oday, Netflix released the trailer and key art for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, the only awards show for actors, by actors. The newly released trailer showcases this year’s nominees, highlights from past shows, and a tease of what fans can expect this year.

The 30th anniversary of the SAG Awards will celebrate the past year’s outstanding motion picture and television performances across 15 acting awards. The ceremony will also honor the legendary actor, singer, producer, writer, and director Barbra Streisand who will be presented with the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievements and humanitarian accomplishments.

The 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, produced by Silent House Productions in partnership with SAG-AFTRA, will stream live globally on Netflix Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT from the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall.

About the Screen Actors Guild Awards®
The 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, presented by SAG-AFTRA with Screen Actors Guild Awards, LLC will be executive produced by Jon Brockett and Silent House Productions alongside producers for SAG-AFTRA JoBeth Williams, Daryl Anderson, Jason George, Elizabeth McLaughlin and Woody Schultz. The ceremony will stream live globally on Netflix Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT from the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall. One of awards season’s premier events, the SAG Awards annually celebrates the outstanding motion picture and television performances of the year. Voted on by SAG-AFTRA’s robust and diverse membership of 119,000+ performers, the SAG Awards has the largest voting body on the awards circuit. Beloved for its style, simplicity, and genuine warmth, the show has become an industry favorite and one of the most prized honors since its debut in 1995.

About Silent House Group
Formed in 2021 by CEO Baz Halpin, Silent House Group is comprised of three companies – Silent House Productions, Silent House Studios, and Silent House Events – which together form one of Hollywood’s most highly regarded, full-service design and production agencies focused on live and unscripted programming across all media platforms. The agency kicked off 2024 by winning the Outstanding Variety Special Creative Arts Emmy Award for their work on Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love, in addition to four other Emmy nominations for the special, and up next will produce the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards as Netflix’s first-ever live awards show. Most recently, the award-winning agency produced the Golden Globe-nominated blockbuster film Taylor Swift I The Eras Tour in partnership with Taylor Swift Productions and has worked with such prominent clients as Beyonce, Adele, Katy Perry, Usher, Harry Styles, Jonas Brothers, Apple, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, CNN, among many others. For more information on Silent House Group, please visit: https://www.silent-house.com.

About Netflix
Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services with over 260 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

Paramount+ is now the streaming home to all seven MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE films including the latest installment in the franchise, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING. Your mission, should you choose to accept it – experience the most action-packed movie collection ever.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – COMPLETE FILM COLLECTION

Tom Cruise is IMF Agent Ethan Hunt, one of the greatest action heroes of all time, in the adrenaline-pumping, suspense-filled blockbuster films. Enjoy heart-pounding action, incredible stunts, and exotic locations in the franchise that has earned over $4 billion at the worldwide box office.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

Ethan Hunt, is framed for the deaths of his espionage team and attempts to flee government assassins after him. He races against the clock in order to discover the truth.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II

The world’s greatest spy, Ethan Hunt, returns and partners up with the beautiful Nyah Hall to stop renegade agent Sean Ambrose from releasing a new kind of terror on an unsuspecting world.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III

Ethan Hunt hurdles into spectacular new adventures from Rome to Shanghai as he races to rescue a captured agent and stop Davian from eliminating his next target: Ethan’s wife.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL

The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization’s name.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION

With his organization shut down, agent Ethan Hunt and his team race against time to stop a dangerous network of rogue operatives turned traitors. To defeat them, he must join forces with an elusive agent as he faces his most impossible mission yet.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT

Ethan Hunt chooses to save his team over completing a mission, allowing stolen plutonium to fall into the wrong hands. Now, he must partner with a hard-hitting CIA agent in a race against time to stop a nuclear threat.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.

About Paramount+

Paramount+ is a global digital subscription video streaming service from Paramount that features a mountain of premium entertainment for audiences of all ages. Internationally, the streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including SHOWTIME®, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel™, in addition to a robust offering of premier local content. The service is currently live in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Caribbean, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latin America, South Korea, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.

