Author: Jason Zingale

If Donnie Yen wasn’t already on his way to becoming the next great martial arts star following the success of “Ip Man,” then he’s surely made a compelling argument for it with “Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen,” a film that sees him in a role made famous by two other Chinese action stars: Bruce Lee and Jet Li. It certainly seems fitting that Yen would get his chance to play the cultural hero just as his star is on the rise (even if he already did in a 1995 TV series), but while Yen’s involvement makes…

The last thing you’d expect from the guy who directed literary dramas like “Pride and Prejudice” and “Atonement” is a high-energy action thriller, but that’s exactly what makes Joe Wright’s “Hanna” so appealing. Though Wright is clearly out to prove his versatility as a director with his latest feature, he hasn’t abandoned the qualities that define him as a filmmaker, resulting in a movie with influences ranging from “The Bourne Identity,” “The Professional” and “Run Lola Run,” but as filtered through the same art-house sensibilities of his previous films. It’s hardly the best of its kind, but between the top-notch…

Making an irreverent superhero movie in a post-“Kick-Ass” world is a risky undertaking, although not a completely futile one. While Matthew Vaughn set the bar pretty high, and the comparisons are inevitable for any film that follows in its footsteps, it’s not the definitive superhero comedy by any stretch. Unfortunately, James Gunn’s “Super” squanders the chance to one-up “Kick-Ass” by wasting so much energy overcoming its own self-inflicted problems to ever be better than mediocre. There’s a lot of wasted potential on display, but thanks to a hilariously unhinged performance by Ellen Page, “Super” manages to rise above its drastically…

James Wan and Leigh Whannell may be responsible for jumpstarting the most successful horror franchise of the last decade, but the duo has failed to recreate that level of success in anything they’ve made since then. But with the release of “Insidious,” it looks like they’ve finally cracked that nut, because the film is a creepy and atmospheric supernatural horror tale that plays a lot like a modern day “Poltergeist” with a decidedly retro aesthetic. Though the film relies a little too often on cheap jump scares and loud musical cues to terrorize the audience, “Insidious” is a legitimately scary…

Duncan Jones was probably bombarded with a number of offers to direct a big studio movie following the release and cult success of his directorial debut, “Moon,” but there’s something about his decision to choose “Source Code” as his follow-up that tells you a lot about the kind of filmmaker he hopes to become. To some extent a companion piece to “Moon” in that they’re both morality tales about technology, Jones has succeeded in taking yet another high-concept premise and spinning it into a captivating thriller that’s both incredibly simple in execution and yet brain-teasingly complex the more you pick…

Last year, critics went crazy for “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” a documentary about a duo of failed musicians from Canada so obsessed with success that their friendship eventually suffered because of it. So basically, it was a movie about a couple of self-entitled losers who weren’t really that talented to begin with. It was an interesting study of a man so desperate to become famous that he would do just about anything to get it, but if you’re looking for a music doc about a real rock and roll legend who couldn’t care less about fame, then “Lemmy” is…

It’s been awhile since I was even remotely interested in professional wrestling – first as a child, and then again in college – but you’d be amazed at just how quickly it all came back to me while playing THQ’s latest wrestling game, “WWE All-Stars.” That’s definitely part of the appeal, as it taps into your childhood memories of watching Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant duking it out at WrestleMania, and features a roster of 30 fighters (comprised of Legends like Macho Man and The Rock, and current Superstars like The Undertaker and John Cena) that any generation of…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you’re well aware of Hollywood’s recent obsession with 3D… only, it’s not just Hollywood that’s obsessed. The video game industry has been eager to embrace this latest fad as well, with the Sony PlayStation 3 already offering several titles that are compatible with 3D-ready TVs. But if there’s been one steady complaint during this whole 3D craze, it’s that in order to take advantage of the technology, you have to wear a pair of clunky (and expensive) shutter glasses. That’s what makes the Nintendo 3DS so appealing, because…

Since its premiere at Sundance earlier this year, Thomas McCarthy’s “Win Win” has drawn comparisons to “The Blind Side,” and for good reason. But while the films are thematically similar in a lot of ways, “Win Win” is a much stronger piece of filmmaking than the Oscar-nominated drama – one that doesn’t pander to the audience or depend on hot-button topics to drive the story. Instead, it’s just a really well made dramedy that benefits from a funny and touching script by McCarthy and one of the best ensemble casts of the year. Call it feel-good entertainment if you must,…

If you never knew how big of geeks Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were in real life, you will after watching their new film, “Paul,” because it’s bursting at the seams with geeky sci-fi references – particularly the oeuvre of Steven Spielberg, which plays a big role in informing the world of the film. But while there are a lot of winks and nods directed at fanboys, “Paul” is a much broader and more accessible comedy than the duo’s other movies. That pretty much ensures it will perform better at the box office, but despite a steady stream of laughs…