High-Def Digest: The Bonus ViewJemaine Clement Archives - High-Def Digest: The Bonus View

What We Do in the Shadows Pilot Recap: “Down with the Old Ways, Up with the New World”

Josh Zyber — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 12:00:46 +0000

Based on the 2014 movie of the same name, the FX network’s What We Do in the Shadows transfers Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s cult comedy to a new continent and a new medium, but remains just as dark, quirky, and hilarious. The TV spinoff supposedly takes place in the same world as the movie,...

The post What We Do in the Shadows Pilot Recap: “Down with the Old Ways, Up with the New World” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Fantastic Fest Journal: An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn

Deirdre Crimmins — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:00:26 +0000

Director Jim Hosking is a singular force. His first feature , The Greasy Strangler, was doused in anxious energy and grease, so much so that I desperately wanted to take a shower after watching it. It’s not that his films are disgusting (though they are), they just feel wrong. Intentionally and unabashedly wrong. Hosking’s second...

The post Fantastic Fest Journal: An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

TIFF Journal: ‘Brad’s Status’

Philip Brown — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 19:00:45 +0000

Brad’s Status is a film about narcissism and self-pity from a fairly successful middle-aged and middle class man played by Ben Stiller. That should mean that it’s an almost unwatchable bit of navel-gazing, but in the hands of writer/director Mike White, the film is so funny, touching, insightful and true that it stings deeply. In...

The post TIFF Journal: ‘Brad’s Status’ appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Moana’ Review: Watch, Smile, Repeat

Philip Brown — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 03:00:15 +0000

Arriving just in time for the holidays, ‘Moana’ is a Disney princess tale hidden within a thrilling adventure picture with a spattering of fantastic songs to make it all go down smoothly. If you aren’t charmed by this movie, you might want to find out what’s hiding in your chest where your heart should be....

The post ‘Moana’ Review: Watch, Smile, Repeat appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘The BFG’ Review: Simple Spielbergian Pleasures

Philip Brown — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 13:00:55 +0000

‘The BFG’ was apparently a dream project for Steven Spielberg. The director nursed it along since the book was published in 1982, waiting for effects technology to catch up to one of Roald Dahl’s most playful fantasies. It’s not entirely a coincidence that the book was published the same year that Spielberg made his childhood...

The post ‘The BFG’ Review: Simple Spielbergian Pleasures appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘People Places Things’ Review: Awkwardly Heart-Warming

Philip Brown — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 16:00:15 +0000

‘People Places Things’ is about a middle-aged man awkwardly learning what it means to be an adult, and that man is played by a recognizable comedian stretching into drama for the first time. That makes it similar to about 87% of the indie dramedies made these days. Fortunately, thanks to a pair of delightful central...

The post ‘People Places Things’ Review: Awkwardly Heart-Warming appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Weekend Movies with Attitude

Luke Hickman — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 13:00:47 +0000

Ever wish you could time travel? You won’t need a flux capacitor to go back to the 1960s or the 1980s thanks to this weekend’s two big movies. Today brings the first non-‘Sherlock Holmes’ picture from Guy Ritchie since 2008’s ‘RockNRolla’. Based on the popular television series from the mid-1960s, ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.‘ stars...

The post Weekend Movies with Attitude appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Review: If Christopher Guest Made a Vampire Movie…

Philip Brown — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:00:50 +0000

Those bloodsucking beasts known as vampires have been kicking around the movie universe since the silent era. They’ve taken many forms from feral beasts to shirtless dreamboats who can’t act. Somehow, filmmakers always find something new for our beloved creatures of the night to do. In ‘What We Do in the Shadows’, co-writers/directors/stars Jemaine Clement...

The post ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Review: If Christopher Guest Made a Vampire Movie… appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

TIFF Journal: ‘What We Do in the Shadows’

Philip Brown — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 17:00:30 +0000

‘Flight of the Conchords’ member Jemaine Clement (a.k.a. not the ‘Muppets’ one) reteams with his other partner, co-writer/director Taika Waititi (‘Eagle vs. Shark’), for a hysterical vampire comedy with more laughs than they have any right to get out of their premise. This vampire mockumentary would make both Christopher Guest and Bram Stoker proud, which...

The post TIFF Journal: ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Rio 2’ Review: Bird-Brained Family Entertainment

Philip Brown — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 14:00:39 +0000

In the grand scheme of animated family comedies, ‘Rio’ fell right in the middle of mediocrity. The movie had cute animals, celebrity voices and a message about individuality. It was everything that we’ve come to expect with the genre but absolutely nothing new, special or different tossed in. However, simply by virtue of being adequate,...

The post ‘Rio 2’ Review: Bird-Brained Family Entertainment appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Muppets Most Wanted’ Review: An Almost Equal Sequel

Philip Brown — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 18:00:32 +0000

The Muppets had fallen on hard times by the time Disney picked them up and hired Jason Segel and Nick Stoller (based primarily on a single joke in ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’) to revive their felty ways. Yet, thanks to assigning folks who genuinely loved the source material, the Muppets’ charming comeback vehicle proved to be...

The post ‘Muppets Most Wanted’ Review: An Almost Equal Sequel appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Now Playing: ‘Men in Black’ to the Future

Luke Hickman — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:00:27 +0000

Before seeing ‘Men in Black 3’, I had many concerns. First, Sony originally wasn’t going to screen the movie for press until the Thursday night before it opened. That’s never a good sign. Second, the series doesn’t have the best track record, and the initial trailers sure didn’t make it look like anything special. Fortunately,...

The post Now Playing: ‘Men in Black’ to the Future appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.