TIFF is celebrating women in cinema throughout March as part of its commitment to Share Her Journey, and spotlighting a diverse lineup of woman-identifying filmmakers, films that are both historical and contemporary in a series of TIFF Cinematheque screenings, Q&As, special events, and New Releases, and welcoming special guests Patricia Rozema, Liv McNeil, and Meredith Hama-Brown to TIFF Lightbox. TIFF’s month-long International Women’s Day celebration is generously supported by the RBC Foundation.

TIFF Cinematheque is honouring the inimitable Patricia Rozema in a special series, A Certain Slant of Light: The Films of Patricia Rozema. Her films have been lauded for their complex, sympathetically rendered characters, often portraits of artists in crisis ― particularly women, as in White Room and When Night Is Falling, both of which are presented in brand new restorations ― and those reckoning with conflicting aspects of their personalities or familial obligations, as in Mouthpiece and Into the Forest. Rozema will be in attendance for a number of screenings and Q&As throughout its run. The series is curated by Robyn Citizen, Director of Programming, Festival and TIFF Cinematheque.

Rebel Yell: Girlhood in the 1980s, pays homage to punk girls featuring films such as Lou Adler’s Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains and Marisa Silver’s Old Enough. This brief but indelible cycle of films feels particularly relevant today, as the call to radicalize girlhood, and gender in general is of great urgency and import. These films were an early call to action that, while ignored initially, are today profoundly prescient. And while frank and at times depicting deeply troubling issues, these works nevertheless, burn bright. This series is curated by guest curator Alicia Fletcher.

On March 8, International Women’s Day, TIFF will be showing Carla Gutiérrez’s debut documentary Frida in a limited screening hot off the heels of Sundance and ahead of its Amazon premiere ― an intimate portrait of one of the world’s most celebrated artists; and Tautuktavuk (What We See), a 2023 Canada’s Top Ten film from directors Carol Kunnuk and Lucy Tulugarjuk, an evocative, drawn-from-life tale about two siblings’ attempts to heal and overcome trauma during the pandemic. Meredith Hama-Brown’s debut feature Seagrass, a Canada’s Top Ten film, about an unconventional couples’ therapy retreat that exposes the fractures in a biracial family is also playing, with the filmmaker in attendance for a post-screening Q&A on February 25.

TIFF is introducing a new marquee series, coming to TIFF Lightbox this summer, Women in Action, an international survey of some of the most culturally significant and influential action films helmed by women. Inspired by Michelle Yeoh’s 2023 Oscar triumph, this major series will feature more than 20 films, and will be accompanied by free public events. The series is curated by Anita Lee, TIFF’s Chief Programming Officer; Robyn Citizen, Director of Programming, Festival and Cinematheque; and Jessica Smith, Producer, TIFF Lightbox Programming and Projects. The full lineup and tickets will be available in May.

Please see programming listings below for a full list of films and events celebrating women filmmakers in March. TIFF Cinematheque tickets will go on sale to TIFF Members on February 14 and to the public on February 16 at tiff.net.

TIFF CINEMATHEQUE PROGRAMMING LISTINGS
A Certain Slant of Light: The Films of Patricia Rozema
As part of TIFF’s year-long focus on the Toronto New Wave and to observe her ongoing contribution to the Canadian film industry, TIFF Cinematheque is pleased to present this series on the acclaimed Canadian filmmaker, Patricia Rozema. In addition, the filmmaker has selected to screen Ingmar Bergman’s Persona*, a film hugely influential to her work:

Mansfield Park | March 1, 6:30pm
Into the Forest | March 7, 6:30pm
Mouthpiece | March 10, 6:30pm
I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing | March 17, 3:30pm
White Room with Patricia Rozema | March 22, 6:30pm
When Night Is Falling with Patricia Rozema | March 23, 6:30pm
Grey Gardens with Patricia Rozema | FREE | March 24, 4pm
When Night Is Falling | March 26, 6:30pm
*Persona with Patricia Rozema | March 23, 3:30pm

