Hands down some of the best horror movie reviews out there! Especially loved the episode on Welcome to Derry 👀. This show can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of faith, and it’s really awesome to hear such BASED takes 💪🤧

Revising the review a bit - to summarize: Melvin is still narcissistic, cynical, nihilistic, ungrateful, envious and worst of all, promotes physical violence towards those he disagrees with. This podcast is leftist Tik Tok brain rot drivel - it is not serious film criticism for Christians. (See Deepfocuslense on YouTube for a similar, emotional review/response to film that Melvin used to have. Her channel is secular, but if you’re Christian and want serious discussion, see Criteria - a Catholic Film Podcast - even if you’re not Catholic, it’s far better than this garbage.) Melvin is nasally, cynical, bitter, complaining, begs for Patreon subscribers with ad interruptions in his discussions - CONSTANTLY. Episodes are either a description of the plot of a movie or a tangential diatribe of Melvin virtue signaling with whatever way his Tik Tok algorithm deems he think. He has no original thoughts or ideas. He regurgitates Marxist ideology like a barking seal. You are better off reading AI summaries/reviews of films - AI generated text has more soul than Melvin’s podcast. Listen to the joint Quarterly catchups he does with the “Movies & Us” podcast - the disparity in film review competency is astounding. The two women from this other podcast *ACTUALLY* talk about film in a competent, pleasant manner - whilst Melvin describes the cushions and food at a horror film showing only screened in an exclusive theater, that no one else can or will see - then complains about how bad the film was. He has nothing to offer, yet he monopolizes the discussion - he does the same with his most common co-hosts, his wife and sister, both of whom have far more interesting things to say, in a much less perturbed tone. This is all part of the act you see. Melvin masquerades as one of those creepy male feminists (you know the type - he even has the eyeliner, painted nails, pink hair and septum piercing to match) who ascribes to Marxist power theory à la the fictional narrative of the ever present and oppressive patriarchy. Melvin has all the makings of a narcissist who feigns “allyship” to garner favor with women to satiate his self-imposed perception of inadequacy by siphoning attention from these women. By his own admission he has no male friends, and willingly cut any he had, out of his life. By his own word, he saw male friends as “competition” - and thus could not stand their presence, something typical of narcissists. This whole podcast is not about the love of film, no - it’s a platform for a narcissist to make himself the center of attention. Despite all this - Melvin still claims to be a Christian. He HATES most Christians though. He does not belong to a local church and abhors most confessional/orthodox doctrines that the Church has held to a vast majority of its 2,000 year existence - everything from traditional gender roles in church/family to how God created Adam (male) and Eve (female). Melvin HATES rich people (he openly advocates for the release of Luigi M, a cold blooded murderer), HATES conservatives, HATES anyone to the right of Stalin apparently. The absolute most bizarre and nihilistic of them all - he HATES families who have lots of kids - unironically calling them “eugenicists.” (See the podcast episode on “Welcome to Leith” for this vitriolic take.) Ultimately, he hates what his nihilistic social media algorithm tells him to hate - just like how Jesus commanded us right? Melvin spreads hate… because he hates himself. Melvin hates how God made him. He resents God. (see his review of “I Saw the TV Glow.” Unashamedly, all there.) He’s ungrateful, bitter and envious. He can spread only the chaos that infests his psyche. That’s why there’s no positive Christian films that he reviews. The Malick films, all of the Tarkovsky’s , Eric Rohmer’s films, Robert Bresson’s films, Secret Sunshine - Good. True. Beautiful (Phil 4:8) films. There’s some that he’s reviewed (during the Tree of Life review, he was noticeably annoyed and cynical when his co-hosts positively reviewed it) in general though, this is an exception rather than the rule. What does he mostly, positively review you ask? Godforsaken, gratuitous horror films (listen to the review of “When Evil Lurks” - he maniacally laughs while describing a sequence where a dog kills a small child. There is an alarming discomfort in his cohost/wife’s voice when he does this), or convoluted stories of confused identity. He’d rather watch/laugh at women and children being mutilated (he loves those “Terrifier” films) than connect with films with deep theological/spiritual/philosophical resonance. It all figures. Melvin constantly attempts to refute Christians he disagrees with (ie: those he hates) by asking them to look at the fruit of their lives. I wonder if Melvin ever does the same for himself? What fruit has this false, self centered, debased version of “christianity” Melvin clings to - wrought in his life? An ashen wasteland of broken relationships - willingly cutting out all male friends in his life? A “perpetually unstable” identity filled with so much confusion and uncertainty - so overbearing that it causes him to doubt whether he is even a man or not? (He is by the way) A social media presence with ABSOLUTELY NO engagement save when he decides to “rage bait”? A “christian” life where he doesn’t submit to the authority of a church? A nihilistic hatred of large families? Crying victim when faced with criticism whilst simultaneously leaping for joy when a right-of-center conservative Christian is shot in the neck? A position of advocating for the release of a Barabas-like cold blooded murderer? A “christian” podcast that NEVER emphasizes the good, true or beautiful? (I have fabricated none of these questions - ALL of the previous has publicly made by Melvin’s own admissions.) Seems to me if there is fruit - it is rot from the core out. I pity you Melvin. I’ll be praying for you

Love the show and the balance of film critique and irl life!

