High-Def Digest: The Bonus ViewHigh-Def Digest: The Bonus View

Sorry, We’re Closed

Josh Zyber — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 12:00:01 +0000

Nothing can last forever, I suppose. Regrettably, after more than 8,000 posts and nearly a decade of writing about all manner of movie, TV, and home theater topics, the Bonus View blog at High-Def Digest must close its doors effective today. In the early days of its life, High-Def Digest was devoted almost exclusively to...

The post Sorry, We’re Closed appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Anamorphic Lens in a Modern 4k Home Theater, Part 2 – The Panamorph Paladin DCR

Josh Zyber — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 20:00:15 +0000

After installing a 4k projector in my home theater, I questioned whether an anamorphic lens is still the best way of achieving Constant Image Height display. Although my first tests using an older model suggested that I was better off without it, our friends at Panamorph were gracious enough to lend me a new Paladin...

The post Anamorphic Lens in a Modern 4k Home Theater, Part 2 – The Panamorph Paladin DCR appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Doctor Sleep Review: Worth Staying Up For

Jason Gorber — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 19:00:29 +0000

Consider me shocked. As much as I enjoyed director Mike Flanagan’s Oculus, the idea of messing with Stanley Kubrick’s vision by making a sequel to The Shining is a tough prescription for Doctor Sleep to fill. Most of you already know that Stephen King didn’t care for what Kubrick did to The Shining. His 2013...

The post Doctor Sleep Review: Worth Staying Up For appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Motherless Brooklyn Review: One Gumshoe Short of a Pair

Deirdre Crimmins — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 17:00:06 +0000

Film noir can be a tough sell in modern cinema. Motherless Brooklyn seems intent on displaying all the reasons why it doesn’t work, but that doesn’t mean it’s a total waste of 144 minutes. When a film in 2019 not only has a voiceover, but that voiceover uses the word “gumshoe” without irony, you know...

The post Motherless Brooklyn Review: One Gumshoe Short of a Pair appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

DTLA Film Festival Journal: Josie & Jack

Deirdre Crimmins — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 15:00:31 +0000

Sibling relationships are complicated. Josie & Jack shows an unusually stressed pair of siblings, and how they cope with the tension between life inside and outside that relationship. Based on the Kelly Braffet novel of the same name and directed by actress Sarah Lancaster, the film focuses on a brother and sister. Josie and Jack...

The post DTLA Film Festival Journal: Josie & Jack appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Unboxed: The Wizard of Oz on Home Video Through the Years

David Krauss — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 12:00:00 +0000

This week marks another home video milestone for The Wizard of Oz. As the iconic 1939 musical fantasy celebrates its 80th anniversary, Warner Home Video honors the occasion with a 4k Ultra HD release. Over the years, director Victor Fleming’s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s children’s classic has been at the forefront of any new...

The post Unboxed: The Wizard of Oz on Home Video Through the Years appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Terminator: Dark Fate Review – The Future Is Still Not Set

Jason Gorber — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 19:00:53 +0000

Is there a franchise where the notion sequels is more baked-in than The Terminator? We should have known that the famous line “I’ll be back” was more than a just a quip, but a mantra promising decades of reboots and rethinks. With Terminator: Dark Fate, we finally have another chapter worthy of the first two...

The post Terminator: Dark Fate Review – The Future Is Still Not Set appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

From Silents to the Seventies: Whirlpool

David Krauss — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 16:00:14 +0000

Whirlpool reunites Gene Tierney with director Otto Preminger, but despite fine performances and stylish direction, this intriguing yet overblown tale of psychological manipulation and murder can’t match the pair’s previous classic outing, Laura. Whirlpool Theatrical Release Date: November 28, 1949 Blu-ray Release Date: September 24, 2019 Directed by: Otto Preminger Starring: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte,...

The post From Silents to the Seventies: Whirlpool appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Unboxed: The Terminator Series from Laserdisc to Blu-ray

Josh Zyber — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 12:00:52 +0000

As the Terminator franchise rolls out a new movie, I’m compelled to revisit the earlier entries across the multiple home video formats I’ve collected. I’m not going to pretend to have a comprehensive Terminator collection. I’m sure some hardcore fan out there must own every video edition known to man (as I must with certain...

The post Unboxed: The Terminator Series from Laserdisc to Blu-ray appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Dolby Atmos Beyond 7.1.4 – Part 6: Reconfiguring Everything (Again)

Josh Zyber — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 17:00:17 +0000

My seemingly never-ending project to incorporate an absurd number of speakers into my home theater has undergone another major overhaul since I last provided an update. While, no, I haven’t squeezed any more speakers into the room, I have rewired and re-assigned several of them – hopefully for the better. Most home theaters are content...

The post Dolby Atmos Beyond 7.1.4 – Part 6: Reconfiguring Everything (Again) appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

TIFF Journal: Bad Education (2019)

Jason Gorber — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 15:00:36 +0000

Director Cory Finley takes the good will from his 2017 debut Thoroughbreds and ups the ante even further. Bad Education is a bleak, comical, and surprisingly effective film about a high school finance scandal. Writer/co-producer Mike Makowsky’s screenplay is remarkable both for its deft construction and for how close the writer is to the events...

The post TIFF Journal: Bad Education (2019) appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Blu-ray Highlights: Week of October 27th, 2019 – All Monsters Attack!

Josh Zyber — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 12:00:57 +0000

This Halloween week is inundated with monsters, ghouls, and beasties on Blu-ray, plus sparkling new 4k makeovers for a couple of genuine classics. October closes, however, without a single recent theatrical release of note – at least none I recognize. Ultra HD I have dutifully upgraded The Wizard of Oz through every video format from...

The post Blu-ray Highlights: Week of October 27th, 2019 – All Monsters Attack! appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.