Adam Selvidge's Website Blog
Muppets Most Wanted: Directed by James Bobin. With Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, Tina Fey, Steve Whitmire. While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European jewel-heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his dastardly sidekick. I had forgotten how super catchy the music in “Most Wanted” is, and I’m not sure we’ll ever see Ricky Gervais in another Disney film, but it sure was nice to see him in his less traumatic days. …was this the last time we saw the Muppets? I guess there was that “Haunt Mansion” film last year,...
The Princess: Directed by Le-Van Kiet. With Joey King, Olga Kurylenko, Antoni Davidov, Radoslav Parvanov. When a strong-willed princess refuses to wed the cruel sociopath, she is kidnapped and locked in a remote tower of her father’s castle. With her vindictive suitor intent on taking her father’s throne, the princess must save the kingdom. High octane tower descent style action movie with minimal plot and a kick ass heroine? Ok, sign me up! The end result is a little overcranked in the action department for my tastes, but it wears it’s intentions on it’s sleeve and does exactly what it...
Charli XCX: Alone Together: Directed by Bradley Bell, Pablo Jones-Soler. With Charli XCX, Huck Kwong, Twiggy Rowley, Sam Pringle. Global pop star Charli XCX enlists fans to help her produce the album how i’m feeling now while quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic. A relatively intimate look into the creative process behind Charli XCX’s “How I’m Feeling Now” album. It was made during the initial lockdowns of the corona virus crisis. It’s good, Charli is good, her music is good, and I just wish it had a little more of her actual personality in it instead of the filtered version that...
Baymax!: Created by Don Hall. With Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Dichen Lachman, Sarah-Nicole Robles. The characters in the unique city of Big Hero 6 get their own series, packed with adventures. You know those shorts that Pixar does before every Pixar film? The ones that usually make you cry like a big dumb baby, but it’s ok because everyone in the theater is doing the same dumb thing? Well this is a series of sorta unrelated shorts starring Baymax that do the same thing. It’s not Baymax in his Iron Man-esque armor, but Baymax the automated health professional, who goes...
Kedi: Directed by Ceyda Torun. With Yaman Barlas, Sari, Arzu Göl, Kemal Suncu. A profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat. It’s about the world famous cats in Istanbul. There’s some sad parts, there’s some happy parts, but this is a well done documentary about cats. yay cats. Buy On Amazon!
Foster cat named Rigel, he’s a mirror image of his mother. Foster cat named Betelgeuse. Note that he’s cuddling with one of the foster fails from last year, the only thing they have in common is that they’re both grey, so it’s interesting that they’re getting along so well. Nyx and Rigel, that midnight black fur gene is super strong. Not my cat, but she’s friendly enough when I run into her outside. I have named her Tabby. I’m growing tomatoes! Eaglemoss strikes again, one of my final ships and it arrived broken because they mailed it to me...
Eddie Izzard: Wunderbar: Directed by Sarah Townsend. With Eddie Izzard. Filmed during Eddie’s 2019 tour, Wunderbar exemplifies Eddie’s unique, surreal view of life, love, history and her ‘theory of the universe’. A wonderfully low budget but funny comedy set, I believe this is the first one that I’ve seen from Eddie since the decision to go full on transgender and not just executive transvestite. Buy On Amazon!
The Card Counter: Directed by Paul Schrader. With Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, Willem Dafoe. Redemption is the long game in Paul Schrader’s THE CARD COUNTER. Told with Schrader’s trademark cinematic intensity, the revenge thriller tells the story of an ex-military interrogator turned gambler haunted by the ghosts of his past. I thought I was getting into a gambling movie with one of the best actors in the business, but ended up with a movie about three men dealing with their PTSD in novel and horrifying ways. Poker is in the background at all times, but the main story...
Starfish: Directed by A.T. White. With Virginia Gardner, Christina Masterson, Eric Beecroft, Natalie Mitchell. A unique, intimate portrayal of a girl grieving for the loss of her best friend, which just so happens to take place on the day the world ends. Virginia Gardner is really the only reason this film works as well as it does and it does work to a certain extent. The premise is somewhat overshadowed by the betrayal at the end, and this film from 2018 has the distinct feel of a film made during the pandemic, with only a couple scenes featuring more than...
Scream 3: Directed by Wes Craven. With Liev Schreiber, Beth Toussaint, Roger Jackson, Kelly Rutherford. While Sidney and her friends visit the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the third film based on the Woodsboro murders, another Ghostface killer rises to terrorize them. Notable because it has both the dynamic duo of Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes as guests, as well as Carrier Fisher playing a woman that looks just like Carrie Fisher but is definitely maybe not Carrie Fisher. The rest of the film is serviceable as a note on getting past your personal traumas, though not all of us...
