Author: Jason Zingale

Peter Weir’s “Dead Poets Society” is one of those films that people learn life lessons from, but probably shouldn’t. This isn’t to say that the film doesn’t address important issues, but it wouldn’t be wise to take it too seriously either, namely because the filmmakers lay on the drama so heavily that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by emotion. Nonetheless, in a genre teeming with titles that carry the same theme of the admired teacher and his legion of devoted students, “Dead Poets Society” is one of the best, specifically for the emotional rollercoaster the film urges its audience to…

Director Len Wiseman’s 2003 surprise hit, “Underworld,” isn’t the first film to be completely undermined by a follow-up sequel, but it’s certainly among the worst off in an ongoing trend. The original was a stylish genre flick that brought new life to the monster movie, specifically vampires and werewolves, by placing the characters in a modern day war fueled by hi-tech weaponry and a centuries-old grudge. This has, of course, been done before, but “Underworld” did it best, thanks mostly to star Kate Beckinsale’s enthusiasm in playing the hackneyed female hero role. “Underworld: Evolution,” unfortunately, attempts to outshine the cult…

I’ve never owned a portable gaming system, nor have I ever wanted one. The idea of gaming on the go never seemed to coincide with the bulky handhelds that I saw on the market, including the updated Nintendo Game Boy Advance, its successor the DS, or even Sony’s PlayStation Portable. Then, during last year’s E3 Expo, Nintendo unveiled their latest addition to the handheld family: the Nintendo Game Boy Micro. Essentially a GBA in execution, the Micro includes everything you can find in the older model, but only smaller and with a much brighter screen. Also included with the system…

Over the past five years, Zach Braff has quickly developed into one of the most promising young talents in Hollywood. From his lead role on the NBC comedy “Scrubs” to his directorial debut, “Garden State,” the writer/director/actor seems capable of just about anything – including undertaking the role of music producer and launching the careers of his musician friends in his spare time. Of course, this also means that he’s keeping very busy – so much so that for his latest film, “The Last Kiss,” the actor has chosen to do just that: act. Unfortunately, Braff is probably the weakest…

Queen Latifah opened more than a few eyes with her performance in the award-winning musical “Chicago,” but follow-up roles in films like “Taxi” and “Bringing Down the House” have not exactly launched the former hip-hop artist into the Hollywood elite. A recent Wal-Mart commercial finds the Queen forcing a female customer into buying a copy of “Beauty Shop” on DVD, and one can only imagine she’ll be doing the same once “Last Holiday” is shooed out of theaters. Based on the 1950 film of the same name, “Last Holiday” is as about funny as the last “Saw” movie. And for…

Gee, I wonder why people who play video games get such a bad rep? Oh, that’s right, it’s because of movies like “Grandma’s Boy” that naively associate the digital pastime with smoking weed 24/7. That isn’t to say that some casual gamers don’t engage in said activity, but so do Wall Street stock brokers, lawyers and doctors. When is a movie about doped up professionals going to surface, or is that just too touchy of a subject? Whatever the excuse, there simply isn’t one good enough to justify laying down ten bucks for 96 minutes of pure drivel. And while…

The Brothers Weinstein may no longer be associated with Disney and sister company Miramax, but they’re still the kings of independent cinema. The producing duo has long been revered for possessing a keen eye for solid filmmaking, and it doesn’t look like they’ve lost their touch since leaving to bankroll their own production group, aptly named the Weinstein Co. And in a period filled with award hopefuls and early bird garbage, writer/director Richard Shepard’s hilarious black comedy, “The Matador,” is the perfect introduction to a brand new company that is sure to steamroll the competition in the coming years. Featuring…

It’s a real shame that “Dead or Alive 4” wasn’t around during launch time, because it’s easily the best 360 game currently on the market. And how exactly is a fighting game better than deeper launch titles like “Perfect Dark Zero” and “Call of Duty 2,” you ask? Quite simply, “DOA4” offers everything you could want in a next-gen launch title: recognizable franchise characters, a booming online community, pretty graphics, enhanced “jiggle physics,” and an easy-to-learn combat system for anyone from ages 9 to 99. This isn’t to say that “DOA4” is perfect – because it’s far from it -…

It’s a real shame that “The New World” didn’t open in theaters at the end of December as originally planned, because if it did, there would have been few other films standing in the way of its climb to the top of my Worst Films of 2005 list. Instead, director Terrence Malick has spent the past three weeks retooling his feature after early screenings resulted in a unanimous wave of contempt. Sorry Terrence, but editing twenty minutes from the total runtime and removing a controversial sex scene between star Colin Farrell and underage newcomer Q’Orianka Kilcher just isn’t going to…

Jim Carrey hasn’t made me laugh in nearly a decade; partly because he’s been off pursuing a serious acting career, but mostly because his last few comedies have sucked. You could imagine my disdain, then, when it was announced that Carrey would star in an update of the 1977 George Segal/Jane Fonda film of the same name, but with the Judd Apatow Seal of Approval stamped on the final draft of the script, my concern slowly turned into anticipation. And believe it or not, “Fun with Dick and Jane” is actually an enjoyable trip to the movies. It features a…