Author: Jason Zingale

Apparently, revenge is a dish best served raw. Or so that’s what author Thomas Harris would like to make us believe in this prequel to his popular series of novels chronicling the life of Hannibal Lecter. Unfortunately, there’s nothing particularly interesting about coming to understand a villain, especially when it cheapens his very legacy by forcing the audience to sympathize with him. Only in Hollywood can you find such a blatant excuse for making an extra buck, and while the film would have made a much better thriller without the baggage of Lecter onboard, we’re instead forced to watch as…

Much like the warm puddle of piss that an untrained dog leaves on your brand new carpet, director Michael Lehmann’s latest film, “Because I Said So,” only stinks the more you let it soak in. This horrible mess of a rom-com represents everything that’s wrong with movies these days, from the incredibly formulaic script to the complete lack of control over the film’s A-list leading lady. And to make matters worse, the film has absolutely nothing to offer the male population – unless you count the money shot of co-stars Mandy Moore, Piper Perabo and Lauren Graham in their skivvies…

By now, most of society is familiar with the idea that human inbreeding can lead to deformations in its offspring, but do the same effects occur in film? Hell yes, and director Joe Carnahan’s “Smokin’ Aces” wholeheartedly proves this theory with a movie that is so fucked up it could only be described as the disfigured procreation of every Quentin Tarantino and Guy Richie film ever made. Positively dripping in color-saturated violence and complex-for-the-sake-of-being-complex storylines, Carnahan has certainly chosen style over substance for his sophomore effort. It may yield some entertaining results, but the film loses most of its high-adrenaline…

The 2006 FIFA World Cup should have been remembered as one of the finest outings in the 100-year history of the tournament. Powerhouse teams like England, Germany and Argentina showcased their strongest squads in nearly forty years, while African nations like Ghana and the Ivory Coast gave soccer fans a sneak peak at their impending takeover of the world’s favorite sport. And then there was the United States. Hot off a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the previous tournament, Sam’s Army looked stronger then ever, but a tough group draw (and some dreadful performances) led to the team’s early exit from…

There’s a nasty rumor going around that this hard-to-please critic absolutely hates basketball video games. That doesn’t mean I necessarily hate the sport (hell, I played the damn game every day as a kid), but when it comes to pixelating the experience, it never feels quite like the real thing. Of course, some companies have thrown the rules of realism right out the door, and when they do, the game is usually better for it. Perhaps that’s why Activision’s “NBA Jam” is the only basketball series that I’ve ever thoroughly enjoyed. Electronic Art’s latest foray into the next-gen era comes…

As the son of a famous actor/director, we’ve all come to expect a lot from Nick Cassavetes, but aside from a couple mediocre flicks – one starring Denzel (“John Q”) and the other an adaptation of a best-selling romance novel (“The Notebook”) – the dude hasn’t really done anything worth talking about. “Alpha Dog,” the director’s latest flick based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood, a mid-level drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, certainly had the potential to be a surprise hit in the cold winter months, but its…

With the exception of Wong Kar Wai, Zhang Yimou is perhaps the most prolific director to ever hail from the Far East. His impressive résumé is comprised of some of the greatest character studies in the history of film (“Raise the Red Lantern,” “The Story of Qiu Ju”) and his more recent contributions to the wuxia genre (“Hero,” “House of Flying Daggers”) are unparalleled to any other filmmaker in the game. With his latest film, “Curse of the Golden Flower,” the veteran director has seemingly attempted to blend his two favorite genres into one earth-shattering epic, but much like the…

It’s not every day you see a film so rich in presentation that it leaves you absolutely speechless, but Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy-horror flick, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” is so visually stunning that it’s impossible to look away; even when someone is getting their face smashed in with a wine bottle or their cheek sliced in half with a paring knife. And as you can probably discern from the above comment, this is strictly for adults . Don’t let the subject matter fool you – “Pan’s Labyrinth” may resemble a children’s fable, but it’s more like a twisted version of “The Chronicles…

Following a heart-wrenching defeat in the final game of the 1970 season, the Marshall football team – as well as the coaching staff and several booster members – boarded a plane to go home. They never made it. The tragic plane crash killed everyone on board and sent a wave of grief through the town of Huntington, West Virginia. The only remaining members of the varsity team consisted of four players forced to stay home with injuries – including team captain Nate Ruffin (Anthony Mackie) – and their assistant coach, Red Dawson (Matthew Fox), who gave up his spot on…

“The Good Shepherd,” Robert De Niro’s pet project about the birth of the CIA, surely deserves an award for the sheer amount of A-list talent involved, but as many would tell you, it takes a lot more to make a great film. The potential is certainly there, and if reworked as a straight whodunit, the film would have truly been fascinating, but it’s just too long for its own good, especially when the film isn’t saying anything of particular importance most of the time. Sure, the script is really sharp in some places, but it suffers from a complete lack…