Author: Jason Zingale

“Twilight Princess” aside, Ubisoft’s first-person shooter, “Red Steel,” has probably garnered the most attention of all the Nintendo Wii launch titles – and for good reason too. The title not only looks to demonstrate how well an FPS runs on the new system, but it also gives mature gamers the opportunity to play something very different from what the Big N usually offers. Unfortunately, the end result doesn’t accomplish much, and those still on the fence over buying “Red Steel” will likely become even more indecisive, because while the gameplay feels fresh, there’s some serious problems plaguing the overall experience…

If you’ve seen the trailer for “A Good Year” and thought, “I’ve seen this movie before,” it’s probably because you have. The producers of this film must have thought that a quick change in scenery and a new face would help enliven the tale, but in the end, director Ridley Scott is left with little more than a story that feels remarkably like “Under the Tuscan Sun;” with Russell Crowe, of course, replacing Diane Lane in the lead role. And because both of these films are based on novels, it’s a bit difficult to claim plagiarism on either studio’s part.…

There’s an underlying theme that flows throughout director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu’s latest interlocking narrative: stupid people and the bad decisions they make. In fact, the film is packed with so many I-can’t-believe-they-just-did-that moments (and not the good kind either) that you’ll seriously contest the validity of the film’s so-called importance. It definitely feels important, but it never actually tells you so. That could just as easily be because it’s an American film peppered with a foreign sensibility, which in doing so makes the story appear less innocuous than a production emblazoned with a “Made in Hollywood” sticker, but it hardly…

Since the glory days of “Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 4,” the long-running skateboarding franchise has been on a downhill jam to its eventual demise. Once praised for its intuitive gameplay, the series now felt remarkably stale, with gamers grinding through the same challenges and using an arsenal of moves they perfected years before. The previously-released “American Wasteland” certainly didn’t help the progression with its cartoony visuals and story-obsessed game structure, and it was obvious that the barrier separating reality and fantasy had been completely torn down. The franchise was in dire need of a change, and if anyone knew this…

It’s one thing to make a controversial film, but it’s another when that very same film is publicly denounced by an entire country. Mind you, it’s a third-world country we’re talking about here, but that hasn’t stopped the leaders of Kazakhstan from throwing a grade-A fuss over British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s purportedly close-minded portrayal of the small, Eastern European country. Unfortunately, even the Kazakhstani government won’t be able to stop “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” from becoming the surprise hit of the fall movie season. It’s the most sexist, racist, and all-out…

One step forward, two steps back. That seems to be the motto for Electronic Arts’ “FIFA” soccer series, which has a long history of remarkable year-to-year improvements being dreadfully overshadowed by a series of even bigger downgrades. It’s actually quite surprising how a company that prides itself on delivering the best sports titles on the market can have so much trouble with a single franchise. Yet here we are again: another year, another edition of “FIFA.” And with it a whole new boatload of problems, the least of which doesn’t even include the fact that its current-gen counterpart is actually…

Comic fans rejoice – your ultimate dream has been fulfilled with the release of Activision’s latest brawler, “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.” As an unofficial sequel to the popular beat-‘em-up “X-Men Legends” series, you’re no longer restricted to playing exclusively as members of Professor Xavier’s superteam. Instead, you’ll be in control of twenty of the world’s greatest superheroes, including mainstream characters like Colossus, Storm, Human Torch, The Thing and Daredevil, as well as lesser known headliners like Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Spiderwoman and Luke Cage. My personal favorite has to be Deadpool, who is not only one of the most enjoyable players…

It seems like every year we hear about a new group of up-and-coming filmmakers with the potential to become the next great Hollywood director, but it’s quite a rarity when the person in question really does rise to the occasion. Christopher Nolan is such a director. Over the past six years, Nolan has not only produced one of the greatest thrillers (“Memento”) in the history of the genre, but can also be credited for expertly rebooting one of the biggest superhero franchises in Hollywood (“Batman Begins”). And now, he’s struck gold for a third time with his sci-fi period drama,…

If Clint Eastwood were to leave the film industry today, there’s no doubt he would have done so earning his place as one of the most successful actor/directors in the history of show business. His latest directorial effort is a far cry from what we’ve come to expect from the iconic filmmaker, however, and while “Flags of Our Fathers” is still a fine piece of cinema in both design and execution, you can’t help but feel that it’s missing an important element to the story. Perhaps this will be remedied when the second part of Eastwood’s two-film epic (“Letters from…

When news broke that Martin Scorsese would be directing a loose adaptation of the 2002 Hong Kong action/thriller, “Infernal Affairs,” film geeks everywhere feared the worst. The film is practically the Asian equivalent of “The Godfather,” and was such a blockbuster success when it debuted overseas that it spawned a prequel and sequel (respectively) much in the same vein of the famous crime drama. Many would probably even charge Marty with selling out after failing to win an Oscar for the umpteenth time, and you wouldn’t be wrong to do so. This is by far the director’s most commercial film…