High-Def Digest: The Bonus ViewNicholas Hoult Archives - High-Def Digest: The Bonus View

Dark Phoenix Review: X-Men Flame Out

Jason Gorber — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 16:00:03 +0000

The X-Men series has felt like a bit of a misfire from the very start. Even by the convoluted standards of comic book fare, the ensemble pieces never quite managed to thread the needle between world-building and giving each member of the team time to shine. In what’s alleged to be the last of the...

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Tolkien Review: An Expected Bio

Jason Gorber — Fri, 10 May 2019 12:00:55 +0000

From his birth in Southern Africa, the loss of his mother, his academic rise, his service during the Great War, and his subsequent fame, the story of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s life is nearly as adventurous as the characters he invented. The bio-pic Tolkien merges all these aspects to show how they echo with the...

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VIFF Journal: The Favourite

Jason Gorber — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 12:00:31 +0000

Yorgos Lanthimos has carved out a wonderful niche space, crafting films that mix whimsy and darkness in equal measure. From Dogtooth and Alps to The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, each of his movies forms a strange little world that we’re invited to visit. His latest, The Favourite, takes many of his...

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‘Rebel in the Rye’ Review: Baloney with Cheese

Philip Brown — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 16:00:18 +0000

Given his life of intense secrecy and his small yet beloved output of work, making a bio-pic about J.D. Salinger was never going to be easy. Oh sure, there are legendary stories about his early life, all of which are dutifully checked off a list here. However, not much is truly known about the man...

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‘Equals’ Review: Actually, Less Than

Philip Brown — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 16:00:42 +0000

From the moment you see the identical white jumpsuits and bland expressions, it’s immediately clear what kind of movie ‘Equals’ will be. Unfortunately, there aren’t many surprises from that point on. The movie is pretty much a remake (or ripoff, depending on your point of view) of ‘THX 1138‘ with an added emo twist. It’s...

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‘Kill Your Friends’ Review: British Psycho

Philip Brown — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 16:00:39 +0000

‘Kill Your Friends’ has a decent enough premise that must have been fairly easy to pitch: “Imagine if American Psycho took place in the 1990s Britpop record industry.” The resulting film is exactly that – a tale of a soulless executive whose total contempt for the world and icky business ethics quickly turn bloody, backed...

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TIFF Journal: ‘Kill Your Friends’

Philip Brown — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 17:00:27 +0000

Dark comedy is a difficult beast to tame. It’s a fine line between shock laughs and pandering tedium. It’s all too easy to numb your audience with outrageousness if you’re unable to top yourself or at least stumble onto something resembling a point. ‘Kill Your Friends’ is unfortunately an example of pushing a dark comedy...

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‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Review: Absolute Automotive Insanity

Philip Brown — Thu, 14 May 2015 19:00:11 +0000

Until I was actually sitting in a theater watching ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, I wasn’t entirely convinced that it had actually been made. Sure, I’d seen the trailers, but after years of false starts the promise of a (primarily) physically produced, R-rated $150 million ‘Mad Max’ blockbuster made by original director George Miller seemed too...

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‘Young Ones’ Review: Gorgeously Empty

Philip Brown — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 17:00:49 +0000

Jake Paltrow’s ‘Young Ones’ is a gorgeously visualized movie that toys with Western and post-apocalyptic thriller conventions in intriguing ways. Unfortunately, beyond the style and setup, the film is sadly hollow. Even if it’s enjoyable to watch in the moment, it simply doesn’t hold together once given much thought. The appeal of the film will...

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Grrr… Arghhh…. Win ‘Warm Bodies’ on Blu-ray!

Josh Zyber — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 13:00:54 +0000

In choosing a prize for this week’s contest, the biggest Blu-ray release of the week is the new ‘Die Hard’ sequel. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t in good faith inflict that piece of crap on anyone. If you need to own that for completist’s sake, you can pay for it yourself. Instead, let’s give away a...

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Now Playing: Bryan Singer Knows ‘Jack’ About Fairy Tales

Luke Hickman — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:00:30 +0000

What happened to Bryan Singer? Where is the filmmaker who gave us the brilliant ‘The Usual Suspects?’ Where is the director who gave us the fantastic first two ‘X-Men‘ films? Most believe that he started going downhill with ‘Superman Returns‘ (I’m actually in the tiny minority that loves that one) and fizzled with ‘Valkyrie‘. After...

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Now Playing: ‘Warm Bodies’ Is To Die For!

Bryan Kluger — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:00:12 +0000

‘Warm Bodies’ focuses more on undead romance than political or social issues, while having just enough blood and guts for genre fans. This zombie flick ranks with some of the best living dead films ever made. It’s fresh, original and has an amazing soundtrack. I have no doubt that this lovable zombie movie will make...

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