Author: John Stark

Blogger. EIC of macthemovieguy.com. Contributor to mjsbigblog.com and houseofgeekery.com. Previously featured on starpulse.com.
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Best Of 2022: Worst Performances Of The Year (Film)

John Stark

Sometimes It’s fun to make these lists, and sometimes it’s not. So, to speed things along, i gender neutrales this category, and some spots go to multiple people. 15) The Cast Of After Ever Happy Basically, everyone in this film was some shade of awful. Mira sorvino deserves better films. She has an Oscar. Why was she in this? 14) Alyssa Milano (Brazen) I should blame the whole cast here too, but the failure of the film happens to rest with the star, who if she had not signed onto the project, I’m not sure anyone would have seen this … Continue reading Best Of 2022: Worst Performances Of The Year (Film)

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The Too Much TV Roundup- 01/10/23

John Stark

Welcome back to a world of television, and i have a few more minutes to write this today, so here we go. 6) His Dark Materials (HBo MAX) English Audio Description?: Yes I’ll admit, sometimes the allegories that Phillip Pullman used in his novels went a bit above my head, but in episode two of the final season, they just come right out. Lots of talk about whether or not she is or isn’t the daughter of Eve, and it pulls you back into that part of the story. but, two episodes in, and i still feel like I’m just … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- 01/10/23

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The Not Enough Time Today Roundup- 01/09/23

John Stark

When I’m not reviewing shows, I work. Currently, I’m assistant directing a musical (because blind people can do whatever the hell we want), and my time is super limited. I managed 4 shows in and around everything yesterday, but the time… to write this colum… does not exist. All four shows I’ve written about before, all four have audio description. So, real quick… 4) Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of WTF I guess after the last couple episodes, I should have expected that they would absolutely “go there”, but this episode based around paintings has an unfortunate stomach churning segment that … Continue reading The Not Enough Time Today Roundup- 01/09/23

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The Too Much TV Roundup- 01/08/23

John Stark

A little busier than usual yesterday, so 5 shows and a movie. It’s a little like Community, if yahoo hadn’t saved it. 5) National Treasure: Edge Of History (Disney Plus) English Audio Description?: Yes Dammit. Catherine Zeta jones. You have an Oscar. Start acting like you do. Honestly, i didn’t hate this show. Our lead is plucky, and the complete opposite of nicolas Cage, and her best friend is fun. But when she sits down at the computer in this demeaningly stupid sequence, where she’s like “Do you know how many free masons there are in this state?” And like … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- 01/08/23

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If These Walls Could Sing

John Stark

Where i Watched It: Disney Plus English Audio Description?: Yes I think I was most surprised at how long the Abbey Road studio has actually been open. I didn’t realize it’s been 90 years. And considering that the documentary is directed by Paul McCartney’s daughter, i really expected it to be Beatles centric. but, it’s not. I mean, it mostly is. if you are a fan of The Beatles, there is some focus on them as you might expect. But there’s also focus on artists who came before, and after. There’s commentary on specific songs recorded there, like Alfie, and … Continue reading If These Walls Could Sing

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Golden Globe Final Predictions- Film Categories

John Stark

The Globes are on Tuesday. It’s a nice little promotional push for some movies that are looking for a boost. A surprise here could put someone on the radar, or do nothing. There isn’t an overlap of voters so these awards could go across the board to the least likely, and it would totally make sense. one thing has typically been true of the Globes in years prior. They love stars. They love to make them, but they also can easily be schmoozed. Campaigners can prevail. That’s what makes this so hard. But, whether I like it or not, I … Continue reading Golden Globe Final Predictions- Film Categories

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Best Of 2022: Top 10 Funniest Movies

John Stark

I’m behind enough on my reviews, there’s a film on here I haven’t even reviewed yet. but it made the list. Comedy is so subjective. It’s not always the same for everyone. There are films that I saw this year that didn’t make me laugh, or maybe made me chuckle once or twice. But these are the ten films that made me laugh the most, putting a smile on my face in a pretty solid year for cinema. Honorable mentions? I would say the lost potential behind films that released without audio description. Sure, one of the 10 films on … Continue reading Best Of 2022: Top 10 Funniest Movies

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The Too Much TV Roundup- 01/07/23