Rebel Yell: Girlhood in the 1980s
A series that rebels against the sanitized, suburban image of the 1980s by recasting femininity through the punk perspective:

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (d. Lou Adler) | March 2, 6:30pm // March 10, 3:30pm
Old Enough (d. Marisa Silver) | March 8, 6:30pm
Foxes (d. Adrian Lyne) | March 9, 6:30pm
Out of the Blue (d. Neil LaBute) | March 16, 6:30pm
Times Square (d. Allan Moyle) | March 17, 6:30pm
Starstruck (d. Karen Maine) | March 21, 6:30pm

From the Collection
Grace of My Heart with Cameron Bailey | March 5, 6:30pm
Allison Anders’ passion project is an imagined biopic loosely based on the life of Carole King and her transformation from gigging songwriter to celebrated songstress. Ileana Douglas dazzles as the determined Edna Buxton, who is rebranded Denise Waverly by Joel, a Phil Spector–like producer, played with committed brio by John Turturro.

TIFF Cinematheque New and Restored
Household Saints (d. Nancy Savoca) | March 3, 6:30pm
Presented in a new 4K restoration, Nancy Savoca’s chronicle of a spirited Italian American family perfectly balances humour, tragedy, and pathos.

See the North presented by MUBI
See the North monthly series is FREE to the public.
Slash/Back (d. Nyla Innuksuk) | March 12, 6:30pm
The debut feature from Iqaluit-raised director Nyla Innuksuk, Slash/Back, packs a vivid and thrilling punch as a girl gang in Pangnirtung, Nunavut is left to fight off a supernatural apocalypse.

TIFF Wavelengths Presents
Un rêve plus long que la nuit (d. Niki de Saint Phalle) | March 13, 6:30pm
Pre-recorded Q&A with Arielle de Saint Phalle (Niki’s niece)
Canadian premiere of new 4K restoration! With her debut solo feature, Niki de Saint Phalle — one of the most legendary women artists from the 20th century — performs an auspicious exorcism in the form of a fairy tale touching on the absurd, comical, and disturbing aspects of growing up. In it, the young Princess Camélia (portrayed by the director’s daughter, Laura Duke Condominas) is transformed into a maiden who must traverse a phantasmagoric canvas.

TIFF Next Wave Presents
Ghost World (d. Terry Zwigoff) | March 20, 6:30pm
Presented in 35mm! It’s no surprise that Ghost World has been cemented as a cult classic for teen outcasts everywhere. Cynical best friends, starring Thora Birch as Enid and Scarlett Johansson as Rebecca, are proud social misfits, navigating post-graduation life whilst denouncing all things mainstream. Imbued with the trademark cynicism of the early 2000s and filled to the brim with vocal fry, a perfect pairing to watch alongside Rebel Yell: Girlhood in the 1980s series!

TIFF Family Films
Brave (d. Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews) | March 24, 1:30pm
It was the first Pixar movie with a female protagonist and reflects the changing meaning of the term “Disney princess.” Merida, Brave’s wild-haired heroine, is skillful and self-reliant; she’s also the first princess not to have a love interest. Instead, the relationship at the centre of the movie is one that’s likely much more relatable to its young viewers: the complex blend of loving affection and straining expectation that exists between a teen girl and her mother.

PUBLIC PROGRAMMING: SPECIAL EVENTS
The Making of Priscilla with Liv McNeil | March 1, 6pm
TIFF Next Wave presents a special look behind-the-scenes with Liv McNeil’s documentary The Making of Priscilla. Follow the film student as she shadows Sofia Coppola on the 30-day shoot of Priscilla. The film features exclusive interviews with Coppola, Priscilla Presley, and Cailee Spaeny, and includes the games and rituals that make the filmmaker’s sets unlike any other directors. Following the screening, director Liv McNeil will join TIFF for a conversation about her journey breaking into the industry and discovering her voice as an emerging artist, featuring clips from her past work.

