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 Wave’ drops the disaster movie into international waters (Includes first-hand account)

    Hollywood disaster movies are a dime a dozen. As some impending doom c/o Mother Nature threatens a city, country or the human race, a person or group attempts to find a way to avert total annihilation. In addition, there is generally a parent and/or spouse — usually a father and/or husband — who launches a seemingly impossible rescue attempt to save his family. Big effects and wild imaginations make these thrillers a spectacle of the screen, but they must still find a balance between the visual and the narrative. Most recently, Norwegians take on this genre in The Wave.

  • Review: No shortage of explosions in ‘London Has Fallen’ (Includes first-hand account)

    The premise of so many Hollywood action movies is defending American values from terrorist threats. Typically, one lone man who embodies the courage and skills expected of an American hero risks life and limb to defeat ill-matched bad guys and save the day. While they try to hopelessly eliminate him, he racks up a body count. There’s nothing as simultaneously silly and inspiring as watching the enemy fall at his feet… as he walks in plain view but miraculously avoids injury. London Has Fallen is the sequel to just such a movie in which Secret Service Agent Mike Banning is called upon to do it all over again.

  • Review: ‘Only Yesterday’ gets new audience with English-dub (Includes first-hand account)

    For several decades, the animated films of Studio Ghibli have been some of the most acclaimed and revered. Following his Oscar win in 2003, most of the recognition has been given to director Hayao Miyazaki. Admirers began to scour his filmography, consuming all that he produced before and creating a Western demand for everything that came after; Disney has since taken up the charge of releasing English dubs of his movies for North American audiences. But Miyazaki is not the studio’s only director and since his retirement, attention has spread to other filmmakers at Ghibli. Now, Isao Takahata’s Only Yesterday is receiving a North American theatrical release to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

  • Review: ‘Triple 9’s cast is more than a triple threat (Includes first-hand account)

    The heist movie is a classic of the crime genre. The various opportunities it provides to blend action, drama and expectation can be very stimulating in the hands of the right director. Moreover, the inclusion of the perspective of the police investigating the robbery adds another layer of intrigue and chance for excitement. Combined with skilled performances, a strong script and well-choreographed action, filmmakers can create a compelling picture that effectively engages audiences from start to finish. Triple 9 is a striking example of everything going right.

  • Review: If only we could all fly like ‘Eddie the Eagle’ (Includes first-hand account)

    Few can resist a good underdog story; particularly when it’s filled with passion and humour. There’s an almost irresistible charm about someone who refuses to give up even though the odds are stacked against them. And when things are skewed so far in the opposite direction, it’s almost inevitable that some elements of their growth will be comical (at least in hindsight). In the case of Eddie the Eagle, a gawkish young man pursues his dream of becoming an Olympian at any cost.

  • Review: ‘The Witch’ is creepy in ways totally unrelated to the title (Includes first-hand account)

    In spite of deep religious beliefs, fear and superstition was arguably an equal if not greater influence on the lives of early settlers. It’s one of the key reasons witch hunts have a significant role in American history. It was simpler to assign responsibility for unexplained and/or devastating events to an evil entity (Devil) or his servant than to endure it without recourse. By ridding themselves of the so-called perpetrator, they presumably remove the possibility of recurrence. In The Witch, an innocent lie snowballs into indefensible condemnation and self-fulfilling prophesy.

  • Review: ‘Rams’ shows varied resilience in the face of conflict (Includes first-hand account)

    Being blood relatives doesn’t foster an immediate affinity or adoration of each other. Family feuds can be the most virulent as they tend to run deeper than simple disagreement and are often passed on to or inherited by future generations. However, on occasion, desperate or tragic circumstances can force even the most loathsome to put aside their differences. In Rams, two brothers and neighbours have not spoken in 40 years but a sickness in their community may demand change in more ways than one.

  • Review: ‘Zoolander 2’ goes retro with mixed results (Includes first-hand account)

    Sometimes a movie’s success is akin to lightening in a bottle. Everything comes together in perfect harmony to create an experience that is fondly remembered by everyone, immortalizing the picture in the minds of its fans. This is a phenomenon not easily repeated, no matter how vehemently they want to recapture the magic of the original. But that doesn’t prevent them from trying. Zoolander 2 is a highly anticipated sequel with exceptionally big shoes to fill.

  • Review: ‘Deadpool’ rises to the top by breaking all the rules (Includes first-hand account)

    When a lot of people think of comic books, they think of heroes — superheroes. But if you delve a little deeper you soon realize not everyone in tights and a mask is a by-the-book, easily defined “good guy.” Some of them will do anything it takes to get the job done, regardless of whether the mission is personal or professional. They are the anti-heroes of the crime-fighting universe, keeping a foot on either side of the criminal world. Deadpool is one of the most notorious personalities in this category of characters and he finally got his own movie.

  • Review: ‘Mojave’ has a thirst for murder (Includes first-hand account)

    Based on examples through history, the unscientific theory suggests the greater the artist, the more tortured the soul. Similarly, in many cases, fame and fortune opens the door and rolls out the red carpet for sex and drugs. These burdens, combined with the pressure to keep producing works of genius while being scrutinized by the public, can be overwhelming for anyone. But how a person chooses to deal with these issues can define and redefine their path. In Mojave, a prominent playwright hopes to escape into the desert but finds an even bigger problem waiting for him.

  • Review: ‘Hail, Caesar!’ is a revolving door of problems needing solving (Includes first-hand account)

    For those who have more than a passing interest in film and its history, the studio system is an endless source of fascination. This long-lost age of Hollywood worked within many restraints, but it also generated some of the biggest, most impressive and critically acclaimed productions of the last 100 years, as well as the first true movie stars. The studio heads oversaw everything from the progress of each film being made to the public images of their top-performing talent. The Coen brothers‘ Hail, Caesar! finds the humour in these relationships, while also paying tribute to an era gone by.

  • Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ blends action and eloquence (Includes first-hand account)

    When considering the existence of monsters, one has to understand they are not a fabrication of contemporary society nor are their origins restricted to it. Ghosts have been said to represent ancient spirits; vampires are rumoured to have risen during the Crusades or earlier; and werewolves are a product of Native legend. Therefore it’s not incredibly far-fetched to re-imagine popular fiction in the context of some supernatural scourge. Most wouldn’t consider Jane Austen as the first choice for such a transformation, but Seth Grahame-Smith‘s adaptation of her novel was clever and surprisingly consistent. Now Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a movie, but with a significantly different plot twist.