On Screen

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

  • Review: Someone has an unfair advantage in ’Sixty Minutes to Midnight’ (Includes first-hand account)

    As war and disasters increasingly normalize violence and death, people become immune to the bloody consequences… even more frighteningly, they can begin to crave the carnage. It’s been theorized that this phenomenon has led to an increase in brutality in movies and video games, which in turn has led to an increase in everyday aggression. This idea has been represented in fiction in a variety of ways and for much longer than the current potential culprits have existed. The latest to explore this lust for blood is an independent picture titled Sixty Minutes to Midnight, which turns surviving into a game that’s certainly fixed.

  • Review: ‘Leatherface’ is justly confident in its portrayal of an icon (Includes first-hand account)

    As movie studios continue to reach back in time for inspiration and content, many are taking a small step away from the direct remake to create background stories for well-known characters. While these narratives are related to the popular films that made these personalities famous, they still allow an abundance of room for creativity when constructing the previously unknown but perhaps hinted at origin stories. The latest in this rising trend is Leatherface, which travels to a time long before the chainsaw-wielding maniac ever struck fear in the hearts of road trippers.

  • Review: ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ takes its crazy gunplay overseas (Includes first-hand account)

    Everyone is familiar with the usual protectors, such as first responders, military and government agencies, but the fictional, secret defenders can be so much more interesting. Cloak-and-dagger codenames, classified missions, undisclosed locations, unparalleled skill, and technology most people never even dreamed could exist are just some of the elements that make this genre so attractive. For decades the Brits have had James Bond, but more recently audiences were introduced to the Kingsman. And now picking up after the terrible tragedy that concluded the first film, Kingsman: The Golden Circle takes on a new threat that will tear them apart.

  • Review: ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ swears by its talented stars (Includes first-hand account)

    Most movie fans have a wish list of actors they’d like to see appear in a film together. Whether it’s because they’d complement each other in an on-screen partnership or make terrific adversaries, one hopes to eventually find out if they’re matchmaking is correct. Such things don’t always pan out, either because the project wasn’t actually up to snuff or they really don’t mesh as well as everyone had predicted, in which case audiences leave disappointed. But then there’s the collaborations no one ever really considered, but turn out to be a triumphant combination. Uniting Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in The Hitman’s Bodyguard falls in the latter category.

  • Review: ‘Annabelle: Creation’ is creepy… some of the time (Includes first-hand account)

    As a child, dolls that share the features of its owner — height, hair and eye colour, outfits — are delightful. Seeing themselves reflected in the figures brings them a strange sense of camaraderie that feeds their imaginations. However, as an adult, one begins to view these once charming toys with suspicion. What lurks behind those lifelike eyes that follow you across the room? What evil may possess the doll for its malevolent purposes? In Annabelle: Creation, such distrust comes too late.

  • Review: ‘The Dark Tower’ is on another path (Includes first-hand account)

    For as long as filmmakers have been adapting books for the screen, there have been a number of works deemed not filmable either due to their length, complexity or demands on the imagination. Then a visionary arrives who sees a way, often through modern techniques, to achieve the impossible. There have been many instances in which the ability to do something has not equated to the ability to do it well, but we still award these creators an A+ for effort. Of course sometimes the answer is to simply do it differently. More than a decade after the last book in the series was written, The Dark Tower is making its big screen debut.

  • Review: ‘Detroit’ doesn’t hold back in this raw historical account (Includes first-hand account)

    One of the most compelling reasons to make art is to tell a story that has not yet been told. This need becomes stronger when the untold tale carries some social significance or could add to an important, contemporary conversation. Creating a movie based on fact is a tricky business, particularly when the truth is buried between opposing accounts of the same event. But when one embarks on such a task, they accept the responsibility that accompanies it to be as accurate as possible under the circumstances and within the confines of an entertainment medium. Director Kathryn Bigelow assumed this duty when she decided to make Detroit.

  • Review: ‘Atomic Blonde’ is the perfect secret weapon (Includes first-hand account)

    For a long time, strong female characters were usually relegated to the role of femme fatale — the male protagonist’s enemy and potential downfall. In spite of being equally lethal and attractive, she was rarely given the opportunity to lead the charge; instead she was defeated and discarded before the end credits so the hero can complete his mission and sweep his less threatening leading lady off her feet. But that’s all starting to change. Women are taking the lead in action movies and kicking butt in the process. The latest in this promising trend is Atomic Blonde.

  • Review: ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ ends the brutal confrontation (Includes first-hand account)

    Mankind has always insisted on climbing to the top, first of the food chain than the tower of power. Eventually, being king of their own local heap wasn’t enough and they went about conquering additional land, fighting bloody battles and feeding their desire for more. Living apart peacefully often seems against our natures, and thus nothing and no one are left to their own devices. In War for the Planet of the Apes, Caesar doesn’t want to fight but he may not have a choice.

  • Review: ‘Spider-Man — Homecoming’ finally gets it right (Includes first-hand account)

    In an age of remakes and reboots, it’s becoming frequently common to see one character played by multiple actors in the span of a couple decades. This is especially true in the superhero universe where the stories are seemingly infinite, but the performers’ commitment comparatively brief. Even a multi-picture deal typically runs down in 10 years or less, leading studios to start anew after each cycle. The latest franchise to be rebooted with a fresh face is one of Marvel‘s youngest heroes in tights: Spider-Man. In the first standalone film of the reboot, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter Parker is still learning to flex his superhuman muscles.

  • Review: ‘Despicable Me 3’ needs more Minions (Includes first-hand account)

    In spite of not being at the centre of a movie, it’s not unusual for secondary characters to steal the show. They exhibit something that appeals to audiences, whether it’s personality, cuteness or some other attribute that draws in people. Once this attraction is recognized by studios, they generally attempt to capitalize on it in some way, such as merchandise, sequels or spin-offs. This was most notably the case with the Minions (followed closely by Agnes and her fluffy unicorn), which were instant hits and immediately available everywhere. Their latest appearance is in Despicable Me 3.

  • Review: ‘The Beguiled’ captivates characters before it all goes wrong (Includes first-hand account)

    During war times in the 19th century and earlier, the men would all leave and the women would ban together in an effort to protect their homes and families. While the men faced the carnage of battle, the women faced their own hardships with supply shortages, pillaging soldiers and tending large pieces of land alone. This was the case during the Civil War, in which men of all ages and races were sent to kill each other while the women were delivered news of their deaths. In The Beguiled, a Southern all-girl’s school becomes host to an injured Yankee solider near the end of the conflict.