Silver Screenings – Free to Seniors 65+:
Mansfield Park | March 15, 11am
Discover the charm of Jane Austen in this fresh take on her beloved novel, directed by Patricia Rozema. Following the screening, experts from the Town of York Historical Society will dive into Toronto’s history and lead participants in letter writing activities with quill pens and wax stamp seals.

Since 2017, TIFF’s Share Her Journey campaign has supported women and non-binary creators in cultivating their skills and networks, developing their projects from ideation to completion, and helping their work find its audience.

Anime fans have made their voices heard! With more than 34 million votes cast from the anime community around the world (nearly doubling from 18 million last year), the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards has revealed today a star-studded slate of musical performances including YOASOBI and Shing02 who will perform beloved tracks from fan-favourite anime, alongside additional celebrity presenters including wrestling legend Mercedes Varnado, American football star DeMarcus Lawrence, and actress, singer, and model Chiaki Kuriyam

Unique to this year’s celebration is a first-of-its-kind Crunchyroll Anime Awards Theme, specially created by composer and music producer Hiroyuki SAWANO (Attack on Titan, Solo Leveling) and composer, arranger, and lyricist KOHTA YAMAMOTO (Attack on Titan, The Seven Deadly Sins), who will perform the song live at the ceremony in full for the first time. The iconic show opening will be available to stream on Crunchyroll after the conclusion of the Anime Awards

The full music performance lineup and newly added live ceremony and pre-show presenters are listed below, in alphabetical order:

Musical Performances by:

• Hiroyuki SAWANO and KOHTA YAMAMOTO – Composer, Arranger, Lyricist, and Musical Producer
• Shing02 with OMA and SPIN MASTER A-1 – Recording artist, hip hop band and DJ
• YOASOBI – Japanese pop duo

Live Ceremony and Pre-Show Presenters:

• Chiaki Kuriyama – Actress, Singer, and Model
• DeMarcus Lawrence – NFL Football Player from the Dallas Cowboys
• Emiru – Professional Streamer, Variety Player, Cosplayer, and Co-Host of Steak & Eggs
• Joaquim Dos Santos – Director, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
• Labrinth – GRAMMY-Nominated Songwriter, Producer, Recording Artist
• Liza Soberano – Actress, Advocate, and Entrepreneur
• Mercedes Varnado – WWE World Champion, Actress, Entrepreneur
• Nava Rose – Fashion Creator
• Phil Lord & Chris Miller – Academy Award winning duo behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
• Porter Robinson – GRAMMY-Nominated Musician 
• Rashmika Mandanna – Indian Film Actor
• So Takei – Japanese TV Personality, Comedian, Actor, and Former Japanese Decathlon Champion
• Vinnie Hacker – Model, Pro-Gamer, Actor, and Digital Creator

Music at the 2024 Anime Awards will be a celebration of key moments in anime history. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Samurai Champloo, Shing02, OMA, and SPIN MASTER A-1 will perform the show’s opening song “battlecry,” exclusively for livestream viewers. The Anime Awards will also commemorate important anime anniversaries through the presentation of a unique musical performance that brings together iconic songs from series celebrating milestones, performed by a live orchestra in a symphony format. Japanese pop duo YOASOBI will also perform ahead of their set at Coachella. For fans looking to hype themselves up in advance, select music videos and concert performance videos from Hiroyuki SAWANO and YOASOBI are available to stream on Crunchyroll.

The Anime Awards will take place on Saturday, March 2, 2024, with a live ceremony hosted by renowned voice actress Sally Amaki and popular entertainer Jon Kabira. Fans can watch the Anime Awards livestream on Crunchyroll channels on YouTube and Twitch beginning at 6PM JST. To relive the action, fans can tune in for reruns starting March 16th on the 24/7 Crunchyroll linear channel on Amazon FreeVee, LG Channels, Pluto TV The Roku Channel and VIZIO WatchFree+.

