Author: Jason Zingale

For those who think “Rocky” is the greatest boxing movie ever made: think again. True, the 1977 sports drama was a massive success at the box office, and it did walk away with the Oscar for Best Picture, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t even come close to Martin Scorsese’s brutal study of one man’s struggle with his own psychological and sexual complexities. A box office failure during its time, “Raging Bull” may not have made the same kind of coin that Sly’s feel-good boxing epic did, but its critical response was far greater. This is a…

The 1992 sequel to Tim Burton’s dark vision of Bob Kane’s iconic comic book hero only got darker and better than the original, with the Dark Knight facing off against two villains in what would become the best “Batman” film of the franchise. This isn’t necessarily a good thing, even considering what happened to the series once no-talent hack Joel Schumacher took over the reigns, because even Burton’s manic brilliance is washed over with campy special effects and an incessant use of B-movie humor. Still, no one can deny the highly efficient tripartite formed by Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfieffer and…

Along time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a comedy called “Fanboys” was made. Okay, so the year was actually 2006, and it was shot in New Mexico, but that doesn’t change the fact that it seems like forever since the Kyle Newman-directed film was scheduled for release. The two-year delay is all thanks to Harvey “Scissorhands” Weinstein, the former Miramax head who wrestled control of “Fanboys” away from Newman after he deemed a cancer subplot too depressing. From there, he then recut the film and ordered reshoots (some of which included his own rewrites) under the helm of…

Steve Martin’s 2006 reboot of the “Pink Panther” series may have been one of the worst movies of that year, but it still raked in $158 million at the box office, all but confirming the inevitable sequel. Unfortunately, that sequel just so happens to be scheduled for release a mere four weeks after “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” which means that Sony will have two movies starring bumbling protagonists in theaters at the same time. As if one stupid comedy wasn’t enough, “The Pink Panther 2” proves that no matter how many great actors you cram into a room, it doesn’t…

Every year, at least one studio releases some watered down remake of an Asian horror film with the blind hope that it will go on to become the next “The Ring.” It’s been seven years since that movie first spooked horror fans everywhere and we’ve still yet to see anything even remotely close to matching its quality. Part of the problem is that many of these films are so much alike, but they’re also pretty boring as well. “The Uninvited” isn’t any different, and though directors Charles and Thomas Guard may think they’ve created a dark and moody psychological thriller…

Daniel Craig has a lot of people to thank for his role as James Bond in Sony’s reboot of the popular spy franchise, but no one more so than director Doug Liman. The first installment of the wildly popular Jason Bourne series single-handedly changed the espionage genre forever, and Bond producers have even pointed to the film as their inspiration for reimagining 007 for a new generation. Of course, Liman doesn’t deserve all the credit, because while he may have gotten the ball rolling, it’s director Paul Greengrass who made the series into what it is today with two action-packed…

The producers of the “Underworld” series may have always envisioned their vampire/werewolf tale as a trilogy, but that doesn’t mean they had to go through with it. While the third installment isn’t any better or worse than its predecessor, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” still comes off looking like the “Scorpion King” of the group – a totally unnecessary prequel that details the backstory of a supporting character from the first two films. Diehard fans will no doubt appreciate the history lesson, but everyone else will be left wondering why it was necessary to make an entire movie about an…

It’s pretty much guaranteed that naming your movie after a lewd sex act is going to attract far more attention than if you went with something a little more traditional, but the fact that director Olly Blackburn actually works said act into the story makes “Donkey Punch” less reprehensible than it sounds. Unfortunately, it still isn’t very good. Fans of movies like “Hostel” and “Turistas” will find plenty to love about this amateur peepshow turned horror film, but those looking for the next great genre flick will only discover a stale British thriller that plays out exactly like every other…

Alexander Payne is a master of black comedy, but before he became a household name with films like “Sideways” and “About Schmidt” (at least, in households who regularly watch the Oscars), the writer/director made “Election,” the most biting high school satire since “Heathers.” Though not as dark as Michael Lehman’s 1988 film, to say that “Election” is actually about high school would be to sell the movie short. Long celebrated as a clever adaptation of the Tom Perrotta novel, the film also helped launch the career of Reese Witherspoon, who reminds us here why she became a star in the…

It’s too early to say for sure, but “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” might just be the worst film of 2009. Normally, that honor would be reserved for the latest cinematic disaster from spoof rejects Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, but since they don’t have a new movie coming out this year, it’s almost a guarantee that Kevin James’ solo debut will fill that void. Fans of the comic may be disappointed to learn that “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” is one of the most painfully unfunny comedies in recent years, but are you really surprised? It’s produced by Happy Madison and…