Matthew Passantino
Tomatometer-approved critic
I have been a film writer for eight years and have been with BigPictureBigSound.com for three years, writing over 100 reviews and articles in that time.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Acidman (2022) |
Agron and Church are both strong but the performances work best together, which is the sign of a successful two-hander film. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jun 20, 2022
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Hustle (2022) |
Familiarity is okay, it just depends what you do with it - but "Hustle" chooses to follow the rulebook a bit too much.
- Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jun 14, 2022
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Top Gun: Maverick (2022) |
The effects - second to Cruise - are the star of the show, but "Top Gun: Maverick" surprises in its quieter moments. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jun 14, 2022
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) |
As hollow as "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" can ring, it offers enough grandiose spectacle to get lost in. Being able to get lost in its story as well might have made for a more compelling film.
- Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jun 14, 2022
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Memory (2022) |
When it comes to his thriller outings, autopilot is the only speed he [Neeson] has. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jun 14, 2022
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The Bubble (2022) |
It certainly strains for its pandemic-era laughs, mostly missing the mark by always feeling out of date. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jun 14, 2022
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Expired (2022) |
What's a filmmaker to do when he has more ideas than one movie could possibly handle? - Inverse
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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The Lost City (2022) |
Flaws be damned: Aaron Nee and Adam Nee's "The Lost City" is the perfect blend of silly-stupid with wide appeal that a weary movie-going audience needs right now. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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The Outfit (2022) |
Rylance's even-handed performance guides the whole film, and the actor delivers his best performance since winning the Oscar for 2015's "Bridge of Spies." - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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Deep Water (2022) |
"Deep Water" is a tepid version of what Lyne was once a master of doing. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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The Adam Project (2022) |
There's fun to be had with "The Adam Project" and its spectacle is entertaining (minus some terribly distracting de-aging technology), but the story trips over itself in the final act to a distracting degree. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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The Batman (2022) |
"The Batman" offers several great action pieces, but the movie does begin to crumble under its own weight, both in terms of the near-three-hour runtime and its own self-importance. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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Dog (2022) |
Most of "Dog" feels surface-level but Tatum and Lulu find ways to spark an odd couple rapport, which keeps this lighthearted movie engaging. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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Marry Me (2022) |
It's weird to be living in a time where a movie like "Marry Me" doesn't warrant a recommendation but you desperately want it to succeed. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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Blacklight (2022) |
Neeson once pledged to put down his gun, and four movies after that declaration, he still hasn't. It's time. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022) |
...but after two films he Raiff has shown that no matter what he continues to do, it will be filled with warmth and a natural urge to connect to a character on a human level. What more could an audience ask for? - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Feb 02, 2022
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Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022) |
Thompson and McCormack have such a lovely, fine-tuned chemistry as two people who are in such different places in their lives but have more common ground than you would expect. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Feb 02, 2022
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Watcher (2022) |
The movie draws you into its 1970s-style slow burn thriller intensity with such ease and precision, you won't feel it sneaking up on you right away. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Feb 02, 2022
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Fresh (2022) |
The screenplay (which was written by Lauryn Kahn) successfully navigates genre changes, making "Fresh" a thrilling, exciting, and completely twisted ride to go on. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jan 22, 2022
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When You Finish Saving the World (2022) |
Individual moments or lines in "When You Finish Saving the World" pop with a glimmer of Eisenberg's wry humor, but the movie feels like a skeleton. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jan 22, 2022
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The 355 (2022) |
"The 355" requires a filmmaker with an eye for choreography and urgency, which is lacking in almost every frame in his latest. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jan 21, 2022
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Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) |
"Spider-Man: No Way From Home" is the best example of what superhero movies can be. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Jan 21, 2022
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West Side Story (2021) |
"West Side Story" is the most alive one of his [Spielberg] films has felt on screen in a long time. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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House of Gucci (2021) |
"House of Gucci" is one of the big letdowns of the year. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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Don't Look Up (2021) |
A movie about an apocalyptic event that spurs a culture war might sound exasperating right now, and that's completely understandable. We live in maddening times. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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Alpha Rift (2021) |
