On Screen

Smart reviews for the visually obsessed. On Screen features film reviews and festival coverage, spotlighting cinematic craft, storytelling and standout performances.

  • Review: ‘Promising Young Woman’ passes judgement where justice fails (Includes first-hand account)

    To this day, a segment of society finds women with power problematic. More notably, they find women who take power uncouth and even frightening. A woman who seeks to level the playing field or — heaven forbid — gain the upper-hand, is a threat to the status quo and thus a threat to the patriarchy. Therefore, when a movie portrays this change in dynamics, but doesn’t adhere to the way these situations have typically been portrayed, it’s deemed to be lacking or false. If a woman is going to assume a position of power, it has to be in a manner that is expected and, consequently, acceptable because it was designed by men. Promising Young Woman throws all of that out the window.

  • Review: ‘WandaVision’ is a unique and loving tribute to fan favourites (Includes first-hand account)

    One of the things that’s become clear over the last decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the studio is not afraid to take risks when it comes to storytelling style. Consequently, Guardians of the Galaxy became a box office hit, and Thor: Ragnarok broke new comedic ground much to the acclaim of moviegoers and critics alike. While the company partnered with Netflix to bring several characters’ stories to the small screen, their new television venture is going in a wholly new direction. Leveraging the power of their subscription streaming platform, Disney+, the studio will be launching a number of series exploring Marvel personalities who’ve been spotlight adjacent. First up is WandaVision, which is launching with episodes one and two of a nine-episode season that focus on a pair who captured each other’s and audience’s hearts with their unconventional romance and tragic conclusion — in spite of getting very little screen time in the grand scheme of things.

  • Review: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ embraces the difficulties of being a hero (Includes first-hand account)

    Even though Marvel’s cinematic universe dominated theatres for more than a decade, they hadn’t gained equal supremacy in the realm of female heroes who often fought alongside their male counterparts with less recognition. In 2017, DC seized the opportunity and gave their Amazonian princess a title film directed by Patty Jenkins. The result was not only on-par with some of the best superhero pictures, but it created a lot of anticipation for the film’s sequel. After some delay due to the global pandemic, fans finally get to see the long-awaited follow-up, Wonder Woman 1984.

  • Review: ‘The Witches’ is high-gloss, but still amusing (Includes first-hand account)

    While witches flying on broomsticks are an iconic symbol of Halloween, one has to wonder what they do for the other 364 days a year. Also, if they look as hideous as the holiday’s decorations suggest, how do they go unnoticed for all that time? In 1983, Roald Dahl wrote a story about a heinous group of witches with a sinister plan and an alternative family who will do everything in their power to stop them. The book was first adapted in 1990 with the help of Jim Henson, and now director Robert Zemeckis — who is no stranger to special effects-heavy pictures — has taken a turn. Roald Dahl’s The Witches is a relatively faithful adaptation of Dahl’s tale, though it’s been transported to 1968 Alabama.

  • Review: ‘Ammonite’ leaves its rose-coloured glasses at the door (Includes first-hand account)

    In an age where homosexuality wasn’t acknowledged, coming to terms with one’s needs and desires was difficult. At the same time, at least for women, it could be veiled as a very close friendship that people were less likely to question. Recently, a number of films have highlighted historical tales of female relationships that existed under these circumstances, and were simultaneously strained by the need to keep up appearances and abide by social norms. In Ammonite, two women are reborn via their love for each other, even though their affair begins with an expiry date.

  • Review: ‘Come Play’ turns your screen into a window of terror (Includes first-hand account)

    It doesn’t take much for a kid to catch a bully’s attention, but being different is like having a giant target painted on their back. Special treatment, vulnerabilities and awkward social behaviour are just some of the things that can make a kid stick out from the crowd — having all three is a recipe for loneliness. But there are worse things than being alone. There are monsters that prey on young people’s isolation, using the solitude to draw them away from their families and into the darkness. Come Play is about a boy whose lack of companionship awakens a creature that wants nothing more than to be his friend.

  • Review: ‘Mulan’ becomes the master of her destiny, but can’t fight free (Includes first-hand account)

    As Disney continues to dig into its archives for live-action feature film material, it’s always interesting to see how they opt to update the narrative for a contemporary audience. Whether the animated film is 20 or 70 years old, it’s likely to include some elements that made for a charming fairy tale but could be altered to better represent current ideologies. Even though the pictures featured female protagonists, they weren’t always the heroes of their own stories and Disney is now taking the opportunity to rectify the matter. The latest film to get the live-action treatment is Mulan.

  • Review: ‘Survival Skills’ shows ethics are sometimes secondary (Includes first-hand account)

    While North American law enforcement has come under scrutiny for its bias application of discretion and unnecessary use of lethal force in countless situations, navigating the discussion around these topics can be challenging. Nonetheless, there have been a number of films that do an excellent job of shining a light on the subject and bringing the conversation to the forefront. Many of these pictures tell the story from the perspective of the victim since that narrative has historically lacked attention, but few try to depict the root of the problem. In Survival Skills, audiences are taken into the world of a 1980s police training video that goes off-script.

  • Review: ‘The Mortuary Collection’ makes funeral homes even creepier (Includes first-hand account)

    The horror anthology is a long-standing genre tradition. Sometimes the short stories share a common thread, and other times the only connection between tales is the framing story. Sometimes they are all written by a single storyteller, and other times it’s a collaborative effort between multiple writers and directors. Sometimes the collections are a good mix of quality scares and eerie atmospheres, and other times one or all of the stories fall short of being good. Yet the promise of a creepy compilation of scary stories keeps fans coming back for another try. The Mortuary Collection is a horror anthology that unsurprisingly originates in a funeral home.