I have been listening to Melvin’s Cinematic Doctrine podcast for many years now and I am sad to say the “mature, millennial-infused” discussions are far from the “Acts 17 and Romans 2:4” inspired ideas that he may have started with. First, Melvin’s lack of sincerity is apparent - he makes numerous mistakes that lend to his lack of credibility as a film critic. He’s made claims that “horror is uniquely an American film genre - we export horror like we do capitalism.” This take was made simply to make a jab at the free market, while also dramatically discounting the fact that horror is indeed, NOT a solely American film genre. The works of German Expressionism in the 20’s, the UK Hammer gothic horror films of the 60’s and 70’s, as well as the Italian proto-slashers from Mario Bava and Dario Argento - are they unfamiliar to Melvin? This would be strange considering the sheer number of horror films Mevlin decides to review. This podcast tends to not review very many current/trending films, but instead, Melvin will cover obscure horror “made-for-TV” horror films of the 90’s and early 00’s. That or documentaries that detail abuse in the church or “conservative” communities. Fair enough Melvin - we ought to discuss such issues. But where’s the talk about the real, rich, meaningful Christian films? I am not talking about Fireproof - where’s Babette’s Feast? Ordet? Passion of Joan of Arc? The answer is that most of the films discussed are simply used as springboards for Melvin to jump into some tangential rant that has irked him lately. There’s no authentic love for film that was once here. Now - all of the above could be forgiven. Inauthenticity or lack of knowledge is not a problem in its own right. However - this brings me to my second point. This inauthenticity is couched with a glaring cynicism that makes listening nearly impossible. I mentioned before Melvin’s jab at capitalism - nearly every point he makes is like this. Slathered with a sarcastic quip at those he deems problematic. A great example of this is his take on Star Wars. To speak nothing of the contempt he has of Star Wars fans themselves (idol worshipers - yes. That’s what he calls us), he’s glaringly inconsistent with his criticisms. When reviewing the first season of The Mandalorian, he quipped that Disney was foolish for not having Baby Yoda toys ready for sale at the time of release. Later however, Melvin will disparagingly remark that “Star Wars only exists to sell toys.” Which is it Melvin? Was Disney foolish for not selling toys or do they exist only to sell toys? The answer does not really matter - Melvin brings these points up to fill his recordings with bitterness. The cynicism does not end there. The Patreon for this show voted on reviewing a wildly inappropriate anime called No Game No Life that I will spare you the details of. Granted, Melvin was uncomfortable with reviewing this anime (which honestly, concerns me as to what kind of community he has over there on Patreon), however, rather than make this a Patreon member exclusive review or reviewing something else entirely, (which would have been more than appropriate), he chose to air this episode and platform this obscure, offensive anime only to express negativity about it, anime in general, and his listeners. Why do this? Why give any time or credence to something that was not worth anyone’s time? Instead we now have an episode devoted to some garbage that should have never been reviewed at all. All of this to say - the podcast, sadly, seems to exist for Melvin to vent his frustrations, rather than to discuss film. Sadly, it does not end there. I will start this final point by saying that Melvin has clearly descended into a mode of deconstructivism/exvangelicalism while also not being adamant about it. He frequently uses they/them pronouns for individuals who are clearly male/female (like Josh Brolin’s character in Weapons) and will frustratingly switch to he/she pronouns mid discussion. This makes the discussions unbearably challenging to listen to when the subject/verbs Melvin is talking about flip around inconsistently. The obvious reason for this is for Melvin to signal that he is affirming of a particular sort of audience without outright saying it - unfortunately, the discussions are that much more difficult to listen to. That by itself would not be too bad - unfortunately, Melvin has become noticeably, viciously anti-Evangelical and anti-Conservative, reeking of a progressive legalism, that is rank with judgement. One needed to only look at his social media accounts after the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk to see how gleefully he gloated over the murder of a fellow Christian. Even recently, Kirk seems to be living rent free in Melvin’s head as ludicrously claimed that “dying doesn’t absolve you of sin - it happens because of it.” Astounding - Kirk was murdered because of his sin? As a Conservative myself, if the shoe were on the other foot, and a prominent pro-abortion/anti-Christian leftist was murdered (God forbid) such a statement would be unthinkable. Has Melvin read Job? He sounds far worse than one of Job’s useless friends. I doubt Melvin has the modicum of self reflection to acknowledge this sadly. Melvin’s bitterness still does not end there - in the review for Sinners, Melvin disparagingly mocked that violence against those who utter microaggressions was justified (1:03 time stamp - listen for yourself). Really? A microaggression according to critical theorists is often an unintentional, offensive verbal remark. This action should warrant violence according to Melvin. Even non-Conservatives, those of any decency should find this abhorrent. All of this would be justified by Melvin however - the judgement he passes is lacking of grace. Cinematic Doctrine has suffered because of this. Concluding - inauthenticity, cynicism, and judgement are all you will find at Cinematic Doctrine these days.

