The Small Screen Diaries: 07/15/26
TV Shows Watched: X-Men 97: S2E5 (Disney Plus) with audio description,Margo’s Got Money Troubles: S1E7 (Apple) with audio description, Unchosen: S1E5 (Netflix) with audio description, The Fall And Rise Of Reggie Dinkins: S1E8 (Peacock) with audio description, Scarpetta: S1E6 (Amazon) with audio description, SNL: Will Ferrell (Peacock) with audio description X-Men 97- A corrupted AD track. I already reached out to Deluxe, but what was there was woefully inadequate, and clearly missing chunks. The opening credits where we hear the cast, not described. Also, Morph changes into more than just Scott Summers and Silver Samurai. Deluxe is aware, I’m sure … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 07/15/26
The Wonderfully Weird World Of Gumball: Season 1
When I first sat down to see what Hulu and Disney+ were doing with The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, I honestly didn’t expect to watch all 20 episodes of the first season. But I did. Every single one of them. I can’t say I remember every episode perfectly because I watched them over a stretch of time instead of binging the whole thing in one sitting, but next season I’ll probably do exactly that. At only about 11 minutes per episode, you’re really looking at around three and a half to four hours for the entire season, which makes … Continue reading The Wonderfully Weird World Of Gumball: Season 1
Dead Calm (1989)
I chose Dead Calm randomly this year because of the passing of Sam Neill. While looking through his filmography to rank my favorite performances, I realized the biggest omission on my part was Dead Calm. Of all the films I hadn’t seen, this was the one that stood out as the most essential. So in honor of Sam Neill, I’m finally reviewing the 1989 psychological thriller Dead Calm, directed by Phillip Noyce, who would later go on to direct Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Bone Collector, and Salt. That’s a pretty solid résumé. Dead Calm is … Continue reading Dead Calm (1989)
Going In Blind: The Floaters
I actually ended up watching two summer camp movies in the same day, because it’s summer, so it’s the perfect season to release summer camp movies. When else would you put them out? Christmas? That doesn’t make any sense. Of course movies set at summer camp are going to come out in the summer, which means I’m probably going to end up reviewing them in the summer. By chance, I watched two back to back, and while both were surprisingly good, I did like The Floaters just a little bit more. Ironically, neither one has audio description. The Floaters stars … Continue reading Going In Blind: The Floaters
The Small Screen Diaries: 07/14/26
TV Shows Watched: The Westies: S1E2 (MGM Plus) with audio description, Widows Bay: S1E7 (Apple) with audio description,XO Kitty: S3E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Sheriff Country: S1E15 (Paramount) with audio description, Daemons Of The Shadow Realm: S1E7 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, The Comeback: S1E12 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Life, LArry, and the Pursuit Of Unhappiness: S1E1 (HBo MAX) with audio description, The daily Show: Monday (Paramount) no audio description The Westies- If you like mafia style crime dramas, and have MGM Plus, you should be watching this. The second episode follows the gang as they try and make it … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 07/14/26
Going In Blind: Camp (2026)
I went to camp exactly one time as a kid, and that was enough for me. It wasn’t a theater camp, a band camp, or a Bible camp where everyone shared some common passion. It was just an outdoors camp with hiking, activities, and all the things parents think build character. Maybe they do. I just never felt the urge to go back. Camp, the new Canadian film from Avalon Fast, takes a very different approach to the idea of summer camp. This isn’t a place where kids learn archery or horseback riding. It’s a camp for troubled youth, and … Continue reading Going In Blind: Camp (2026)
The Small Screen Diaries: 07/13/26
Obviously, RIP Sam Neill, the iconic actor whose presence was felt across so many different films, notably The Hunt For The Wilderpeople, In The Mouth Of Madness, Dead Calm, Event Horizon, The Hunt For Red October, The Piano, The Horse Whisperer, and of course Jurassic Park. Yes, Sam, they do run in herds. TV Shows Watched: House Of The Dragon: S3E4 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Your Friends And Neighbors: S2E7 (Apple) with audio description, The Dinosaurs: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, Will Trent: S4E14 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Westies: S1E1 (MGM Plus) with audio description, and The … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 07/13/26
The Boroughs: Season 1
