By Amanda Gilmore

Flora and Son is the feel-good film of the year.

Dubliner Flora (Eve Hewson) is a young mother struggling to connect with her teenage son Max (Orén Kinlan). Max has stolen and been caught one too many times. If caught again he’ll be sent to juvie. Knowing Max has an interest in music, Flora brings home an acoustic guitar with the hopes it’ll keep him out of trouble. Unfortunately, Max doesn’t take the bait. Stuck with the guitar, Flora decides to learn it and takes online lessons from Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a soft-spoken teacher and mildly talented musician who lives in Los Angeles. Slowly, Flora and Jeff begin to fall for each other with each lesson.

No stranger to the musical genre, Writer-Director John Carney is in top form delivering a film about the power of music. Flora and Son stands out from his prior work because it focuses on the touching relationship between mother and son. Hewson is a revelation and gives a star-making performance as the direct, caring and angry Flora. As Flora learns the guitar, Max begins exposing his own musical talents to her. Music breaks down the walls between the two and becomes the bridge that connects them.

Carney furthers the theme of music connecting each of us through Flora’s relationship with Jeff. The two are on different continents, with an 8-hour time difference between them. However, the music they make together creates an intimate and deep connection. One Flora — possibly — has never experienced romantically before. Carney shows this connection smartly by removing the laptop Jeff is on and placing him in the room with Flora.

Overall, Flora and Son is funny, affecting and uplifting. An instant classic.

Flora and Son screens at TIFF ’23:

Tuesday, September 12 at 9:30 PM at Roy Thompson Hall

Wednesday, September 13 at 9 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Saturday, September 16 at 2:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

A new Trailer is up for Disney’s Pinocchio, coming to us on Disney+ Day!

Synopsis:

Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; Academy Award® nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Academy Award® nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman. Also in the cast are Kyanne Lamaya as Fabiana and Jaquita Ta’Le as her marionette Sabina, Giuseppe Battiston as Stromboli and Lewin Lloyd as Lampwick.

Disney’s PINOCCHIO arrives September 8, 2022 on Disney+.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is back in MR. CORMAN, coming soon to Apple TV+. Here’s a first look.

Synopsis:

“Mr. Corman” follows the days and nights of Josh Corman (played by Gordon-Levitt), an artist at heart but not by trade. A career in music hasn’t panned out, and he teaches fifth grade at a public school in the San Fernando Valley. His ex-fiancé Megan has moved out, and his high school buddy Victor has moved in. He knows he has a lot to be thankful for, but finds himself struggling nevertheless through anxiety, loneliness, and a sinking suspicion that he sucks as a person. Darkly funny, oddly beautiful, and deeply heartfelt, this relatable dramedy speaks for our contemporary generation of 30-somethings: rich with good intentions, poor with student loans, and yearning to become real grown-ups sometime before they die.

All ten episodes of MR. CORMAN debut on Apple TV+ Friday, August 6, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Apple TV+)

If this doesn’t say Oscars allover it, I don’t know what does! Check-out these new stills from THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, the sophomore directorial effort of Academy and Emmy Award winner Aaron Sorkin.

Synopsis:

What was intended to be a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest—including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale—were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot and the trial that followed was one of the most notorious in history.

Cast:
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella,John Carroll Lynch, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong, Noah Robbins, Danny Flahery, Ben Skenkman, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Caitlin Fitzgerald, Alice Kremelberg, John Doman, J.C. MacKenzie, Damien Young, Wayne Duvall, C.J. Wilson

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 streams on Netflix Friday, October 16, 2020.

(Photo credit: Netflix)

Coming soon to Netflix, PROJECT POWER stars Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Check-out this new Trailer!

Synopsis:

On the streets of New Orleans, word begins to spread about a mysterious new pill that unlocks superpowers unique to each user. The catch: You don’t know what will happen until you take it. While some develop bulletproof skin, invisibility, and super strength, others exhibit a deadlier reaction. But when the pill escalates crime within the city to dangerous levels, a local cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) teams with a teenage dealer (Dominique Fishback) and a former soldier fueled by a secret vendetta (Jamie Foxx) to fight power with power and risk taking the pill in order to track down and stop the group responsible for creating it.

PROJECT POWER streams on Netflix Friday, August 14, 2020.

(Photo credit: Netflix)

How do you make a story about the process behind the leaking of documents one that engages and rivets? Oliver Stone does just this, delivering perhaps his greatest work in quite some time in Snowden.

