Adam Selvidge's Website Blog
Confess, Fletch: Directed by Greg Mottola. With Lorenza Izzo, Jon Hamm, Anna Osceola, Marcia Gay Harden. After becoming the prime suspect in multiple murders, Fletch strives to prove his innocence while simultaneously searching for his fiancé’s stolen art collection. I had some minor misgivings of this movie about the same character that Chevy Chase played nearly 30 years ago, which is based on a series of books, which means it’s a different story and Jon Hamm can do whatever he wants with the character without really being beholden to what Chase did with him. In many ways it’s a situation...
The history of Marvel Comics with replications of historical artifacts. Buy On Amazon! This is a great look at the history of Marvel the company and the people that got it to where it currently is. It does stop right when it’s recent history got interesting, a few years before the Disney purchase. I’m told there’s an updated version (for just a few bucks too!), if I see it in the wild I may pick it up to see what the new content looks like.
Avatar: Directed by James Cameron. With Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang. A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home. Re-released to theaters for 2022 to prep people for the December 2022 release of the sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water”. I’ve always thought this was a solid film, though the “white savior” parts of the film are getting more and more difficult to ignore and appreciate. Something interesting about this release is that they upframed it from the...
Collecting the first outing of Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer and his girlfriend Betty. With an introduction by Harlan Ellison. Originally published in monthly comic format by Pacific Comics, 1982. From the forward that Ellison gives, it is obvious that Harlan Ellison and Dave Stevens had a close relationship, he heaps a large helping of well deserved praise on Stevens’ work. I may have read all these stories before, as I’ve been trying to get the entire run of appearances of the character, which in theory isn’t going to be very difficult. Not many people are in a rush to get...
Pleasure: Directed by Ninja Thyberg. With Sofia Kappel, Zelda Morrison, Evelyn Claire, Chris Cock. Bella Cherry arrives in Los Angeles with dreams of becoming an adult film star, but she soon learns that fame won’t come easy as she harnesses her ambition and cunning to rise to the top of this mesmerizing and singular world. There’s a old familiar saying that goes something like “I’ll know it’s porn when I see it” and while there’s porn in this film, I wouldn’t classify it as pornographic. It’s a great look into the modern porn industry and Sofia Kappel does a great...
DC League of Super-Pets: Directed by Jared Stern, Sam J. Levine. With Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski. Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime side by side in Metropolis. However, Krypto must master his own powers for a rescue mission when Superman is kidnapped. All the marketing pushed Johnson and Hart, for all the obvious reasons, those guys are super marketable and never fail to please, but I’m here to tell you their roles in “DC League of Super-Pets” they take an absolute backseat to Kate McKinnon’s fantastic...
Live Nude Girls Unite!: Directed by Vicky Funari, Julia Query. With Julia Query, Jane, Siobhan Brooks, Kristina. Documentary look at the 1996-97 effort of the dancers and support staff at a San Francisco peep show, The Lusty Lady, to unionize. Angered by arbitrary and race-based wage policies, customers’ surreptitious video cameras, and no paid sick days or holidays, the dancers get help from the Service Employees International local and enter protracted bargaining with the union-busting law firm that management hires. We see the women work, sort out their demands, and go through the difficulties of bargaining. The narrator is Julia...
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Directed by Norman Z. McLeod. With Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Boris Karloff, Fay Bainter. A clumsy daydreamer gets caught up in a sinister conspiracy. I had no idea that Bill Stiller’s 2013 film of the same name was a remake of this 1947 film, but when I stumbled upon the 1947 version on Kanopy and immediately gave it a go and I’m happy I did! The broad strokes between the two films are essentially the same, there’s a guy in a good job at a publisher that frequently lets his daydreaming get in the...
The Taurus Reach: the source of a secret that has driven the great powers of the 23rd century to risk everything in the race to control it. Now four new adventures—previously untold tales of the past and present, with hints of what is yet to come—begin the next great phase in the Vanguard saga.W A collection of four short stories! It’s a first for this franchise, but a welcome one: “Almost Tomorrow” by Dayton Ward Prequel to the main storyline, showing when and how several of the main characters met each other and started their relationships. It’s a good but...
