The Critics have spoken! Every year we look forward to what our friends at the Toronto Film Critics Association have deemed their 2019 Best-ofs and today, several of their selections including Best Picture have been decided. Top honours goes to Bong Joon-Ho‘s brilliant PARASITE taking both Best Picture, Director and Foreign-Language Film. The quirky, genre-bending Thriller placed runner-up for Screenplay.

For the first time ever, all three Finalists for Best First Feature are films by female Filmmakers.

See additional winners and Finalists for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, a $100,000 prize below.

BEST PICTURE
Parasite (MK2)
Runners-up
The Irishman (Netflix)
Marriage Story (Netflix)

BEST ACTOR
Adam Driver, Marriage Story (Netflix)
Runners-up
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems (Netflix)
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory (Mongrel Media)

BEST ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong’o, Us (Universal)
Runners-up
Renée Zellweger, Judy (eOne)
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story (Netflix)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Sony)
Runners-up
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse (VVS Films)
Joe Pesci, The Irishman (Netflix)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Laura Dern, Marriage Story (Netflix)
Runners-up
Florence Pugh, Little Women (Sony)
Julia Fox, Uncut Gems (Netflix)

BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite (MK2)
Runners-up
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman (Netflix)
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story (Netflix)

BEST SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED OR ORIGINAL
The Irishman by Steven Zaillian from the book by Charles Brandt (Netflix)
Runners-up
Parasite by Bong Joon-ho (MK2)
Marriage Story by Noah Baumbach (Netflix)

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Booksmart directed by Olivia Wilde (eOne)
Runners-up
Atlantics directed by Mati Diop (Netflix)
Queen & Slim directed by Melina Matsoukas (eOne)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Missing Link (Laika)
Runners-up
Toy Story 4 (Disney/Pixar)
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Universal)
Frozen 2 (Disney)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Parasite (MK2)
Runners-up
Pain and Glory (Mongrel Media)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (MK2)

ALLAN KING DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD
American Factory (Netflix)
Runners-up
Apollo 11 (Elevation Pictures)
The Cave (Mongrel Media)

ROGERS BEST CANADIAN FILM AWARD FINALISTS
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open directed by Kathleen Hepburn and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (levelFilm)
Antigone directed by Sophie Deraspe (Maison 4:3)
Firecrackers directed by Jasmin Mozaffari (levelFilm)

Additional winners to be announced January 8, 2020.

(Photo credit: MK2)

Culinary genius Lidia Bastianich, whom you might know from her PBS show Lidia’s Family Table graced us with her presence! Eataly Toronto hosted an autograph signing for Bastianich, in celebration of her latest Cookbook FELIDIA, featuring recipes from the New York flagship Eatery of the same name. In addition to being a successful Restauranteur, she has authored several Bestsellers and has an interest in Eataly too!

A great honour meeting this legend who was in town for Press as well. Fans attending the event, also got served some Parmigiano-Reggiano shaved, with her famous Coco Nano Bean Spread on Crostini!

See our Snap:

Order Felidia here.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Check-out this new Trailer for FREE GUY starring Ryan Reynolds!

Synopsis:
In “Free Guy,” a bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, decides to become the hero of his own story…one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way…before it is too late. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Taika Waititi, “Free Guy” is directed by Shawn Levy from a story by Matt Lieberman and a screenplay by Lieberman and Zak Penn.

See the Trailer:

20th Century Fox Canada release FREE GUY Friday, July 2, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: 20th Century Fox Canada)

For a third straight week, FROZEN II is much the best at the Box Office, taking $34.6 million from 4,348 theatres for Disney. That brings its run in North America to $337.5 million to date. Not many new challengers out this weekend to take-on Princess Elsa.

KNIVES OUT repeats its second placing a second week with $14 million for Lionsgate Films/Mongrel Media, a total $63.3 million domestically.

QUEEN & SLIM is third with $$6.5 million from 1,175 theatres, a total $26.8 million over two weeks for Universal Pictures/eOne Films.

FORD V FERRARI lands in fourth with $6.4 million, a total $89.3 million in four weeks for 20th Century Fox/Disney.

LAST CHRISTMAS rounds-out the Top Ten for us with $1 million in its fifth week out for Universal Pictures.

So cool meeting Canadian icon Donovan Bailey, former 100m sprint world record holder and gold medal winner at the 1996 Olympics!

In support of Clint Eastwood’s new Film Richard Jewell, he recalls his experience with the security guard who saved thousands of lives from an exploding bomb. Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya) is gaining major buzz for his performance as the titular character.  Bailey was on the Morning Show circuit earlier including visits at Breakfast Television and CP24 Breakfast.

