#TIFF14: “THE CONNECTION”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong Focusing on two Characters, the Officer assigned the task of taking-down Drug Kingpins, Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and the Drug Kingpin Tany Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), The Connection is a rather solid Mafia-versus-Cop Thriller. These two Characters squabble a few times throughout the Film as Tany proves resilient, while Pierre will not rest until Tany is off the streets. The Film shares a striking resemblance to American Gangster - a different ... Read more

#TIFF14: “MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN”

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong Jason Reitman’s sixth feature Men, Women & Children (his second in a row after last year’s Labor Day) revolves around a group of high school students and their parents as they face various struggles in their lives online and off. Men, Women & Children has a lot of potential to be a great Film, and is a genuine, no-nonsense look at how our lives have changed because of the emphasis on  Social Media and the internet. It is a dramatically ... Read more

#TIFF14: “THE COBBLER”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong Thomas McCarthy has written some fantastic movies such as Win Win, and Up and has brought his newest feature, The Cobbler to TIFF this year. Unfortunately the Movie in the third act falls apart. It only feels like a typical McCarthy heartwarming Film, but then falls into uncharted territory in the Third Act. The Movie tries to explain the metaphor of “walk a mile in another man’s shoes” as Max (Adam Sandler) discovers upon his shoe repair ... Read more

#TIFF14: “TEEN LUST”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong Every Film Festival deserves a Movie that relieves of the tension and seriousness of Festival Movies, and delivers outrageous amounts of laughter and joy to no end. These types of Movies are highly recommended as a way to escape the more emotionally-driven Movies. Thankfully, Teen Lust delivers just that and even more as it proves to be the combination of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Superbad. Teen Lust focuses on Neil (Jesse Carere) and his Best ... Read more

#TIFF14: “ELEPHANT SONG”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong Elephant Song focuses on the disappearance of a Psychiatrist, Lawrence (Colm Feore), and the last patient who saw him leave that day, Michael (Xavier Dolan). Michael is known for his trickery and psychological mind games against the Doctors in his sessions so anything is possible in regards to Lawrence’s disappearance. This is where Dr. Green (Bruce Greenwood) becomes involved as he is asked to see Michael to find-out about any information he can ... Read more

#TIFF14: “INFINITELY POLAR BEAR”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong For Writer/Director Maya Forbes, the subject of Mental Illness  in her Films is very different from what she is used to, however she makes it work beyond expectations in Infinitely Polar Bear. Her ability to capture the realism of such a powerful Disease is spellbinding as she truly captures the hardships experienced by its Victims and their Loved Ones. However, her work alone in crafting a magnificent Script only gets accentuated by an extremely ... Read more

#TIFF14: “CUT BANK”

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong While filming an Audition Tape outside of the titular Cut Bank, Montana, Dwayne (Liam Hemsworth) and Cassandra (Teresa Palmer) inadvertently witness a murder. Dwayne shows the tape to Sheriff Vogel (John Malkovich) and await the next move – which may include a $100,000 reward. But circumstances change quickly, and Dwayne quickly realizes he may be in a little over his head. Cut Bank has an intriguing set-up, but after a few fun twists and turns, it ... Read more

#TIFF14: “CUB”

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong Sam (Maurice Luijten) is off with his Cub Scout Troupe on a camping trip in the woods. He is a troubled young boy with no friends and an overactive imagination. His Counselors keep telling the group the tale of Kai, a Monster who kills people in the woods. The Boys laugh it off, but Sam believes it to be the truth. And when he encounters a feral masked Child in the woods, the story may actually be more real than imagined. Clocking in at 85-minutes, ... Read more

#TIFF14: “RED ARMY”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong From Executive Producer Werner Herzog, this Documentary  provides insights on the differences  between the Soviets and the Americans in their training regimes. In this heart-wrenching Story, we learn that anyone playing for the Soviet Team was not allowed to live at home, they had to live on a Training Camp. Aside from the mental anguish that would inflict on anyone it was a proven strategy that worked to win games. However, it desecrated the hope ... Read more

#TIFF14: “GOOD KILL”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong As a Fan of most of Andrew Niccol’s work I can confidently say that Good Kill is a riveting Drama that truly shows the chemistry Niccol and Ethan Hawke possess. The Film focuses on Major Thomas Egan (Ethan Hawke) and his difficulties of being grounded and working as a Drone Pilot who takes down Al-Qaeda through Drones. However when the CIA enlists the help of Egan and his team, Egan’s feelings towards the fight against terror becomes ... Read more