Already seen widely as a Frontrunner in the race for Best Animated Feature at next month’s Academy Awards, here’s a new Featurette with Filmmakers Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson humanized he Puppets in ANOMALISA. The Film which garnered tons of acclaimed, in addition to a sale to Paramount Pictures during TIFF ’15, hits theatres later this month!

See the Featurette:

That time our David Baldwin spotted Charlie Kaufman at TIFF ’15:

ANOMALISA opens in theatres Friday, January 8, 2016 in Toronto, with additional cities to follow, via Paramount Pictures Canada.

(Photo/video credit: David Baldwin/Paramount Pictures)

Back for a seventh year, Cineplex‘s GREAT DIGITAL FILM FESTIVAL takes place between February 5-11, 2016 at theatres across Canada. #GDFF2016, as it is hashtagged, gives Film Lovers across the land a chance to see their Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Cult faves again with perfect digital precision!

See a Sizzle Reel for the upcoming Festival:

Films this year include:

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Dirty Harry (1971)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Inception (2010)

Labyrinth (1986)

Looper (2012)

Mad Max: The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Runaway Train (1985)

Serenity (2005)

Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan (1982) and Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

The Dark Crystal (1982)

The Thing (1982)

True Romance (1993)

Tickets are only $6.99 per Movie with additional savings the more Movies you see. Head over here for more details and participating theatres!

(Photo credit: Cineplex)

After filming in Toronto last spring, Ricky Gervais’ English Adaptation of French Comedy Special Correspondents is ready for the World to see.  Some new images from the Netflix Movie have just surfaced.

Synopsis:

Special Correspondents, a new Netflix original feature Film was written and directed by Ricky Gervais and starring Eric Bana (Deliver Us From Evil, Lone Survivor) and Gervais (Muppets Most Wanted, Derek) is about a struggling New York based radio journalist whose arrogance and decadent lifestyle has hindered his career. With his job on the line he fakes front line war reports from the comfort of his hideout above a Spanish restaurant in Queens.

See below:

That time we met Ricky while he was in town working on SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS here…

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS streams on Netflix Canada Friday, April 29, 2016.

(Photo credit: Netflix Canada)

As a new year begins, it’s time to fulfill those resolutions that you made. How about finally getting around to those shows on Netflix you’ve been meaning to start watching?

Whether it be How I Met Your Mother, Pretty Little Liars, Friday Night Lights, House of Cards, The X-Files, Gilmore Girls, The Walking Dead, Orange is the New Black, Narcos or Breaking Bad, it’s never too late to get started!

Here’s a series of fun new badges from Netflix which you can share with your Friends on Social Media to let them know you’re business about your #NetflixResolutions this year!

… now if only there was one for Making a Murderer, which I ripped through over the Holidays within one day!

Grab one!

Happy streaming!

(Photo credit: Netflix Canada)

VVS Films + Mr. Will want you to get you dirty this New Year! This is your chance to see naughty and hilarious DIRTY GRANDPA first on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg!

Synopsis:
Right before his wedding, straight-laced Jason Kelly (Zac Efron) is coerced into driving his foul-mouthed and perverted grandfather Dick (Robert De Niro), a former Army general, to Florida for spring break.

Dick believes his grandson is about to marry the wrong woman and when some young women hit on them, he tries to get Jason to loosen up. Jason, who is studying law and has a bright future in front of him, is finally convinced to attend a party with Dick, where he proceeds to get high and naked, while Dick sleeps with every hot young thing in sight.

See the Trailer (umm kinda NSFW!!!):

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 or Tweet the below:

http://www.mrwillwong.com/dirtygrandpa @MRWILLW wants us to #win Advance Passes to see the naughty and funny #DIRTYGRANDPA!  Out 1/22!

G’luck, Willionaire$!

VVS Films release DIRTY GRANDPA on Friday, January 22, 2016.

(Photo/video credit: VVS Films)

For those of you who thought STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS was finished its Box Office reign, THINK AGAIN!  The gargantuan force continues to destroy competitors, this weekend bringing-in $90 million from 4,134 theatres for Disney. This places the Film at $741 million thus far in its North American run, zooming right past TITANIC and JURASSIC WORLD, which before were second and third for all-time domestic records behind AVATAR which grossed $760.5 million.  This latest STAR WARS installment looks a cinch to surpass the latter quite soon.

