On Screen

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

  • Review: ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ is a major push to the awards front (Includes first-hand account)

    War movies are often laden with the connotation of being little more than patriotic propaganda. While they do strive to highlight the efforts and sacrifice of the men and women who died to protect their country, they also tend to have a “my country is the greatest” sentiment that can become a little tiresome. But then a movie comes along that truly is about the soldier(s) who gave their all to fight for what they believe is right. This year, that movie is Hacksaw Ridge.

  • Review: ‘Doctor Strange’ would expect nothing less of his film (Includes first-hand account)

    With the studio scheduled to release two to three movies a year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding relatively quickly. Introducing new characters from the comics via brief appearances in other vehicles or their own standalone pictures, they maintain their complex personalities and bring to life storylines previously reserved for the printed page. Most importantly, after some success, Marvel has proven no longer afraid to bring some of their lesser-known heroes to the screen. Doctor Strange is the latest superhero movie to hit theatres and although he wears a cape he’s not your typical comic book protagonist.

  • Review: ‘Inferno’ barely heats up the screen (Includes first-hand account)

    Some people are very good at solving puzzles, whether it’s unscrambling an anagram, answering a riddle or putting together the clues of a mystery. While it’s something one can teach their brain to do, having a natural talent and proclivity for such problems can be very useful. In Dan Brown‘s book series, the protagonist, Robert Langdon, is a renowned puzzle-solver, specifically dealing in religious texts. In each story, he’s recruited to assist in a complex investigation that requires expert deduction to avoid total – and often global – disaster. However, in the third adaptation of his novels, Inferno, Langdon’s role in the inquiry is rather muddled.

  • Review: ‘Ouija’ isn’t much better than a cheap parlour trick (Includes first-hand account)

    For those that dabble in the occult, there are generally strict rules that must be followed in order to prevent one side from harming the other. Not following these instructions is often the starting point for supernatural horror movies. In some cases it’s a simple oversight, but other times trouble is the result of someone haphazardly throwing caution to the wind and the rulebook with it. In Ouija: Origin of Evil, a family is so overwhelmed with the possibility of reconnecting with a deceased loved one they are oblivious to the evil they’ve unleashed.

  • Review: ‘War on Everyone’ is inappropriately hilarious (Includes first-hand account)

    When pondering the size of the universe, it can be interesting to wonder what an alien race completely unfamiliar with our customs and processes would think of the world. Things that make perfect sense to us may be entirely bewildering to them. However, it’s not really necessary to go beyond our universe to encounter such confusion. The Earth is populated with so many different cultures and nationalities, it’s easy to be confounded by another person’s traditions when they are not your own. The same can be said about movie genres. War on Everyone is U.K. director John Michael McDonagh‘s interpretation of the American buddy cop comedy and it kind of puts the beloved genre into perspective.

  • Review: ‘Under the Shadow’ is frightening before the monster even arrives (Includes first-hand account)

    Living under the constant threat of violence or death in a war-torn city is probably more frightening than any scary story or horror movie. Pulling neighbours from the rubble of the latest onslaught and being forced out of one’s home because it’s unsafe to spend another night becomes the norm rather than the exception. G.K. Chesterton’s famous quote says that fairy tales were created to demonstrate monsters can be killed… but what if their other purpose was to warn people of the creatures’ existence and instruct them on how to triumph? In Under the Shadow, a woman realizes there are even more things to be afraid of as she tries to protect her daughter from missile strikes and whatever is lurking in the shadows.

  • Review: ‘The Accountant’ doesn’t make a mistake in adding up its assets (Includes first-hand account)

    The old saying goes, “Do what you love, love what you do.” Having a passion for one’s occupation can make a job not feel like work. Conversely, sometimes enjoyment can be gained from being the best rather than fancying a particular vocation. Sometimes one just gravitates to a certain career because they have a natural talent for it. And sometimes it’s simply the most logical choice given the circumstances. In some ways, the protagonist in The Accountant checks all of these boxes.

  • Review: ‘Denial’s need for balance short changes more interesting story (Includes first-hand account)

    The beliefs someone holds in large part instructs who they are, what they do and how they treat others. Yet one’s opinion cannot change fact; it can inspire investigation and debate, but reality remains. To purposely alter the truth and manipulate evidence to support one’s views is equal to lying. Alternatively, one can ignore actualities — put their head in the sand, as it were — and simply reject contrary ideas, holding steadfastly to their own. In Denial, a man who contends the Holocaust didn’t happen tests his theory in court.

  • Review: ‘Deepwater Horizon’ puts audiences at the centre of the disaster (Includes first-hand account)

    There’s frequently more than one side to any story, but that doesn’t mean they’re only conflicting accounts of the same events. In a major incident, there can exist the perspectives of the participants, the observers and then the aftermath. It’s often the latter that gets the most attention or people remember best, but that doesn’t make the other narratives less important; in fact, they can provide a greater understanding of the consequences that eventually moved into focus. In the case of Deepwater Horizon, most people are aware of the biggest oil spill in U.S. history but less familiar with the events that led to the disaster.

  • Review: ‘The Magnificent Seven’ updates the Western for modern audiences (Includes first-hand account)

    The Western is one of the most well-defined film genres, but that also opens it up to some great opportunities for genre-bending narratives. Clint Eastwood was an icon of the Old West movies, yet one of his best pictures turned the genre on its head: High Plains Drifter centred on an anti-hero determined to teach the townspeople as much of a lesson as the hooligans tormenting it. In the same sense, remakes can reimagine the original stories and provide them with different meanings or outcomes that are better suited to contemporary audiences. The 2016 version of The Magnificent Seven makes some changes to the key characters as well as the attitudes of the victims.

  • Review: ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ still able to balance relatable & absurd (Includes first-hand account)

    For many people, they are their own worst critic; this has been proven to be especially true for women, who often see themselves as substandard in any number of areas. Whether in written or motion picture format, Bridget Jones is the personification of all these insecurities, mishaps and frustrations. Obviously some of the situations she’s found herself in were humorously absurd, but she also confronts issues that plague many women from appearance to weight to relationships. The character’s appeal rests in the honesty of her stream of consciousness. In Bridget Jones’s Baby, she enters a new phase of her life.

  • Review: ‘Morgan’ treads in the deep before moving to shallower territory (Includes first-hand account)

    While early scientific advancements are often made in the name of helping people, it doesn’t take long for those same discoveries to be manipulated and applied to more experimental endeavours that are simply meant to satisfy curiosities rather than serve the greater good. Or, as is often the case, a military-purpose is determined and the finding is taken in never-intended directions. While those very close to the project may retain an emotional attachment, the decision-makers tend to be more aloof and concerned with the bottom-line. In Morgan, these two positions clash over the survival of a synthetic being.