Author: John Stark

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

10 Movies With Audio Description On hulu To Bring You Holiday Joy

John Stark

I always start off with the optimism that the streaming service I’ve selected will have ten films with audio description that I’ve seen at some point in my life and can recommend. See, the thing is it’s like a Venn diagram from hell. you start with every movie ever made. Then, you have to reduce that list to only what’s on my selected streaming service. Then, it has to have audio description. Then, it has to have some relevance to the holidays. Then i have to have seen the damn thing in order to recommend it, and it has to … Continue reading 10 Movies With Audio Description On hulu To Bring You Holiday Joy

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

X

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Paramount Plus (with Showtime) English Audio Description?: No I’ve been back and forth with the non-responsive customer support at Paramount Plus about audio description and what happens when they add Showtime, but none of the available audio description. Even for Showtime shows that have audio description, like Yellowjackets, they will not import the audio description. So, when i saw X, an A24 slasher from director Ti West, I figured now would be a great time to have yet another conversation about why we matter. The reality is that this film is hard to follow as it … Continue reading X

TVLeave a comment

The Too Much TV Roundup- December 12th

John Stark

I expanded a bit more with my amount of shows. But even with 8 irons in the fire, it may not change the show at the top. 8) Shantorum (Apple Plus) English Audio Description?: Yes It wasn’t a bad day for TV, this just happened to be the show that ends up at the bottom of this list. I’m not getting as engaged in Shantorum, despite Charlie Hunnam. In this episode, we learned a bit more about the underbelly, and i can’t help but think that he was supposed to come here to reform his image and he’s not even … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- December 12th

AwardsLeave a comment

The Ten Biggest Golden globes Surprises

John Stark

You might have heard. There’s a little thing called the Golden Globes. The nominations were announced today, and with the Globes being televised again this year, here are my 10 immediate surprises (good or bad) for the awards. Almost all of these are film, but at least one TV nomination bogggled my mind. 1) Hilary Swank (Alaska Daily) What? I mean… what? No. Seriously. What? you only get five drama TV actress nominations, and instead of, oh I don’t know Elizabeth moss for The Handmaid’s Tale or Kelly Reilly for Yellowstone, somehow Hilary Swank makes it in for this show … Continue reading The Ten Biggest Golden globes Surprises

TV1 Comment

The Too Much TV Roundup- December 11th

John Stark

Only four shows today, but they were all hour shows, and I watched three movies. So, there you go. 4) The Devil’s Hour (Amazon) English Audio Description?: Yes This UK import is a slow burn, like a scary movie with no jump scares. It’s building to something, and that something could be absolutely nuts. I just don’t know. But after sitting through Netflix’s Devil In Ohio, I’m also convinced there might be nothing behind the curtain at all. This has one more episode to convince me it’s worth my limited time. Just whispering cool things like 3:33 being The Devil’s … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- December 11th

Movie Review1 Comment

Nope

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Peacock English Audio Description Available?: Yes That feeling we all got the first time we realized Jordan Peele had something to say with his breakout film Get Out is something we’ve been expecting from every project since. He’s become a new Spike lee, interweaving social consciousness into his films, with a pointed intent at driving home something to his audience. What that something is, can be left a little open to interpretation. Just the fact that there is an alternate ending to Get Out suggests that Peele himself often second guesses how to deliver his own … Continue reading Nope

TV2 Comments

The Too Much TV Roundup- December 10th

John Stark

I went ahead and tried a second episode of something I said I was done with. I’m such a sucker. Eight shows in the rankings today, and not all had audio description. At least one brand new show. Will an old favorite end up on top? 8) American Gigolo (Paramount Plus/Showtime) English Audio Description?: No Since P+ doesn’t make the audio description available, I guess I will never really truly uncover the mystery of the murder in this series. The second episode was a bit easier to follow, as most are after you sit through one episode banging your head … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- December 10th

AwardsLeave a comment

Oscars 2022: Top 15 Animated Feature Contenders

John Stark

This one feels almost like a lock. I think the top 4 nominees here are going to be pretty hard to knock out. Everyone else is competing for that final spot. 1) Pinocchio Guillermo Del Toro’s newest masterpiece has all the praise behind it, plus it really did pave its own way. Robert Zemeckis should have taken note as to how to make an original Pinocchio film. It’s not a total lock to win, as some might think. However, if this managed to crack the Best Picture race, I’d call it a lock. Right now, there’s one little pesky film … Continue reading Oscars 2022: Top 15 Animated Feature Contenders