The story still fresh on our minds, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets deep into the psyche of whistleblower/traitor (however you stand on the matter) Edward Snowden as we witness his rise as a young man within the Central Intelligence Agency, where he learns that the privacy and fundamental rights of Americans are threatened when he is made aware that the big eight telecommunication corporations in the U.S. store and make accessible the activities of Americans to the National Security Agency.

Despite the government denying this, Snowden struggles with himself in a battle between conscience and career before deciding famously to leak several highly-classified documents, which prove exactly what the U.S. government didn’t want the world to know.

Gordon-Levitt is front and center in a masterful performance where from certain angles and in certain frames, we truly feel we are witnessing the real Snowden. The story plays from several angles, looking at his struggle with health, love, the government and also himself and on most levels he nails this portrait of a man both revered and misunderstood.

 SNOWDEN  screens at TIFF Friday, September 9, 2016 at 9 PM Roy Thomson Hall, Saturday, September 10, 2016 at 12:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall and Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 9:45 AM Scotiabank Theatre.

Elevation Pictures + Mr. Will want to take Readers to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt in SNOWDEN! The Film is making its World Premiere at TIFF and then opening in theaters across the country on September 16th.

Screenings take place Monday, September 12, 2016 in the following cities:

Toronto – Sept. 12, 7pm
Cineplex Queensway (1025 The Queensway, Etobicoke, ON M8Z 6C7)

Vancouver – Sept. 12, 7pm
Scotiabank Vancouver (900 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 3G5)

Victoria – Sept. 12, 7pm
Odeon Victoria (780 Yates St, Victoria, BC V8W 1L4)

Edmonton – Sept. 12, 7pm
South Edmonton (1525 99 St NW, Edmonton, AB T6N 1K5)

Calgary – Sept. 12, 7pm
Scotiabank Theatre Chinook (6455 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary, AB T2H 0K4)

Winnipeg – Sept. 12, 7pm
Scotiabank Theatre Polo Park (817 St James St, Winnipeg, MB R3G 3L3)

Ottawa – Sept. 12, 7pm
Scotiabank Ottawa Gloucester (2385 City Park Dr, Gloucester, ON K1J 1G1)

Halifax – Sept. 12, 7pm
Scotiabank Halifax (190 Chain Lake Drive, Halifax, NS B3S 1C5)

Synopsis:
The true story follows Edward Snowden, an American computer professional who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to The Guardian in June of 2013.

Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will on Facebook and indicate your city. Click “share” from there for an extra chance!  Tweet out the below for an extra chance:

http://www.mrwillwong.com/snowden @MRWILLW wants us to #win Advance Passes to see #SNOWDEN Out 9.16.

Elevation Pictures release Snowden Friday, September 16, 2016

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

No it’s not a rumour, SNOWDEN the Movie really exists and after some delays, we’re finally getting the official Trailer!

Synopsis:
Academy Award®-winning director Oliver Stone, who brought Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street and JFK to the big screen, tackles the most important and fascinating true story of the 21st century. Snowden, the politically-charged, pulse-pounding thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, reveals the incredible untold personal story of Edward Snowden, the polarizing figure who exposed shocking illegal surveillance activities by the NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world. He is considered a hero by some, and a traitor by others. No matter which you believe, the epic story of why he did it, who he left behind, and how he pulled it off makes for one of the most compelling films of the year.

Watch:

Elevation Pictures release SNOWDEN Friday, September 16, 2016. TIFF ’16, anyone?

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

Sony Pictures Canada + Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to a copy of the book which inspired the movie, THE WALK (original title: To Reach The Clouds) by Philippe Petit.

Synopsis:

In 1974, a young dreamer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and a band of unlikely recruits attempt the impossible: an illegal wire walk between the World Trade Center towers.

The Film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz and Steve Valentine. Robert Zemeckis directs.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will on Facebook. Canadian Readers only, please.

Sony Pictures Canada release THE WALK on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 in IMAX 3D.

(Photo/video credit: Sony Pictures Canada)

Recently re-named, Holiday Comedy THE NIGHT BEFORE is ready for your laughter with a hilarious new Red-Band Trailer! You might recall it being known prior as X-MAS?

Synopsis:
From Jonathan Levine, the acclaimed director of 50/50, comes the new comedy The Night Before. Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have been friends since childhood, and for a decade, their yearly Christmas Eve reunion has been an annual night of debauchery and hilarity. Now that they’re entering adulthood, the tradition is coming to an end, and to make it as memorable as possible, they set out to find the Nutcracka Ball – the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.

See the Trailer:

Sony Pictures Canada release THE NIGHT BEFORE on Friday, November 25, 2015.

(Photo/video credit: Sony Pictures Canada)