#REVIEW: “THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS”
Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS opens with the most impressive segue from the iconic Disney Magic Kingdom Castle logo as it follows an owl through the snowy landscape of 1800s Victorian London and lands in an attic where Clara (Mackenzie Foy) and her younger brother Fritz (Tom Sweet) catch an errant mouse with an elaborate mousetrap. Thus, one theme is already set in motion: elaborate gizmos, inquisitive children and mice. Lots and lots of the tiny ...
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#REVIEW: “MID90s”
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
This impressive directorial debut from Jonah Hill is a coming-of-age story of 13-year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic). Stevie is growing up in 1990s Los Angeles and spends his summer trying to find out where he belongs. His home life consists of his older teenaged brother, Ian (Lucas Hedges), viciously beating him when his mother, Dabney (Katherine Waterston), isn’t around. One sunny summer day Stevie leaves his home and wanders the streets of Los ...
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#REVIEW: “JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN”
Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN opens with the British Intelligence Service, M17, having been cyber attacked and the identities of all their secret agents have been exposed. The biggest issues facing the Prime Minister, played by Emma Thompson channeling Hillary and Teresa May, is that she needs a secret agent to find the mastermind of the attack but all of them have been revealed. A search begins to find retired ex-spies to find the hacker.
Johnny ...
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#REVIEW: “HALLOWEEN”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
It’s been 40 years since Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) went on a killing spree on Halloween night. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has suffered PTSD from those events, but has been training and preparing ever since should he return to finish the job. Her own daughter Karen (Judy Greer) thinks she’s crazy and overly-paranoid, but Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) is a bit more sympathetic. And after Myers escapes from a prison ...
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#REVIEW: “BEAUTIFUL BOY”
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
Beautiful Boy is a raw look into the lives of those affected by addiction and the impact it has on their family. It’s based on two best-selling Memoirs from father and son David (Steve Carell) and Nicolas (Timothée Chalamet) Sheff. The Film chronicles both Mmemoirs and tells the heartbreaking story of Nic’s addiction to Methamphetamine through both Nic and David’s perspectives. As a teenager, Nic was a promising student but once he became ...
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#REVIEW: “THE OATH”
Ever-relevant, Funnyman Ike Barinholtz's directorial debut THE OATH is a dark Holiday Comedy unlike anything you've never seen before. Set in an alternate America over Thanksgiving weekend, the Film in which he also writes and stars, centers on high-strung and news-obsessed Chris. Him and his wife Kai (Tiffany Haddish) decide to invite family over for the holiday on which the White House decides to make Americans sign an oath of loyalty in exchange for tax benefits, which a progressive Chris ...
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#REVIEW: “THE HATE U GIVE”
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
The Hate U Give is one of the most important films of the year.
The Film is based on the beloved Novel of the same name written by Angie Thomas. It follows high school student Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) who navigates between two different worlds. The first is her home, Garden Heights, which is a predominantly-black community and is where she was born and raised. Her other world is that of her predominantly white prep school, which her mother ...
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#REVIEW: “BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
The El Royale is a motel in Lake Tahoe that straddles the borders of Nevada and California. It was once thriving, but in 1969, it is now a desolate vestige of its former self. As a storm approaches, several guests are checking in – each more enigmatic than the next – and they quickly discover that everything is not what it seems.
Bad Times at the El Royale is the long awaited second feature from Writer/Director Drew Goddard. His debut feature, The ...
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#REVIEW: “FIRST MAN”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Oscar-winning Director Damien Chazelle’s First Man lands in theatres this weekend after screening upwards of 13 times last month during TIFF. The Film chronicles the story of legendary astronaut Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), from his early days in the NASA Space Program right up to becoming the first man in history to walk on the moon.
From a purely technical standpoint, First Man is a monumental cinematic achievement. Every visual element is ...
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#REVIEW: “GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN”
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
When Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and his best friend Sam (Caleel Harris) accept their first call for their free “pick-up junk” business, they find a secret passage with a chest. When they open it they find a dummy doll named Slappy (Jack Black) inside and innocently bring him to life. Slappy seems decent in the beginning with a clear intention to have a family of his own. However, his wholesome demeanour begins to turn sinister when Sonny’s ...
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