Author: Jason Zingale

It’s become common knowledge over the last few years that a bat-shit crazy Mel Gibson sells more tickets than a sane one, and while I really couldn’t care less what sexist or racist comments have landed the veteran actor in the headlines on any given day, if it results in a re-issue of the criminally underrated “Payback,” then by all means Mel, do your thing. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland (perhaps best known for scripting Academy Award-winning films like “Mystic River” and “L.A. Confidential”), “Payback” is not only one of Gibson’s best films of the ‘90s, it’s one of…

As if you needed a reason to check out “Grindhouse” – the double feature homage to B-movie cinema from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez – here’s one anyway: believe the hype. Not only is the three-hour schlockfest the best time you’ll have at the movies all year, but it also delivers more bang for your buck, and at only half the price. Granted, neither director’s feature is truly grind house. Both offer better writing and performances, as well as bigger budgets, but through the addition of scratches to the film print and the use of missing reels during key plot…

Insider movies are never quite as clever as they think they are – especially ones about the entertainment business. They’re either too snarky in their commentary on the proposed subject, or they’re just not accessible to mainstream America. The most recent example of this came in the form of Christopher Guest’s “For Your Consideration.” It’s a promising satire on the sheer ridiculousness of Hollywood’s obsession with awards season that fell flat, if only because the audience was left on the outside of a movie based completely around an inside joke. Enter Jake Kasdan’s “The TV Set,” a darkly comical look…

Will Ferrell sports comedies seem to be a dime a dozen these days (“Semi-Pro,” his third in as many years, is set to open next year), but that hasn’t stopped the “Saturday Night Live” alum from raking in the cash with what is essentially the same character dressed in a different costume. And who can blame him? Any time the comic actor tries to broaden his range with more serious roles, the films bomb at the box office. It’s no surprise, then, that Ferrell has so quickly returned to the ring of absurdity with the ice skating comedy “Blades of…

In a season ruled by lowbrow comedies and dull action flicks (David Fincher’s “Zodiac” excused), it’s nice to see a film come along that displays even the smallest hint of intelligence. Veteran screenwriter Scott Frank’s directorial debut does just that, and much, much more. One part character study, one part heist film, “The Lookout” is a taut psychological thriller that could have been ripped from the pages of an Elmore Leonard novel. It’s no wonder, either. Frank was the man behind the brilliant adaptations of Leonard’s own “Out of Sight” and “Get Shorty,” and while this particular outing is a…

Fox Atomic sounded great in theory. Form an entirely new studio based solely on the production of low budget, genre-specific movies that would take advantage of the current horror craze. Unfortunately, it hasn’t quite worked out like anyone had hoped. “Turistas” quickly proved that the torture porn genre had a short shelf life, while “28 Weeks Later” was an absolute insult to Danny Boyle’s original vision. And then there’s “The Hills Have Eyes 2,” a movie so bad it should have never made it past pre-production. Where Alejandro Aja succeeded in creating a slick recreation of the horror classic, this…

If Ari Gold were pitching “Pride,” the latest in a long line of true-life sports dramas, he’d probably describe it as “‘Coach Carter’ underwater.” The film, which tells the tale of a group of troubled teens who are given a second chance at life under the tutelage of a dedicated mentor, may turn off many moviegoers who are tired of watching the same formulaic tearjerker, but that doesn’t make “Pride” any less inspirational. And while many of the same morals apply to the tale at hand, the change in subject matter makes it feel just fresh enough to enjoy. Philadelphia,…

Those that have closely followed the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” video game series know all about it’s rise and fall under original publisher Konami, so it’s nice to see that a different developer has taken over the reigns for the Turtles’ latest adventure. The result is just as much of an improvement as its big screen counterpart, and while calling Ubisoft’s “TMNT” the best entry in years is kind of like saying herpes is the least harmful STD – true, but not exactly encouraging – its still a welcome upgrade to a series in desperate need of a little reinvention.…

If you’ve played one tennis game, you’ve played them all. So the fact that Sega has finally released a new installment of the popular “Virtua Tennis” series to next-gen consoles is kind of a moot point. Last seen in console format on the Dreamcast (and more recently in the arcades under the title “Power Smash 3”), the “Virtua Tennis” franchise has long been known as the kind of sports game that is not only easy to pick up and play, but also ridiculously addictive. The same holds true for the latest installment, but while the winning formula remains relatively untouched,…

There are some comedians who have what it takes to build a reputable career in the film industry, while others would be best left to performing on stage. Regrettably, Chris Rock falls into the latter group. Despite producing some of the best stand-up acts of the past decade, Rock’s Hollywood career has never quite blossomed the way many expected (is “Lethal Weapon 4” really still the best-looking thing on his resume?). With his latest film, “I Think I Love My Wife” (which he also directed and co-wrote with fellow comic Louis C.K.), Rock tries his hand at a serious role…