Author: Jason Zingale

To call Scott Derrickson’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic would be to do a great disservice to both films. Derrickson’s version, which still bears the same title and basic premise, is more of a reimagining of the story as it would apply to today’s generation. So instead of the widespread paranoia caused by the Cold War, the new threat is the ecological destruction of planet Earth. And before you start to cringe at the thought of a repeat of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening,” don’t fret, because while “The Day the Earth…

So you’re driving up the Vermont state highway with a group of friends on the way to Canada when a trooper suddenly stops you. You’ve done nothing wrong, but these officers are looking for more than just trouble. They need an easy outlet to have a little fun on their stretch of jurisdiction, and they’ll do anything – including playing mind games on poor victims – to make it through the day. This is the basic premise to the underground hit, “Super Troopers,” a hilarious collegiate comedy whose jokes almost always work, but are often held back by a non-existent…

If Clint Eastwood is to be believed, “Gran Torino” will mark the final acting role of his career. The last thing you’d expect, then, is for his onscreen swan song to be a comedy – especially in a film that is a dramatic thriller at heart – but that’s exactly what the actor/director has done with “Gran Torino,” one of the funniest movies of the year, and not unintentionally so. While some serious films are so ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh (see: “Eagle Eye”), Eastwood’s latest directorial effort actually wants to be funny, and in some strange way,…

Ron Howard has directed some of the finest historical dramas of the past 15 years. “Apollo 13.” “Cinderella Man.” “A Beautiful Mind.” And you might as well add “Frost/Nixon” to the list, because it might just be his best yet. Staged like a no-holds-barred boxing match between its two stars, the movie blazes through its tension-filled 122-minute runtime so fast that you almost forget to breathe. The fact that this all happens while its lead characters spend most of the time sitting around and talking is an achievement of its own, but while Howard may be the one calling the…

With the comic book genre riding high on the success of movies like “Iron Man” and “The Dark Knight,” it’s been awhile since we’ve seen something as truly terrible as “Ghost Rider.” That trend doesn’t look to end any time soon, either, as Lionsgate’s reboot of their “Punisher” franchise is far from the low-rent piece of garbage that many were expecting it to be. Following Tom Jane’s decision not to return to the title role, and director Lexi Alexander’s falling out with the studio over the final cut, early buzz wasn’t too promising. Nevertheless, “Punisher: War Zone” succeeds in almost…

Easily the most influential director of his generation, Martin Scorsese has a resume that most filmmakers would kill for. “Casino,” the director’s grand return to the mob genre, is a prime example of why he’s so highly regarded by his peers, and more than a decade later, it still kills. Starring a knockout cast led by Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone, “Casino” is just as physically and emotionally bruising as “Goodfellas,” but this time highlighted under the bright neon lights of Las Vegas. Set on The Strip in the late 1970’s and early 80’s, “Casino” exposes the true story…

As a Jason Statham apologist, you learn to take the bad with the good – especially when most of his films tend to stray more towards the guilty pleasure side of the spectrum. This is key to enjoying the “Transporter” series, because even though Statham continues to shine in the title role, the movies have gotten progressively worse with each installment. Unfortunately, while it was easy to forgive the B-movie campiness of the first sequel thanks to some great action sequences and larger-than-life characters, “Transporter 3” is so incredibly uninteresting that you’ll be yawning before the second act rolls around.…

There was a time when “Mortal Kombat” used to be the most controversial video game in the world, but ever since the “Grand Theft Auto” series arrived on the scene, Rockstar has been hogging most of the any-PR-is-good-PR spotlight. Choosing to set aside the blood and guts in favor of a completely different strategy, Midway’s latest foray into the “Mortal Kombat” universe looks to take back a little of that thunder with arguably their most controversial version yet: a Teen-rated brawler co-starring the superheroes and villains of DC Comics. On paper, it sounds like an awful idea, but “Mortal Kombat…

A funny thing happened while watching “Casino Royale” for the second time: it wasn’t nearly as unfulfilling as I remember. In fact, it’s probably one of my favorite James Bond movies to date, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Daniel Craig is no 007. The actor’s hardly at fault, though. It wasn’t his decision to take a character best known for being suave and sophisticated and transforming him into a bullish thug that kills without thinking, even if he plays the part really well. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s Jason Bourne, because while “Quantum of Solace” may…

Darren Lynn Bousman might not be the most accomplished director in the business, but you have to give him credit for persuading movie executives to allow him to make a film like “Repo! The Genetic Opera.” He already had a pretty comfortable gig working on the “Saw” films (one that Lionsgate would have no doubt offered him to continue), but instead, he used his status within the studio as a means of reviving the rock opera with one of the riskiest, most ambitious projects in recent years. A strange marrying of “Blade Runner” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Repo!…