Matt Passantino
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in ReviewsFilm Review: ‘Gully’ Strands Talented Young Cast on the Streets of L.A.
Gully is the worst type of bad movie: Aimless, shapeless, ugly, and gratuitous. The movie has an idea of what kind of story it wants to tell and does almost nothing with it and takes on tricky subject matter without much commitment. It’s a shame given the rising talent involved, especially in front of the […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: ‘Profile’ Takes On the Dark Corners of the Web
Director Timur Bekmambetov uses the increasingly popular gimmick of setting his new movie Profile as if we are looking at the protagonist’s computer screen the entire time. This style of filmmaking seemed to be made popular by the effective horror movie Unfriended (from Bekmambetov) and was used well with 2018’s John Cho-led Searching (Bekmambetov also […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: Andrew Garfield is (Perfectly) Obnoxious in ‘Mainstream’
Gia Coppola’s sophomore feature Mainstream had its premiere at 2020’s Venice Film Festival (a rare festival, which took place in person last year), before making the rounds to a few international festivals. It was met with mostly negative reactions, sitting in the mid-30s on Rotten Tomatoes, before making a limited theatrical run and VOD debut […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: ‘Jakob’s Wife’ Gives Barbara Crampton Something to Sink Her Teeth Into
Religious imagery has often lent itself to horror movies in various ways and it does so again in Travis Stevens’ Jakob’s Wife. The movie opens with an ominous shot of a church, tilting down to rats squeaking on the ground (those with a fear of rodents need not apply to Jakob’s Wife). Stevens takes us […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer Can’t Make ‘Thunder Force’ Rumble
There’s absolutely no disputing the many talents of Melissa McCarthy. She’s known and beloved to many from early in her career as Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls, before breaking out in a big way with 2011’s Bridesmaids, where she stole every scene she was in with her brash humor and unexpected moments of empathy […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: ‘Boogie’ Dribbles in Familiar Territory
Boogie is the feature debut for writer-director Eddie Huang, who previously worked on the show Fresh Off the Boat. His first film plays like one of those debuts that are perfectly harmless and a solid-enough calling card, without delivering a showstopping movie. The culturally specific story at the heart of Boogie offers some nuance to […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: After A lot of Noise, ‘Chaos Walking’ Hits Screens
Chaos Walking’s chaotic journey to the big screen is finally over. The new dystopian thriller, directed by Doug Liman, was shot in 2017, but required reshoots, which caused release delays. Typically, though sometimes undeservedly, that’s a sign of trouble. It was finally set to release, but the pandemic caused the movie – like most others […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: Horror Flick Takes Yet Another ‘Wrong Turn’
Sometimes the most random series of movies continue on-and-on past their expiration date, without much evidence as to why they should. Mike P. Nelson’s new incarnation of Wrong Turn is the latest horror movie to stretch its name beyond necessity. Alan B. McElroy, who wrote the original Wrong Turn in 2003, returns as the writer […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: Take a Funny Trip with ‘Barb and Star’
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is either the perfect movie for right now, or not. It really all depends on where you are at in this ongoing period of isolation. If you’re a glass half-full kind of person, the wonderfully silly and funny piece of escapism will transport you to the sunny […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: ‘Music’ Has No Rhythm
Music – perhaps you heard of it? Well, actually, probably not. Last week, the Golden Globes released their nominations for this year’s awards cycle, and they left many scratching their heads, more than usual. When the nominations where announced and Kate Hudson’s name was read in the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical category, […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: ‘Saint Maud’ is Finally Here, Answering Your Prayers
If you’ve paid attention to Twitter – particularly the chaotic faction known as Film Twitter – at any point last year, there were loud calls for A24 to release writer-director Rose Glass’ feature debut Saint Maud. Film Twitter, much to its chagrin, has to wait until July (hopefully) for A24’s other desperately sought-after title The […] More
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in Reviews
Film Review: ‘Palmer’ is a Bland Drama, Despite Good Intentions
Sometimes good intentions and proper execution fail to work concurrently in movies, as is the case with the well-meaning but bland Palmer. It’s unfortunate because the movie’s message and heart are in the right place, but it’s presented in a been-there, done-that Movie of the Week package, which doesn’t allow a viewer to emotionally grasp […] More
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