High-Def Digest: The Bonus ViewMary Elizabeth Winstead Archives - High-Def Digest: The Bonus View

Now Streaming: Love, Death + Robots

Josh Zyber — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 12:00:08 +0000

Suffering the most juvenile and sexist aspects of Heavy Metal (the movie and illustrated magazine) and 1990s anime, Netflix’s new animated sci-fi anthology series Love, Death + Robots has a handful of good episodes, including a few real gems, weighed down by a bunch of garbage. I can’t say whether the series is intended to...

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‘Fargo’ 3.01 Recap: “I Ain’t Gonna Lie, It Didn’t Go Smooth”

Josh Zyber — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 12:00:16 +0000

Noah Hawley has been a pretty busy guy this year. In addition to creating and launching the supremely weird superhero drama ‘Legion‘ a few months ago, Hawley’s fascinating and often hilarious spinoff of the Coen brothers’ ‘Fargo’ returns for its third season on FX. Is the show off to a good start so far? You...

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‘Swiss Army Man’ Review: An Oddball Delight

Philip Brown — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 19:00:33 +0000

‘Swiss Army Man’ is a deeply strange movie. It’s utterly unique, except for how it plays on the expectations set up by a cavalcade of movies that have come before. Part slapstick ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ goof, part body horror, part indie loner dramedy, part whimsy, part tragedy, and all fart joke, there’s simply nothing else...

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‘BrainDead’ Pilot Recap: “God, I Hate Politics”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:00:40 +0000

In a very unexpected turn of events, the weirdest and perhaps most interesting new TV series of the summer is on CBS. While I’m not sure that ‘BrainDead’ is a new television classic yet, it’s a hell of a lot more fun than ‘Under the Dome’, ‘Zoo’ or other similarly stupid garbage the network usually...

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’10 Cloverfield Lane’ Review: Twilight Zoned

Philip Brown — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 20:00:46 +0000

The worst thing about ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ is the title. It’s not just awkward; it’s a spoiler. Sadly, the realities of contemporary Hollywood filmmaking mean that the movie has to be marketed as a franchise entry and even the deliberately oblique trailer or the claims that this is merely a “blood relative” to the original...

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‘The Returned’ 1.07 Recap: “You Weren’t Even Nice”

Josh Zyber — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 15:00:09 +0000

This, finally, is the episode where ‘The Returned’ turns a corner. The secret of the revenants is starting to spread, and once it does, it can’t be contained. (No, the term “revenants” hasn’t officially been used on the show yet, but it fits and it’s the title of the original French series this is based...

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‘The Returned’ 1.02 Recap: “Obviously, Nothing Is Normal”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 13:00:13 +0000

I had some mixed feelings about the premiere of the new American remake of ‘The Returned’ on A&E. Fortunately, the show’s second episode is an improvement in many respects. Although the pilot episode’s primary storyline, involving a teenage girl who mysteriously returned home four years after her death as if nothing had happened, was pretty...

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‘The Returned’ Pilot Recap: “Life, It Prevails”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 16:00:42 +0000

A&E’s new drama ‘The Returned’ is the official American remake of the acclaimed French series ‘Les Revenants’. Unfortunately, its premise is uncomfortably similar to the recent ABC series ‘Resurrection’, which is unrelated but happens to be based on a book also titled ‘The Returned’. Confused yet? I didn’t watch any of ‘Resurrection’ so I can’t...

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‘Kill the Messenger’ Review: Dulled Paranoia

Philip Brown — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 14:00:12 +0000

For a film that serves up a tragic true story for righteous indignation, ‘Kill the Messenger’ sure is surprisingly dull. The material is interesting, even incendiary. Yet somewhere between the facts and the drama, something was lost. The film constantly feels like it’s about to get exciting even though it never ceases to be routine....

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Now Playing: Pretty ‘Spectacular’

Bryan Kluger — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 17:00:23 +0000

From the director of ‘Smashed‘ and the writers of ‘(500) Days of Summer‘ comes a charming little gem called ‘The Spectacular Now’. In a way, this is a high-school movie, but one that’s wholly original and incredibly acted by its young adult cast. The film tackles a few big subjects like alcoholism, abandonment and depression,...

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Weekend Movies: Three of 2012’s Finest… Plus Kevin James

Luke Hickman — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Do you have plans this weekend that will keep you from going to the movie theater? Cancel them. Three new films deserve your attention. I make no promises for the others, though. The widest and best of this week’s new releases is Ben Affleck ‘Argo‘. On more than 3,200 screens, the film portrays the unbelievably...

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New to VUDU: Week of January 29th, 2012

Josh Zyber — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:58 +0000

What do you call the part-prequel/part-remake of a remake of an adaptation of a short story? How about the most promising streaming rental of the week? The following titles enter the VUDU stream this week: ‘The Big Year’ (1/31) ‘The Big Year – Extended Cut’ (1/31) ‘Dream House’ (1/31) ‘In Time’ (1/31) ‘Janie Jones’ (rental...

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