Adam Selvidge's Website Blog
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. With Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya. Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet. I’ve never watched a Studio Ghibli film before, at least not to my knowledge. One of my co-workers had an adorable stainglass thing with a cat on it and she said that it was from one of their films (Kiki’s Delivery Service iirc), and this company has been constantly on the periphery of many different genres that I love, but I...
The Outsider: Created by Richard Price. With Ben Mendelsohn, Bill Camp, Jeremy Bobb, Mare Winningham. When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in. I straight up stopped watching this when one of the main characters was killed, I had assumed it was going to be all about him, but nay, it was about another character that I didn’t quite care for. The end result of the show was amazing, and I would...
Paradise: Created by Dan Fogelman. With Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom. A Secret Service agent investigates the murder of a former president in a seemingly peaceful community. I’m watching both “The Outsider” and “Paradise” at the same time and it was fun seeing two different sides of Julianne Nicholson. Sterling K. Brown is getting to be someone that I really enjoy seeing, regardless of the type of role. Luckily for me, it looks like there’s ample room for a second season for Paradise. The fundamental story is very familiar, a guy in a locked room...
These are from over a year ago, but they’re good enough to share!
The Electric State: Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo. With Woody Norman, Millie Bobby Brown, Ann Russo, Greg Cromer. An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick. The trailers for this looked amazing, but what we got was less than amazing and more bland Netflix straight to vhs than I was really hoping for. A few people have said that the film was made for kids and that might explain how mediocre and unchallenging the dialogue was, but that trailer made me feel this...
Moana 2: Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller. With Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, Rose Matafeo. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced. While I enjoyed the film, it didn’t rise to the same level of appreciation as the first film, and felt like a much smaller adventure than what I think was intended. It’s still an exceptionally enjoyable adventure! Buy On Amazon!
Win or Lose: With Chanel Stewart, Winston Vengapally, Josh Thomson, Milan Elizabeth Ray. Follows a middle school softball team in the week leading up to their championship game, and each episode is told from the perspective of a different character. We’ve only watched the first few episodes, but it’s good enough to get a stamp of approval from me with only those two being seen. Buy On Amazon!
Dream Productions: With Paula Pell, Richard Ayoade, Kensington Tallman, Maya Rudolph. Acclaimed director Paula Persimmon teams up with an overly confident daydream director to create the next big tween-dream hit for Riley at Dream Productions. I missed this back when it first came out and only stumbled on it because it was a recommended series after the first couple episodes of “Win or Lose” ended. It’s a well done series that gets to the point very quickly and ends on a lovely note. Buy On Amazon!
Piece by Piece: Directed by Morgan Neville. With Pharrell Williams, Morgan Neville, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani. A vibrant journey through the life of Pharrell Williams, told through the lens of LEGO animation. A visual feast of a movie that I knew was going to be a biographical story, but my wife had no clue and I’m not sure how I would have liked to have had it. It’s a great film and the soundtrack is as rich as you can get, but as a well done biographical story, there’s no real action to it. I enjoyed it for what it...
Join the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos as they seek out new life and travel where people may, or may not, have been before! Based on the hit Paramount+ animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, Mariner, Boimler and all their friends offer advice and insider knowledge to new crewmembers. This hilarious and informative handbook will help you come to grips with the ship, your duties, and your fellow lower deckers, especially as they’ve generously left comments throughout. An easy breezy read, with a few too many full pages of admittedly gorgeous art, and the focus is more on the surface...
