#REVIEW: “OUR FRIEND”
By Mr. Will Wong
Despite some delays, we finally see Gabriela Cowperthwaite's OUR FRIEND (formerly titled The Friend) get its release. The Dramedy based on an autobiographical essay by Matthew Teague that appeared 2015 in Esquire Magazine, premiered at TIFF '19 to warm reception. Featured are a trio of sympathetic performances from stars Casey Affleck. Dakota Johnson and Jason Segel.
After Nicole (Johnson) is diagnosed with Cancer, we see her and husband Matthew (Affleck) try to prepare for ...
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#REVIEW: “THE 2ND”
By Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
Sometimes we watch a movie and think to ourselves, “what ever happened to them?” and then they appear in movies like The 2nd. It is a "C" Action Film at best, with a lot of ridiculous action pieces, dialogue, and twists. The one positive thing it has going for it is a tight ninety-three minute running time packed with action that makes it short enough to be entertaining.
Shawn (Jack Griffo) and Erin (Lexi Simonsen) are the last ones at their boarding ...
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#REVIEW: “THE WHITE TIGER”
By Mr. Will Wong
Based on Aravind Adiga's best-selling and award-winning 2008 Novel, THE WHITE TIGER gets a film adaptation under Writer/Director Ramin Bahrani (Fahrenheit 451). And fans of the Novel should be delighted by this telling of the rags-to-riches story which recalls Balram's (Adarsh Gourav) rise from a poverty to becoming his own master - a chicken that escapes the coop, a rare animal like the titular animal this story is named.
It all begins with Balman joining his master Ashok ...
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#FIRSTLOOK: “LOVE SARAH”
By Mr. Will Wong
Eliza Schroeder makes her feature directorial debut in LOVE SARAH and if you love sweets and light-hearted Romance, this is for you.
The Film centers a young woman named Clarissa (Shannon Tarbet) who loses her mother Sarah prematurely. Just before her death, her mother was just about to launch a bakery in Notting Hill with her best friend Isabella (Shelley Conn). Clarissa convinces her grandmother Mimi (Celia Imrie) to join together with Isabella in hopes of continuing her ...
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#REVIEW: “PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN”
By Mr. Will Wong
Actress Emerald Fennell makes her directorial debut in PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, which made a huge splash at Sundance. While the Pandemic has continued to delay its release, it proves well worth the wait as it arrives on-demand just as we get into the thick of awards season. And a contender this is.
The twisty Black Comedy centers on Cassie (Carey Mulligan), a young woman whom after some time in med school, drops-out after experiencing some trauma, resulting in the loss of her ...
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#REVIEW: “WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS”
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
During his senior year, Adam (Charlie Plummer) has an incident at school which leads to him be expelled and diagnosed with Schizophrenia. With limited school choices, his mother Beth (Molly Parker) enrols her faith-questioning son into a Catholic school. It’s there that Adam makes the choice to keep his illness a secret. However, his walls begin coming down when he falls for Maya (Taylor Russell).
Depicting any mental illness on screen is a ...
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#REVIEW: “NEWS OF THE WORLD”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Civil War veteran Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) spends his days going to towns across the southern US reading the world’s news to residents. Along his travels, he encounters Johanna (Helena Zengel), a young girl who was taken and raised by the native Kiowa people. She has no caregiver, so the law says she needs to be brought to her biological aunt and uncle. With no one available to take her, Kidd volunteers for the journey – but it will ...
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#REVIEW: “THE WITCHES”
By Mr. Will Wong
While Nicolas Roeg's 1990 take on Roald Dahl's The Witches remains a Classic loved dearly by many, that is not to say that Robert Zemeckis' update penned with the help of Guillermo del Toro and Kenya Barris, isn't without its own merits. Did we mention also that Alfonso Cuarón had a had in producing as well? We for one found it actually delightful in spots.
The Film centers on a boy named Hero (voiced by Chris Rock as an adult and Jahzir Kadeem Bruno as a child), who is ...
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#REVIEW: “WILD MOUNTAIN THYME”
Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
Years ago, on a flight heading to Central Europe, my plane had to refuel in Cork, Ireland. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and lushness of the countryside from miles above and I was thrilled to relive those feelings of awe when WILD MOUNTAIN THYME opens with scenes from what has to be one of this planet’s most stunning vistas. When you add the pulchritude of Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan to this equation and its pedigree of Oscar and Emmy recipients, ...
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#REVIEW: “SOUL”
By Mr. Will Wong
Disney•Pixar have done it AGAIN. Peter Docter who directed classics Up, Inside Out and Monsters, Inc. returns with SOUL which wholeheartedly lives up to its succinct name.
This heartfelt story centers on a music teacher Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), who finally gets his big break playing in a Quartet at famed Half Note Club. After an accident, his soul gets separated from his body and he finds himself fighting to escape the Great Beyond, and lands in the Great Before, where ...
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