Author: John Stark

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

The Small Screen Diaries- 01/22/23

John Stark

Is Hulu broken, or did The Great North and Grimmsburg just air one episode each and then take a massive break? Not that either show has audio description, but how weird. Especially for the former, which is a returning series, so how would a “preview” even work? In TV news, they are working on a Book Of Eli prequel series with John Boyega. I know, all of you who have been asking for this for the last 14 years have really been pounding the pavement on this, and you are finally getting it. \sarcasm I did devour another episode of … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 01/22/23

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 01/21/24

John Stark

Sundays I usually start new shows, but I did polish off an episode of Julia (MAX) where she was being courted to go to CBS. You know, what should happen, is that since CBS didn’t win all those years ago, they should rescue the show now, and it would be like they had her anyway! #SaveJulia Anyone? I did start a new reality competition series called The Trust, which had an interesting premise, until people can’t fucking understand what show they are on. Quite predictably, the ladies chose to backstab the men, which is a hilarious portrayal of women. As … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 01/21/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Anatomy Of A Fall

John Stark

Justine Treat’s lauded courtroom drama is exactly everything you’ve heard. And, Neon has come in clutch with an audio description track, allowing a rare international title that is accessible to American blind audiences. So, you too can live out the drama of this mostly in English title. Sandra Hueller plays an actress who is living with her husband, their son, and their dog. Seriously, the dog has been included in the awards circuit. I think the dog from this film has more awards than Ava Duvernay does for directing Origin. Pretty much at the top, we discover that the husband … Continue reading Anatomy Of A Fall

AwardsLeave a comment

My Final Oscar Predictions

John Stark

What a ride this year has been. So many ups and downs. I remember refusing to put Barbie in my Top 10 until it was actually reviewed by someone, and then it became this phenomenon. Late entry festival films didn’t make huge impacts, except perhaps for American Fiction. Oscar hopefuls saw their chances diminish, and early favorites were totally given up on. Who is in? Who is out? BEST PICTURE: One of the rare years I think we would hit 10 even if they hadn’t hit that requirement. Sure, one film feels like it’s in the lead, but if you … Continue reading My Final Oscar Predictions

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

American History X

John Stark

I’ve been trying to watch Oscar movies I hadn’t seen before and cover all the streaming services I typically cover. Hulu being the exception, because it would seem every film I find on there that has an Oscar nomination. I’m very familiar with. Tubi, which just started into audio description this year, has an atrocious list of films with audio description, rarely offering films people want to actually watch. Shockingly, none of them have ever been nominated for an Oscar. Broadening my search, while I would have preferred this review to be la Cage Aux Folles (even with English dubbing), … Continue reading American History X

TVLeave a comment

The Mission (2023)

John Stark

Originally, my plan was to watch this and hopefully have one more shortlisted Documentary Feature off my list. Then, the Oscars didn’t short list it, so this is just a review no one will care about. But, in case someone does, it’s valid to discuss this because Disney perpetually makes their feature docs available without audio description. This one is about that guy from a few years back who tried to bring Jesus to a tribe on an island that has stayed in their own little indigenous bubble. This guy had the testicular fortitude, or utter insanity, to approach this … Continue reading The Mission (2023)

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 01/20/24

John Stark

Lawmen (Paramount Plus) gave me the second to last (or penultimate) episode as Bass faced his own demons and decided he needed to face Mr. Sundown. I love the audio description on this series. Absolute excellence. There’s a scene where Bass keeps fever dreaming other things that cuts with reality which I thought was done rather well. Also managed another episode of Reacher (Amazon) which had the team get closer to the truth, until the truth decides not to leave any tracks. And on a short news day, also watched an episode of Young Sheldon (MAX) which has audio description. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 01/20/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Birth/Rebirth

