Author: Jason Zingale

Only the second turn-based RPG to be released for the Xbox 360 (and the first that fans of the genre will actually enjoy), “Blue Dragon” has been a long-time coming. Released in Japan more than eight months ago, the title has finally arrived on American soil with more expectations than even the greatest game could meet. For starters, “Blue Dragon” has been designed by three of the most influential artists in Japanese history: writer Hironobu Sakaguchi (creator of the “Final Fantasy” series); composer Nobuo Uematsu (also of “Final Fantasy”); and artist Akira Toriyama (of “Dragon Ball Z” fame). To compare…

Who knew that only five years after the release of “Night at the Roxbury,” Will Ferrell would be such a huge star? The feature-length adaptation of the popular “SNL” skit can hardly be considered the turning point in Ferrell’s big screen career, but it did prove that the funnyman could get a laugh out of even the silliest of roles. And boy is “Roxbury” silly – so much so, that despite its ridiculous premise, it still ranks alongside “Dumb and Dumber” as one of the better so-stupid-it’s-funny films of the past 20 years. Adapting a skit about two club-happy brothers…

There are so many things working against Rod Lurie’s “Resurrecting the Champ,” it’s surprising anyone would enjoy it. Based on the true story of L.A. Times journalist J.R. Moehringer, the film begs to ask the question, “how responsible is the writer who prints a lie he believes to be true?” Of course, to even get the audience on the side of the protagonist, you have to make him Superman in every other aspect of life. He needs to be good looking, incredibly charming and a good father. Thank god Josh Hartnett is still around to fill such a role, because…

We’ve all seen it before: the critical darling praised for its groundbreaking innovation with little to no mainstream appeal. These are the games that everyone should be playing, but aren’t, simply because they’re too artsy, too difficult or both. 2K Games hopes to remedy this unfortunate pattern with “BioShock,” an artistic reinvention of the first-person shooter that is just as concerned with its elaborate story as it is with blowing shit up. The title, which most closely resembles the survival horror element of “Resident Evil 4,” is the scariest video game experience I’ve had in a long time. Creeping around…

Writer/director Judd Apatow knows a thing or two about making funny movies. Over the past three years, he’s given us “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” so it’s not at all surprising to discover his name attached to “Superbad.” Granted, Apatow is only credited as a producer on this one, but his involvement definitely shines through. Created in the vein of ‘80s teenage sex comedies, “Superbad” not only delivers the raunchy humor you’d expect from a movie about a quest for beer, but it does so quite intelligently. The end result is something along the lines of “American Pie” meets…

Just as the first summer blockbuster marks the start of the movie industry’s biggest time of the year, Electronic Arts’ “Madden” football series has become synonymous with the holiday game season. It’s nice to have a game that you can look forward to coming out of the summer drought, and for sports fans, that game has always been the latest “Madden” title. Of course, the mood on the field hasn’t been quite so cheery since the guys at EA began working on the first next-gen version of the best-selling franchise, but with “Madden 08,” they finally deliver a next-gen experience…

Best known for writing and starring in the 1996 cult classic, “Swingers,” Jon Favreau has since become one of the most promising directors in the industry. He’s brought such films as “Elf” and “Made” to the big screen, appeared on television shows like “Friends” and “The Sopranos,” and just so happens to be longtime friends with Vince Vaughn. After making a surprise appearance for the opening day of Comic-Con, Favreau returned two days later with cast in tow to show off exclusive footage from “Iron Man.” Following the panel, the writer/director took part in a roundtable where he discussed working…

Writer/director Jeffrey Blitz must have thought himself a genius when he came up with the idea about a teenage stutterer who joins the high school debate team, but while the concept is certainly worthy of applause, its execution is not. Yet another film out of the Sundance School of Extreme Quirkiness, “Rocket Science” is like a chaotic hodgepodge of all the greatest adolescent cult films of the past decade. Unfortunately, while mimicking movies like “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Rushmore” may sound good on paper, it’s the natural comparisons to these films that make an inferior movie like “Rocket Science” stand out…

Call me crazy, but I actually liked the first two “Rush Hour” films. When the original was released in 1998, it was during a time when the Hong Kong cinema movement was just hitting its stride in the U.S. Of course, it was only natural for Hollywood to add a little comedy into the mix, and with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover saying farewell to the buddy cop genre that same year, it was the perfect time to introduce a new onscreen duo to American audiences. Enter Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, whose unlikely partnership raked in millions of dollars…

Robert Downey Jr. is no stranger to the concept of a tragic hero. He played one for the majority of his life while trying to escape the downward spiral of drug addiction. Now, as he slowly puts back together the pieces of his broken life, the actor has signed on to play the one role that could launch him back into the spotlight. There couldn’t be a better choice for Tony Stark, either, whose own struggle with alcoholism is just one of the Marvel superhero’s many known flaws. Bullz-Eye recently sat in on a roundtable with the actor to discuss…