DADDY’S HOME goes strong into its second week for Paramount Pictures with $28 million, bringing its tally to $92.7 million domestically.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT from Quentin Tarantino, expands its way to third place with $16.2 million, playing at 2,474 theatres for eOne Films/The Weinstein Co.   The Film gets a B CinemaScore and a 75% on the Tomatometer from Critics. It surpasses the $30 million-mark in its second week.

ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP is in fourth for 20th Century Fox this weekend with $12.2 million from 3,474 theatres. It now is in its third week out, benefiting from little competition in the Family market at the Movies.

In fifth is SISTERS, earning $12.1 million from 2,978 theatres for Universal Pictures.  It has made $61-million in three weeks.

JOY is becoming a very profitable venture for 20th Century Fox, earning $10 million in its second week out.  It is nearing the $40-million mark already in North America.

THE BIG SHORT expands to 1,588 theatres for Paramount Pictures, landing it in seventh with $8.8 million, receiving both acclaim from Critics and Audiences with an 86% on the Tomatometer and an A- CinemaScore respectively.

In eighth is CONCUSSION with $7.9 million for Sony Pictures, earning a modest $25 million in two weeks.

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 2 rounds-out the Top Ten with $4.7 million in its seventh week out, nearing the $250 million-mark.

Paramount Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to see xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE, filmed in our hometown of Toronto!

Screenings will take place in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa on Wednesday January 18th, 2017 at 7:00PM as follows:

Toronto – Cineplex Cinemas Yonge-Dundas @ 7:00PM

Montreal – Cinema Banque Scotia Montreal @ 7:00PM

Ottawa – Cineplex Cinemas Ottawa @ 7:00PM

Synopsis:
The third explosive chapter of the blockbuster franchise that redefined the spy thriller finds extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) coming out of self-imposed exile and on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box. Recruiting an all-new group of thrill-seeking cohorts, Xander finds himself enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy that points to collusion at the highest levels of world governments. Packed with the series’ signature deadpan wit and bad-ass attitude, “xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE” will raise the bar on extreme action with some of the most mind-blowing stunts to ever be caught on film.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate your City! Click “share” from there for an extra chance!

Paramount Pictures Canada release xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Friday, January 20, 2017.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada)

Paramount Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to take Readers to see xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE, filmed right here in Toronto! Screenings take place as follows:

Screenings will take place in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa on Wednesday January 18th, 2017 at 7:00PM.

Toronto – Cineplex Cinemas Yonge-Dundas @ 7:00PM

Montreal – Cinema Banque Scotia Montreal @ 7:00PM

Ottawa – Cineplex Cinemas Ottawa @ 7:00PM

Synopsis:
The third explosive chapter of the blockbuster franchise that redefined the spy thriller finds extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) coming out of self-imposed exile and on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box. Recruiting an all-new group of thrill-seeking cohorts, Xander finds himself enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy that points to collusion at the highest levels of world governments. Packed with the series’ signature deadpan wit and bad-ass attitude, “xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE” will raise the bar on extreme action with some of the most mind-blowing stunts to ever be caught on film.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Indicate your city and click “share” from there for an extra chance!

Paramount Pictures Canada release xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Friday, January 20, 2017.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada)

Since Suicide Squad and TIFF, Toronto hasn’t caught much of a break in terms of starpower. That is about to change soon.  While a slew of TV Series and Pilots continue to film in the City, we will be plenty excited to know that A-List names like Reese Witherspoon, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Neil Patrick Harris and Samuel L. Jackson are making their way north over the next few months.  That’s right!  Kicking-off 2016 proper!

DOWNSIZING, to be released via Paramount Pictures, is the latest endeavour for Oscar-nominated Director Alexander Payne who rocked our world with Sideways (2000) and The Descendants (2004).  Matt Damon will star as an Omaha man who joins the many others who opt to undergo a procedure which reduces them to a fraction of their size.  They then are moved-off to communities with many others like themselves.  Reese Witherspoon who worked with Payne in Election, Jason Sudeikis and Neil Patrick Harris also star.  Expect a late 2017 release, which means you guessed it… OSCARS and what could be a debut at TIFF ’17!   Filming runs April through July.

