Author: Jason Zingale

“Hard Candy” is unlike any movie you’ll ever see, and yet its roots are so deeply grounded in such popular sexual thrillers as “Fatal Attraction” and “Basic Instinct,” as well as recent shocksploitation films like “Oldboy” and “Audition.” It should come as no surprise, then, that the film’s own notoriety continues to grow (mostly by word of mouth) as it slowly makes its rounds in theaters across the country. This is one particularly edgy and disturbing little film, and it will no doubt have people talking by the end of the year – if not for its taboo subject matter,…

Following in the time-honored tradition of Robin Williams family movies that suck, “RV” can be summed up in three simple words: big rolling turd. The following description is a godsend, actually, since I would have never thought of it had it not been used by the film’s characters several times. Of course, they’re using it as a means of discussing the big, hulking motor vehicle they’ve rented for summer vacation, while I’ve reserved this special term of endearment for my feelings about this so-called comedy. And unless you’re making a movie about a thirtysomething, always-stoned video game developer (“Grandma’s Boy”)…

During the short period of time between the unjust cancellation of “Family Guy” and its welcome return to the airwaves, Seth MacFarlane and Co. were already hard at work on creating a new hit show for FOX. It was by pure coincidence, however, that MacFarlane’s original series would be given a second chance on the network at the same time that “American Dad” would debut. The marketing team probably thought this to be a wise decision on their part, mostly because they were using the success of “Family Guy” to help promote the newest MacFarlane creation. Unfortunately, “American Dad” is…

The World Cup takes place every four years, and though this is easily the most anticipated event around the world, it hardly calls for the frustrating surplus of soccer games currently out on the market. After “FIFA 06” was released for all major consoles at the backend of last year, Electronic Arts put out two more soccer titles: the sequel to their “FIFA Street” series and a next-gen follow-up (“FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup) that was forced upon Xbox 360 owners looking for a quick fix. This would explain the overall feeling of disgust that circulated around the…

Some of the best crime dramas ever (“Usual Suspects,” “Se7en,” “L.A. Confidential”) came out of theaters in the late ‘90s, but as soon as the new millennium rolled around, everything good that had been done in film was quickly being trumped by serialized television shows like “24,” “The Shield” and “The Wire.” And with the release of “The Sentinel,” you’d half-expect the film to follow that trend – it was directed by Clark Johnson, who worked on two of the three aforementioned series, and also cut his teeth on the 1998 drama “Homicide: Life on the Streets” – but unfortunately,…

He’s no Uwe Boll, but French director Christophe Gans (“Brotherhood of the Wolf”) has certainly fallen to the same level with his adaptation of the popular survival-horror video game, “Silent Hill.” It’s not the worst film of the year (no, no – that honor is reserved for “Hostel”), but it’s a close second, thanks in part to less-than-stellar performances and a plot that makes absolutely no sense. What starts out as an eerie, highly-stylized suspense flick quickly turns into an Amateur Night performance of “The Crucible” – complete with all the witch-hunting you could ever want – for the low,…

There’s little actual comedy in “Kinky Boots,” the latest British import from the writer of 2003’s “Calendar Girls,” so why exactly is it being promoted as one? In fact, I don’t remember laughing even once during the film’s wearisome 107-minute runtime, and I don’t expect anyone else will either. Hey Miramax, hasn’t anyone told you? Everything that comes out of jolly old England doesn’t always have to be a comedy. “Kinky Boots” is a drama, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, it doesn’t change the fact that when compared to more recent Brit winners like “Love Actually” and “Shaun…

Let’s face it, the First-Person Shooter (FPS) is probably the most popular video game genre in the industry, and when done right, can be an enjoyable experience for just about anyone old enough to pick up a controller. The recent success of FPS franchises like “Halo” and “Brothers in Arms” has resulted in a flood of new games making their way on to the home console, including Electronic Arts’ latest, “Battlefield 2: Modern Combat.” A slight variation on the much buzzed PC version, simply titled “Battlefield 2,” the new console adaptation of the bestseller is perhaps one of the best…

Superman may be the strongest superhero in the world, but he’s got a shit track record when it comes to video games. Perhaps the most famous of his pixilated flops is the horrid “Superman 64,” which has earned a place in history as one of the worst games ever made. Sadly, while Electronic Arts’ reintroduction of the Man of Steel to game consoles is a vast improvement upon those that have plagued the industry in the past, the title still has two giant obstacles standing in its way: comic book characters and movie tie-ins. Neither subgenre has yet to consistently…

“Brick,” the directorial debut from up-and-coming talent Rian Johnson, is like David Lynch for teens. It features all the classic markings of a quality film noir (dark shadows, red herrings, a detective protagonist and a femme fatale) and plops it smack down in the middle of the unlikeliest of places: high school. Complete with geeky allusions to novels by Raymond Chandler and films like “The Maltese Falcon,” “Brick” is a 110-minute homage to one of the greatest genres in film history. Setting the story in modern day California is also a giant risk that pays off tenfold, and while the…