Adam Selvidge's Website Blog
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens: Directed by J.J. Abrams. With Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver. As a new threat to the galaxy rises, Rey, a desert scavenger, and Finn, an ex-stormtrooper, must join Han Solo and Chewbacca to search for the one hope of restoring peace. I watched this again because I finally own it on 4k disk thanks to the Disney rewards program. My feelings on it have continued to soften in light of how poorly the following two films ended up being, and I’m constantly wondering what would have been the result...
Star Trek video games have been around almost as long as Star Trek itself. From humble beginnings as an unofficial text-based game playable on mainframe computers to modern multi-million dollar spectacles, Star Trek video games span the history of gaming itself.In Star Trek Video Games: An Unoff I’m not sure if it’s the “send to kindle” option from NetGalley or it’s an issue with the actual book, but I believe every page had formatting errors, missing spaces, extra paragraph returns, and curiously placed images. The content of the book itself is an easy and breezy read that feels like I’m...
Countdown: Directed by Justin Dec. With Elizabeth Lail, Jordan Calloway, Talitha Eliana Bateman, Peter Facinelli. When a nurse downloads an app that claims to predict the moment a person will die, it tells her she only has three days to live. With the clock ticking and a figure haunting her, she must find a way to save her life before time runs out. Other than some bad continuity with the shower curtain in one of the opening scenes, this is a pretty solid horror show that melds spiritual concepts with modern technology and our dependency on apps. Which are of...
Scavengers Reign: Created by Joe Bennett, Charles Huettner. With Sunita Mani, Wunmi Mosaku, Bob Stephenson, Alia Shawkat. The crew of a damaged deep space freighter strands on a beautiful but dangerous planet. The second of two shows that were recommended to me that I missed on their initial airing, this is the less grounded but just as interesting of the two, with the crew of a marooned ship finding their way through a fantastically alien environment with creatures that absolutely blew my mind in nearly every episode. Buy On Amazon!
Pantheon: Created by Craig Silverstein. With Katie Chang, Paul Dano, Aaron Eckhart, Rosemarie DeWitt. A young woman starts to get messages from an unknown number that claims to be her deceased father. Trying to uncover the truth, she stumbles upon a larger conspiracy involving the singularity. One of two shows that I missed completely when they first aired, this is the more grounded one with a look into the possibilities of uploading consciousness into near future technology and the ethical, political, and spiritual consequences of the entire situation. The story doesn’t make many missteps and moves quickly from easily understood...
The Mandalorian: Created by Jon Favreau. With Pedro Pascal, Chris Bartlett, Katee Sackhoff, Carl Weathers. The travels of a lone bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic. I bought this on Steelbook months and months ago and it’s sat on a pile until a couple weeks ago when I watched all of season one and two, then book of boba fett, then rested on the 7th day. The special features on the season one set spoil huge story elements for season two, and honestly the special features aren’t really all...
Blue Jean: Directed by Georgia Oakley. With Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday, Lydia Page. In 1988, a closeted teacher is pushed to the brink when a new student threatens to expose her sexuality. A beautiful story of some unpretty things happening to a set of wonderful people. It’s the first movie from Georgia Oakley and judging from this one movie she’s going to have one hell of a career ahead of her. Buy On Amazon!
The only thing I remember about this game is that I didn’t have a good time. I was also pretty drunk at the time if that tells you both how long ago this was and my state of mind at the time.
Alice, Darling: Directed by Mary Nighy. With Anna Kendrick, Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick, Wunmi Mosaku. A young woman trapped in an abusive relationship becomes the unwitting participant in an intervention staged by her two closest friends. The movie didn’t really do it for me, but I think it has less to do with performances or anything to do with the final product but more to do with not knowing anyone like the Alice character that would allow themselves to either be treated like she is or internalize that treatment in such a self destructive way. It’s well acted and well...
Boulevard: Directed by Dito Montiel. With Robin Williams, Kathy Baker, Roberto Aguire, Giles Matthey. A devoted husband in a marriage of convenience is forced to confront his secret life. One of Robin’s last films and it’s one of his most emotionally charged and interesting films in a career of emotionally charged and interesting movies. I have a couple quibbles about extremely minor things, like how the husband makes the terrible choice to start to trust his new friend in ways that I wouldn’t trust my best friends, but considering the emotional situation he was in, it does make a twisted...
