Adam Selvidge's Website Blog
Outlander: Directed by Howard McCain. With Jim Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, John Hurt. During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan, a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking’s Iron Age weaponry. I think I watched this all the way back when it originally came out in 2008, I remembered a couple of the big set pieces, but I...
The discovery of objects approaching from Jupiter’s orbit sets humanity on edge, sending cities into panic. Most is unknown, but thanks to the popular Astral space app, everyone knows the few facts the government has tried to hide: The objects are enormous spheres numbering in the dozens, maybe hundreds. They are on an approach vector toward Earth … and they will arrive in six days. Entrepreneur Meyer Dempsey is in New York, realizing the time has come to act on all the preparations he’s made without ever consciously knowing why. For years Meyer has been preoccupied by a dreamlike sense...
Heads of State: Directed by Ilya Naishuller. With Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paddy Considine. When the U.K. Prime Minister and U.S. President become the targets of a foreign adversary, they’re forced to rely on one another to thwart a global conspiracy. Much more fun than I thought it was going to be, John Cena and Idris Elba are an odd pairing, but it works in every regard I care about. Buy On Amazon!
KPop Demon Hunters: Directed by Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang. With Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop. A world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters. I’ve heard great things about this movie and everything I heard turned out to be true. The character designs are inventive, the songs are catchy, and the demons were indeed hunted. Buy On Amazon!
Deep Cover: Directed by Tom Kingsley. With Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed, Sean Bean. Three improv actors are asked to go undercover by the police in London’s criminal underworld. Hilarious and always abides by the first rule of improve of “Yes and…”. Buy On Amazon!
The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Directed by Matt Shakman. With Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. This is one of the first Marvel movies in a long time that requires absolutely no knowledge of any other comic book film, no knowledge of the comics, and just an appreciation for a retro-futuristic take on a classic family of adventurers. There’s a perfect soundtrack that goes along...
Murderbot: With Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu. A security android struggles with emotions and free will while balancing dangerous missions and desire for isolation, evading detection of its self-hacking as it finds its place. Murderbot! I received the first four or five short stories during the covid pandemic, but never got around to reading them, then they announced this television show, so I consumed the stories quickly, they’re very easy reads and had a ton of action that I loved. This television series isn’t as good as the books, but it has many of the elements of...
Ben Madsen is used to chasing fugitives in LA. Now he’s got an otherworldly fugitive to chase through an intergalactic city hidden right here on Earth. A frustratingly good book that includes the first 5 issues of the series, but that’s it. There’s nothing else! The art is amazing, the story is well done, the characters are believable, and I loved everything about it, except for the fact that it just ends right in the middle of the story. Buy On Amazon!
The Acolyte: Created by Leslye Headland. With Lee Jung-jae, Amandla Stenberg, Manny Jacinto, Charlie Barnett. An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems… Oh this was good, but with how it was received, I doubt we’ll see a direct sequel to it. The bad guys are cool enough that we’ll be seeing them in other series though. At least I hope! Buy On Amazon!
Hellboy: The Crooked Man: Directed by Brian Taylor. With Jack Kesy, Jefferson White, Adeline Rudolph, Leah McNamara. Hellboy and a rookie B.P.R.D. agent in the 1950s are sent to the Appalachians, where they discover a remote community dominated by witches and led by the sinister local demon, the Crooked Man. I actually watched this …months ago? It might have even been last year, but I was so unaffected by the film that I forgot to even put it on a “to review” list. It’s not actually a terrible film, but it had such a limited budget that all it really...
