On Screen

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

  • Review: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ delivers on promise of greatness (Includes first-hand account)

    It’s safe to say Star Wars: The Force Awakens is one of the most anticipated movies of 2015. For nearly two years, fans have waited to see what new adventures and threats Episode VII would deliver. Between teaser videos from director J.J. Abrams in support of the UNICEF campaign, enthusiastic fan events boosted by exclusive footage and very promising trailers featuring fresh and familiar faces, the countdown to the release could not move fast enough. And now it’s finally here and it’s everything fans could have hoped for and more.

  • Review: ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ stays afloat via its visual drama (Includes first-hand account)

    There are different types of skill, some of which are inherent or inherited and others that are learned or improved via practice. However the idea that these should be judged differently or affect the quality of the product generated is absurd. If anything, those who are forced to work harder may be more humble about their talents than those for whom they came naturally. It’s this type of meaningless distinction that divides the main characters in In the Heart of the Sea.

  • Review: ‘The Danish Girl’ is a striking biopic about the relevant past (Includes first-hand account)

    Gender stereotypes and expectations still plague society, influencing how children and adults interact at play and in business. Discussions about gender are relatively new to Western culture, while its fluidity has been long accepted in other parts of the world. While broadcasting one’s sexuality is still considered a coup — though less and less necessary — announcing one is transgender remains a less acceptable concept. The Danish Girl focuses on a young man in the 19th century who gradually realizes his exterior form is not aligned with his interior thoughts and feelings.

  • Review: ‘I Smile Back’ is Sarah Silverman’s sincere portrait of addiction (Includes first-hand account)

    Without the proper coping mechanisms, life’s pressures can be overwhelming. Self- and society-imposed expectations are sometimes not only challenging but impossible to achieve. Mothers often feel this the most as everyone seems to have an opinion about what makes a good mom, providing varied and conflicting advice that can be enough to drive any parent to the edge. In I Smile Back, a woman who desires nothing more than to be a good wife and mother cannot overcome her self-destructive tendencies.

  • Review: Tom Hardy elevates ‘Legend’ above being just another mob movie (Includes first-hand account)

    In spite of their dreadful deeds, people cannot help but be fascinated by the lives of notorious mobsters and criminals. This attraction has spurred an entire genre of movies and TV shows that depict their disreputable activities for insatiable audiences. Though the intention is not necessarily to glorify their lifestyles, it’s often easy to be distracted by their wealth and power and overlook that they gained it through various illegal actions, including murder. Legend takes viewers atypically across the pond to tell the story of twin brothers who wanted to rule London’s underworld.

  • Review: ‘She Who Must Burn’ is intelligent and pointed horror (Includes first-hand account)

    Religious zealots take up causes they consider an affront to their belief system and go to extreme measures to eradicate the perceived threat in some way. Consequently health clinics have had to employ increased security to protect those who dispense or seek reproductive services, particularly abortions. The methods of the opposition can be quite frightening and She Who Must Burn portrays the worst of the worst.

  • Review: ‘James White’ is a no-holds-barred emotional rollercoaster (Includes first-hand account)

    Dealing with illness at any time in a person’s life is difficult, but the younger the individual the more of a challenge it presents. Youth already carries the heavy burden of transitioning to adulthood and learning to care for oneself; add to that the need to nurse a loved one and life becomes very complex. Trying to find a balance can be problematic but also necessary. In James White, a twenty-something man attempts to care for his terminally ill mother while dealing with his own self-destructive behaviour.

  • Review: ‘Farhope Tower’ of terror opens Canadian horror fest (Includes first-hand account)

    One of the key components of a haunting story is being able to differentiate between a coincidence and a supernatural occurrence. The former is harmless and what most people safely assume is the cause of the majority of accidents; however there is a small percentage that may be traced to a more malevolent force whose source may never be known. In Farhope Tower, a group of paranormal investigators set out to explore an abandoned building with a sordid history.

  • Review: Saoirse Ronan sweeps viewers off their feet in ‘Brooklyn’ (Includes first-hand account)

    The American Dream was in some ways a marketing strategy designed to attract labourers to the country with the promise of work, money, better living conditions and limitless opportunities for advancement. The reality was harsher of course and once the infrastructure was in place, many of the men who built the city found themselves on the streets. But the fantasy endured and European immigrants continued to flock to the United States in the hopes of making their wishes for happiness and success come true. Brooklyn is the story of a young Irish woman eager to carve out a place for herself and build a life in the land of opportunity.

  • Review: ‘Love the Coopers’ is smothered in sugary melodrama (Includes first-hand account)

    The end of the year seems to elicit films about dysfunctional families trying to spend the holidays together, and collections of loosely related stories of people trying to find love and happiness in the chaos; the proliferation of these narratives is likely inspired to some extent by the popularity of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Love Actually respectively. However most pictures fail to recreate the success of either. Love the Coopers has decided to try to capture the essence of both styles.

  • Review: ‘Heist’ plays to its actors’ strengths (Includes first-hand account)

    Thieves are generally driven by one of two motives: greed or desperation. The former can be insatiable with the prospect of more dragging them into an endless cycle of taking. The latter can lead to brash decisions that may never have been considered if it wasn’t for their current situation. Whatever the reason, planning is the key to success. But as the saying goes, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” In Heist it’s clear from the start that these guys have very different aims, which makes their approaches irreconcilable.

  • Review: ‘The Peanuts Movie’ is the big screen reunion fans hoped for (Includes first-hand account)

    “What once was old is new again.” This phrase can be applied to a number of trends in various industries of pop culture as former favourites are repurposed, rebooted and reimagined. In film, it’s often meant taking characters and franchises from the creators’ childhood and presenting them to a contemporary audience. This has occurred countless times over the years with mixed results. The latest creation to get a makeover is Charles M. Schulz’s beloved group in The Peanuts Movie.