RealMelValentin
Mel Valentin
Senior Critic
Mel Valentin has been writing about his first and possibly his last love, film, for more than a decade. Born somewhere on the East Coast in the last century, Mel moved to the San Francisco Bay Area two decades ago. Mel spends his days looking forward to when we can all return to movie theaters and film festivals in person.Articles by Mel Valentin:
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May 29, 2021
The Wages of Nostalgia: From Alice to Cruella and Back AgainAs a sign of Disney things to come, Cruella points to a creatively bankrupt future where artistry can only exist at the margins.
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May 21, 2021
Army of the Dead Review: A Master of Excess, UnleashedIn Army of the Dead, Zack Snyder returns to his zombie horror roots…but with mixed results.
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May 12, 2021
Oxygen Review: Mélanie Laurent Shines in Futuristic ThrillerOxygen (”Oxygène”), director Alexandre Aja’s follow-up to 2019’s gorily entertaining, Crawl, gives Mélanie Laurent a chance to shine.
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May 7, 2021
Wrath of Man Review: An Ultra-Violent, Bleak, Ultimately Nihilistic ActionerWrath of Man delivers bleak, ultra-violent nihilism for our mid-pandemic times.
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May 1, 2021
About Endlessness Review: A Swan Song for a Swedish MasterAbout Endlessness is a swan song for a Swedish master of cinema.
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April 30, 2021
The Mitchells vs. the Machines ReviewThe Mitchells vs. the Machines delivers wondrous animation along with a much-needed critique of our social media- and tech-obsessed age.
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April 21, 2021
Vanquish Review: Paycheck Roles for Morgan Freeman and Ruby RoseRIP Morgan Freeman’s career.
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March 30, 2021
Godzilla vs. Kong Review: Attack of the Titans (Again)Attack of the Titans delivers kaiju-on-kaiju spectacle in overabundance.
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March 29, 2021
The Vault Review: A Heist-Thriller By Any Other Name…A heist-thriller by any other name is still a heist-thriller.
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March 3, 2021
Chaos Walking Review: Wannabe Series Starter Delivers Mixed ResultsDoug Liman’s wannabe series starter, starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, delivers decidedly mixed results.
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February 24, 2021
Soul Review: Poignant Life Lessons Wrapped in Stunning, Metaphysical VisualsSoul gives Pixar yet another rousing success and reminds us of everything we’ve missed and hope to regain.
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February 22, 2021
Minari Review: A Deft, Engaging Family DramaSteve Yuen gives a career-best performance as a struggling Korean-American farmer in Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari.
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December 26, 2020
News of the World Review: Tom Hanks Delivers Another Standout PerformanceNews of the World gives Tom Hanks another late-career role worthy of his prodigious talents.
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