The full list of Anime Award presenters and nominees can be found here.

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ collaboration with Pan-African entertainment company Kugali has culminated in the all-new six-part series “Iwájú,” streams exclusively on Disney+ in Canada beginning Feb. 28, 2024. Today we get a new Trailer!

“Iwájú” is an original animated series set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria. The exciting coming-of-age story follows Tola, a young girl from the wealthy island, and her best friend, Kole, a self-taught tech expert, as they discover the secrets and dangers hidden in their different worlds. Kugali filmmakers—including director Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, production designer Hamid Ibrahim and cultural consultant Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku—take viewers on a unique journey into the world of “Iwájú,” bursting with unique visual elements and technological advancements inspired by the spirit of Lagos. The series is produced by Disney Animation’s Christina Chen with a screenplay by Adeola and Halima Hudson. “Iwájú” features the voices of Simisola Gbadamosi, Dayo Okeniyi, Femi Branch, Siji Soetan and Weruche Opia.

Said Adeola, “Crafting the narrative of ‘Iwájú’ has been a journey of creative alchemy, blending the rich cultural tapestry of Lagos with imaginative leaps into the future. Collaborating with my Kugali co-founders and the visionary artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios has been nothing short of magical. The heartbeat of my hometown resonates through every scene, and I am thrilled for the world to experience this unique fusion of tradition and futurism.”

Also debuting Feb. 28 on Disney+ is “Iwájú: A Day Ahead,” a documentary special filmed across three continents that shares the story of the founders of the Pan-African entertainment company, Kugali, who made their dream a reality creating an original animation series with Walt Disney Animation Studios. Created by the ABC News Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios team that brought you “Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2,” the documentary shows anything is possible when talent meets opportunity. “Iwájú: A Day Ahead” is directed by Megan Harding and executive produced by Amy Astley and Beth Hoppe.

This Damsel doesn’t need saving! Millie Bobby Brown stars in DAMSEL, coming soon to Netflix March 8, 2024.

LOGLINE:
A dutiful damsel agrees to marry a handsome prince, only to find the royal family has recruited her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. Thrown into a cave with a fire-breathing dragon, she must rely on her wits and will to survive

CAST: Millie Bobby Brown, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Brooke Carter, with Angela Bassett and Robin Wright

DIRECTOR: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

WRITER: Dan Mazeau

PRODUCERS: Joe Roth, p.g.a., Jeff Kirschenbaum, p.g.a., Chris Castaldi, p.g.a.

CO-PRODUCER: Emily Wolfe

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Sue Baden-Powell, Zack Roth, Millie Bobby Brown, Robert Brown, Dan Mazeau, Mark Bomback

This summer, the epic studio disaster movie returns with an adrenaline-pumping, seat-gripping, big-screen thrill ride that puts you in direct contact with one of nature’s most wondrous—and destructive—forces. In theatres July 19, 2024.

From the producers of the Jurassic, Bourne and Indiana Jones series comes Twisters, a current-day chapter of the 1996 blockbuster, Twister. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the Oscar® nominated writer-director of Minari, Twisters stars Golden Globe nominee Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing, Normal People) and Glen Powell (Anyone But You, Top Gun: Maverick) as opposing forces who come together to try to predict, and possibly tame, the immense power of tornadoes.

Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi (Golden Globe nominee Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Powell), the charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew, the more dangerous the better.

As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed, and Kate, Tyler and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.

Twisters features an exciting new cast, including Nope’s Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane (American Honey), Daryl McCormack (Peaky Blinders), Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Nik Dodani (Atypical) and Golden Globe winner Maura Tierney (Beautiful Boy).

From Amblin Entertainment, Twisters is directed by Lee Isaac Chung and is produced by Oscar® nominee Frank Marshall (Jurassic and Indiana Jones franchises) and by Patrick Crowley (Jurassic and Bourne franchises). The screenplay is by Mark L. Smith, writer of the Best Picture nominee The Revenant. Twisters will be distributed by Universal Pictures domestically and by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally.

