This holiday season, get ready for an action-packed, all-star, rainbow-colored family reunion like no other as Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake return for the new chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s blockbuster musical franchise: Trolls Band Together.
After two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) are now officially, finally, a couple (#broppy)! As they grow closer, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd (Golden Globe nominated electropop sensation Troye Sivan), John Dory (Eric André; Sing 2), Spruce (Grammy winner Daveed Diggs; Hamilton) and Clay (Grammy winner Kid Cudi; Don’t Look Up). BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a baby, as did the family, and Branch hasn’t seen his brothers since.
But when Branch’s bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains—Velvet (Emmy winner Amy Schumer; Trainwreck) and Veneer (Grammy winner and Tony nominee Andrew Rannells; The Book of Mormon)—Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.
Featuring Trolls’ signature psychedelic joy-bomb of new and classic pop hits, Trolls Band Together stars a dazzling cast of musical superstars and comedic powerhouses as new franchise characters, including four-time Grammy nominee and Latin Grammy winner Camila Cabello (Cinderella) as Viva; Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant) as Crimp; and 12-time Emmy winning drag icon RuPaul Charles as Miss Maxine.
The returning cast includes Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Zooey Deschanel as Bridget; Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Gristle, the Icona Pop duo Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt as Satin and Chenille, Grammy winner Anderson .Paak as Prince D, comedian Ron Funches as Cooper, SAG nominee Kunal Nayyar as Guy Diamond and Emmy winning Saturday Night Live legend Kenan Thompson as Tiny Diamond.
Trolls Band Together is steered by returning director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay, and is co-directed by Tim Heitz (head of story, Trolls World Tour). DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls films—2016’s Trolls and 2020’s Trolls World Tour—have sung and danced their way to record-breaking success, earning an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Song and fuelingone of the largest and most beloved entertainment brands in the world.
Genre: Animated Action-Comedy
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Camila Cabello, Eric André, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, Troye Sivan, Daveed Diggs, Kid Cudi, Zosia Mamet, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, RuPaul Charles, Aino Jawo, Caroline Hjelt, Kenan Thompson, Anderson .Paak, Kunal Nayyar, Ron Funches
Director: Walt Dohrn
Co-Director: Tim Heitz
Producer: Gina Shay
By George Kozera
To be perfectly frank, I had some trepidations and resisted seeing Anna Kendrick’s feature film directorial debut with WOMAN OF THE HOUR. When the subject matter deals with rape, a serial killer and is based on a true story, I would assume that even the most seasoned filmmakers would think twice about tackling such sensitive topics and I questioned whether Kendrick had the gravitas and skill to undertake such a project. I need not have worried. Not only has this Oscar-nominated Actress fashioned a formidable and accomplished thriller, she skillfully blends in flashback sequences as well as addressing women having to deal with misogynistic, toxic males, all the while she laces the Movie with some much-needed humour and thrills.
Kendrick plays Cheryl, a struggling actress whose agent books her work as a contestant on the popular television game show “The Dating Game” where she will have to question three gentlemen then choose one to go on a date, depending on how they answer her queries. Contestant Number Three is Rodney Alcala, a Photographer (a star-making role and performance from Daniel Zovatto). We have already seen him at his worst as WOMAN OF THE HOUR opens with Alcala brutally pushing his victim to the ground, strangle her before resuscitating then raping her (Kendrick shows amazing restraint filming this intense sequence). We also know that Alcala has extraordinary b.s. skills as we saw him tell one victim that he studied at NYU Film School with Roman Polanski and a group of men in an office environment that he partied with Warren Beatty.
After a technical mishap during the filming of the game show, Cheryl rewrites all the insipid questions and makes all three males squirm uncomfortably with their answers, except for Alcala who is quite proficient with saying just the right things. Cheryl chooses Rodney and they win a trip to Carmel. After the taping, we see Alcala wait in the parking lot of the TV studio, see Cheryl leave and charmingly suggests they go nearby for a cocktail to which she accepts the invitation.
That is when the Film brims with tension.
