Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong

There is something truly magical about seeing a movie you adore once again on the big screen. Words almost fail to describe that feeling you get when you  experience a live orchestration of that Film’s Score in a concert setting.

Sony Centre for the Performing Arts is giving Jurassic Park the concert treatment and I had the pleasure of going to the first of two nights of this incredible experience. Prior to the presentation, the audience was treated to Behind the Curtain with Richard Crouse and Evan Mitchell, the Conductor for both this and the venue’s popular presentation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Mitchell talks about the nuts and bolts of doing a live orchestration of a movie. We see them popping-up more and more and the reason why he says, is “I feel like they’re a slam dunk.”. He adds “to have the music frame in frame is a difficult thing to do. We’re not watching the film as we play. It becomes more mechanical for me” and that he “only looks up for key moments”.

The conversation then shifted to John Williams’  Score itself of Jurassic Park and Crouse had some interesting tidbits to share. For example, Williams has said that “he wanted to write music that matched the rhythmic gyrations of the dinosaurs” according to Crouse, while Mitchell states “I believe he captured the character of the music and the dinosaurs very much”.

Now onto the main event itself. There is something surreal hearing Jurassic Park‘s Score play live as the helicopter scene to Isla Nebular unfolds. It sends chills through your body hearing this in-person as it takes place on the big screen. As well, the first appearance of the T-Rex paired with live orchestration is breathtaking, truly adding something new to the experience that you might have missed from just watching the Film in theatres or on television. If you’re a fan of Jurassic Park, this certainly is something you cannot miss.

You have one more chance to see Steven Spielberg’s classic Jurassic Park in Concert at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts tonight. More here.

(Photo credit: Justin Waldman)

It was a blue Christmas, literally. We were overjoyed this Holiday to reunite with our friends and family thanks to the 2017 HONDA ACCORD TOURING. This luxurious beauty in Vortex Blue Pearl not only was visually fetching, but performs just as flawless as it looks.  Come snow, fog or slippery roads, we were armed with the peace of mind that we were in a vehicle that had not only my back, but also the backs of friends and family who traveled along with me.

With its 2.0 litre, 16-valve, Atkin Cycle DOHC, i-VTEC® 4-cylinder engine, 143 horsepower  and 128 lb.-foot of torque at 4000 rpm, we traveled with power and purpose through the City from the suburbs to downtown core, all the way to country where we spent some festive quality time with Billy and Princess in picturesque snows.

Being Torontonians, often we dream of a White Christmas and at long last we were gifted with that pleasure this year. We’ll always have the Touring to remember it all by, driving through a shower of snowflakes landing upon our windshield and moonroof.

With the beauty of snow sometimes come unsafe driving conditions and we never once doubted our safety with the Touring‘s Vehicle Stability Assist® guiding us through a couple close calls.  A Collision Mitigation-Brake System™, Collision Warning System, plus dual-stage, multi-threshold air bags and a Smartvent ™ side airbags all are there for us in the event of anything ever going wrong.

Nailing all the marks, the Touring also is conscious and cost-efficient with its ECON mode and ECO ASSIST ™ System.  We made it through Christmas with three separate one hour-plus drives outside the City on about $50 of gas. You can’t beat that.

The Touring is none the short on detail. Sleek, perforated leather-trimmed seats have driver and passengers sitting comfortably. All seats in the car have individualized temperature control which is an asset in these frigid conditions. Pardon the bun.

A charging plate, which sadly wasn’t large enough for our Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus was at our service, but still with multiple USB charging ports we were able to stay charged and connected at all times. None can deny the importance of being reachable when driving conditions are unpredictable especially during the Holidays.

We can’t get over how gorgeous the Car’s Display Audio System is as we toggled with ease between tunes on our phone’s playlists to Sirius XM™. Their Holiday Traditions station was pretty much the soundtrack of our Holiday and we unapologetically blasted that big band festivity from the Touring‘s 360-watt audio system with seven speakers and subwoofer.

We are a huge fan of the Touring‘s proximity entry. We don’t know about you, but we ain’t got time to fumbling for our keys! The remote key’s push-button trunk opening was super-handy whether we were lugging bags doing some last-minute Holiday shopping or transporting gifts.

This recipient of the 2017 Best Resale Value Awards for Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car certainly has earned its acclaim.  The 2017 Honda Accord Touring is priced at $37,400 CAN.  Learn more here.