It's a good-natured film that sometimes lacks real substance, but it offers just enough innocent escapism to supersede the script's flaws. - Inverse
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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Spencer (2021) |
To call "Spencer" a biopic would be to misunderstand the term because the movie is more of an interpretation of Diana, not her life story. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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The Beta Test (2021) |
"The Beta Test" is about unpleasant people and their unpleasant truths, but it's told with a ferocity that's hard to turn away from. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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Belfast (2021) |
Branagh's screenplay has a lot going on, while also feeling a bit aimless at times. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021) |
Regardless of any quibbles, "Tick, Tick...Boom!" is entertaining to watch, largely due to Garfield's sensational performance as Larson. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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Dune (2021) |
Some who love this story will be invested in the characters and their journey, but "Dune" will start and stop at the technical scale for most. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Oct 31, 2021
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Antlers (2021) |
"Antlers" is one of those horror movies that carries itself with a certain level of faux-prestige. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Oct 31, 2021
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Last Night in Soho (2021) |
Wright's screenplay has a third act problem, where the revealing of the whats-and-hows aren't as interesting being lost in the whys. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Oct 31, 2021
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Lamb (2021) |
There's a cult audience waiting in the wings to discover Valdimar Jóhannsson's "Lamb," and a mainstream horror audience that will leave the theater demanding their money back. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Oct 10, 2021
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Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) |
It's refreshing to have a movie as self-aware as this one. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Oct 04, 2021
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Dear Evan Hansen (2021) |
At the end of the day, if the story of Evan Hansen has helped in any way, no negative review can or should take that away. The movie tries to sway us in favor of Evan, but it's hard to be on his side when he leads a grieving family down a deceptive path. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Oct 04, 2021
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The Voyeurs (2021) |
Many have bemoaned modern day filmmaking for not embracing how ridiculous movies once were, but there are moments where "The Voyeurs" succeeds in capturing that sensation. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Sep 17, 2021
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The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) |
The Oscars certainly love transformative performances and actors playing real life people, but Chastain takes Tammy Faye beyond caricature. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Sep 17, 2021
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Blue Bayou (2021) |
But when "Blue Bayou" flirts with becoming manipulative, Chon's performance does its best to bring the focus back to what matters. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Sep 17, 2021
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Julia (2021) |
Child has made her mark.Juliaeffectively and efficiently tells us why. - Film Threat
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| Posted Sep 16, 2021
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Candyman (2021) |
To be completely effective horror movies can't waste any time, and while the Candyman mythos might feel repetitive, DaCosta's camerawork and eye for the unsettling create an entertaining new product. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Sep 06, 2021
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Dating & New York (2021) |
"Dating & New York" is a loving nod to the city's many jagged edges. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Sep 06, 2021
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The Protégé (2021) |
Maggie Q commands every action scene, but despite that "The Protégé" just feels like a bland, warmed-over version of many movies that proceeded it. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Sep 06, 2021
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The Night House (2020) |
"The Night House" doesn't feel like it's solely relying on a familiar blueprint, and a lot of that is thanks to Hall's performance. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Sep 06, 2021
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The Suicide Squad (2021) |
Through all the mayhem, "The Suicide Squad" feels like it's trying too hard to prove that it's better than the previous film, which grows tiresome after a while. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Aug 07, 2021
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Annette (2021) |
Here's what can definitively be said about "Annette": it will not be everyone's cup of tea. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Aug 07, 2021
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Stillwater (2021) |
Damon and Breslin carry the movie with their characters' shared history, which offers some depth and earned emotion even when things get bumpy along the way. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Aug 03, 2021
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Pig (2021) |
"Pig" is a reminder that there's an effective actor inside the person turning out forgettable junk multiple times a year. His performance as Rob is the best work he has done since 2003's wonderful "Matchstick Men." - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Aug 03, 2021
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Joe Bell (2020) |
If the message in "Joe Bell" helps anyone, that should be all that matters; but the movie is too sloppy in its delivery to coast by on proper intentions. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Aug 03, 2021
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Old (2021) |
Shyamalan doesn't always seem to have as firm a grasp on his recent screenplays as he did early in his career, but "Old" offers some summer thrills at the movies. - Big Picture Big Sound
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| Posted Aug 03, 2021
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