It’s best to see WOMAN OF THE HOUR without knowing the particulars of this true story. Ignorance of the facts will be bliss. Kendrick’s mastery in the Director’s chair is in full force as I did have all the information beforehand and still sat in my seat, shaking with anxiety and dread. KUDOS.
WOMAN OF THE HOUR screens st TIFF ’23:
Saturday, September 9, 9:00PM, Scotiabank
Elevation Pictures x Mr. Will are thrilled to give Readers a chance to win a free digital download of TIFF ’22 selection ALICE, DARLING for which Anna Kendrick has won many accolades with her lead performance.
Synopsis:
In the taut thriller ALICE, DARLING, Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick stars as a woman pushed to the breaking point by her psychologically abusive boyfriend, Simon. While on vacation with two close girlfriends, Alice rediscovers the essence of herself and gains some much-needed perspective. Slowly, she starts to fray the cords of codependency that bind her. But Simon’s vengeance is as inevitable as it is shattering – and, once unleashed, it tests Alice’s strength, her courage, and the bonds of her deep-rooted friendships.
Starring Anna Kendrick, Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick, and Wunmi Mosaku. Directed by Mary Nighy. Written by Alanna Francis.
To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Re-Tweet this Contest Tweet for an extra chance.
Rules and regulations here.
Elevation Pictures release ALICE, DARLING February 3, 2023 on-demand and in theatres.
(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)
As many of you know, TROLLS WORLD TOUR is getting an unprecedented ON-DEMAND release going an alternate route amidst our current climate.
Synopsis:
Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake return in Trolls World Tour, an all-star sequel to DreamWorks Animation’s 2016 musical hit. In an adventure that will take them well beyond what they’ve known before, Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) discover that they are but one of six different Trolls tribes scattered over six different lands and devoted to six different kinds of music: Funk, Country, Techno, Classical, Pop and Rock. Their world is about to get a lot bigger and a whole lot louder.
A member of hard-rock royalty, Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom), aided by her father King Thrash (Ozzy Osbourne), wants to destroy all other kinds of music to let rock reign supreme. With the fate of the world at stake, Poppy and Branch, along with their friends — Biggie (James Corden), Chenille (Caroline Hjelt), Satin (Aino Jawo), Cooper (Ron Funches) and Guy Diamond (Kunal Nayyar) — set out to visit all the other lands to unify the Trolls in harmony against Barb, who’s looking to upstage them all.
Cast as members of the different musical tribes is one of the largest, and most acclaimed, groups of musical talent ever assembled for an animated film. From the land of Funk are Mary J. Blige, George Clinton and Anderson .Paak. Representing Country is Kelly Clarkson as Delta Dawn, with Sam Rockwell as Hickory and Flula Borg as Dickory. J Balvin brings Reggaeton, while Ester Dean adds to the Pop tribe. Anthony Ramos brings the beat in Techno and Jamie Dornan covers smooth jazz. World-renowned conductor and violinist Gustavo Dudamel appears as Trollzart and Charlyne Yi as Pennywhistle from the land of Classical. And Kenan Thompson raps as a newborn Troll named Tiny Diamond.
To get us excited, here are some fun at-home activities to get your family excited for its release, including some drawing tutorials which your kids will love!
HOW TO DRAW TINY DIAMOND
HOW TO DRAW POPPY
HOW TO DRAW BRANCH
Here’s also an awesome Home Premiere Party Pack which you can download to keep that Trolls spirit alive!
Download here.
Universal Pictures Canada release TROLLS: WORLD TOUR on-demand Friday, April 10, 2020.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
Director Chris Morris has brought 100 true stories to the big screen to show that it’s easier to manufacture a terrorist than actually catch a real one.
The Day Shall Come is a crazy thrill ride that tells quite the horrifying reality of what lengths homeland security go to. Morris knows this reality is a tough pill to swallow so rather than making this a heavy-hitting Drama, he has intelligently infused it with Dark-Comedy throughout. He’s also brought together a stellar Cast who alleviate the already great Script, including Marchánt Davis, Anna Kendrick, Danielle Brooks and Denis O’Hare.