EditorialLeave a comment

10 Titles On Paramount Plus With Audio Description To Bring you Holiday Cheer

John Stark

Of course, one wonders how this list would look if Paramount Plus and Showtime got their shit together and actually decided that accessibility matters, but just like how I did for Netflix, I will now try and recommend 10 titles on Paramount Plus. The usual rules apply. I’m using the list available on The Audio Description Project (ADP.ACB.org) and any title on this list I must have seen, either with audio description, or without (meaning, before I lost my vision). And then, it has to actually be worth recommending. I know, I set such a high bar to find ten … Continue reading 10 Titles On Paramount Plus With Audio Description To Bring you Holiday Cheer

Movie Review1 Comment

Amsterdam

John Stark

Where I Watched It: HBo MAX English Audio Description Available?: Yes I’m coming along after most of the critics and what little audience saw this film have already weighed in. Mainly, because this has audio description, and I want to talk about whether or not that is successful, but that becomes hard to talk about when I’m not really sure I know what I just saw, and also, I’m pretty sure that has very little to do with the audio description. Amsterdam is David O’Russell’s attempt at throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. The director of such … Continue reading Amsterdam

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022)

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Disney Plus English Audio Description Provided By: Descriptive Video Works I think I have to start realizing that Disney is no longer really concerned about quality so much as throwing things at a wall to see what sticks. Having been lambasted for years for turning their classics into live action films for no real purpose, they now are taking live action properties and animating them. Last year, we had our first Diary of A Wimpy Kid animated film, which I never thought would relaunch the damn series. It barely qualified as feature length. I think it … Continue reading Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022)

TVLeave a comment

The Too Much TV Roundup- December 9th

John Stark

Getting a bit more caught up here… so bear with me. This SNL wasn’t even close to being Live for me. 7) Saturday Night Live (NBC/Peacock) English Audio Description?: No I do kind of wonder why SNL doesn’t have audio description. They do live audio description. It’s a thing, and it would help with sight gags. Mainly, I was here for the Kenan and Kel reboot sketch I had heard about, but Kiki Palmer took up way too much of that time. Kel only showed up briefly. For some 20 years, I’ve held a grudge with Lorne Michaels for not … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- December 9th

TVLeave a comment

The Too Much TV Roundup- December 8th

John Stark

Knocked out a lot of TV shows today. Where do they stack up in the rankings? 9) Mike (Hulu) English Audio Description?: Yes At this point, I’m kind of just watching to finish. I must be close enough. I don’t know what I was expecting when i started into this, but this somewhat joking humor back and forth about serious issues just isn’t working for me as a format. Rhodes is delivering a good performance, and i won’t take that away from him, but the structure of the show, and how they seem very apologetic for all the bad things … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup- December 8th

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Lady Chatterly’s Lover

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Netflix English Audio Description Provided By International Digital Center Written By Liz Gutman I have not read the book, so I don’t know how close to the book this actually is. My gut instinct says any film reduced to slightly over two hours of film has had some content cut, and perhaps a better adaptation would have caused me to enjoy this frivolous effort. but as it stands, this is basically if Fifty Shades of Grey and Bridgerton had a baby. It’s not Liz’s fault, it’s something I’ve been dealing with for a while, but there … Continue reading Lady Chatterly’s Lover

UncategorizedLeave a comment

10 Holiday Films On Netflix With Audio Description To Bring You Holiday Cheer

John Stark

Considering that Netflix was one of the last ones I did in my Halloween roundup, it is kicking off my Christmas collection. It’s the season, and Netflix honestly has more than 10. But, i don’t just recommend a title because it is holiday themed. To make this list, I must have seen it, either pre-blindness, or after with audio description. So which ten am I recommending to you today? Have you seen all of them? 1) A Bad Moms Christmas This sequel to the surprise hit put our rowdy little gang straight into the holiday season, with all the exhaustion … Continue reading 10 Holiday Films On Netflix With Audio Description To Bring You Holiday Cheer