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Some Snaps from our time with the Touring. Hover cursor left and right of each post to navigate slideshow:

(Swipe left!) It’ll be a Blue Christmas in the 2017 #HondaAccord Touring! I’ll be safe and sound with its Traction Control System in these slippery conditions. Love that it has a charging plate for my phone allowing me to stay connected all times. Its three cameras make parking, lane changes and backing out a cinch even in poor visibility. Above this all, it’s gorgeous! Looking forward to some Holiday adventures in this luxurious beauty. 🌨 #Honda Who are you looking forward to seeing most this Holiday? Drive safe!

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 🎅 (@mrwillwong) on Dec 22, 2017 at 7:58am PST

Merry Christmas from our Family to yours! 🎁 It’s been a while since we checked-in with our dear Princess (@APicbyMrWill). A special Holiday edition of Princess Diaries! Link in Bio.

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 🎅 (@mrwillwong) on Dec 24, 2017 at 8:38am PST

Heads Up! Endless Christmas fun with the Fam on this app by Ellen DeGeneres! #HeadsUp

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 🎅 (@mrwillwong) on Dec 25, 2017 at 8:49pm PST

An unforgettable #WhiteChristmas in the stunning 2017 #HondaAccord Touring. Thanks for the memories, #Honda! ❤

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 🎅 (@mrwillwong) on Dec 26, 2017 at 6:54pm PST

It’s been a while since we’ve posted a Princess Diary, but on behalf of our dear filly A PIC BY MRWILL, we’d love to wish a Happy Holiday to you and your loved ones!

Princess along with her stablemates from the barn of John Ross, has been wintering out in Flamborough, Ontario under the amazing care of Miss Tasha and Mr. Clayton (seen below). It was a fantastic year for the Team who not only won the prestigious Prince of Wales Stakes with Cool Catomine, but nabbed also the top two-year-old race in Canada, the Coronation Futurity with Aheadbyacentury (also seen below). The latter is Florida-bound as he prepares for his Queen’s Plate Trail in 2018!

While Princess wintered in Florida last winter, she remains on stall rest healing from her injury and will be staying here until her training resumes in a couple months. She continues to grow and seemed well-adjusted, watching over her stablemates as the queen of her predominantly-male barn.

2017 was an amazing year where we not only saw Princess break through for the first time in a route race, but also great consistency from her bringing home a cheque six out of eight races!

Let’s re-live that special day in August again!

We’re excited to see Princess thrive in 2018 now that she finally is getting what this game is all about! We don’t believe she’s turning four already, which is like 20 in human years. Soon she’ll be a Woman!

Billy and I popped by along with some of our special friends to surprise her today with some festive cheer! She even got a new Teddy to snuggle with since she misses her Woodbine Teddy! 🐻 She missed Billy so much, showering him with kisses.

See some Snaps from today:

No matter where you are, may you be surrounded with love this Holiday. To all your wishes coming true in 2018!

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(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong | Video: Woodbine Entertainment Group)

In its second week out, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI continues to power-on with a lead over the Christmas Box Office. By Christmas Day, it is projected to make $102.5 million from 4,232 theatres across North America, a total $399.1 million over two weeks alone for Disney.

JUMANJI 2: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is expected to make $44.3 million by Christmas Day for Sony Pictures, from 3,765 theatres. It gets 77% on the Tomatometer and an A- CinemaScore.

PITCH PERFECT 3 also shows signs of life with a debut in third with $35.6 million earned 3,447 theatres by Christmas for Universal Pictures. The Franchise best still belongs to 2015’s Pitch Perfect 2 which opened with $69 million.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN opens in fourth with $12.1 million, a total $16.7 million since its Wednesday opening for 20th Century Fox. It gets a 51% on the Tomatometer and an A CinemaScore.

DARKEST HOUR expands to 806 theatres for Focus Features/Universal Pictures with $6.1 million. Over five weeks it has made $9 million domestically.

THE SHAPE OF WATER since TIFF ’17 has been touted an Oscar Contender and it makes its way to ninth spot for Fox Searchlight with $3.5 million expanding to 726 theatres in its fourth week.

FATHER FIGURES rounds-out the Top Ten with $4.7 million for Warner Bros. in its opening from 2,902 theatres. It gets 22% on the Tomatometer and a B- CinemaScore. 

