After making a splash on the Festival circuit, BACKSPOT arrives in theatres May 31, 2024 via levelFILM. Today, we get a new Trailer.
Director: D.W. Waterson
Screenplay: Joanne Sarazen
Executive Producers: Elliot Page, Matt Jordan Smith, J.C. Davidson, Katisha Shaw
Producers: Alona Metzer, D.W. Waterson, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, Martin Katz
Cast: Devery Jacobs, Evan Rachel Wood, Shannyn Sossamon, Kudakwashe Rutendo, Thomas Antony Olajide and Wendy Crewson
Logline:A driven cheerleader (Devery Jacobs) struggles to handle the pressure when she and her girlfriend are both selected for an elite cheer squad, in D.W. Waterson’s feature directorial debut.
(Photo/video credit: levelFILM)
By David Baldwin
Cheerleaders Riley (Devery Jacobs) and her girlfriend Amanda (Kudakwashe Rutendo, TIFF Rising Star ’23 and Share Her Journey Fellow) have just been selected to be part of an elite cheer squad. With a major competition coming up – not to mention needing to impress ice cold head coach Eileen (Evan Rachel Wood) – there is no room for either of them to mess up this opportunity. And Riley is starting to buckle under that pressure.
I am not a gymnast, nor have I ever tried to be. Thankfully, that does not matter because Director D.W. Waterson (in their feature-length debut) does everything they can to make it so that you feel all of the pain, excitement and fear Riley feels from start to finish. The camera is always moving, taking in Riley’s experiences, amd honing in frequently on shots utilizing a Go-Pro to really embed deep into her psyche. When she starts having a panic attack, you feel it with her. When she starts pulling out her eyebrow hairs, you feel it with her. It is frequently disorientating and intense, but that is deliberate. Waterson is not so much making BACKSPOT into a film so much as they are making a visceral experience.
Jacobs is revelatory here, excelling equally at the physical and emotional elements of her character. She dives fearlessly into every moment, with the extreme close-ups on her face brilliantly depicting the toil this training is having on her. Her innocent, intimate connection with Rutendo is terrific, as are the standard coming-of-age tropes Riley finds herself falling into. Where the Film falters is in what is happening in the background of Riley’s home life, and more specifically her school work. We only get to see fragments of it or nothing at all, with everything that is not just gymnastics (including Shannyn Sossamon’s thankless performance as Riley’s Mom) kind of fading into the background. The number of scenes taking place at Cineplex Mississauga gave me a giggle though.
All of that said, Wood is the Film’s not-so secret weapon. She relishes at playing such a fiendish and nasty character. But when Riley and Amanda refer to her as middle-aged, despite being in her mid-30s? That innocuous, throwaway of a line hit me square in the gut. I am not sure I will ever forget it.
BACKSPOT screens at TIFF’ 23:
Friday, September 8 at 8:30 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Monday, September 11 at 3:00 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Friday, September 15 at 9:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
By David Baldwin
Al Yankovic’s (Daniel Radcliffe – yes, him) ambition in life is to make parody songs scored to the beat and style of existing hits. Fame will not come easy for Al though, and neither will the drugs, alcohol and excess that come with it.
If you know anything about Yankovic’s history as a performer, forget all of it before you sit down to watch WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY. Rather than being a conventional biopic that goes through the tumultuous ups and downs of a performer’s career, Co-Writer/Director Eric Appel and Yankovic himself turn the entire genre upside down and inject as much ridiculousness and timeline perversion into the Film as they could. It sends up every convention we know and understand from decades of biopics and exposes them for the by-the-numbers, stereotypically fluffy nonsense that we all know them to be. Others have already favourly compared the Film to the cult classic Walk Hard, yet WEIRD feels more disjointed, more outrageous and more weird than it does anything else.
How else to explain Al needing to rescue his girlfriend Madonna (an uproarious Evan Rachel Wood) from Pablo Escobar (Arturo Castro)? Or Michael Jackson copying the beat from Yankovic’s “Eat It” when he wrote and recorded “Beat It”, rather than the other way around? Or well, just about anything else that happens in this outrageous movie?
I laughed as hard as I could throughout WEIRD, even if the seams of the Film being based off a three-minute fake trailer sketch start showing far too early. There are some incredible cameos and sight gags littered throughout, and this is easily (though you might not believe me) Radcliffe’s best performance this side of Harry Potter. He commits willingly to every outlandish thing Appel and Yankovic throw at him, commands the screen at every turn and does an incredible job depicting the Hard Rock lifestyle the Film purports actually happened to the real Weird Al. Hysterical stuff. And God willing, Yankovic himself will be nominated for an Oscar for that end credits song that is…brilliant?
WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY screens as follows at TIFF ’22:
Thu, Sep 8 IN-PERSON Royal Alexandra Theatre 11:59pm
Fri, Sep 9 IN-PERSON TIFF Bell Lightbox 12:15pm
Sun, Sep 18 IN-PERSON TIFF Bell Lightbox 9:00am
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
Miranda July is back with her latest film about a Con Artist family who taught their 26-year-old daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) the art of scamming and stealing.
This is a quirky Film centred on the need to feel love and care from parents. Wood does a tremendous job of projecting the yearning for warm words and loving touches from her detached parents. She does this while being withdrawn and contained. Her scene partner is the mesmerizing and scene-stealing Gina Rodriquez who plays the confident and empathetic Melanie. Overall, Kajillionaire is a unique Comedy with captivating performances across the board.
Kajillionaire screens at Sundance on Sat, Jan. 25th at 9:30 PM at Eccles Theatre, Sn, Jan. 26th at 8:30 AM at The MARC, Mon, Jan. 27th at 6:30 PM at Rose Wagner Centre, Wed, Jan. 29th at 6 PM at Sundance Resort, and Sat, Feb. 1st at Eccles Theatre.
eOne Films x Mr. Will want Readers to win Run-of-Engagement Passes to see TIFF ’17 selection ALLURE in Toronto at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Synopsis:
A thirty-year-old woman, troubled by her past and struggling with a dysfunctional relationship with her father, seeks sexual and emotional fulfillment through a series of failed relationships. However, her life changes when she befriends and convinces an unhappy sixteen-year-old girl to run away to her house, under the guise of a confidante who wants to help. Although the arrangement initially works, it soon becomes clear that for the young girl to stay and continue satisfying her needs, the older woman will have to employ immoral tactics. Manipulation, denial and co-dependency fuel what ultimately becomes a fractured dynamic that can only sustain itself for so long.
See the Trailer:
Artwork:
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eOne Films release ALLURE Friday, April 6, 2018 in Toronto at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
(Photo/video credit: eOne Films)
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
A Worthy Companion follows troubled 30-year-old Laura (Evan Rachel Wood) who starts an intimate and manipulative relationship with 16-year-old runaway Eva (Julia Sarah Stone).
The Film delivers great performances from Wood and Stone who work well together especially in scenes where Laura is emotionally abusing Eva. Both express a mix of betrayal, fear, and compassion all at once in these scenes. Yet, A Worthy Companion has a messy script that has a lot to say but doesn’t know how or what to focus on. Resulting in a Film that has no characters the audience roots for or a story they care about.
A Worthy Companion screens at TIFF on Sept. 10 at Scotiabank 2 at 7:30 PM and Sept. 12 at Scotiabank 3 at 3:30 PM.
Elevation Pictures + Mr. Will want to take you to see gripping TIFF ’15 selection INTO THE FOREST starring Ellen Page + Evan Rachel Wood!
Screenings take place as follows:
Toronto: May 31st, 7pm
Varsity Cinema (55 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M4W 1A5)
Vancouver: June 2nd, 7pm
International Village (3, 88 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6B 6N9)
Victoria: June 2nd, 7pm
Odeon Victoria (780 Yates St, Victoria, BC V8W 1L4)
Edmonton: June 1st, 8pm (Notice time!)
City Centre Screen Cinema (10200 102nd Ave, Edmonton, AB T5J 0V1)
Calgary: June 2nd, 7pm
Cineplex Odeon Eau Claire (200 Barclay Parade SW #200, Calgary, AB T2P 4R5)
Halifax: June 2nd, 7pm
Scotiabank Halifax (Bayer’s Lake Business Park, 190 Chain Lake Drive, Halifax, NS B3S 1C5)
Winnipeg: June 1st, 7pm
Grant Park, Landmark Cinema (1120 Grant Ave Unit 127, Winnipeg, MB R3M 2A6)
Synopsis:
In the near future, a massive power outage darkens North America. Sisters Nell (Ellen Page) and Eva (Evan Rachel Wood) live in a house in a forest far from the nearest town with their father Robert (Callum Keith Rennie). They’re more alone now than they’ve ever felt before.
As the blackout drags on and their supplies dwindle, the sisters battle starvation, sickness and trespassers. With a possible apocalypse looming, they’ll have to rely on their wits to see them through.
See the Trailer:
Artwork:
To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post and indicate your city at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK!
Elevation Pictures release INTO THE FOREST Friday, June 3, 2016.
(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)
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