Author: Jason Zingale

As far as horror movies go, “Prom Night” ranks right up there with “Black Christmas” and “The Hitcher” as one of the most pointless remakes ever made. The original film wasn’t even a big hit (despite the fact that it starred its generation’s scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis), and the sequel does very little to expand upon that popularity. The new version isn’t even so much a remake as it is a completely different story with the same title, and though the talented cast helps make the film feel less moronic than it really is, “Prom Night” will still bore…

When “Leatherheads” was yanked from its December release schedule at the end of last year, the studio already had an excuse lined up. Director/co-star George Clooney had just been involved in a motorcycle accident and would no longer be able to promote the film. When it was revealed just how minor his injuries were, however, the studio decided to beef up their statement by claiming that Clooney was also in the middle of production on another movie. It was all true, of course, but that didn’t stop me from remaining cautious. After all, most movies that have had their release…

I’ve long respected Wong Kar-Wai as a filmmaker, but that doesn’t mean I’ve always understood him. In fact, I think I even managed to write a paper on the guy without ever having a complete understanding of his work, but when one movie is so similar to the others, it’s easy to fake it. For most of his career, the Hong Kong director has been obsessed with the subject of love, and while that obsession has resulted in some great films (“Happy Together,” “In the Mood for Love”), it’s about time he tried something new. This need for change has…

In 1999, M. Night Shyamalan took Hollywood by storm with the supernatural thriller “The Sixth Sense,” but over the course of the past decade, the writer/director has slowly fallen out of favor with many of the same critics who once hailed him as the next Alfred Hitchcock. True, he’s not quite the master of suspense that everyone hoped he would be, but Shyamalan isn’t a one-hit wonder either. While his four other films failed to enjoy the same success as “The Sixth Sense,” you’d be crazy to discount them simply because of their smaller fanbases; namely his 2000 effort “Unbreakable,”…

Following the barrage of post-9/11 war movies released during the tail end of 2007, the last thing we needed was another drama about U.S. soldiers coming home from Iraq. Between the incredibly cheesy “Home of the Brave” and the much better (but still flawed) “In the Valley of Elah,” most moviegoers have already suffered through hours of preaching on post-war behavior. Unfortunately, every director in the industry seems intent on making a protest film, and while Kimberly Peirce’s “Stop-Loss” is arguably more pro-soldier than anti-war, her message is overshadowed by a contradictory (and ultimately more government-friendly) ending. Ryan Phillippe stars…

Blackjack may be the world’s most popular casino game, but it’s never had a chance to shine on the big screen. Well, not quite like poker, anyway. It’s also the only casino game where the player has a 50 percent chance of winning, and with those kinds of odds, it’s no surprise why most people head to the blackjack tables when they visit Vegas. Unfortunately, while it’s fun for the people playing, blackjack isn’t very exciting to watch, which is why it took a book like “Bringing Down the House” to finally make a movie about it. Loosely based on…

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That seems to be the driving force behind the indie crime caper “Flawless,” an old-school thriller that doesn’t rely on flashy montages and clever double-crosses to succeed. Instead, the movie is surprisingly low-key, focusing on the characters caught in the middle of the heist rather than the heist itself. It’s not the most exciting crime drama you’ll ever see, but it still has enough great moments to satisfy any fan of the genre. In 1960, big corporations were still very much a boys club. That isn’t to say there weren’t any women…

You may not know him by name just yet, but up-and-comer Aaron Yoo is quietly enjoying his rise to the top, with roles alongside such Hollywood heavyweights as Gerard Butler and Shia LaBeouf. Then again, you can’t really call running around a parking lot screaming your face off “quiet”. While out promoting his latest film, the based-on-a-true-story blackjack drama “21,” Aaron took some time to chat with Bullz-Eye about strange celebrity run-ins and the sheer brilliance of Kevin Spacey; all while inadvertently volunteering for the role of Pan the Panda in the third “Madagascar” film. Though we tried to settle…

When you’re trying to make a name for yourself in Hollywood, it doesn’t come without obstacles. You have to do just enough to get noticed, and once you’ve done that, you can’t hold back – not even for a second – or you’ll be forgotten quicker than you were made into a star. Hollywood is filled with writers, directors and actors who peaked early, only to disappoint with their next project and be thrown to the curb, and while some might lump Neil Marshall into that group, his never-say-die approach to filmmaking suggests otherwise. His latest film, “Doomsday,” might not…

Movies like “Never Back Down” don’t normally grab my attention, but with two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou attached, curiosity got the best of me. After all, why would someone with his talents participate in a project that sounds like the kickboxing equivalent of “Step Up?” Quick answer: because it’s not as bad as it looks. In fact, it probably could have been much worse, but thanks to solid performances from Hounsou and star Sean Faris, not to mention some kickass fight sequences, “Never Back Down” succeeds as a mildly entertaining update of “The Karate Kid” for the YouTube generation. Faris…