Author: Jason Zingale

No matter how many new features they add to the latest “Guitar Hero” or “Rock Band,” you’re still just strumming the same plastic guitar, only to a different set of songs. It’s a pretty harsh statement to be sure, but for those looking for an entirely new music rhythm experience, Activision has you covered. “DJ Hero” may sound an awful lot like its axe-shredding cousin in spirit, but the gameplay mechanics couldn’t be any more different. Whether or not the game appeals to the same audience is another matter, because while “DJ Hero” may seem targeted at a much smaller…

The Major League Soccer season may be coming to a close, but for all the other leagues around the world, it’s just getting started, which means it’s time once again for another installment of “FIFA Soccer.” The series has gone through a number of changes over the years, but this time around, it seems like they’ve finally perfected the formula. Though I was admittedly a little harsh on last year’s edition at first, it’s definitely grown on me since then, which is a good thing considering Electronic Arts is using “FIFA 09” as the blueprint for this year’s installment. In…

There are movies that are bad, and movies that are so bad they’re good. And then there’s “Black Dynamite,” a pitch-perfect homage to blaxploitation cinema that, while it might seem pretty bad by today’s standards, is actually quite brilliant in its execution. In fact, although “Black Dynamite” operates primarily as a spoof of movies like “Shaft” and “Superfly,” it could just as easily exist alongside those films thanks to a wildly charismatic performance by Michael Jai White as a jive-talking, kung-fu fighting badass. This isn’t the 1970s, however, so while “Black Dynamite” certainly looks the part of a B-movie, it’s…

Games as original as “Brütal Legend” don’t come around too often because they never sell as well as the critics would hope. Double Fine founder Tim Schafer is more than familiar with that scenario (his 2005 critical darling, “Psychonauts,” was a commercial flop), so this time around, he’s enlisted the talents of Jack Black to help move some units. Those concerned that Schafer may have sold out, however, needn’t worry, because the partnership is about much more than just tapping into the mainstream. Not only was Black one of the many inspirations for the game’s lead character, but he’s also…

Most films that suffer the undesirable fate of collecting dust on the shelf usually do so because they’re not very good, but in the case of “Youth in Revolt,” (which was filmed back in 2008), it likely had more to do with the financial woes of its fledging studio, The Weinstein Company. Though Miguel Arteta’s latest dark comedy won’t exactly burn up the box office, it’s certainly a much better movie than its release date suggests. January is typically a dumping ground for bad romantic comedies and genre flicks, but thanks to yet another standout performance from star Michael Cera,…

Fans of “Swingers” (and to a lesser degree, “Made”) have been salivating for the next onscreen collaboration between Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau for nearly a decade. Favreau’s supporting roles in “The Break-Up” and “Four Christmases” were certainly a nice treat, but their new film, “Couples Retreat,” is a little closer to an actual reunion. It’s no secret that the real-life best friends aren’t getting any younger, but it is a bit surprising that they would choose such a serious and decidedly adult subject for their latest comedy. There are definitely laughs to be had, but not nearly as many…

It’s been a long time since I’ve dabbled in video basketball, but can you really blame me? Out of all the sports games on the market, basketball tends to be the most frustrating and wildly inconsistent. Part of that has to do with the fluidity of the game itself, and while that was once a major issue, 2K Sports has all but abolished it with the release of “NBA 2K10.” Most critics agree that the game offers the most solid basketball experience yet, but what many have failed to document are the numerous bugs and annoyances that prevent “NBA 2K10”…

Ricky Gervais may be responsible for some of the funniest television shows of the last decade, but his film career has yet to truly take off. Part of that has to do with his lack of involvement in the projects he’s starring in, because even though “Ghost Town” was infinitely better with the British comedian in the lead role, he’s always excelled best when working under an umbrella of his own ideas. So when it came to “The Invention of Lying,” a high-concept comedy that Gervais not only stars in, but also co-wrote and co-directed, it should have been a…

Drew Barrymore’s journey from self-destructive child actor to mellowed-out movie star hasn’t come without its embarrassments, but now that her days of crazy antics are behind her, she’s actually matured into quite the entertainer. Her work in the HBO movie, “Grey Gardens,” proved her talents in front of the camera, and her directorial debut, “Whip It,” aims to do the same behind it as well. It’s a pretty difficult movie to screw up, but although “Whip It” is little more than your garden variety coming-of-age tale set to the beat of an underdog sports drama, Barrymore manages to make the…

Blame it on nostalgia or just a complete lack of original ideas, but nearly 20 years after the release of the Oscar-winning film, “Fame,” someone found it necessary to update it for a new generation. With movies like “High School Musical” and “Step Up” already serving that niche, however, it’s about five years too late. Not that releasing it any earlier would have helped, because while the new “Fame” shares many of the same beats as Alan Parker’s 1980 original, it’s an incredibly shallow reimagining that masks what little character development still remains with a never-ending series of glossy musical…