Recently feel like Melvin’s been really angry, just constantly. His political rant was…. Something. I’ve noticed myself, that sometimes Christians who don’t like Trump (of which I am one) will just get really bitter at other Christians who do, and accuse them of being blinded. They say that it’s dangerous to be too absorbed in politics, which it is. But… sometimes.. it becomes clear they’re just as absorbed as the trump supporter, but since it’s not trump! It’s fine. They start whitewashing the issues that made trump appealing to people, which in turn just make trump more appealing to them. Heck, when people do that , I myself even feel the urge to go more American rightward. Still gonna pop in every now and then, I really enjoy the insight in these movies, just feel like the show is drifting in a problematic direction.

Melvin does a great job with this show and it’s always a good listen!

Melvin had me on as a guest and I was impressed by his ability to talk about film at a high level. He’s also a super great guy! Highly recommend!

I’ve been a listener of this show for a long time! It’s always been one I know I can trust to have meaningful discussions about film from both a filmmaking and thematic perspective. I appreciate Melvin, his perspective, and his approach with this show! Not to mention, there are usually some good laughs too!

Love listening to Melvin & guests discuss movies. Always something fun and meaningful

Do you like movies??? Well this podcast is not for you. Movies are the LAST thing they talk about that’s right it’s a BEAN podcast.

There are many Christian podcasts that cover and review media. But this show is set apart by being well-structured with professional recording and truly interesting conversation (not just rambling). And Chris Staron was a great guest!

A great podcast with an incredibly friendly host, Cinematic Doctrine will both affirm and convict you in the way you consume media. Five stars for excellent criticism and a healthy dose of Christian wisdom!

There are so many movie podcasts out there, and so many Christian movie podcasts. But this one dares to talk intelligently, with a real understanding of art. Enjoyed it a lot! Keep it up!

I love that CinDoc’s approach is to reform the movie / arts industry for the glory of God. The arts should not be shunned, or worse, cheaply imitated. This Podcast seeks to evaluate good art, but from a Christian worldview. I pray Christian filmmakers take note and begin to make films that explicitly glorify God, intentionally, and are also worth watching from an aesthetic perspective.

Melvin has some great insights into whichever film he's discussing on any one particular episode. And the episodes are so bite-sized that they're easy to fit into a podcast queue. Have been really enjoying the content and look forward to future episodes.

The Author of Cinematic doctrine, Melvin, takes you in a journey as you not only cover The movie itself and its forthcomings, but also the underlying meaning behind the film. Melvin relates some personal experiences with the Director’s message within certain films, and shows the listener just how much you can miss upon watching the movie. He is honest in his reviews, yet forgiving. Witty in his references and relations to the movie and the Director, and entertaining without question. Melvin doesn’t just test the waters with his reviews- he dives in. You can’t help but agreeing with his refreshing take on movies as he shows you new ways to look at what you though was familiar. Melvin ties in Morality and his faith along with his take on the film, and it’s both eye opening and intriguing. I found myself sitting and almost binge listening to Cinematic Doctrine. I was eager to see what take he had on some of my favorite movies, and some I hadn’t seen. Did I mention no spoilers? Listen to Cinematic Doctrine now, Sit at the table of Cinema, and eat (taken from the author’s words). And as you seem to forget time passing, you’ll lose yourself on the journey that is Cinematic Doctrine.

Melvin takes what he does very seriously and it shows in each episode of CinDoc. I love learning new tidbits of trivia and "making-of" stories while listening to the reviews, and when Christian connections are made in particular episodes they are very well thought out and substantial. Hope to hear more from this guy! c:

Committed to the glory of Christ throughout.