#REVIEW: “MARIA”

Review by Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong After Jackie and Spencer, two of the most beautiful and empathic biopics of the last ten years, Pablo Larraín turns his camera on Maria Callas, in–you guessed it–MARIA. Set during her final days as she struggles to regain her legendary voice, Maria encapsulates a somber ending to a magnificent life. Callas skips back and forth through time, suffusing even her fondest memories with a shadowy grief. Maria is as much Pablo ... Read more

#REVIEW: “WICKED PART I”

Review by Mr. Will Wong Truly a landmark moment!  Director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) had the monumental task of bringing iconic musical Wicked to the big screen and is it ever a triumph! Full disclosure, I have never seen the stage production, so I came into the Film completely blind. And it didn’t even matter one bit. This Wicked Witch of the West origins story centers around Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a social outcast who likewise is rejected by her own family because of her ... Read more

#REVIEW: “SEPTEMBER 5”

By Mr. Will Wong Based on true events surrounding the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, Swiss Director Tim Fehlbaum's SEPTEMBER 5 is riveting storytelling, which surely will be at the forefront of awards season discussion. The Drama centers on the ABC Sports broadcast team who were assigned to cover the Olympics, only to find themselves very quickly pivoting in what would become groundbreaking first-of-its-kind live news coverage of terrorism.  Led by Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) and ... Read more

#REVIEW: “RED ONE”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong 'Tis the holiday season and we’re getting into the Christmas spirit and joy with Director Jake Kasdan’s newest feature, Red One. There is *a lot* happening throughout the Movie, and a lot of that is forgivable, but it is important to note this isn't your typical Christmas movie -for one, there is an abundance of swearing, so discretion should be used. Despite some overproduced CGI, Red One still manages to be enjoyable even if is a bumpy road ... Read more

#REVIEW: “GLADIATOR II”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong How amazing is it that well into his 80s, Sir Ridley Scott still is delivering some of his best work? Gladiator II proves well worth the 26-year wait for a sequel.  The CGI may be a little messy and over the top, but the performances, acting, Script and direction all come together masterfully, to create an entertaining bounty of excellence. The Film now focuses on Lucius (Paul Mescal) some twenty years after the first Gladiator film, as Rome has ... Read more

#REVIEW: “HERE”

Review by Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong Consider your home, and how many things have happened in that space over years and decades, with or without you. Robert Zemeckis takes that thought and stretches it a few steps further in nearly every possible direction with his time and generation-spanning mini-epic Here. It's about a small patch of land, observed from a fixed angle, chronicled from the extinction of the dinosaurs up to the present day. It's about civilizations, families, life, ... Read more

#REVIEW: “VENOM: THE LAST DANCE”

Review by Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong When we left Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), host of the rascally and rambunctious Venom symbiote, he was unwittingly warped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, watching Tom Holland's Spider-Man on a tiki bar tv. Would our hero transform into Spidey's villainous counterpart in his "last" outing?? Cut to Venom: The Last Dance, the third and supposedly final chapter, which begins moments later... and instantly rescinds any possibility of a shared universe ... Read more

#REVIEW: “SMILE 2”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong While I was *very* much a fan of Parker Finn’s 2022 hit SMILE, despite its treatment of mental health, its Sequel is truly something spectacular stepping-up its scale, even if it is a bit of the same at the core. This, and a career-defining performance from its star, Naomi Scott. This terrifying Sequel focuses on Skye Riley (Scott), who is a huge superstar singer who is trying to reclaim her life after a horrific accident that occurred a year ago, ... Read more

#REVIEW: “THE APPRENTICE”

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong The Film takes place in New York during '70s and '80s, following a young Donald J. Trump (Sebastian Stan) as he learns how to be a ‘winner’ from cut-throat Lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). With these two divisive subjects, it’s little wonder that Director Ali Abassi’s The Apprentice has people divided. We begin in the '70s, with Trump going door to door at a housing complex his father owns, demanding rent to be paid. We learn those residents ... Read more

#REVIEW: “WOMAN OF THE HOUR”

By Mr. Will Wong WOMAN OF THE HOUR is a story so sensational it just had to be true. Anna Kendrick not only stars, but also produces and directs this magnificent Thriller which premiered at TIFF '23 to raves and already has garnered her an award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Set in the late '70s, this story based on true events sees Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick) struggling to make it as an Actress in Hollywood. And not for a lack of effort. She is auditioning, but just not ... Read more