We love our Wes Anderson and today we get a new look at the Artwork for eagerly-awaited stop-motion Animated Feature ISLE OF DOGS coming March 2018.

Synopsis:

ISLE OF DOGS tells the story of ATARI KOBAYASHI, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. When, by Executive Decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.

Umm. How ever did we live without OCEAN‘S 8? We present to you the brand new Teaser for this all-female, star-studded installment in the Heist Series!

Synopsis:

The tide has turned and it’s a whole new “Ocean’s” when a group of 8 plan and execute a heist in New York. The film stars Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson and Awkwafina.

Teaser:

Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release OCEAN’S 8 Friday, June 8, 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Warner Bros. Pictures Canada)

While it isn’t out for a year, we get this beautiful First Look at THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS to get us into the Holiday spirit!

Synopsis:
All Clara (Mackenzie Foy) wants is a key – a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. A golden thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer’s (Morgan Freeman) annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key—which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. It’s there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of mice and the regents who preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers and Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), to retrieve Clara’s key and hopefully return harmony to the unstable world. Starring Keira Knightley as the Sugar Plum Fairy and featuring a special performance by Misty Copeland, Disney’s new holiday feature film “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” is directed by Lasse Hallström and inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic tale.

See the Teaser:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS Friday, November 2, 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

This certainly looks intriguing …without giving too much away. Peter Jackson of THE LORD OF THE RINGS fame, presents us MORTAL ENGINES.

Synopsis:
Thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, humankind has adapted and a new way of living has evolved. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan)—who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of London—finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future.

Mortal Engines is the startling, new epic adventure directed by Oscar®-winning visual-effects artist Christian Rivers (King Kong). Joining Rivers are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies three-time Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who have penned the screenplay. The Universal and MRC adaptation is from the award-winning book series by Philip Reeve, published in 2001 by Scholastic.

See the Teaser:

Universal Pictures Canada release MORTAL ENGINES December 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Toronto Indie Pop Band ALVVAYS have been kicking for six years now and are making a huge splash on the Festival circuit. In support of their second Disc ANTISOCIALITES, they played five consecutive sold-out shows at The Mod Club in their hometown.

We got to witness the Band live and witness their melodic and nostalgic Synth-Pop. The set under just an hour delivering delight to the packed house.

ALVVAYS consists of members Molly Rankin (lead vocals), Kerri MacLellan (keyboards), Alec O’Hanley (guitar), Brian Murphy (bass) and
Sheridan Riley (drums). Riverdale Fans might recognize their tune MARRY ME ARCHIE. Gorgeous current single DREAMS TONITE can be heard on Rock/Alternative or Indie Radio.

While packing-up we got to meet all five members of ALVVAYS, who stylize their name as such with the name Always being taken already by another Band.

Check it out:

See our Snaps:

So much fun seeing Toronto’s own #Alvvays play their fifth sold-out show at The Mod Club in support of new Disc #AntiSocialites! Thanks @steve_s2001!

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 🎅 (@mrwillwong) on Dec 16, 2017 at 9:35pm PST

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Surprise! Or not. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI opens with a huge bang for Disney, raking-in a superb $220 million from 4,232 theatres. Critics are loving this follow-up to 2015’s The Force Awakens with 93% on the Tomatometer and a resounding A CinemaScore from Audiences. It still however is unable to best the $247 million opening its Predecessor had.

Animated Feature FERDINAND is a distant second with $12.3 million from 3,621 theatres for 20th Century Fox. Starring John Cena, it gets 75% in the Tomatometer and an A CinemaScore.

In third is COCO with $9.2 million now in its fourth week out, surpassing the $150 million-mark domestically for Disney.

WONDER is in fourth with $5 million for eOne Films/Lionsgate Films. It has made a successful $108 million already over five weeks in North America.

DADDY’S HOME 2 is showing incredible longevity into the Holidays in sixth with $3.3 million for Paramount Pictures in its sixth week. It is just shy of $100 million.

In eighth is THE DISASTER ARTIST expanding to 1,010 theatres with $2.4 million for Elevation Pictures/A24 Films. It has made $12.7 million over three weeks.

LADY BIRD continues to capitalize off its Oscar buzz in tenth with $1.9 million from 947 theatres for Elevation Pictures/A24 Films.  It has made $25 million thus far.