I still can’t imagine a world in which The Burrows doesn’t get another season. I mean, what is going on at Netflix? Why was this show canceled so quickly? How do you land a science fiction series starring Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Clark Peters, Denis O’Hare, and Bill Pullman and not have audiences flock to it? If I were running Netflix, I’d chalk it up to some strange anomaly and keep promoting The Burrows, figuring maybe May just wasn’t the right month for its premiere. The funniest part is that the animated Stranger Things series got picked up … Continue reading The Boroughs: Season 1
Lorne
Live from New York, it’s Lorne, a documentary about Lorne Michaels. And I probably don’t have to tell you where it’s streaming. I think you can figure that one out. Here’s a hint: it’s a pretty safe place for Lorne Michaels to land. That’s right, it’s on Peacock with audio description. Of course it is. The film comes through Focus Features, which is under Universal, which is tied to NBC, and NBC owns Saturday Night Live. So if you’re expecting a documentary that takes a hard look at its subject, you should probably adjust those expectations. They may not have … Continue reading Lorne
The Dinosaurs (2026): Series Review
Netflix is never at a loss for new content. Between documentaries, reality shows, docu-series, international programming, and just about every other genre you can think of, there’s always something new arriving every week. That’s admirable in its own way, even if I sometimes wish the focus was a little less on quantity and a little more on making sure the best projects stick around for multiple seasons. Then again, considering how many wildly popular reality shows prove audiences will happily consume almost anything, maybe Netflix knows exactly what it’s doing. So who’s to say we don’t need another dinosaur documentary? … Continue reading The Dinosaurs (2026): Series Review
The Small Screen Diaries: 07/12/26
TV Shows Watched: Man On Fire: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Unconditional: S1E5 (Apple) with audio description, Deli Boys: S2E4 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Top Chef: Top 5 (Peacock) with audio description, Bait: S1E6 (Amazon) with audio description, Little House On The Prairie: S1E2 (Netflix), Hacks: S5E6 (HBO MAX) with audio description Man On Fire- John breaks into the prison looking for answers, and he certainly gets them. Even if I hadn’t seen the movie, Scoot McNairy’s agent is not written well enough to hide the eventual betrayal. Recent Emmy Nominee Yaya Abdul-Mateen II is still doing solid work. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 07/12/26
Sisu: Road To Revenge
The first Sisu ended up being one of my top ten films of the year it came out because it felt like a breath of fresh air. Sure, it’s a movie that borrows heavily from the John Wick style of filmmaking. One unstoppable man on a path of revenge who will do whatever it takes to make the people who wronged him pay for their crimes. It’s a formula that’s worked incredibly well for John Wick, giving us four Keanu Reeves films and a spinoff starring Ana de Armas. So it makes sense that Finland would want to keep this … Continue reading Sisu: Road To Revenge
Undertone
We need to have a conversation about elevated horror and what that term even means anymore. Especially now, at a point where horror isn’t just getting critical acclaim, it’s actually becoming part of the Academy Awards conversation. Last year alone we saw horror films earning major nominations, Amy Madigan winning an Oscar for a horror performance, Jacob Elordi landing a nomination for playing Frankenstein’s monster, and even Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, an unapologetically grotesque body horror film, breaking through for Best Picture. This year, there’s already a serious conversation around Obsession and Backrooms, with Obsession looking like a legitimate Best … Continue reading Undertone
Matlock: Season 2
When we first heard CBS was rebooting Matlock with Kathy Bates, I think most of us assumed it was just going to be another gender-swapped remake. We figured it would play out a lot like the old Andy Griffith classic, with Bates simply stepping into the role of a kindly Southern lawyer who just happened to be extraordinarily good at practicing law. That’s partly true, except somebody had the genuinely brilliant idea of capitalizing on the Matlock name and all of its brand recognition while creating an entirely new series around it. I’m actually surprised more studios haven’t tried this … Continue reading Matlock: Season 2
The Small Screen Diaries: 07/11/26
Coming up this week: The Hawk (Netflix) a new comedy starring Will Ferrell, The Westies (MGM Plus) a crime drama starring JK Simmons, and Ride Or Die (Amazon) an action series with Octavia Spencer. Also, Dancing With The Stars: The NExt Pro drops, but will it have audio description? There’s also another Descendants film at Disney, along with streaming premieres for Is God Is (Amazon), Obsession (Peacock), Marked By Sophia (HBO MAX), and the highly anticipated new Apple series Lucky with Anya Taylor Joy they’ve been promoting the hell out of. TV Shows Watched: Detective Hole: S1E5 (Netflix) with audio … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 07/11/26