Genre: Disaster Epic

Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Maura Tierney, Brandon Perea, Daryl McCormack, Sasha Lane, Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Screenplay by: Mark L. Smith

Producers: Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley

We rang-in the Year of the Dragon the right way! Not that there ever is a wrong way with a Honda! It was an amazing way to celebrate some unseasonably warm weather by getting out and having some adventures! We got to know the 2024 Honda HR-V EX-L NAVI, the latest rendition of the subcompact SUV, in a striking Urban Gray Pearl.

Powered by a 2.0-litre, 16-valve, Port Injection, DOHC, i-VTEC® 4-cylinder engine, we get 158 horsepower, an Eco Assist™ system, Real Time AWD™ with Intelligent Control System™ and a three-mode drive system (Normal, Econ, Snow). Sadly, with the weather being so co-operative we never got to utilize the latter! Oh well!

The HR-V EX-L NAVI at first glance is elevated by its attention to detail. Intermittent rear window wiper/washer, black grille, body coloured handles, tinted privacy in back and one touch moonroof, tell you that this is more than a regular ride. It’s enhanced by several nice-to-haves which make your daily drive that much more effortless, adding a helping hand so that you can focus on your tasks at hand whether it be driving safely or heading-off to your destination. Multi-angle rearview camera with dynamic guidelines, Maintainance Minder, Proximity key entry system with pushbutton start and Walkaway doorlocks all are there to support you.

This SUV is versatile for your everday, no matter how big your hauls are with a cargo volume – rear seats up/down at 691/1559. Perfect for Costco, or just picking up some groceries.

Though we have been a bit spoiled with others in the Honda and Acura families, the HR-V EX-L NAVI includes a driver’s seat with a more than acceptable 6-way manual adjustment (including height adjustment), front passenger’s seat with 4-way manual adjustment, heated front seats and steering wheel. The subcompact SUV is geared towards delivering utility and value, while doing it with a bit of flare.

Fuel Economy cannot be beat with this Real Time AWD, tallying at 9.4/7.8/8.7 (City/Hwy/Combined), costing $60 to fill a tank with gas at a price of $1.50/L.

The SUV is loaded with convenience, in addition to comfort. It includes an AM/FM audio system with 8 speakers; 9″ touchscreen; speed-sensitive Volume Control (SVC); wireless charging option; plus 3 USB ports in the front row. It also includes automatic dual-zone climate control with air-filtration system, though back row passengers don’t have the extra bells and whistles.

In terms of safety, the Honda HR-V EX-L is loaded with features including 4-wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS); Brake Assist; Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD); Hill Descent Control; Hill Start Assist; LED daytime running lights; Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS®); Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system; Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system; Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) system; and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA®) with Traction Control.

Above this, you get important Driver Assist technologies too like Rear Cross Traffic Monitor system; blind spot information; traffic sign recognition; and auto high beam.

Passive safety features are abundant as well like front and outboard rear 3-point seat belts with automatic tensioning system; Next-Generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure; Side curtain airbags with rollover sensor system; SmartVent™ side airbags; childproof locks and more.

The 2024 Honda HR-V starts at an exceptional value of $40,044 CAN.

Some highlights from our test drive, including some festive Lunar New Year celebrations, friends, food tastings and star sightings!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers in Toronto, Montreal (EN/FR) and Vancouver a chance to win passes to an Advance Screening of KUNG FU PANDA 4.

Advance screenings will be held Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 7 PM.

Synopsis:

This spring, for the first time in almost a decade, comedy icon Jack Black returns to his role as Po, the world’s most unlikely kung fu master, with a hilarious, butt-kicking new chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s beloved action-comedy franchise: Kung Fu Panda4. 

After three death-defying adventures defeating world-class villains with his unmatched courage and mad martial arts skills, Po, the Dragon Warrior (Golden Globe nominee Jack Black), is called upon by destiny to … give it a rest already. More specifically, he’s tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.

