High-Def Digest: The Bonus ViewReese Witherspoon Archives - High-Def Digest: The Bonus View

‘A Wrinkle in Time’ Review: Time Is Not on Your Side

Luke Hickman — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 13:00:29 +0000

When Disney isn’t making billion-dollar ‘Star Wars’, Marvel, and animated movies, the studio does less well with over-ambitious, tone-deaf fluff like 2015’s ‘Tomorrowland’. Unfortunately, Ava DuVernay’s new adaptation of ‘A Winkle in Time’ is another major disappointment. If Paramount was worried about audiences scratching their heads following ‘Annihilation’, Disney execs should be having panic attacks...

The post ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ Review: Time Is Not on Your Side appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Big Little Lies’ Pilot Recap: “What’d We Say About Shooting Mom Before Noon?”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 17:00:29 +0000

HBO’s new drama series ‘Big Little Lies’ is a prestige production stacked with multiple Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy winners and nominees both in front of and behind the camera. Ultimately, that seems like kind of a waste of talent for what turns out to be an overly-arty and pretentious knockoff of ‘Desperate Housewives’. Promoted...

The post ‘Big Little Lies’ Pilot Recap: “What’d We Say About Shooting Mom Before Noon?” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Sing’ Review: Contagiously Cute

Philip Brown — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 16:00:10 +0000

‘Sing’ is about as good as a movie about a bunch of cute CGI animals hosting a singing competition could possibly be. This is base level animated family comedy stuff, filled with celebrity voice acting and more pop culture references than the movie’s IMDb page could possibly handle. The emotional arcs are all pretty obvious....

The post ‘Sing’ Review: Contagiously Cute appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Blu-ray Highlights: Week of August 9th, 2015 – Running Cold

Josh Zyber — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 12:00:57 +0000

It’s another week in which the Blu-ray release slate is dominated by new movies of questionable merit. If you’re looking for something to buy, perhaps keep your eyes on catalog titles from the likes of Criterion or Twilight Time. Those generally have something interesting to offer. New Releases ‘Hot Pursuit‘ – Female-centric comedies have had...

The post Blu-ray Highlights: Week of August 9th, 2015 – Running Cold appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Hot Pursuit’ Review: Hot Mess

Philip Brown — Fri, 08 May 2015 13:00:01 +0000

The only possible justification for the existence of ‘Hot Pursuit’ is to prove to audiences that ‘The Heat‘ actually wasn’t so bad. It seems strange to think that a rival studio would waste the resources to produce an entire movie simply to make a two-year-old Melissa McCarthy vehicle easier to watch. There’s no possible way...

The post ‘Hot Pursuit’ Review: Hot Mess appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Weekend Roundtable: Worst Movies Starring 2015 Oscar Nominees

Josh Zyber — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 20:00:23 +0000

Oh sure, they may be basking in the acclaim of their latest hits now, but this year’s Oscar nominees haven’t always starred in such award-worthy movies. In fact, many of them have made a lot of crap. As we prepare to watch the Academy Awards ceremony this weekend, let’s remember how far some of these...

The post Weekend Roundtable: Worst Movies Starring 2015 Oscar Nominees appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Inherent Vice’ Review: A Hazy Noir Masterpiece

Philip Brown — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:00:29 +0000

Set in early 1970s Los Angeles and very much indebted to the auteur-driven masterpieces that came out of Hollywood in that era, ‘Inherent Vice’ is a stoner detective art film. You might even be tempted to call it the first of its kind, were it not for the fact that Robert Altman’s ‘The Long Goodbye’...

The post ‘Inherent Vice’ Review: A Hazy Noir Masterpiece appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Wild’ Review: A Walk to Forget

Philip Brown — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 14:00:11 +0000

‘Wild’ is a certainly a film made with the best intentions. ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ director Jean-Marc Vallée clearly saw the potential in Cheryl Strayed’s memoir to craft a story about the resilience and growth necessary to survive anything approximating a normal life. However, the movie transforms a poignantly true story into collection of self-help clichés...

The post ‘Wild’ Review: A Walk to Forget appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Weekend Movies: Evil Dolls, Kidnapped Wives & Oscar Bait

Luke Hickman — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 17:00:25 +0000

Awards season kicks off this weekend with two terrifying tales of scenarios that you never want to find yourself in. The widest release of the weekend is ‘Annabelle‘, the horror spin-off to last summer’s unexpected global smash hit ‘The Conjuring‘. When a man buys his pregnant wife a vintage doll to add to her collection,...

The post Weekend Movies: Evil Dolls, Kidnapped Wives & Oscar Bait appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

The Trailer Park: Gods Gone Wild

Luke Hickman — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 19:00:19 +0000

When December comes around, the studios start rolling out their big awards hopefuls for the season. Whether any of these movies actually win Oscars or not, they might be worth watching. ‘Wild’ (Dec. 5) Reese Witherspoon is shooting for another Best Actress trophy with a traveling-to-find-one’s-self movie. In ‘Wild’, she plays a woman whose life...

The post The Trailer Park: Gods Gone Wild appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Now Playing: ‘Mud’ Is No Dud

Bryan Kluger — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:00:39 +0000

In his new film, ‘Mud’, Jeff Nichols (director of ‘Take Shelter‘) brings us a coming-of-age story about two best friends in the South who bond with a homeless fugitive. With amazing performances and a great script, this tiny tale of love, confidence and second chances might just find a big audience through positive word-of-mouth. The...

The post Now Playing: ‘Mud’ Is No Dud appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Now Playing: A New Low for McG

Luke Hickman — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:00:50 +0000

I love bromantic comedies. They’re hilarious… usually. As you can tell from the trailers, that aspect of ‘This Means War’ works. Tom Hardy and Chris Pine play a perfect quarreling “old married couple” and it’s quite fun to watch. Unfortunately, absolutely everything else in the movie is stupid. The plot: A brotherly couple of best...

The post Now Playing: A New Low for McG appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.