Author: Jason Zingale

After brutally upsetting fans of “The Matrix” franchise with two second-rate film sequels, an animated collection of shorts, one horrible, horrible game tie-in (“Enter the Matrix”), and even less popular “The Matrix Online,” the guys over at Atari have hooked up with the Wachowski brothers again to deliver the latest chapter in the “Matrix” grand marketing scheme. “The Matrix: Path of Neo” is by far the most positive step for the franchise of the past few years, with highly addictive gameplay and a story that fans have been eager to control since the first film debuted in 1999, but it’s…

We all have weaknesses. For Superman, it’s Kryptonite. For every other man in the world, it’s Jane Austen. You could imagine my hesitation, then, when I was given the chore of reviewing the updated film version of the author’s masterpiece, “Pride & Prejudice,” a novel that never failed in putting me to sleep. Still, her painfully slow novels contain the type of rich characters that should be mandatory in every story you read. As a testament to this, it’s important to point out that Austen’s work has also been used as the basis for many current films I’ve enjoyed, including…

Director Sam Mendes’ latest film, “Jarhead,” is sure to cause some controversy amongst fans of war movies. This is because the film is a different kind of war movie – devoid of any actual war or politics. That’s hardly something to be disappointed about, though, since the war that “Jarhead” depicts was a different kind of war. The chance of any serious political discussion is quickly put to rest shortly after the U.S. troops land in Iraq (“Fuck politics. All that matters is that we’re here now. Everything else is bullshit.”), but who are we kidding? Just by not being…

Just when you thought that the summer season had exhausted the possibility of more pointless movie sequels, “The Legend of Zorro” rides in to theaters, and about five years too late. After the box office success of “The Mask of Zorro,” both of the film’s stars seemingly dropped off the Hollywood food chain, so a sequel intended to cash in on the memories of the far superior original shouldn’t surprise anyone. What is surprising is that despite all of the extra effort Antonio Banderas puts into his performance the second time around, the movie still lacks the excitement and personality…

To all of those who thought that Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown” could have been a hell of a lot better, director Gore Verbinski offers proof in the shape of his latest film “The Weather Man.” The film can easily be viewed as a much more grown-up version of Crowe’s endeavor. It features a protagonist who has a troubled relationship with his father and an even more troubling relationship with himself, and ends with a funeral where everything doesn’t quite go as planned. Unlike “Elizabethtown,” however, “Weather Man” manages to stay on track during its noticeably shorter runtime, thanks mostly to Stephen…

In their attempt to one-up the snuff film sadomasochism that propelled “Saw” to take in a staggering $55 million at the box office last year, the makers of “Saw II” did everything that you would expect from a sequel: they raised the squirm factor tenfold, but in exchange sacrificed character development. What you get is a movie that is even more disturbing than the original, if that’s at all possible. It even has a tidy, plausible ending that I wouldn’t think of giving away. The only catch is that you don’t particularly care what happens to any of these people.…

The history of the video game-to-film adaptation is almost too brief to comment on, but we’ve certainly come a long way since the days of “Super Mario Bros.” and Dennis Hopper’s tacky dinosaur transformation. If you really think about it, the sudden turnaround in the genre is all thanks to “Resident Evil.” It was the first to successfully translate a game into a movie, so it makes since that the studio behind “Doom” would be so keen to emulate it as much as possible. It also helps that both stories are so much alike, because if this is any indication…

The emergence of a strictly adult romantic drama would appear to many as a blessing in disguise, what with the overabundance of prepubescent, Hilary Duff-led teen romances and formulaic romantic comedies ushering their way into theaters these days, but “Shopgirl” is far from delivering a worthy candidate. Try to imagine a movie with a great story, even better character development, and a perfect cast who all turn in wonderful performances. Then, imagine walking away from that same film completely dumbfounded by how uninterested you were the entire time. Congratulations, you’ve just experienced “Shopgirl,” one the most wasteful trips to the…

Writer-turned-director Shane Black has written some of the most original action-comedy films of the past two decades, but “Lethal Weapon” is by far his most revered piece. This is good news, considering that his first shot behind the camera plays out a lot like a 50’s film noir version of the infamous buddy-cop flick, but it’s regrettably not as well polished. “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” shows flashes of brilliance amid a reasonably dull plot, almost as if Black had a notebook full of clever ideas and witty one-liners that he wasn’t able to use in past scripts. Still, the film…

To many, paintball is one big gimmick, but to a select few, the adrenaline-pumping action sport is one of the fastest growing games in the world. Complete with international tournaments, big-name sponsors, and their very own poster boy (Greg Hastings), it’s really no surprise that a video game emulation has finally hit shelves. What is surprising, however, is that “Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball Max’d” is one of the most entertaining guilty pleasures of the year. Billed as a sequel to the previously released “Greg Hastings” title, “Max’d” is nothing more than a tricked-out edition that offers a few new features,…