Author: Jason Zingale

Jack Black’s newest film, “School of Rock,” just may be the best comedy in years, featuring a laugh-out-loud script and a highly amusing Black that will keep a smile plastered on your face throughout the entire movie. Black stars as Dewey Finn, a failed musician desperate for some cash after getting booted from his band. His roommate Ned (Mike White, who also wrote the film), a substitute teacher whose girlfriend Patty (Sarah Silverman) is threatening to kick Dewey out of the apartment, isn’t home the day Horace Green Prep School calls in need of an immediate sub. Dewey takes advantage…

Over the last 10 years, cult film star Bruce Campbell has carved out his own little niche in the Hollywood landscape, but with the release of his latest comedic horror film “Bubba Ho-Tep,” he might just finally find the recognition he’s been looking for. “Bubba Ho-Tep” initially tells the story of a broken down Elvis Presley (Campbell) who, following a career switch, finds himself in a nursing home with no proof of his true identity. The tale he tells involves an Elvis impersonator who takes his place after he becomes sick with fame, but before the two can switch back…

The vampires that have ravaged the human race over the past century in film have finally decided to take it easy. In Les Wiseman’s “Underworld,” the Ann Rice-like bloodsuckers are portrayed in an aristocratic style, exhausted from a drawn out war with the lycans (werewolves), who have since built up their forces and are now ready for a devastating counterattack. Selena (Kate Beckinsale) seems to be one of the only vampires still thirsting for war, endlessly hunting lycans night by night, and earning her revenge for the lack of mercy given to her family years before. While stalking the lycans…

Robert Rodriguez has released a pair of movies in the past two months that he’s written, shot, chopped and directed all by himself, making him the most talented one-man show in the industry today. With “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” Rodriguez wraps up his increasingly successful trilogy of the crazy gun-fighting mariachi brought to life in 1992’s “El Mariachi” and the follow-up sequel “Desperado,” with a blowout cast and a big bang plot. Antonio Banderas returns as El Mariachi, the infamous mariachi hit man who has recently retired after the murder of his wife (Salma Hayek, shown only in…

Adapted from a novel by Eric Garcia, “Matchstick Men” has the feel of an old-school Rat Pack film combined with the originality of a modern day indie flick. While it boasts one of the more prominent Hollywood directors (Ridley Scott) still in existence, the story is truly carried by the incredibly enchanting talents of its three stars: veteran Nicolas Cage, new blood superstar Sam Rockwell, and up-and-coming talent Alison Lohman. Cage stars as Roy Waller, a charming con artist who consistently battles with his obsessive-compulsive ticks while his partner in crime Frank (Rockwell) helps keep the business afloat. During Roy’s…

David Spade doesn’t have the best track history in film. In fact, aside from his various duet appearances with late SNL star Chris Farley, he really hasn’t done much outside his NBC sitcom “Just Shoot Me.” While his past solo films like “Joe Dirt” weren’t exactly comedic gems, they weren’t all that bad either, but his latest movie, “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star,” is likely the best of the lot. All Dickie Roberts (Spade) wants is a second chance. A washed-up child actor, Dickie spends his time working as a valet to the stars and playing poker with his fellow…

“The Order” is this summer’s supernatural thriller, an utter disappointment that, among other things, also strives to be a horror flick. In fact, this film doesn’t really know what it wants to be, which is why it falls short of any building expectations it may have had. The title has no connection to the plot and the bad guy isn’t really bad at all. Heath Ledger plays Alex Bernier, a member of a dying order of priests known as the Carolingians who is called to Rome after the head of the order mysteriously dies. While investigating the murder and flipping…

Most Jackie Chan movies aren’t very good to begin with, aside from rare exceptions like the “Rush Hour” and “Shanghai” series, but it’s usually easy to maintain a smile throughout his amazing action sequences and his near-perfect comedic timing. “The Medallion,” on the other hand, should be filed along with the rest of Chan’s junk films due to its lack of action, comedy and story. Chan plays Hong Kong police inspector Eddie Yang, who just recently teamed up with the British Interpol to take down Snakehead (B-movie villain Julian Sands), a European crime lord who travels to Hong Kong to…

When humor is the only way to bring a social dilemma into full focus, Michael Moore is your man. The guy behind the ingeniously funny yet incredibly heartfelt documentary “Roger and Me,” Moore returns with a satirical look at the gun problems in the United States. The title “Bowling for Columbine” is connected to one of his many agendas during the film. A few hours before the two students gunned down a teacher and 12 classmates at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went to their high school bowling class. While Moore doesn’t find any…

A skateboarding comedy aimed at the MTV generation and led by a group of up-and-comers still looking for their place in Hollywood, “Grind” offers nothing new to fans of the sport with terrible skateboarding stunts and a script that must have been written by a group of 13-year-olds in one sitting. High school graduate Adam Rivers (Mike Vogel) has no aspiration to go to college and enjoys slacking off during his summer job at the local fast food stop. Gathering his three closest friends Matt (Vince Vieluf, “Rat Race”), Dustin (Adam Brody, “The OC”) and Sweet Lou (Joey Kern), the…