The Day Shall Come screens at SXSW on March 11 at 6:30 PM at The Paramount, March 12 at 5:45 PM at Alamo Lamar E, and March 15 at 5:15 PM at Alamo Ritz 1.
By Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
It’s day four of the SXSW Festival and things are still moving a mile a minute. We attended two different Panels today that consisted of Actors and Producers of some of our favourite movies.
The first talk was from Ethan Hawke and Jason Blum who are here promoting their newest Film together called Adopt A Highway. It follows an ex-convict who finds a child in a dumpster and changes his life. The two spoke about working on prior projects together, such as Sinister and The Purge, and how Adopt A Highway is different from those. Blum stated that 80 per cent of the Films Blumhouse produces are of the Horror genre, while 20 per cent aren’t. His newest Film falls in the 20 per cent category. He said that he makes sure he really loves the content and the people working on the project if it is going to be outside of the Horror genre. The two also spoke about their long-time friendship, which even got Blum teary-eyed.
The second Panel was for the star and Executive Producer of the new Hulu show, Shrill. Aidy Bryant stars as Annie, a woman who wants to change her life but never her figure. Elizabeth Banks serves as Executive Producer and also attended the Panel. Banks had a lot to talk about in regards to the Show and her career from starting out as an actress to now producing and directing some of the most successful Film and TV Shows. “I am here for the revolution, that is women making more content,” she proudly pronounced to a huge round of applause. Banks also spoke about her upcoming Charlie’s Angels Film which she is directing, producing, writing and acting in! She said she doesn’t want to give too much away, but is really excited for it.
Then the Film Premieres began down at The Paramount Theatre once again tonight. First up was the newest Film from Director Chris Morris called The Day Shall Come. It stars Anna Kendrick, Danielle Brooks, Jim Gaffigan, Marchánt Davis and more. Before the Film started, the stars arrived and each spent time with their fans.
The final Film of the night was Good Boys which has a lot of Canadian talent attached to it. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg produced the Film and Canada’s golden boy Jacob Tremblay stars in it. The Trailer for the Film also dropped today, and for those of you who have seen it, then you know this Film is going to be funny. And we can confirm it is the funniest Film we have seen at SXSW and in a while! The audience constantly was laughing or having “aww” moments during Good Boys. The boys charmed the audience in-person also in their Q&A.
Things begin to slow down a bit starting tomorrow as the Festival’s Awards Ceremony honouring those titles in competition, will take place in the evening.
eOne Films x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Advance Passes to see A SIMPLE FAVOR! Screenings take place Wednesday, September 12, 2018 in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Halifax.
Synopsis:
A SIMPLE FAVOR, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily‘s (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily‘s husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.
See the Trailer:
Artwork:
To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate your City. Re-Tweet this Tweet from @mrwillw for an extra chance.
eOne Films release A SIMPLE FAVOR Friday, September 14, 2018!
(Photo/video credit: eOne Films)
We know you’re just as excited! Check-out this new Trailer for A SIMPLE FAVOR, Writer/Director Paul Feig‘s(The Heat, Ghostbusters) first Thriller!
Synopsis:
A SIMPLE FAVOR, directed by Paul Feig, centres around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily’s (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily‘s husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.
See the new Trailer:
Artwork:
eOne Films release A SIMPLE FAVOUR Friday, September 14, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: eOne Films)
At last, a new Trailer for Toronto-made A SIMPLE FAVOR!
See the new Teaser Trailer:
Universal Pictures Canada release A SIMPLE FAVOR Friday, September 14, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures)
What happened to Emily? Since this filmed in Toronto last Summer, we’ve been wondering when it would finally surface? Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters) gives us a little something different this time with his Thriller A SIMPLE FAVOR starring Anna Kendrick, Henry Golding and Blake Lively. The Film was just unveiled in Las Vegas at Cinemacon!
See the Trailer:
eOne Films release A SIMPLE FAVOR Friday, September 14, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Lionsgate Films/eOne Films)
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