Author: John Stark

Blogger. EIC of macthemovieguy.com. Contributor to mjsbigblog.com and houseofgeekery.com. Previously featured on starpulse.com.
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Stans

John Stark

Documentary Directed By: Steven Leckart Release year: 2025 Studio/Streamer: Paramount Plus Audio Description produced By: (Need Credit) Written By: (Need Credit) Narrated By: (Need Credit) What Is it?: Look. If you had one shot. one opportunity. to stalk any celebrity you wanted and then talk about it in a documentary, would you capture it, or just let it slip? Stans explores the phenomenon behind Eminem fans, taking the term from his song Stan about a mentally unhinged stalker that kills his girlfriend and drives his car off a bridge. It’s apparently now a cool thing to be this. what Works: … Continue reading Stans

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/26/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Peacemaker: S2E6 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Marvel Zombies: S1E3 (Disney plus) with audio description,Wayward: S1E1 (Netflix) with audio description, the Summer I Turned Pretty: S3E10 (Amazon) with audio description, My Life With the Walter boys: S2E6 (Netflix) with audio description, celebrity Weakest Link: S1E1 (Hulu) no audio description, The Daily Show: Monday (Paramount Plus) no audio description, and Who wants to Be A Millionaire: S4E8 (Hulu) with audio description Peacemaker- I’ve heard this is game changing. Considering I’ve recently seen Superman, I’m not sure something can be that game changing when the thing that came before … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/26/25

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Swiped

John Stark

Cast: lily James, Dan Steven’s, Ben Schnetzer, Myah’la, Jackson White, Joely Fisher, Written By: Bill Parker Directed by: Rachel Lee Goldenberg Studio/Streamer: 20th Century Fox/Hulu release Year: 2025 110 minutes Audio description Produced By Deluxe Written By: narrated By: (Need Credit) What is it?: unofficially based on the true story of Whitney Wolfe Herd who was instrumental in the creation of Tinder and Bumble, pushing dating apps onto your phone, and also fighting against a system controlled by men,which ultimately crushes her, leaving her to create Bumble. What Works: lily James is good in this, certainly having more to do … Continue reading Swiped

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Alien earth: Season 1

John Stark

Cast: Sydney Chandler as Wendy, Alex Lawther as joe Kermit, Samuel Blenken as Boy Cavalier, Timothy Olyphant as Kirsch, Adarsh Gaurav as Slightly, Erana James as Curly, Lily Newmark as nibs, Jonathan Ajayi as Smee, David Ridschol as Arthur, Kit Young as Issac, Babou Ceesay as morrow length: 8 episodes Created by Noah Hauley Studio/Streamer: FX/Hulu Release Year: 2025 Audio description Provided By: (Need Credit) Written By: (Need Credit) Narrated By: (Need Credit) What Is it?: The first television series adaptation to launch from the Alien franchise which started with Ridley Scott in 1979 and spawned 7 sequels, and two … Continue reading Alien earth: Season 1

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Going in Blind: All God’s Children

John Stark

Directed By: Ondi Timoner Documentary Release Year: 2025 *There Is no Known Audio Description For This Title* What Is It?: Shot over five years, the film focuses on two religious entities in Brooklyn, idealistically separate, but seeking to find understanding and common ground in an increasingly divided and racially tense America. The director benefits from her sister being the rabbi of a synagogue, and it is her synagogue that teams up with this historically black Antioch Baptist Church to learn from each other and grow. What Works: There’s a lot to like here. Obviously, the film has its heart in … Continue reading Going in Blind: All God’s Children

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/25/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Gen V: S2E4 (Amazon) with audio description, Marvel’s Zombies: S1E2 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox: S1E6 (Hulu) with audio description, House Of Guinness: S1E1 (Netflix) with audio description, The Girlfriend: S1E4 (Amazon) with audio description, Black rabbit: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, and Name That Tune: S?E2 (Hulu) no audio description Gen V- Hamish Linklater has been a great cast addition as Cypher, this new head of the school who is really hard to decipher. What are his powers? Does he even have any? You’ll know by the end of this … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/25/25

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/24/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Alien earth: S1E8 (Hulu) with audio description, Marvel Zombies: S1E1 (Disney Plus) with audio description,Haunted Hotel: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description, The Lowdown: S1E1 (Hulu) with audio description, Hotel Costiera- S1E1 (Amazon) with audio description, and Only Murders In The Building: S5E4 (Hulu) with audio description. Alien earth- I’ve been generally positive on this show, minus episode 5 which was deeply flawed in every way. This finale is a hot ass mess. You can see how Noah Hauley, who gained FX’s favor for bringing us the anthology series Fargo, has no idea what to do in a … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/24/25

