High-Def Digest: The Bonus ViewBen Kingsley Archives - High-Def Digest: The Bonus View

Operation Finale Review: Just Get It Over With Already

Deirdre Crimmins — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 12:00:44 +0000

Adapting a true story into a feature film requires striking a delicate balance. The movie should remain faithful to the actual events, but also needs to be entertaining. Operation Finale tells a mostly true story, but forgets to make it a good movie too. Operation Finale follows the events leading up to the arrest and...

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‘The Jungle Book’ (2016) Review: Unexpectedly Remarkable

Philip Brown — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 19:00:24 +0000

Disney’s recent trend of digging into its vaults and remaking its animated classics in live action has mostly been a frustrating endeavor. Movies like ‘Maleficent’ and ‘Cinderella’ felt forced and woefully inferior to their predecessors. The prospect of a live action ‘Jungle Book’ seemed particularly dire. Not only does the 1967 animated version hold up...

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‘Life’ (2015) Review: Pandering Portraiture

Philip Brown — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 17:00:28 +0000

‘Life’ feels more like a pitch than an actual movie. The film has a strong idea and it’s clear how the filmmakers were able to talk people into financing it. And yet, the final project never amounts to much more than a concept and a doodle. Ultimately, it’s just another of those “Icons are people...

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‘The Walk’ Review: An Epic Stumble

Philip Brown — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 19:00:01 +0000

James Marsh’s remarkable ‘Man on Wire’ was such a purely enjoyable and crowd-pleasing documentary that it was likely inevitable that someone would make a super-powered Hollywood version. After all, the tale of Philippe Petit walking a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center is a strange, funny, moving and inspiring story, and...

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‘Self/less’ Review: Stu/pid

Philip Brown — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:00:57 +0000

There’s a really intriguing sci-fi premise at the center of the completely disposable new sci-fi flick ‘Self/less’. The problem is that it’s pretty much the exact premise of John Frankenheimer’s 1966 masterpiece ‘Seconds‘. That movie delivers fully on its central concept to deliver one of the most disturbingly dark sci-fi fantasies in Hollywood history. ‘Self/less’,...

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‘Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb’ Review: When Will This Night End?

Philip Brown — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 20:00:22 +0000

The ‘Night at the Museum’ series refuses to go away despite being a consistent punching bag. In this third title, the franchise is as charmingly mediocre as ever. These movies aren’t art, nor do they offer particularly interesting entertainment. However, they do what they do fairly effectively, and the cast that has signed onto the...

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‘The BoxTrolls’ Review: Creep-Outs for Kiddies

Philip Brown — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:00:31 +0000

‘The BoxTrolls’ is a spectacular children’s animated feature, but it’s not a film for anyone whose idea of family entertainment starts and ends with Disney. It’s dark to the point of being horrific, gleefully gross, and pithily British in its humor. The movie owes more to Roald Dahl than Uncle Walt. In other words, it’s...

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Mid-Week Poll: Will You Boycott ‘Ender’s Game’?

Josh Zyber — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 13:00:49 +0000

This weekend brings the theatrical release of the big-budget sci-fi drama ‘Ender’s Game’, starring Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley, and based on a beloved award-winning novel. In many respects, this seems like a sure bet to dominate the box office. Unfortunately, the film arrives steeped in controversy – not over anything in the movie itself,...

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Now Playing: Stark Relief

Bryan Kluger — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:00:37 +0000

Since ‘Iron Man 2‘ proved to be less than stellar back in 2010, this third adventure for the Marvel hero returns with a much-needed boost of attitude and character. ‘Iron Man 3’, which can be also considered a sequel to ‘‘The Avengers‘, takes us through many twists and turns and tons of new Iron Man...

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The Trailer Park: Superhero Sequels

M. Enois Duarte — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:00:05 +0000

More sequels will hit theater screens soon. One’s from a popular franchise, while the other hopes to correct the mistakes of its predecessor. Which are you most excited for? ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Originally slated for the 2012 summer season but pushed back a year, the latest trailer for ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ looks a tad more...

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Now Playing: Sacha Baron Cohen’s Scripted Shenanigans

Luke Hickman — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:12 +0000

Although ‘The Dictator’ removes Sacha Baron Cohen from the ‘Candid Camera’ character roles that’s he’s known for, the movie is still filled with plenty of offensive, boundary-pushing content. By taking a terrorist-friendly dictator and slapping him in the middle of New York City, the edgy possibilities are limitless. If you know anything about Baron Cohen,...

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Now Playing: Scorsese Makes a Magical Family Film

Luke Hickman — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:00:53 +0000

‘Hugo’ couldn’t be a more difficult film to review. While I personally enjoyed all 127 3D minutes of it, I know that a lot of people won’t. More importantly, I can tell you about all of the things in the movie that don’t work, filmmaking-wise. But in doing so, I’d spoil a large amount of...

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