’s paternal instincts furiously ignite after participating in an emergency childbirth on a plane. After substituting Claire’s birth control pills and sweeteners until the day his dream and her nightmare come through…she’s pregnant!

Unlike the French, I have never been a fan of the Jerry Lewis style of Slapstick Comedy, but I was completely invested in this zany and madcap film. Fors and (especially) Cohen’s comedic timing are sheer gold.

NADIA, BUTTERFLY

The Closing Night film, NADIA, BUTTERFLY is Quebec director Pascal Plante’s unique rendition of the lives of Olympic athletes. Starring real-life Olympian Katherine Savard as Nadia is a detailed account of her last days swimming at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as she plans to retire from competitive swimming immediately afterwards. The swim meets are thrilling to watch and it must be ingrained in us to rot for the Canadian teams even if the competition is fictitious! Plante’s strength is that he doesn’t paint these young athletes as boring with only one goal in mind. They are also young party people who swig from tequila bottles, take drugs and have indiscriminate sex. Though a few scenes go on way too long (did we realize have to watch two characters lip synch to Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” in its entirety?), when his camera concentrates of the faces of these young people as they face their future with doubt and uncertainties, NADIA, BUTTERFLY succeeds.

More on the Festival including tickets here.

(Photo credit: Cinéfranco)

We had nothing but raves for Martin Scorcese-produced PIECES OF A WOMAN coming out of TIFF ’20 and we’re so excited to share with you this Trailer! Witness Vanessa Kirby’s Best Actress-winning performance from the Venice Film Festival.

Synopsis:

Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (Shia LaBeouf) are a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change irrevocably when a home birth ends in unimaginable tragedy. Thus begins a yearlong odyssey for Martha, who must navigate her grief while working through fractious relationships with Sean and her domineering mother (Ellen Burstyn), along with the publicly vilified midwife (Molly Parker), whom she must face in court. Directed by Kornél Mundruczó (WHITE GOD, winner of the 2014 Prix Un Certain Regard Award), written by Kata Wéber, and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, PIECES OF A WOMAN is a deeply personal, searing, and ultimately transcendent story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.

Trailer:

PIECES OF A WOMAN arrives in theatres December 30, 2020 and on Netflix January 7, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Jack O’Connell and Charlie Hunnam star in JUNGLELAND. Enter for your chance to win a Digital Download code.

Synopsis:

Produced by Romulus Entertainment in association with Scott Free Productions and Big Red Films, and directed and co-written by Max Winkler (Flower), JUNGLELAND is a love story between two brothers whose bond is tested as they hustle and scrape towards their slice of the American Dream. Stanley (Charlie Hunnam, “Sons of Anarchy”) and Lion (Jack O’Connell, Unbroken) are brothers struggling to stay relevant in the underground world of bare-knuckle boxing. When Stanley fails to pay back a dangerous crime boss (Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”), they’re forced to deliver an unexpected traveler (Jessica Barden, “The End of the F***ing World”) as they journey across the country for a high stakes fighting tournament. While Stanley trains Lion for the fight of his life, a series of events threaten to tear the brothers apart, but their love for one another and belief in a better life keep them going in this gripping drama that proves family pulls no punches.

See the Trailer:

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Re-Tweet this Contest Tweet for another chance:

Rules and regulations here.

JUNGLELAND is available now on Digital and On-Demand.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures)

This hits all the right feels! Not sure if you’ve seen this yet, but Taika Waititi collaborates with Coca-Cola for this outstanding TV Spot for the soft drink maker in time for the Holidays! A father at working at sea is tasked with delivering a letter to Santa for Christmas and he goes to great lengths to get it to him. Tissue, please. A two-minute emotional triumph!

See the Ad:

Disney+‘s powerful and moving Drama SAFETY arrives next month. Here’s your first look.

Synopsis:

“Safety” is inspired by the empowering true story of former Clemson University football safety Ray McElrathbey, a young man facing a series of challenging circumstances, whose dedication and persistence help him to triumph over repeated adversities. Aided by his teammates and the Clemson community, he succeeds on the field while simultaneously raising and caring for his 11-year-old brother Fahmarr.  “Safety” will debut exclusively on Disney+ on Friday, December 11, 2020.

See the Trailer:

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

Toronto, are you ever in for a treat! World-travelling and award-winning immersive exhibit Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.: The Experience is arriving sooner than you think! It has just been confirmed after a tease last month that it will run November 20, 2020 until January 31, 2021 at Yorkdale Shopping Centre!

We had the pleasure of previewing the 25,000 square foot space devoted entirely to the fandom of Marvel’s Avengers, but not only this – it gives fans, no matter what age, a coveted chance to experience what it’s like to be a member of the Avengers team! Agents all come in with their own individual personas and their own specialities, so this is really all about you!

Safety is everyone’s top concern right now. Guest Experience Manager Mark Fraser-Davidson tells us, “The Toronto exhibit has been built specifically with COVID-19 in mind”. They have had to get creative in putting together contact-free ways to interact, with frequent sanitation (yes, we saw “Hulk Serum” sanitizer), boosted ventilation and social distancing measures in place. Guests are advised still to practice and observe COVID-19 safety protocols when attending.

The dazzling display contains individual rooms devoted to some of our favourite Avengers including Iron Man (you have an opportunity to transform into him!), Hulk, Captain America, Thor and a Toronto-exclusive in Black Panther, as we commemorate the late Chadwick Boseman. Actual set pieces, models and costumes are enclosed behind glass, and we learned that the latter’s costume is valued at $40k! Even Supervillain Thanos is paid tribute to here with his own section. Actors are present to send us on and guide us through our mission, for an even more heightened experience.

See some of our Snaps from start to finish!

IRON MAN

HULK

CAPTAIN AMERICA

BLACK PANTHER

THOR

MORE COOL STUFF!

We learned that a cap of 40 people will be allowed in every 15 minutes, with a space so large that up to 1,500 people can be accommodated at the exhibit.

Guests have three ticketing options:

General – you must attend at a set time slot.

Flexi – you have a two hour window in which you can enjoy the experience.

VIP – you get increased flexibility with the ability to change your time, with a green screen print of yourself with The Avengers, a VIP Poster and a lanyard.

The Exhibit which can run you between an hour to 90 minutes, also has a retail space with a variety of Avengers merchandise, from figurines to face masks. We learned that clothier Roots and the Exhibit also will collaborate for some special limited edition pieces as well!

It is located directly across from the LEGO store and if you are driving, it is best to park around Shopper’s Drug Mart.

Learn more about Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.: The Experience here.

See what people are saying on the Hashtag #AvengersStationCanada!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong/Mark Fraser–Davidson)