Author: John Stark

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

The 10 Worst Best Picture Wins Of All Time

John Stark

So, on the flip side of the list from yesterday, what are my 10 least favorite wins? I left Wings off the list, simply because it was the beginning of the Oscars. But if I was going based off of just my personal enjoyment, I did not actually enjoy Wings. yes, I saw it in film school. But, I’d have to replace it with something, and I don’t know that it wasn’t actually the best film of that year. So, wings got a pass. #10- Gone With the Wind (1939) I know this is a HOT take. This is a … Continue reading The 10 Worst Best Picture Wins Of All Time

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

The Institute: Season 1

John Stark

Cast: Joe Freeman, Ben Barnes, Mary Louise Parker, Hannah Galway, Julian Richings, Fionn Laird, Simone Miller, Viggo Hanvelt, Arlen So, Robert Joy, Jason Diaz, Jane Luk Based On the Book by Stephen King Length: 8 episodes Streamer: MGM Plus Audio description produced By: Written By: Narrated By: Roy Samuelson What Is it? A convergence of two stories. one follows a teen (freeman) who is kidnapped and wakes up in a facility that is testing kids who are telekinetic or telepathic. it is obviously a shady organization with a dark secret. We also follow a former police officer (Barnes), who moves … Continue reading The Institute: Season 1

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Going In Blind: Shari And Lamb Chop

John Stark

Directed By: Lisa D’Apoito Release Year: 2025 This Film Has No Known Audio Description What Is it?: A look back on the life of Shari Lewis, who passed in 1998, yet left an enduring legacy in the form of her contribution to children’s television, and a spunky little puppet named Lamb Chop. The documentary explores how Shari got her start, in a male dominated industry, and later became the first host of a show for kids. She revolutionized a lot of concepts still used today, and did all of that while navigating two marriages, and being a mother. Finally, just … Continue reading Going In Blind: Shari And Lamb Chop

EditorialLeave a comment

The Small Screen diaries: 09/06/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Outlander: Blood of My Blood: S1E6 (Starz) no audio description, Wednesday: S2E7 (Netflix) with audio description, Dexter: S6E2 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Foundation: S3E9 (Apple plus) with audio description, All Of Us Are Dead: S1E11 (Netflix) with audio description, Pop Culture Jeopardy: The Show That Never Ends (Amazon) with audio description, Hostage: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, and South Park: S27E4 (Paramount Plus) no audio description Outlander: Blood of My Blood- An episode focusing mostly on childbirth, but including a little bit of that touchstone of the Outlander franchise… rape. Just a dash of rape. Wouldn’t … Continue reading The Small Screen diaries: 09/06/25

AwardsLeave a comment

My Top 10 Favorite Best Picture Winners of All Time

John Stark

As we get closer to the 100th Oscars in just a few years, there is an already massive list of films. I have not seen every Best Picture winner, so a few simply just aren’t here because I didn’t watch them. others are perfectly fine films, but I would have picked something else. And a few, well, it’s OK to not like everything, even a Best Picture winner. While a list of the most iconic winners might be different, these are the ten films that strike my fancy the most. #10- Kramer Vs Kramer (1979) Director: Robert Benton Cast: Dustin … Continue reading My Top 10 Favorite Best Picture Winners of All Time

EditorialLeave a comment

Ballard: Season 1

John Stark

Cast: Maggie Q, John Carroll Lynch, Michael Mosley, Amy Hill, Victoria Moroles, Rebecca Field, Courtney Taylor, Ricardo Chavira, Titus Welliver, Brandon Sexton III, Jim Rash, Mimi Roger’s, Frankie Faison Length: 10 Episodes Streamer: Amazon Prime Video Audio Description provided By: (Need Credit) Written by: (Need Credit) Narrated By: (Need Credit) What Is it?:Renee Ballard (Maggie Q) is yet another creation by Michael Connolly, who has brought us both Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer, and Ballard is a spinoff of Bosch: legacy, after having her appear near the end of that final season. Harry Bosch (Welliver) also appears here as Ballard … Continue reading Ballard: Season 1

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Highest To Lowest

John Stark

Cast: Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, A$AP Rocky, Aubrey Joseph, Elijah Wright,Rick Fox, Rod Strickland, Ice Spice, Frederick Weller, Michael Potts, Dean Winters, LaChanze, Wendell Pierce Written By: Alan Fox, based on the novel Kings Ransom, and the Akira Kurosawa film High and low Directed By: Spike lee Original Score By: Howard Drossin Release Year: 2025 Studio: A24 And Apple Films Runtime: 135 minutes Audio Description Produced By: Pixel logic Written By: (Need Credits) Narrated By: Katherine Grantham What is it?: Spike Lee retells what Kurosawa once already adapted, putting a modern flair on the story. Here, we have … Continue reading Highest To Lowest