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/23/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: High Potential: S2E1 (Hulu) with audio description,Platonic: S2E8 (Apple Plus) with audio description,The Runarounds: S1E4 (Amazon) with audio description, Red Fish Blue Fish: S1E5 (Netflix) with audio description, Black Mirror: S4E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Next Gen Chef: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description,Last Week tonight: most Recent (HBO MAX) no audio description High Potential- With Jimmy Kimmel back, so is Hulu/Disney content. So, I caught up with the Season Premiere of High Potential, which I was disappointed to find out was using the same AD team as last year. Although, I’ve heard worse, from this narrator and … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/23/25

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Going In Blind: Dead Of Winter

John Stark

Cast: Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca, Laurel Marsden Written By: Nicholas Jacobson-Larson Directed By: Brian Kirk Release Year: 2025 Studio: Vertical Entertainment *Audio Description Was Not Provided At Time Of Screening* What Is It?: A Minnesotan (Thompson) realizes that she may have just witnessed a kidnapping, and may be the girls only hope of survival between her captors, and the harsh wintery landscape. What Works: I go into most films with very little knowledge. So, I really had no idea Judy Greer was playing one of the bad guys. I had this initial visceral reaction to it, like I … Continue reading Going In Blind: Dead Of Winter

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/22/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Gen V: S2E3 (Amazon) with audio description, Task: S1E3 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Ginny and Georgia: S3E4 (Netflix) with audio description, and Twisted Metal: S2E9 (Peacock) with audio description Gen V- Since I know narrators don’t always get to see what they are describing, I find it funny thinking about a narrator just sitting in their recording studio, preparing to read a line, and they see that they have to describe a head coming out of a butt. Thanks to shows like Gen V and The Boys, we’re breaking new grounds constantly on “how do we … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/22/25

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/21/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Daryl Dixon: S3E3 (AMC Plus) with audio description, From: S3E5 (MGM Plus) with audio description, The Terminal List: Dark Wolf: S1E5 (Amazon) with audio description, Have I Got News for you: S3E3 (HBO MAX) no audio description, Tulsa King: S3E1 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, and The paper: S1E5 (Peacock) with audio description Daryl Dixon- My addiction is the Walking dead. While I don’t think the first two seasons of the show were amazing, this third season seems at conflict with itself. it does everything from retread, to completely ignore character structures that have been set up … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/21/25

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The Top 10 Worst Best Actress Wins Of All time

John Stark

Once again, I’m doing my current list of the 10 wins I find the most egregious. I do hope to slowly plug the holes in some of the older years and less celebrated performances, but for now, I didn’t pick anything I didn’t have a strong opinion on. So, get ready for ten HOT takes. The way I list, is the year of release of the film, but the Oscars are the next year. So for example, if a movie came out this year, I would list it as 2025, but the ceremony is technically 2026. ##1- Elizabeth Taylor (Butterfly … Continue reading The Top 10 Worst Best Actress Wins Of All time

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Eleanor The Great

John Stark

Cast: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, Rita Zohar, Will Price Written By:Tory Kamen Directed By: Scarlett Johansson Release Year: 2025 Studio: Sony Pictures Classics *Audio Description Exists, But Was Not Provided* What Is it?: Eleanor (Squibb) has been through a lot in her 90+ years on this earth, but one thing she can’t claim is to have been in certain places where she never was. After her best friend and roommate passes, Eleanor moves in with her daughter and grandson, and ends up striking up a friendship with a journalism student who finds Eleanor’s story of surviving … Continue reading Eleanor The Great

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The Small Screen Diaries- 09/20/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Outlander: Blood of My Blood- S1E8 (Starz) no audio description, Black Rabbit: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Dexter: S6E3 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, next Gen chef: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description, and Pop Culture Jeopardy: The Neverending Story (Amazon) with audio description Outlander: blood Of My Blood- I think I’ve finally settled on Rotten. As we near the finale, I’m missing too much. I can follow the cliff notes version of the cliff notes for the show, but most of the time there are characters I don’t remember, have no idea what their name is, where … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 09/20/25

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Going In Blind: Bob Trevino Likes it

John Stark

Cast: Barbie Ferrera, John Leguizamo, French Stewart, Rachel Bay Jones Written and Directed By: Tracie Laymon Release Year: Studio: roadside Attractions *there Is No Known Audio description For This Title* What Is it?: Lily (Ferrera) has a dad (Stewart) that no one could possibly want. Still, she tries. But he has other plans, and emotionally cuts himself off from her. While on social media, she notices a man with the same name as her father, and strikes up a friendship with him (Leguizamo), as he actually is a really nice guy and decent human being, allowing her possibly the chance … Continue reading Going In Blind: Bob Trevino Likes it