For those who like a bit more of a punch, the latest installment in the XXX franchise, THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE begins production in February through May and once again stars megastar Vin Diesel in the titular role.  Samuel L. Jackson returns and appearing also is MMA star Conor McGregor.  After Xander Cage (Diesel) is left for dead, he miraculously finds his way back and is sent on a new assignment by hander Augustus Gibbons (Jackson).

Production is to be based out of Pinewood Studios in Toronto for both Films.

After selling to Europacorp during TIFF in September for a cool $17 million, gun control drama Miss Sloane, starring future Oscar winner Jessica Chastain also is pegged for a late winter start date. Chastain stars as a lobbyist who goes up against Washington to pass through gun legislation.  The Hollywood Reporter reports a March start date, while the Directors Guild of Canada report filming could start as early as February.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

It’s that time of year, Willionaire$!  And this means you basically have only one more day to catch-up on some of your 2015 releases.  We turn to our panel of Writers here at Mr. Will Wong and ask them which Films were their year’s best and here’s what they had to say!

AMANDA GILMORE

1. Brooklyn
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Carol
4. The Revenant
5. Ex_Machina
6. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
7. Spotlight
8. Room
9. Inside Out
10. Me, Earl and the Dying Girl

Brooklyn is perfect. It took me on the journey the main character was taking in a flawless and effortlessly beautiful way. This is the must see Film of the year. Mad Max: Fury Road takes the title for best Blockbuster of the year! Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara both deliver  career bests in Carol. Everything about The Revenant is perfect and it should be nominated for everything. The Diary of a Teenage Girl is one of few Films I have seen that correctly depict what goes on in a teenage girl’s mind and life. Meanwhile, Room  is the first Film that made me cry in years.

SIOBHÁN RICH

Anomalisa
Brooklyn
Carol
Duke of Burgundy
Ex_Machina
Grandma
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Straight Outta Compton
Youth

Whittling down my favourites of 2015 was a harrowing task, hence I have not listed these in any particular order.

Two of my top two Docs for 2015 were Kriby Dick‘s The Hunting Ground about rape culture on American college campuses, and Jennifer Peedom‘s beautifully shot Sherpa, about the people who make climbing Mount Everest possible.

If you saw Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight then Chilean Director Pablo Larrain‘s The Club is a must see companion piece. On the opposite end spectrum is the Studio Ghibli Film When Marnie Was There – a Movie that moved me beyond tears to ugly sobbing mess.

JONATHAN GODFREY

1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
2. Chappie
3. Spectre
4. Me, Earl and the Dying Girl
5. Everest
6. Mad Max: Fury Road
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. II
8. Steve Jobs
9. Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie
10. Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending proved early on that my love for Sci-Fi would be rewarded throughout the year. Ghost in the Shell’s new Movie was one such reward, whereas Steve Jobs was a reward all its own. The Hunger Games and Mad Max’s fourth installments both portrayed a future of women warriors, while elsewhere I watched men of yesteryear die atop Mt. Everest. Speaking of death, Me, Earl and the Dying Girl portrayed its complexities beautifully. Spectre added to Bond’s body count, and quickly became my favourite Film in the franchise. Chappie debated sentience with an ultra-nuanced aesthetic, and then there was… Star Wars. The Force Awakens, an episode equal to its ancestors, and without question my favourite Film of the year.

GEORGE KOZERA

1. Room
2. Son of Saul
3. The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
4. Brooklyn
5. James White
6. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
7. The Last 5 Years
8. The Danish Girl
9. Ex_Machina
10. Carol

Room is a perfect Movie. Two perfect performances. I cannot wait to watch and savour it again and again. The horrors are too real, the ideologies too obscene, the inhumanities too incomprehensible for me to fathom in Son of Saul. I can’t even write about this Movie anymore as it takes me to dark and painful places, as my mother was an Auschwitz survivor, but I am forever grateful for having seen it. Under-seen The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet seamlessly takes every emotional element that makes a Movie a classic and puts an inimitable spin on it. The best performance from Helena Bonham Carter in years. Christopher Abbott, in the title role as JAMES WHITE, gives the bravest performance I have experienced in a long time. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was beautiful, original and has the grip of a pitbull. Alicia Vikander is purely commanding in both The Danish Girl and Ex_Machina. Distinctly different roles, both expertly-executed.