John Stark

the good news is that you can find this title with audio description. the bad news, is despite this being a Shudder release, and on AMC Plus, you won’t find it there. If I was going to wait this long to see Birth/Rebirth, I decided I’d rent the damn thing and make sure I got the audio description. It helps that I’m a voting member for the Spirit Awards and this is in consideration. However, I didn’t use the non-audio described screener offered to me. I knew too many people who kept swearing this was the best, or one of, … Continue reading Birth/Rebirth

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Murderball

John Stark

When I decided to start revealing my failings with Oscar nominees I hadn’t seen yet, I remembered having seen a certain title on the list for Peacock, and I knew what I was watching. Somehow, despite the fact that the majority of the described content on Peacock does not predate the streaming service, even with their own content, and even with titles that have known audio description, Murderball has audio description. It’s not a Universal or Focus release, it is 20 years old, and a documentary I’m sure isn’t climbing their ratings ranks. However, this nominee qualifies. Yes, nominee. It … Continue reading Murderball

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

An Officer And A Gentleman

John Stark

Love lift me up! Yes, this is part of a series where I’ve been crunching some Oscar films that I hadn’t seen before. I always assumed this was a romantic drama that I’d get around to if I felt like it. The romantic part is the least interesting thing about this film. the most interesting? It has audio description right now on MAX! Also, I had no idea Taylor Hackford (Ray, Ant-Man) directed this. It’s a shame that Richard Gere wasn’t nominated, and when it comes time to revisit this year, I hope I have finally seen enough content to … Continue reading An Officer And A Gentleman

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 01/19/24

John Stark

I found out that Apple isn’t moving forward on a third season of Schmigadoon. Honestly, I was shocked they made a second. Very pleasantly surprised, as I love that show, but still surprised. Not shocked by the cancellation, especially after they also ditched The After Party last year. I also wasn’t surprised by who won Celebrity jeopardy (Hulu) this week. That’s the person that I assumed would win the whole thing, so the fact they made the final three doesn’t shock me.I laughed at the audio description. At the very end, when our lovely narrator is filling in that lead … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 01/19/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

The Shepard

John Stark

Disney Plus has another short film contender this year in which they partnered with Alfonso Cuaron. Just like last years, it’s also vaguely a Christmas movie, and it’s also just OK. I feel like these budgeted short films with major talent attached to them are kind of making the short category less fun for breakthrough potential from new directors. It’s a perfectly nice film set on Christmas Eve, with a predictable ending. It involves wartime, and planes. Talking about something this short much beyond that will spoil it entirely, so let’s just say I have faith in any audience to … Continue reading The Shepard

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Lakota Nation vs United States

John Stark

I really do wish that AMC Plus would consider hosting all of the existing audio description, especially for its own AMC, IFC, and Shuddder titles. It actively makes them look like they are trying to dismiss the accessibility needs of a disenfranchised population. Hey, look, it’s a documentary about a disenfranchised population. What are the odds? I watched this without audio description, and while I’m sure this could have been made better, this is a pretty straight forward exploration of how we have continuously screwed over the indigenous populations of this country, especially the titular Lakota Nation. This has quite … Continue reading Lakota Nation vs United States

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Bedknobs And Broomsticks

John Stark

This little window of time where I keep watching random titles on streaming services that were nominated for Oscars but I still hadn’t seen has been rewarding. One of those titles is this film right here. Yes, I’ve never seen the utterly bonkers Bedknobs and Broomsticks. It feels like a project that was green lit because of the success of Mary Poppins, and Angela Lansbury jumped in because she was affronted that she wasn’t Mary Poppins, so she was going to do this… dammit. Disney has let Roundabout do the audio description, which has been a mixed bag in the … Continue reading Bedknobs And Broomsticks

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 01/18/24

John Stark

Apparently Netflix turned The Gentleman into a TV show. Alright. Moving on…. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Disney Plus) continues to introduce new characters with as little description of what they look like as possible. Ever wondered what Ares might look like? Keep wondering. Not the most recent episode of The Traitors (Peacock) but I did get the second episode out, and that first elimination really needed to set up the inevitable second quickly. I would have made more of a case to say “remember when I turn out to be faithful, the only reason my name even came up … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 01/18/24