#REVIEW: “THE NIGHT BEFORE”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Since the sudden death of Ethan’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) parents around the holidays, his friends Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have taken him out each Christmas Eve for one drunken and drug-fueled party after another. After 14 years, the group decide they will stop the yearly tradition and go out with a bang. And with tickets to a mysterious holiday party in hand, anything can happen along the way.
I initially wanted to describe ...
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#REVIEW: “THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 2”
After some record-setting success, The Hunger Games franchise closes-out with Mockingjay, Part 2. Despite the promise of a dramatic finish, we get a few surprises in this finale which is equal parts emotional as it is action-packed.
Picking-up where Mockingjay, Part 1 leaves off, we see Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) on a mission to kill President Snow (Donald Sutherland) after countless lives are destroyed and lost under his rule. It won't be an easy task though as she and her allies are ...
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#REVIEW: “JESSICA JONES”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
Marvel’s latest television expansion comes to us through Netflix with Marvel's Jessica Jones and excels past any and all expectations. Earlier this year we were delighted with Daredevil, which set a high bar for upcoming Marvel television shows, and surely enough Marvel's Jessica Jones takes that steps it up another notch.
With the show starting off on a slow burn that progressively gets better with each episode, it is the performances by ...
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#REVIEW: “BROOKLYN”
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) departs Ireland and her sister and her mother for 1950s Brooklyn. When she arrives homesickness quickly wraps around her. Those shackles of homesickness start to diminish when she meets Tony (Emory Cohen). They begin their romance and Eilis starts seeing Brooklyn as home. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by a call from home, and she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.
It’s a complex ...
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#REVIEW: “SECRET IN THEIR EYES”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
From writer/director Billy Ray (Flight Plan, Breach, Hunger Games, and Captain Phillips) comes a remake of the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film from 2009, Secret in their Eyes. The Movie switches between present day and early 2000s centering on the hunt to find the man who killed Jess' (Julia Roberts) daughter. This slowly-paced methodical drama delivers on almost all fronts, but with slight bit more clarity and more utilization ...
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#REVIEW: “THE 33”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
Five years ago, 33 Chilean miners had the tragic misfortune of getting trapped in the San José Mine for 69 days. The 33 details their stories and inspiring, miraculous escape. The Movie balances the necessary melodrama given the circumstances, with strong performances, particularly its leading man.
The 33 focuses on Mario (Antonio Banderas), Don Lucho (Lou Diamond Phillips) and their 31 colleagues whom go on one of their many mining adventures for ...
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#REVIEW: “BY THE SEA”
With names like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on a project, it is impossible to ignore the bright glare of their star power. Jolie's latest directorial effort By the Sea follows a couple, Roland (Pitt) and Vanessa (Jolie) who retreat to the scenic French waterside as Roland, who is experiencing writers' block after meteoric success with his earlier work, looks to complete work on his next novel.
Relations between the couple are tense and words are sparse as Roland delves into his writing, ...
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#REVIEW: “SPECTRE”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
An unsanctioned debacle during a Mexican Day of the Dead ceremony leaves James Bond (Daniel Craig) benched and removed from the field indefinitely. But he has other plans – quickly taking up a search for a shadowy organization who have been orchestrating various global terrorist attacks. He is encouraged to let it go, but as he learns more, Bond realizes he may have old ties to the group’s leader.
While Skyfall was a tightly-wound masterpiece, ...
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#REVIEW: “HEIST”
Set in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Heist from British Filmmaker Scott Mann, is a Crime Thriller centered on Luke Vaughn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who amidst financial struggle is unable to pay for his daughter's life-saving surgery. With former ties to a casino owner, known as The Pope (Robert DeNiro), he goes back for a final favour but is denied the financial help he so desperately needs. He and his partner Cox (Dave Bautista) then devise a plan to rob The Pope and things take a great turn when ...
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#REVIEW: “THE PEANUTS MOVIE”
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
The animation is different in The Peanuts Movie, but the beloved characters are the same.
Life is always complicated for TV-Charlie Brown and it still is for Film-Charlie Brown. When the Little Red-Haired Girl becomes the new student in his class and moves into his neighbourhood, Charlie Brown finds himself smitten with her. He’s hoping that getting her to notice him is easier than flying a kite, which he still can’t seem to accomplish. As he ...
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