JUSTIN WALDMAN

1. Anomalisa
2. Brooklyn
3. Creed
4. Ex_Machina
5. The Hateful Eight
6. Mad Max: Fury Road
7. Room
8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
9. Spotlight
10. What We Do In The Shadows

Charlie Kaufman’s absolutely heartbreaking Animated Film was one of my favourite Movies at both TIFF ’15 and 2015 on the whole. The Film looks deep into the soul of its audience and breaks down walls, exposing human nature in its most vulnerable form. I was absolutely blown away by how incredible Brooklyn is. Saoirse Ronan was beyond remarkable. Creed really came out of nowhere to be one of my favourites of the year. Michael B. Jordan took-on the daunting task of taking the reins from Sylvester Stallone and does a remarkable job. Ex_Machina is truly an incredible Film that should be viewed by the masses, and made me a fan of Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander. The Hateful Eight is a welcome return to form for Quentin Tarantino – in my opinion his third strongest Film behind Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Spotlight is a story that needed to be exposed about the truly horrific acts that have occurred within the Catholic Church and frontrunner for Best Picture.

DAVID BALDWIN

1. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
2. Room
3. Ex_Machina
4. Inside Out
5. The Lobster
6. Mad Max: Fury Road
7. The Martian
8. The Revenant
9. Brooklyn
10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

While we will casually remember 2015 as the year Star Wars roared back into theatres, I will remember it as the year powered by nostalgia. Everything old was new again and ideas that would have sounded ludicrous five years ago, suddenly became the Movies everyone was dying to see. So much of what I saw this year blasted past my expectations, and the stuff that missed the mark really had no chance of keeping up. Here’s hoping 2016 has just as much creativity, imagination and wildly entertaining Movies for us to enjoy!

MR. WILL

1. Room
2. Trainwreck
3. Spotlight
4. Amy
5. Truth
6. Carol
7. Straight Outta Compton
8. The Danish Girl
9. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
10. Miss You Already

After catching wind of it filming in Toronto last winter, I had no idea that Room what would go-on to be my favourite Film of 2015.  I’ve always championed Brie Larson and am glad the rest of the world got to witness  the year’s greatest breakthrough performance in the Film.  I am enamoured with child actor Jacob Tremblay‘s work here and won’t be surprised if the nine-year-old gets a Supporting Actor nod.

It truly was the year of Cate Blanchett, gifting us with two phenomenal portraits in both Truth and Carol, both I feel are criminally under-seen by moviegoers.  I still am mesmerized and affected by Amy Schumer‘s phenomenal semi-autobiographical work in Trainwreck (also starring Brie Larson!) and  I am still obsessed with Tilda Swinton‘s unrecognizable transformation!

What makes Straight Outta Compton so impressive is that it was released earlier in the year and still it stands on its own merit. And Miss You Already resonated with me emotionally myself as a Cancer survivor – regardless how unfashionable it is to choose a Chick Flick in my Top Ten. Truly impactful and under-seen performances from Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore.

And because we love Pop Culture on all fronts, a recognition of our favourite Pop Music this year:

Pop Singles

1. Lean On – Major Lazer + DJ Snake ft. MØ
2. Hello – Adele
3. Uptown Funk! – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
4. Fight Song – Rachel Platten
5. Bright – Echosmith
6. One Last Time – Ariana Grande
7. Talking Body – Tove Lo
8. Hold My Hand – Jess Glynne
9. Love Me Like You Do – Ellie Goulding
10. Wildest Dreams – Taylor Swift

I absolutely killed Lean On.  I love songs that elevate you and even half a year later, I still feel that little bit better when I hear it.  If we’re talking albums, Adele‘s 25 is something I can recite start to finish and Hello despite being a great single, is only a taste of the amazing things on that disc. I am unashamed of my love for Uptown Funk!  Am holding out for an era revival in Pop-Funk based on its success.

See Mr. Will‘s #SELFIE2015 Video highlighting many of the Celebs who this year snapped a pic with me!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong/Amanda Gilmore/George Kozera)