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 Longest Ride’ goes on far too long (Includes first-hand account)

    Good love stories are a hot commodity in Hollywood. It doesn’t always have to be realistic because sometimes it’s the unfathomable nature of their union that makes the couple so enticing. Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers theme consistently emerges in one way or another as two people fall in love in spite of every odd betting against their success or even compatibility. Yet they persevere and audiences are treated to an ending fit for a fairy tale. Many of Nicholas Sparks‘ romance novels follow this formula and have been adapted for the screen; The Longest Ride is one more to add to the list.

  • Review: ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’ is a grand achievement times three (Includes first-hand account)

    Aging is a tricky business, both inside and out. Within someone may feel younger than their birth age, whether it’s a natural part of their personality or an effort to retain certain benefits of youth. Physically that person may be confronting the effects of gravity, lifestyle and nature; or perhaps it’s a younger appearance that actually informs their energetic personality. And then there’s the perception of others, which one can only influence but never fully control. In Clouds of Sils Maria, three women confront these issues and others while preparing for a notable production.

  • Review: ‘Danny Collins’ is a charmer until the end (Includes first-hand account)

    Every life consists of a series of “what ifs.” The product of any alteration can be as trivial as not missing the elevator or as monumental as a major career shift. While little can be done about the past, realizing what could have been can inspire change for the future. In Danny Collins, an aging pop star discovers a missed opportunity that causes him to re-evaluate his entire life.

  • Review: ‘Black Souls’ understands and resists its traditions (Includes first-hand account)

    Over the years depictions of the mafia have been centred in America, practically celebrating the notoriety achieved by local crime bosses. In spite of the death and destruction involved, the lifestyle is glamorized. Few films, however, have returned to the old country where it all started and where rivalries span generations. Black Souls tells the story of a mob family in Italy, but surprises audiences by not following the traditional narrative path.

  • Review: ‘Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter’ is a blur of fact and fiction (Includes first-hand account)

    Everyone dreams of something better no matter how content they may be in life. It’s the reason the lottery was invented — the promise of an enhanced future no matter how small the odds is enough to keep people coming back week after week. However, for the dissatisfied that wish can be a lifeline; the hope of improvement may be the only thing motivating them to keep going. But what happens if the pipedream is just that — an unattainable fantasy? In Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, a young Japanese woman clings to a goal that she can never achieve.

  • Review: ‘Last Knights’ puts everything into the last act (Includes first-hand account)

    People’s fascination with the medieval era can be traced to long before George R. R. Martin penned the Westeros odyssey in the now widely popular Game of Thrones series. The many stories surrounding King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table captured people’s imaginations and have been translated into countless films and books. The period offers so many opportunities for tales of love, bravery, allegiance and war. Last Knights are a dying breed whose fierce loyalty knows no limits.

  • Review: ‘Woman in Gold’ depicts a single victory of stunning consequence (Includes first-hand account)

    After a war ends, its effects ripple through several generations as survivors attempt to reclaim a sense of normalcy and their struggles are imprinted on their children. Their experiences become a part of history, taught in classes and read in books; but there is still a human aspect that demands reparations. The repercussions of WWII has persisted for more than half a century as families and supporters continue to seek justice for wrongs committed. One of the most publicized is the attempts to recoup personal property confiscated/stolen by the Nazis, which includes priceless works of art “recovered” after the war by museums and private collectors — many pieces still remain unaccounted for as well. Woman in Gold is the story of a woman who wants to be reunited with a portrait of her aunt, but doing so involves removing it from an Austrian museum.

  • Review: ‘Furious 7’ gives fans everything they want and then some (Includes first-hand account)

    When the first film premiered in 2001, there was a lot of uncertainty whether The Fast and the Furious would launch a successful franchise — a theory the second film did not do much to refute as it focused on only one-half of the dynamic duo that propelled the original. Though none of the early characters appear in the third film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift breathed new life into the franchise. The fourth film‘s reunion unleashed a can of NOS and it hasn’t slowed down since. In Furious 7, the story is looping in on itself and doing everything required of a successful series.

  • Review: Closing films at Human Rights Watch Fest about improving life (Includes first-hand account)

    Film is a powerful medium that can induce, inspire, instruct and inform. Consequently, it is an ideal means to reach a wide-ranging audience about important issues. The Human Rights Watch Film Festival embraces motion pictures’ intellectual capacity to recount extraordinary stories of struggle, survival and hope from around the world. Showcasing cinema at the forefront of the movement, the event aims to draw attention to international human rights violations through fearless films from countries including Canada, Indonesia, Sudan, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Palestine, Guatemala, the United States and Hungary.

  • Review: ‘It Follows’ is horror at its best (Includes first-hand account)

    Teenagers are bombarded with contradictory ideas when it comes to sex. On the one hand, they are emerging in a hypersexualized environment that asserts it’s fun, it sells and it’s everywhere so it’s not a big deal. Conversely, messages about abstinence, crime and social shaming support the opposite view that sex is private and has severe consequences, particularly for women. The brilliance of indie film, It Follows, is it personifies these pressures to create a terrifying horror movie.

  • Review: ‘Late Night Double Feature’ loves its monstrous characters (Includes first-hand account)

    While the modest revival of Grindhouse horror has not achieved the popularity it held in its heyday, there is still enough of an interest for filmmakers to create new contributions to the genre. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are probably the most prominent providers in recent years, but there has been a steady production of new pictures dealing with sex, violence and bizarre subjects. Late Night Double Feature is the latest addition to embrace this spirit.

  • Review: ‘The Riot Club’ inspires conversation, but is it the right one? (Includes first-hand account)

    With all the indignation currently directed at white men in power and people of privilege around the world, it’s interesting to view a movie that exemplifies all the qualities despised in the advantageous. This film particularly takes aim at the old boys clubs and secret societies that purportedly allow and encourage disrespectful behaviour because their members have the resources to “make it go away.” The Riot Club begins as a group of boys united by their love of women and trouble, but gradually turns ugly as their above average station in life becomes a weapon against the less fortunate.