On Screen

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

  • Review: The enemy is inside ‘The Great Wall’ (Includes first-hand account)

    A recent trend in movies and books has seen creators rewriting classic fiction or history to include an undocumented supernatural element. Two of the most popular examples of this genre are Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. It seems now the latest focus of these imaginative energies may be the Seven Wonders of the World, beginning in China with a concept initially formed in collaboration with Max Brooks. While most people believe the barrier was erected to keep out the invading Mongolians, The Great Wall supposes there was an even larger threat from which it was meant to protect the country.

  • Review: ‘A Cure for Wellness’ has gothic style that’s stretched for hours (Includes first-hand account)

    Human mortality has always been treated as a malady rather than an inevitability. Each day scientists and doctors work to find cures for disease and a means to repair damaged cells or reverse the effects of aging, all in an effort to prolong life. Legends tell of people dying in search of a “fountain of youth” and immortals going mad due to their longevity; yet we still dream of living forever. It seems many confront their mortality in old age, wishing for some way to turn back the clock; projected advancements may even make this possible one day… for the right price. In A Cure for Wellness, wealthy seniors discover a retreat so invigorating no one ever leaves.

  • Review: ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ goes bigger and gets better (Includes first-hand account)

    Every action has a consequence. A greedy, impetuous young criminal learned that lesson the hard way in 2014 when he stole a man’s car and killed his puppy. The repercussions of that night would spread violence across the city, and result in the deaths of other assassins and two generations of Russian gangsters. As that film drew to a close, there was still one piece of unfinished business to attend to: the retrieval of his car. But John Wick: Chapter 2 reveals going back into retirement isn’t as easy as coming out of it.

  • Review: ‘Paterson’ is a subtle meditation on life’s brilliance (Includes first-hand account)

    It takes a special person to see beauty in everyday life. Everyone glimpses it here and there, and some even take a moment to admire the spontaneous splendour; but to be able to find it in everything and be inspired by it is the gift of an artist. This ability can serve as a relief to the mundanity of an ordinary existence since even the smallest thing can spark one’s imagination. Paterson follows such a man who writes poetry in his spare time.

  • Review: ‘The Salesman’ discovers justice can have its own consequences (Includes first-hand account)

    No matter how long or solid a relationship, many find it difficult to survive a trauma. The stress to deal with it and get past it can be unbearable; particularly if one person is more readily able to do so than the other. This uneven response to their shared experience can foster resentment on both sides and cause them to slowly drift apart. In The Salesman, audiences are introduced to a couple who have trouble coping with the aftermath of a home invasion.

  • Review: ‘The Space Between Us’ fills with love, laughter & predictability (Includes first-hand account)

    Since the first flights into space, humans have been obsessed with exploring strange new worlds and boldly going where no man has gone before. Putting a man on the moon (or even an asteroid) is proving far easier than travelling to another planet, but the current goal remains Mars. Numerous movies and books have imagined what it may be like on the Red Planet with many going further and envisioning what colonizing it would look like. Recent depictions of life on Mars have been relatively similar, consisting of self-contained structures that supply their own oxygen and gravity. But while there may not be any intelligent life currently inhabiting the planet, what would happen to a human life that originated there? The Space Between Us attempts to answer that question.

  • Review: ‘Gold’ is filled with riches and rocks (Includes first-hand account)

    During the Gold Rush, most lands were untouched and anyone could strike it rich with a little luck. But the more metal deposits they found, the harder it became to find new ones. Now trained geologists study the composition of certain areas and try to predict the location of new resources, but it’s not an exact science and there’s more misses than there are hits. In Gold, two guys who’ve experienced significant misses in recent years may have finally found the target.

  • Review: ‘The Red Turtle’ accomplishes so much with such a simple approach (Includes first-hand account)

    While Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks dominate conversations about animated features, Laika and Studio Ghibli usually make it into the mix too; though they don’t always have the same level of name recognition, they’ve been responsible for some of the most acclaimed films of the last 20 years, including several Oscar-nominated titles. Their styles greatly differ as do the types of stories they choose to tell, but one is almost never disappointed with the end product. Studio Ghibli’s latest movie is somewhat of a departure even for them as they partnered with a foreign animator to make their first non-Japanese picture, The Red Turtle.

  • Review: ‘Split’ is an invigorating thriller that restores Shyamalan’s rep (Includes first-hand account)

    If there’s one thing that can be said about writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, it’s that he has interesting ideas. Not all of those concepts have translated into good films, but there have been some clear winners within the dozen titles listed on his IMDB page. He’s spent his 25-year career trying to keep audiences on their toes, while also telling engrossing stories. His penchant for a final twist has become a signature and therefore the burden falls on him to truly make it unexpected. It’s been nearly two decades since he delivered one as shocking as the final reveal in Split, which has been almost as long in the making.

  • Review: ‘The Founder’ exposes callous heart at beloved franchise’s centre (Includes first-hand account)

    It’s likely the majority of success stories are relatively boring: they came up with an idea, launched it, improved it, expanded it and – boom – they’re rolling in cash. But there are some stories far more interesting than anyone could have imagined. After all, franchising a restaurant and opening locations across the country seems like an exceptional but rather straightforward process. Only the success of McDonald’s, it turns out, is a pretty sordid affair with a lot of subterfuge and outright deceit. The Founder chronicles the creation of the largest food chain in the world and it ain’t pretty.

  • ‘A Skyjacker’s Tale’ director mirrors own uncertainty on screen (Includes interview and first-hand account)

    Sometimes the best, most intriguing stories are the ones you could never have made up. In 1972, eight people are murdered on a Rockefeller golf course in the U.S. Virgin Islands by masked gunmen. Out of the hundreds of men questioned, five are charged and convicted of the crime by a judge with ties to the Rockefellers. Maintaining their innocence, they spend the next several years trying to appeal the eight consecutive life sentences they each received. On New Year’s Eve 1984, frustrated by their lack of progress, Ishmael Muslim Ali (formerly Labeet) hijacks a plan during a prison transfer and redirects it to Cuba, where he’s lived ever since.

  • Review: ‘20th Century Women’ is a tribute to all the women in our lives (Includes first-hand account)

    The ‘70s in the United States was a tumultuous time to live and grow up. Beneath the raucous never-ending war and countless protests, the women’s movement was finding, negotiating and establishing a new place in society. Punk was screaming about the sorrows of the working class, while female writers were attempting to empower other women by demystifying their bodies and identifying areas of oppression. The need for change was sweeping the nation and, as in 20th Century Women, it was starting at home.