#REVIEW: “THE MISFITS”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Richard Pace (Pierce Bronsnan) has just escaped from prison and is already up to his old tricks stealing from the rich. He gets picked up by a group calling themselves “The Misfits” who want to recruit him to assist with a gold heist in a high security prison in the Middle East. Pace is initially reluctant to join the group when he hears what they want to do with the gold, but quickly changes his mind.
From the on-set, THE MISFITS feels like a ...
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#REVIEW: “DREAM HORSE”
By Mr. Will Wong
We've seen our share of Horse Racing movies, and not all of them hit the money. We had the joy of watching the Documentary Dark Horse at TIFF '15 and remember being moved to tears about the story of a backyard-bred horse named Dream Alliance, who went-on to do the impossible, winning Wales' top national steeplechase race for a syndicate of working class owners. This live-action adaptation directed by Euros Lyn tells the story of a woman named Jan Vokes (Toni Collette), how ...
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#REVIEW: “THE FOREVER PURGE”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
The Purge series began in 2013 as a self-contained Horror-Thriller. It was an inherently political take on classism, racism and fascism, though it felt far removed from reality and more like an over-the-top, high concept piece of dystopian Science Fiction. Flash-forward to 2021 and THE FOREVER PURGE does not feel so over-the-top anymore. No, watching this fifth film in the Series feels more like watching a Documentary than it does a Horror-Thriller. ...
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#REVIEW: “SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could not Be Televised) has been getting rave reviews since its debut at Sundance. The directorial debut from The Roots' Questlove, focuses on three different things: the Harlem Cultural Festival, what the Festival meant and the news of the time. The Festival which took place in New York in the summer of 1969, celebrated African-American music and culture, helping build the foundation of what we know today as ...
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#REVIEW: “FEAR STREET PART ONE: 1994”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
The problem with Anthologies is that sometimes stories don't feel complete. Fear Street Part 1: 1994 certainly doesn't suffer from this, successfully building on an arc that will be fulfilled through two following installments. From the extraordinary mind who haunted your dreams as a child, R. L. Stine, comes his most gruesome, gory, and exciting collection of stories yet. Strap yourselves in for some of the most brutal kill scenes ever seen. This is ...
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#REVIEW: “BLACK WIDOW”
By Mr. Will Wong
Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, we see Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) after a falling-out with the Avengers. With the distinction of being the first film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this entry directed by Cate Shortland gives us insight into the fallen heroine's backstory. Natasha finds herself marked for destruction by an opposing force and must confront some burnt bridges in her past and her history as a spy.
What makes BLACK ...
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#REVIEW: “ZOLA”
By Mr. Will Wong
A story so wild, it had to be true! Detroit Waitress Aziah "Zola" King (played by Taylour Paige) gained notoriety in 2015, Tweeting a 148-Tweet-long thread chronicling an unbelievable journey on which she embarked. She recalls the messy fall-out with a friend whom she met at the restaurant at which she worked. Her new friend (portrayed by Riley Keough as Stefani), a sex worker, had convinced her to go on a wild adventure dancing at Florida strip clubs to earn some cash. ...
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#REVIEW: “F9: THE FAST SAGA”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
F9: The Fast Saga unfortunately does not live up to the hype that has been built as we've endured multiple delays with its release. Surprise returns, ridiculous action sequences, and world-building, perhaps for the end (?) of the Franchise should have made this installment a high-octane trip, but unfortunately it finds itself stalling on the shoulders of the road.
Flashbacks are always a fun way to start a Franchise flick so rich in history, this ...
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#REVIEW: “WOLFGANG”
By Mr. Will Wong
David Gelb (Hiro Dreams of Sushi, Chef's Table) directs and produces WOLFGANG, a Documentary about the life of America's first ever Celebrity Chef, Wolfgang Puck. The Film recounts Puck's legendary ascent in the '70s reviving a flailing Ma Maison in Hollywood, to launching celebrity hotspot Spago, where he revolutionized the way we look at American Cuisine today.
Told in a concise 78 minutes, Gelb traces Puck's journey as a boy who grew-up impoverished in Austria, ...
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#REVIEW: “CENSOR”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Enid (Niamh Algar) is a UK Film Censor working during the 1980s. She spends her days watching and censoring gratuitously-violent films, or “video nasties” as they were referred to at the time. But she is haunted by the disappearance of her sister when they were children and after having a visceral reaction to a film with an all-too familiar storyline, sets out to find her.
I am not sure what is more horrifying about CENSOR: the storyline or the ...
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