See our Snap:

Richard Jewell is in theatres Friday,  December 13, 2019.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

It was an early morning with Star Wars star Joonas Suotamo. The Finnish-born Actor who has taken over the iconic role of Chewbacca in the Skywalker Saga, is in town to promote the latest Film in the Franchise, The Rise of Skywalker!

While the weather was awful, but this former Basketball player certainly wasn’t! I think he is the tallest star I’ve ever met at 6 ft. 11 1⁄2 inches!

We spotted him out along his Press Tour for the Film which sees him doing several television appearances including Breakfast Television and The Morning Show!

See our Snap:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Early morning with #StarWars star #JoonasSuotamo, who has taken over the iconic role of #Chewbacca in the #Skywalker Saga. The weather was awful, but this Finnish-born former Basketball player certainly wasn’t! I think he is the tallest star I’ve ever met at 6 ft 11 1⁄2 inches! Are you guys ready for #TheRiseofSkywalker when it comes out 12.20.19?

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on Dec 6, 2019 at 6:25am PST

Are you guys ready for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when it comes out Friday, December 20, 2019?

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

What’s the best part of being dead? See Ryan Reynolds in Michael Bay’s 6 Underground to find out!

Screening details:

Tuesday, December 10, 2019
7:00 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox
350 King St. W

We’re celebrating the release of Michael Bay’s action-packed thriller 6 Underground starring Ryan Reynolds and you can too! Enter to win tickets to attend an EXCLUSIVE screening event in Toronto on December 10th. At the screening – a host from Virgin Radio will draw the name of one lucky guest in the audience who will win a Samsung 75” QLED Q60R 4K Smart TV – imagine enhancing your own Netflix cinematic viewing experience at home with a Samsung QLED TV, where even the smallest details in every scene are revealed with exceptionally rich and life-like colours with super high resolution expressed in any light, making you feel like you are in every scene! Also – everyone at the screening will take home an official 6 Underground beanie!

About 6 Underground:

What’s the best part about being dead? It isn’t escaping your boss, your ex, or even erasing your criminal record. The best part about being dead…is the freedom. The freedom to fight the injustice and evil that lurk in our world without anyone or anything to slow you down or tell you “no.”

6 Underground introduces a new kind of action hero. Six individuals from all around the globe, each the very best at what they do, have been chosen not only for their skill, but for a unique desire to delete their pasts to change the future. The team is brought together by an enigmatic leader (Ryan Reynolds), whose sole mission in life is to ensure that, while he and his fellow operatives will never be remembered, their actions damn sure will.

Watch the Trailer:

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will on Facebook. Re-Tweet this Tweet from @mrwillw for an extra chance!

Rules and regulations here.

6 Underground releases on Netflix on December 13th, 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Mongrel Media x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Advance Passes to see BOMBSHELL! Screenings take place as follows:

Screenings: Wed. December 11, 2019
TORONTO // Varsity
VANCOUVER // Marine Gateway
MONTREAL (ENGLISH) // Scotiabank Theatre Montreal
MONTREAL (FRENCH) // Starcite Montreal
CALGARY // Cineplex Westhills
EDMONTON // Scotiabank Edmonton
WINNIPEG // Scotiabank Theatre Winnipeg
HALIFAX // Scotiabank Halifax

SYNOPSIS:

Starring Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron, Academy Award® winner Nicole Kidman, Academy Award® nominee John Lithgow and Academy Award® nominee Margot Robbie, based on the real scandal, BOMBSHELL is a revealing look inside the most powerful and controversial media empire of all time; and the explosive story of the women who brought down the infamous man who created it. Directed by Emmy® Award winner Jay Roach and written by Academy Award® winner Charles Randolph. BOMBSHELL also stars Emmy® Award winner Kate McKinnon, Golden Globe® nominee Connie Britton, Emmy® Award winner Mark Duplass, Emmy® Award nominee Rob Delaney, Golden Globe® nominee Malcolm McDowell and Academy Award® winner Allison Janney.

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.

Contest rules and regulations here.

Mongrel Media release BOMBSHELL Friday, December 20, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Mongrel Media)

See the new Trailer and Poster for Disney’s Mulan. We honestly can’t wait, this looks stellar!

See the Trailer:

See the new Poster:

Disney’s “Mulan” opens in theatres on March 26, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

Willem Dafoe x Julianne Nicholson star in TOGO, a new Feature on Disney+ that takes us to the Alaskan Tundra!

Synopsis:

Starring Willem Dafoe and Julianne Nicholson, “Togo” is the untold true story set in the winter of 1925 that treks across the treacherous terrain of the Alaskan tundra for an exhilarating and uplifting adventure that will test the strength, courage and determination of one man, Leonhard Seppala, and his lead sled dog, Togo.

Disney+ streams TOGO Friday, December 20, 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)