Author: John Stark

Blogger. EIC of macthemovieguy.com. Contributor to mjsbigblog.com and houseofgeekery.com. Previously featured on starpulse.com.
TVLeave a comment

Ultraman Rising

John Stark

I’m just going to admit, I may not be the definitive critic for this. I have never seen any Ultraman shows or films before, on top of that whole niche thing of being a blind film critic. So, this ting could totally deviate and break every Ultraman rule, and I would have no idea. I’m just approaching it like Ultraman just starts today, with this film. Which this film also doesn’t want me to do. Ultraman Rising definitely has that vibe of “you should know what this is”, from the very start. It isn’t debilitating, and you can watch the … Continue reading Ultraman Rising

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 07/01/24

John Stark

The year is half over, and what do we have to show for it? Another episode of House Of The Dragon (MAX), which was more excellent work by the team of DeWolfe/Samuelson on that audio description writing/narration. This episode damn near checked in on everyone, and served as a nice “where are we now”, with the big take always for me being that Allicent’s brother seems useless and unlikely to survive the season, Damon’s nightmare had imagery that shook me, and Raynera really seemed to also be affected after her conversation with Allicent. And Jace? He tightened his grip on … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 07/01/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Kung Fu Panda 4

John Stark

Ska-doosh once again. I do believe the official word origin of “skadoosh” is Shakespearian. One of his lesser known works. Don’t bother fact checking that. Google only knows the popular ones. But, because someone needs money, Kung Fu Panda 4 is here, po is back, and the budget has been trimmed. Po’s teammates, the furious voice cast of Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, and David Cross are nowhere to be found. Is that a good thing? First up, this has audio description on Peacock. Oddly, the only entry in the franchise that currently resides on the service with AD. … Continue reading Kung Fu Panda 4

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Remembering Gene Wilder

John Stark

Another review of another film without audio description. Netflix is hosting this, and despite its lack of accessibility, I tend to be interested in documentaries about film, actors, and directors. I don’t know why. It’s just so weird. So I naturally felt compelled to watch the Gene Wilder doc, and hear from all these people about what a terrific man he was. Not only does gene ruminate on his own life, but creatives from Mel Brooks to Eric McCormack discuss the impact of Gene Wilder across his various projects. We hear about how Gene adored the late Gilda Radner, as … Continue reading Remembering Gene Wilder

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

origin

John Stark

Origin was one of those late stage Oscar entries from 2023 that seemed poised to stage an upset. The problem is that Neon bumbled the release. It had a qualifying run, and then the few people who had seen and loved Origin tried to get the word out about it. I’m fairly certain not enough people saw Origin, because its lack of nominations is quite frankly baffling. For me, I already went back and looked at my Top 25 from 2023, and it definitely would have made that. As far as the Top 10, I’m pretty sure I could justify … Continue reading origin

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries: 06/30/24

John Stark

I was saddened to learn, but not shocked, that Apple Plus will not be giving a conclusion to The Big Door Prize, which is cancelled after two seasons.The second season had just so many loose ends, I wish it had been given a third and final season to wrap up all those open storylines, but that is not the timeline we live in. Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (Netflix) which I just refuse to binge watch, finally got Ben and Sammie to Yaz, and her perfect commune of dinosaur free living. Then, the bad guys show up, and it turns out … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 06/30/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Movies With pride: Am I OK?

John Stark

On the last day of Pride Month, I’m closing it out with a review of a 2022 Sundance hit that is just now landing on MAX. Starring Madame Webb herself, Am I OK is the directorial debut of Tig & Stephanie. There are so many directing duos out there, from the Coens, The Wachowskis, and The Daniels to this married couple, I feel like they need a name to combine them, but Stephanie didn’t take Tig’s last name. But, I’ve seen this couple represented before on screen, and they are freaking adorable together, so I was really excited to see … Continue reading Movies With pride: Am I OK?

