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Mel Valentin
Mel Valentin

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Published in Cinapse

·Pinned

CANDYMAN Offers Mixed Rewards for Horror Enthusiasts and Casual Fans Alike

This “Spiritual Sequel” is a worthy successor to the original — Candyman, the spiritual sequel to the Bernard Rose-directed, Tony Todd-starring 1992 cult horror film of the same name, has taken a long, circuitous route to multiplexes. After spending the better part of two decades in on-again, off-again development, Jordan Peele (Us, Get Out) and his Monkeypaw Productions practically sprinted into…

Candyman

5 min read

CANDYMAN Offers Mixed Rewards for Horror Enthusiasts and Casual Fans Alike
CANDYMAN Offers Mixed Rewards for Horror Enthusiasts and Casual Fans Alike
Candyman

5 min read


Published in Cinapse

·1 day ago

ENYS MEN Review: An Island, Isolation, and Mind Tricks Everywhere

Mark Jenkin’s latest feature-length film takes a deep dive into psychological fragmentation — At its core, folk horror as a genre involves the conflict between paganism, Christianity, and (super) natural forces. It also involves folklore that either existed before the advent of Christianity or stubbornly developed alongside the monotheistic faith, functioning both as counterpoint and contrast, though Christianity, like most world religions, has…

Enys Men

3 min read

ENYS MEN Review: An Island, Isolation, and Mind Tricks Everywhere
ENYS MEN Review: An Island, Isolation, and Mind Tricks Everywhere
Enys Men

3 min read


Published in Cinapse

·Mar 3

4K Blu-Ray Review: THE BOXTROLLS Delivers Stellar Stop-Motion Animation and Layered Storytelling

Proof positive that Laika’s underappreciated third film deserves a second or third look — In Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi’s underappreciated feature-length debut as director and Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio LAIKA’s third, The Boxtrolls, the title characters, blue-hued, yellow-eyed, and pointy-eared, make their home in the labyrinthine tunnels and sewers under the hilltop town of Cheesebridge and the fictional country of Norvenia sometime in…

Laika

4 min read

4K/Blu-Ray Review: THE BOXTROLLS Delivers Stellar Stop-Motion Animation and Layered Storytelling
4K/Blu-Ray Review: THE BOXTROLLS Delivers Stellar Stop-Motion Animation and Layered Storytelling
Laika

4 min read


Published in Cinapse

·Mar 2

OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE, A Time-Waster By Any Other Name

The latest Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham joint disappoints on every level. — A misfire by any other name is still a misfire, and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, the latest brainchild from writer-director Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), is nothing if not a misfire. It all starts with a lazily written, unimaginative, pastiche-ridden script Ritchie co-wrote…

Operation Fortune

4 min read

OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE, A Time-Waster By Any Other Name
OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE, A Time-Waster By Any Other Name
Operation Fortune

4 min read


Published in Cinapse

·Feb 24

COCAINE BEAR Fully Delivers on its Comically Absurd Premise

Elizabeth Banks directs, Jimmy Warden writes, everyone runs for their lives. — In the mid-1980s, a Ronald Reagan was beginning his second term in the White House, the so-called “War on Drugs,” a favorite of reactionaries in both parties, was on the rise, leading to massive increases in funding for law enforcement, harsh and unjust sentences for low-level, drug-related crimes, and mass…

Cocaine Bear

4 min read

COCAINE BEAR Fully Delivers on its Comically Absurd Premise
COCAINE BEAR Fully Delivers on its Comically Absurd Premise
Cocaine Bear

4 min read


Published in Cinapse

·Feb 19

4K/Blu-Ray Review: THE FABELMANS Shine on Physical Media

Steven Spielberg directs a portrait of a filmmaker as a young man — Unarguably one of the greatest living filmmakers in or out of the English language, Steven Spielberg’s success, both critically and commercially, remain without equal. Even as his directorial career has moved further away from the early career blockbusters (e.g., Jaws, Close Encounters of the Lost Ark, E.T.) for more traditional…

The Fabelmans

5 min read

4K/Blu-Ray Review: THE FABELMANS Shine on Physical Media
4K/Blu-Ray Review: THE FABELMANS Shine on Physical Media
The Fabelmans

5 min read


Published in Cinapse

·Feb 11

MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE, Truth in Advertising (Hopefully)

Steven Soderbergh and Channing Tatum return for the threequel — Whoever said, “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” was obviously onto something. Sometimes too a trilogy is best when it’s a duology. The eight-years-in-the-making third — and most likely last — entry in the Steven Soderbergh-produced, Channing Tatum-starring Magic Mike series, Magic Mike’s Last Chance, more than proves…

Magic Mikes Last Chance

4 min read

MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE, Truth in Advertising (Hopefully)
MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE, Truth in Advertising (Hopefully)
Magic Mikes Last Chance

4 min read


Published in Cinapse

·Feb 10

In CONSECRATION, Sympathy Lies With the Devil

Christopher Smith’s latest delivers an overabundance of intriguing ideas, but few scares — In Consecration, writer-director Christopher Smith’s (Black Death, Triangle, Severance) first film in three years since The Banishing, the millennia-old conflict between Christianity and the Devil, between the Church and paganism, finds expression in the form of a thirty-something ophthalmologist, Grace Fario (Jena Malone). Grace’s younger brother Michael (Steffan Cennydd), a…

Christopher Smith

4 min read

In CONSECRATION, Sympathy Lies With the Devil
In CONSECRATION, Sympathy Lies With the Devil
Christopher Smith

4 min read


Published in Cinapse

·Feb 2

In KNOCK AT THE CABIN, M. Night Shyamalan Delivers a Master Class in Suspense

Shyamalan’s adaptation of Paul G. Tremblay’s novel takes liberties and then some. — After cratering with back-to-back commercial and critical failures (The Happening and The Last Airbender) and missing the mark with After Earth immediately thereafter, M. Night Shyamalan started a welcome comeback with The Visit (a modestly budgeted found footage horror entry), Split (a gnarly thriller elevated by an applause-worthy twist worthy)…

M Night Shyamalan

4 min read

In KNOCK AT THE CABIN, M. Night Shyamalan Delivers a Master Class in Suspense
In KNOCK AT THE CABIN, M. Night Shyamalan Delivers a Master Class in Suspense
M Night Shyamalan

4 min read


Published in Cinapse

·Jan 20

ALICE, DARLING, No Adventures in Wonderland

Anna Kendrick stars in Mary Nighy’s feature debut. — A specter haunts the title character of actor-turned-director Mary Nighy’s feature debut, Alice, Darling. He seemingly haunts Alice’s (Anna Kendrick) every waking moment and every fitful dream, a voice floating in her mind, judging her, criticizing her imperfections, and molding her in his own toxic image. …

Anna Kendrick

3 min read

ALICE, DARLING, No Adventures in Wonderland
ALICE, DARLING, No Adventures in Wonderland
Anna Kendrick

3 min read

Mel Valentin

Mel Valentin

1.5K Followers

Writer/editor for hire. Member: SFFCC, OFCS.

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