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries: 09/05/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Peacemaker: S2E3 (HBo MAX) with audio description, Dexter: Resurrection: S1E8 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Ginny And Georgia: S3E1 (Netflix) with audio description, The Summer I Turned Pretty: S3E6 (Amazon) with audio description, The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball: S1E9 (Hulu) with audio description, Match Game: Most Recent (Hulu) with audio description, Who Wants To Be A millionaire: Most Recent (Hulu) with audio description Peacemaker- A strong audio description track is given another sequence in which to shine. This week, Peacemaker stops a group of terrorists in truly brutal fashion. While seeing what life is like in … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/05/25

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Going In Blind: Sharp Corner

John Stark

Cast Written And Directed By: Jason Buxton Release Year: 2025 There Is no Known Audio Description For This Title What Is it?: Location, location, location. The most important thing in realty. A man (Foster) fails to do his due diligence and moves his family into a new home that is positioned at a particularly treacherous part of the road. As the crashes pile up, he becomes increasingly more committed to the chaos at his property, sacrificing his familial duties, and his work. Will this sharp corner be the final turn in his own life? What Works: Initially premiering at the … Continue reading Going In Blind: Sharp Corner

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Going In Blind: Audrey’s Children

John Stark

Cast: Natalie Dormer, Clancy Brown, Jimmi Simpson, Brandon Michael Hall, Tony Robinette Written By: Julia Fisher Farbman Director: Directed By: Ami Cannan Mann Release Year: 2025 There Is No Known Audio description For This Title What is it?: In 1969, a female doctor (Dormer) joins the ranks of medical professionals at a children’s hospital, hoping to help as many kids as she can. She ends up revolutionizing how cancer in kids is diagnosed, treated, and all against the discouraging opinions of many of her male peers. she also has a big hand in establishing the first Ronald McDonald house, seeing … Continue reading Going In Blind: Audrey’s Children

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Going In Blind: Trans In Trumpland

John Stark

Director: Tony Zosherafatain Release Year: 2025 There Is no Known Audio Description For This Title What Is It? That’s a great question. What is this? It first came to my attention while perusing upcoming VOD titles on the Apple Store. I like to add things to my watchlist I intend on watching. I don’t get around to all, but this seemed up my alley. when it was made available, my watchlist listed it as being on Amazon Prime video with my subscription. Great. I went to Prime video, which also had the film billed as a movie, not broken into … Continue reading Going In Blind: Trans In Trumpland

EditorialLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries: 09/05/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Buccaneers: S2E7 (Apple plus) with audio description, Wednesday: S2E6 (Netflix) with audio description, NCIS: Tony And Ziva: S1E1 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Long Story Short: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, Sausage Party: S1E4 (Amazon) with audio description The Buccaneers- I definitely felt with the last episode that The Buccaneers had finally reached its true potential, and with this episode, all of the strong subject matter they have opened up until now is paying off. the season’s penultimate episode has Nan’s mother filing for divorce from her husband, and she has to have proof. Mind you, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/05/25

EditorialLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries: 09/03/25

John Stark

TV Shows watched: Alien Earth: S1E5 (Hulu) with audio description, Wednesday: S2E5 (Netflix) with audio description, Butterfly: S1E5 (Amazon) with audio description, Twisted Metal: S2E6 (Peacock) with audio description, the Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description Alien Earth- I think the wrong name was listed when the cyborg fist slammed down. It should have been Morrow, but I’m fairly certain it was one of the expendables. This episode featured a look at what happened to all those people we saw at the beginning of the series, flashing back to how shit hit the fan in the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/03/25

EditorialLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries: 09/02/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Runarounds: S1E1 (Amazon) with audio description, Platonic: S2E5 (Apple plus) with audio description, The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox: S1E3 (Hulu) with audio description, and Mindhunter: S1E10 (Netflix) with audio description. The Runarounds- I’m glad I got to this quickly. So, if you are interested in The Runarounds, DO NOT stay for the preview of the season that runs at the end. I’ve never seen such a spoiler laden thing in my life. It’s ridiculous. it is one of those “this season on The runarounds”, but everything they showed had a far different tone than the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/02/25

EditorialLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries: 09/01/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The institute: S1E8 (MGM Plus) with audio description, My Life With The Walter Boys: S2E2 (Netflix) with audio description, The Terminal List: Dark Wolf: S1E2 (Amazon) with audio description, All of Us Are Dead: S1E10 (Netflix) with audio description, Hitmakers: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, and Irish Blood: S1E5 (Acorn) no audio description The institute- I fully plan on doing a full review for this, so skipping this for now. My Life With the Walter Boys- I laughed at the conversation where the irate resident of the town brings up “chain restaurants”. Bruh. I come from rural … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/01/25