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Rear Window: 70th Anniversary

John Stark

I think the secret of all film critics is that there’s always some small list of films we haven’t seen and know we need to see. It is impossible for everyone to have seen everything, especially now with things simply being hard to find or out of print. Thank God, when I first started showing in interest in film criticism, my mom got me a library card, and I was able to rent all these VHS classics. Free. It’s how I’ve seen a number of older titles, in addition to having her just rent specific titles she thought I would … Continue reading Rear Window: 70th Anniversary

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Baghead

John Stark

I do love a reminder every once in a while that there are still functional companies that ignore accessibility. one of those, AMC Plus, is the home to Shudder and IFC Films, two entities that send originals to theatres with audio description, VOD services, and often later to Hulu. yet, with all of that, AMC Plus dodges the hell out of being accessible as a streaming service. Why? Do you honestly and truthfully believe that if the streaming wars lead to the deaths of streamers, like most recently Noggin, that the ones without accessibility will rise to the top? Today’s … Continue reading Baghead

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Hitman

John Stark

Premiering at last year’s Toronto International Film festival, there was some interesting buzz for Hitman. Was it a potential Oscar contender? Who would snap it up in an already tight race? Ultimately, Netflix swooped in, which might have meant a campaign for this year’s Oscars, but that June release date tells me Netflix has other plans. Luckily, the movie stands on its own, and whether it ever wins or is nominated for any major award, this will have fans. It’s the equivalent to last year’s The Killer, which had fans too, even if it really didn’t manifest anything for David … Continue reading Hitman

TVLeave a comment

the Small Screen Diaries- 06/29/24

John Stark

Yesterday, I kicked it off with S3E7 of Bridgerton (Netflix), which Liz Gutman has done such an exceptional job writing audio description for all season long. I was surprised that this was the second to last episode of the season, because I wasn’t sure where we were going next, but clearly Cressida has something up her sleeve. Can anyone really blame her? Her future sounds perpetually terrible. Either marry an old man, or go live in the country with her aunt. I think she’s a redeemable villain because of that, so I hope they don’t go too far with it. … Continue reading the Small Screen Diaries- 06/29/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Movies With pride: Rocketman

John Stark

I’ve been enjoying my Movies With pride series thus far this year, and I hope to expand to even more titles next year. Every title I did this year had audio description, and I hadn’t already reviewed it. Rocketman initially released during my down period, while I wasn’t writing reviews, and was questioning my self worth. A lot. What I loved about Rocketman, is the reminder that Elton John is so non-traditional in the sense of the physical look of a rockstar, but his talent was so undeniable, and his drive so strong, that people gravitated toward him and he … Continue reading Movies With pride: Rocketman

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Under Paris

John Stark

There’s a fine line between a good dumb shark movie and a bad dumb shark movie. Obviously, Jaws is exempt. It is the pinnacle of achievement for this genre.Nothing has touched it since, though a few films have really put an interesting spin. I wouldn’t call The Shallows a dumb shark movie, for example.Under Paris is like Deep Blue Sea. It has its charm. Dumb charm, but charm nonetheless. This film is actually a French title that is now living on Netflix, and has audio description done by Diffuse, Narrated by Vito DePhillippa and written by Bryn Poudie. Those are … Continue reading Under Paris

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 06/28/24

John Stark

It’s a recap of my birthday, so obviously I spent the day popping bottles. TV? What is that? It was honestly a solid birthday, with a nice dinner. And I did manage to watch a few shows, so let’s talk about them. Sweet Tooth (Netflix) was giving me like a mild panic attack. When Wendy was trying to figure out how to get to Becky, I thought for sure that they would grab her and use her to get to Becky. Thank freaking God. That scene with Rosie having to kill her son was *a lot*. Like, this is the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 06/28/24

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 06/27/24

John Stark

Even though I always write about what I watched the previous day, I want to acknowledge that I’m currently writing this on my birthday. So tomorrow’s blog, will reflect what I watched on my birthday. And for my birthday, as you may have seen a large article from me, Hulu decided to gift me The bear without audio description for Season 3. One of their current tentpole shows, and no one bothered to make sure it would be accessible when launched. It is incredibly dehumanizing to be an afterthought. Instead, i watched The Boys (Amazon), which continues to find new … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 06/27/24