That poses a couple of obvious problems. First, Po knows as much about spiritual leadership as he does about the paleo diet, and second, he needs to quickly find and train a new Dragon Warrior before he can assume his new lofty position. 

Even worse, there’s been a recent sighting of a wicked, powerful sorceress, Chameleon (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), a tiny lizard who can shapeshift into any creature, large or small. And Chameleon has her greedy, beady little eyes on Po’s Staff of Wisdom, which would give her the power to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm. 

So, Po’s going to need some help. He finds it (kinda?) in the form of crafty, quick-witted thief Zhen (Golden Globe winner Awkwafina), a corsac fox who really gets under Po’s fur but whose skills will prove invaluable. In their quest to protect the Valley of Peace from Chameleon’s reptilian claws, this comedic odd-couple duo will have to work together. In the process, Po will discover that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places. 

The film features the voice talent of returning stars Academy Award® winner Dustin Hoffman as Kung Fu master, Shifu; James Hong (Everything Everywhere All at Once) as Po’s adoptive father, Mr. Ping; Academy Award® nominee Bryan Cranston as Po’s birth father, Li, and Emmy Award nominee Ian McShane as Tai Lung, Shifu’s former student and arch-nemesis. Oscar® winner Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) joins the ensemble as a new character, Han, the leader of the Den of Thieves. 

Kung Fu Panda 4 is directed by Mike Mitchell (DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls, Shrek Forever After) and produced by Rebecca Huntley (DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys). The film’s co-director is Stephanie Ma Stine (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power). In 2008, the Academy Award®-nominated 2008 inaugural chapter, Kung FuPanda, became DreamWorks Animation’s highest-grossing original animated film and launched a franchise that has earned more than $1.8 billion at the global box-office.

Genre: Animated Comedy Adventure

Cast: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane and Ke Huy Quan

Director: Mike Mitchell

Producer: Rebecca Huntley

Co-Director: Stephanie Ma Stine

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate your City in the comments there. You can share this Post from our IG or X for an extra chance!

Rules and regulations here.

Universal Pictures Canada release KUNG FU PANDA 4 March 8, 2024.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

Airing last night during the Big Game, we got a brand-new look at upcoming DESCPICABLE ME 4, in theatres July 3, 2024 via Universal Pictures Canada.

In the first Despicable Me movie in seven years, Gru, the world’s favorite supervillain-turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, returns for an exciting, bold new era of Minions mayhem in Illumination’s Despicable Me 4.

Following the 2022 summer blockbuster phenomenon of Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, which earned almost $1 billion worldwide, the biggest global animated franchise in history now begins a new chapter as Gru (Oscar® nominee Steve Carrell) and Lucy (Oscar® nominee Kristen Wiig) and their girls —Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Madison Polan)—welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad.

Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Emmy winner Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara), and the family is forced to go on the run.

The film features fresh new characters voiced by Joey King (Bullet Train), Emmy winner Stephen Colbert (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) and Chloe Fineman (Saturday Night Live). Pierre Coffin returns as the iconic voice of the Minions and Oscar® nominee Steve Coogan returns as Silas Ramsbottom.

Packed with non-stop action and filled with Illumination’s signature subversive humor, Despicable Me 4 is directed by a co-creator of the Minions, Oscar® nominee Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets), and is produced by Illumination’s visionary founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and by Brett Hoffman (executive producer, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Minions: The Rise of Gru). The film is co-directed by Patrick Delage (animation director Sing 2 and The Secret Life of Pets 2), and the screenplay is by the Emmy winning creator of White Lotus, Mike White, and the veteran writer of every Despicable Me film, Ken Daurio.

Genre: Action-Comedy

Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Miranda Cosgrove, Chloe Fineman, Steve Coogan, Chris Renaud, Dana Gaier, Madison Polan

Screenplay: Mike White, Ken Daurio

Director: Chris Renaud

Co-Director: Patrick Delage

Producers: Chris Meledandri, Brett Hoffman