Author: Jason Zingale

From the minute that the monochrome version of the Paramount logo flashes on the screen, it becomes clear that the audience is in for something a little darker than the average summer blockbuster. Directed by master of suspense Michael Mann (“Heat,” “The Insider”), “Collateral” is a gritty crime thriller with a classic good vs. evil showdown at its core. Featuring two stellar performances from Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx and a tight script, this might not be the director’s most accessible movie to date, but it’s certainly one of his best. Foxx stars as Max, an obsessively meticulous cab driver…

It’s hard to believe that the director of “Dude, Where’s My Car?” is still working. While the protagonists of that particular film found their car in the end, Daniel Leiner never found much of an audience with his out-of-this-world story about two of the dumbest men in film history. The movie had its moments, but the outlandish script went sour in no time and now, “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” dares to reinvent Leiner’s outspoken comedies of pure stupidity. Striking back at Hollywood in the spirit of Cheech and Chong, the movie introduces a pair of unlikely stars…

When it comes to remaking classics, director Jonathan Demme hasn’t had much luck, an indisputable assertion following his shameful tarnishing of the Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn masterpiece, “Charade.” While his re-imagining of John Frankenheimer’s 1962 political thriller, “The Manchurian Candidate,” doesn’t exactly register as one of the better films of the year, Demme does deal out a clever, updated script that will make conspiracy theorists cry for joy. As for the rest of the audience, prepare to sink into an unnerving and predictable sand trap of teeth-grinding moments and complex obscurity that waters down an Oscar-worthy performance with its farfetched commentary…

Everybody wants a sequel to their favorite film, but most sequels are poorly constructed. Quickly thrown together with little integrity and respect for the audience, they rarely even come close to matching their predecessors, with the exception of a select few. Luckily for fans of Jason Bourne, the second installment of the spy vs. spy series, “The Bourne Supremacy,” comes exceptionally close to surpassing the original, but ultimately falls short in the hands of the wrong director. In “Supremacy,” fans get a thorough look into the history of Matt Damon’s amnesia-stricken spy when an old training mission becomes the pivotal…

Before delving into their catalog of DC-created characters to compete with comic book rival and summer film machine Marvel, Warner Bros. needs to quickly amend the on-screen failures of their top-two heroes, Superman and Batman (though next summer’s “Batman Begins” will certainly breathe new life into a reborn franchise), instead of looking to less popular characters for box-office success. With that said, “Catwoman” hardly lives up to the expectations of the recent comic-book-to-film explosion with weak acting, gaudy effects and a paper-thin script as only minor problems that garnish this 90-minute disappointment. After Michelle Pfeifer’s memorable performance as the criminal…

It’s now official that all fans of Asian cinema are eternally indebted to Quentin Tarantino. Thanks to the huge success of the outlandish director’s “Kill Bill” series and his more recent re-marketing of the cinematically picturesque “Hero,” moviegoers can now see new Asian releases in their big screen glory without having to sell a kidney just to pay for some poorly transferred bootleg edition on eBay. “House of Flying Daggers,” Zhang Yimou’s second trip into the wuxia genre, is an intense rush of bright colors, fast-paced action and twisting plot turns, but the story’s core romantic love triangle is something…

We’ve all seen our share of wacky comedies over the years, but Adam McKay’s “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” is certainly up there in terms of movies that make me laugh out of sheer silliness. And to think it almost never happened. Though the period comedy – written by McKay and longtime pal Will Ferrell – was originally turned down when it was pitched around Hollywood, the minute that Ferrell became a big star, every studio in town wanted a piece of the movie. That didn’t make it any less of a gamble, however, because while “Anchorman” is filled…

Movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer is massively successful because he feeds moviegoers the same recycled films every summer. The slightest of changes are made, but the mission is always the same: blow up as many things as you can in a certain amount of time. But after finally releasing a film last year (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) that actually offered audiences a fresh script, Bruckheimer has returned with Hollywood’s latest take on the mythology of King Arthur. Certainly one of the better Arthur adaptations, director Antoine Fuqua’s vision delivers a darker side of the common tale with excellent cinematography and battle…

The web-slinger’s second big-screen adventure delves into the mind of the man behind the mask, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), a train wreck of a young adult whose constant balancing act between saving the day and maintaining a normal life has dampened his spirits, grades and any chance he once had with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). Fanatical about getting revenge against Spider-Man for killing his father, Peter’s best friend Harry (James Franco) is now in charge of Oscorp and is financing the research of a new scientist, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). But when his latest project goes horribly wrong,…

One could say that Steven Spielberg is a historian, documenting human emotion on film for the past 20 years. With each new film, Spielberg addresses a different issue but never fails to incorporate the basic emotions that pulse through everyone’s body. His movies are remarkably touching, realistic and passionate about human nature. In his latest film, “The Terminal,” Spielberg reveals a little bit of his own mind as he introduces the audience to Viktor Navorski. Tom Hanks stars as Navorski, a visitor from Eastern Europe whose small country is overtaken by a military coup while he is on a plane…