John Stark

Well, this is one of those days. Lots of shows. I’m trying to get to see some shows because I’m doing my Best of 2022 lists, and there are a few titles I still need to see. So, today I only watched 1 film, and a lot of TV. 9) His Dark Materials (HBo MAX) English Audio Description?: Yes It’s been such a long time since season 2, that I had a hard time remembering what the hell was going on. i think that was really the only real problem. Sometimes, when you have these massive casts, in these big … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- 01/07/23

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After Yang

John Stark

Where I Watched it: iTunes English Audio Description provided By: Deluxe Narrated by: Darren polish This is one of those films i actually attempted to watch without audio description earlier in the year on Showtime, but it became abundantly clear to me really fast that this film was unwatchable without audio description. I still believe that, even after enjoying it with Darren’s narration. The film is just so entrenched in this indie science fiction world, it’s almost like a love letter to what could be, or what might have been. Colin Farrell, who had the best year of his life, … Continue reading After Yang

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Argentina: 1985

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Amazon English Audio Description?: No I wanted to approach this with the idea of explaining that we can’t understand these titles with just dubbed audio track, but dammit, this movie was great. It’s Argentina’s entry into the Oscar race this year for International feature. it already made the shortlist, it just made the BAFTA shortlist, it has a Golden Globe nomination, as well as a Critics choice nomination. So while more people may be talking about All Quiet On The Western Front, Decision To Leave, and RRR, this one has performed quietly, but well. Now, I … Continue reading Argentina: 1985

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Where The Crawdads Sing

John Stark

Where i Watched It: Netflix English Audio Description provided By: Media Access Group Narrated By: Michael Bove It might seem like I should have reviewed this film a while ago, and you’d be right. It was released theatrically in July, and it was that moment that prompted me to go “Hey, i should knock this book out before it hits streaming.” That didn’t happen right away, I needed a few extra weeks, and here we are. of course, I also broke the cardinal sin of enjoying film… never read the book. The book is never as good as the movie, … Continue reading Where The Crawdads Sing

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Best Of 2022: Writing For A Drama Series

John Stark

Yesterday, I put the spotlight on Comedy Series, where I named Breeders the winner of Writing for a Comedy Series. Drama is equally tough. Remember, I will have a third category highlight genre series like House Of The Dragon, Strangers things, The Boys, etc. There is one show in here you might question why it isn’t in the Genre category, and I’ll explain when I get there. As far as honorable mentions go, it did hurt my soul a little bit to leave off Tulsa King (Paramount Plus), From Scratch (Netflix), The White Lotus (HBo), The Last Days of Ptolemy … Continue reading Best Of 2022: Writing For A Drama Series

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The Too Much TV Roundup- 01/06/23

John Stark

I was trying to watch as many shows as kevin McCarthy needed rounds to become speaker, and i fell short. it took him 15 rounds, and I only managed 11 shows. 11) Irreverent (Peacock) English Audio Description?: Yes I need to stop watching random things on peacock. After the abysmal cop drama from a few weeks back, I checked this off my list. i remember, when TV Land was a thing, there was a sitcom on there about a guy who had to pretend he was a reverend. That reminded me so much of this show, except there’s a mob … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- 01/06/23

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Sr.

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Netflix English Audio Description?: Yes Somehow, the documentary branch did not shortlist this farewell to an artist. Somehow, the documentary branch that believed When We Were Bullies warranted a nomination last year, failed to see any relevance or beauty in a son working to make peace with the inevitability of his father’s passing, while also wanting to participate in a documentary on his final days and musings. Robert Downey Sr. Is the Sr. Referenced in the title. And for those of you who have no idea who that is, or that he was a filmmaker in … Continue reading Sr.

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The Woman King

John Stark

Where I Watched It: iTunes English Audio Description Provided By: Media Access Group Narrated By: Leilani jones Wilmore Watching the evolution of the Woman King,at least through other movie pundits, was a ride. There was this concept that perhaps the movie wouldn’t be any good (because of it’s September release date), and then there was concern over the subject matter (slavery), followed by the utter surprise at the glowing Rotten Tomatoes score, and then box office over performing. That was followed by the realization that perhaps this film was an Oscar contender. Not just for Viola Davis, but in multiple … Continue reading The Woman King