Author: Jason Zingale

It’s no secret that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are best friends, and it shows in their previous work on the British TV series “Spaced,” and in films like “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” But while the duo has always had fun working together, “Paul” marks the first time that they wrote a movie without the help of friend/director Edgar Wright. While down in sunny Austin for the film’s U.S. premiere at South by Southwest, we joined a few other bloggers under tent located just outside the RV from the movie to chat with Simon, Nick and director…

It’s a fairy tale that dates back as far as the 1700s, but we’ve never seen “Beauty and the Beast” imagined quite like it is in Daniel Barnz’s big screen adaptation of the young-adult novel, “Beastly,” written by Alex Flinn. That’s because the film delivers a modern day take on the material by setting the story in the cutthroat world of high school, where witches would have a field day cursing callous teenagers who don’t have the life experience to know better. It’s exactly the type of movie you’d expect “Twilight” fans to swoon over. Anyone else would be better…

You never quite know what to expect from a Nicolas Cage film, because the actor is so unpredictable. But when you’re dealing with a movie called “Drive Angry,” there are really only two possibilities: either it will just plain suck, or it will relish in its awfulness to the point of being so bad it’s good. The film certainly had the potential to count itself among that special class of cinematic contradiction (especially with the 3D component), but despite aiming to become a campy cult classic, “Drive Angry” fails at every turn. If nothing else, it’s a great lesson in…

The “Killzone” franchise has grown to become a really dependable performer for Sony since its debut in 2004, although at a much slower rate as Xbox-exclusive competitors like “Halo” and “Gears of War.” But while developers Guerilla Games may not crank out new installments quite as often, they never fail to deliver a memorable gaming experience, and “Killzone 3” follows in that tradition as one of the best looking, most entertaining games on the market. A gritty and visceral in-the-trenches shooter with a solid single-player campaign and an impressive multiplayer mode, “Killzone 3” may not feature the kind of over-the-top…

Adapting young-adult novels into movies has become big business for Hollywood over the last few years, but the success of the “Twilight” films has led studios to focus on a specific type of story – namely, ones about mopey teenagers falling in love with just the right amount of action to convince male moviegoers to tag along with their female counterparts. “I Am Number Four” is a particularly curious case because DreamWorks seems so desperate to prevent the film from being pigeonholed as a “Twilight” clone that the trailers would have you believe it’s an action movie. It may think…

In the past, the low-budget crime thriller has been the most significant turning point in the professional careers of several directors. The critical success of Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” led to the eventual production of “Pulp Fiction,” Bryan Singer snagged “X-Men” after wowing us with “The Usual Suspects,” and Christopher Nolan followed up the psychological thriller “Memento” with a reboot of the Batman franchise. Even James Wan – who introduced the world to Jigsaw in his directorial debut (“Saw”) – is on the verge of breaking out, so you can’t blame new-kid-on-the-block Simon Brand for taking a shot with “Unknown.”…

Ed Helms isn’t a very showy comedian, but when given the right material (like the role of the cuckold dentist in “The Hangover”), there are few actors who do the prudish nice guy shtick better than him. Playing the straight man doesn’t always have its benefits, however, as is the case with “Cedar Rapids,” which finds the former “Daily Show” correspondent in his first leading role, but with little to show for it. At the very least, it’s not going to make Helms an overnight star like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” did for his fellow “Office” co-star Steve Carell, but while…

With grindhouse cinema making a bit of a comeback in recent years with films like “Black Dynamite,” “Hell Ride,” and of course, “Grindhouse,” Elijah Drenner’s documentary about the history of exploitation film couldn’t have come at a better time. Narrated by Robert Forster, “American Grindhouse” tracks this shameless and shocking breed of moviemaking from its birth in the early 1900s to its illusory transition into mainstream cinema today. Featuring interviews with directors like John Landis and Joe Dante, and film historians like Eric Schaeffer and Eddie Muller, “American Grindhouse” is a little vanilla in its presentation, but it’s a pretty…

There was a time when the release of a Mario-themed sports title was met with contempt from the gaming community due to Nintendo’s blatant exploitation of their mustachioed mascot. But save for his recent appearance alongside Sonic in 2009’s Olympic Winter Games crossover, Mario has been too busy saving the Princess to have any fun with his friends. You’d think the break would have done him some good, but while his return to the sports genre sounds great in theory (four games for the price of one!), “Mario Sports Mix” is too hit-and-miss to warrant a spot in your collection.…

Abig screen adaptation of “The Green Hornet” has been in the works for so long that it’s actually a little surprising one was finally made – although not as much as the people who made it. After all, Seth Rogen isn’t the first person you’d think of to star as the titular hero (hell, he’s not even the hundredth), let alone one to be put in charge of penning the script with writing partner Evan Goldberg. But it’s exactly the comic sensibility that he brings to the material, especially when combined with director Michel Gondry’s eccentric style, that makes this…