Author: John Stark

Blogger. EIC of macthemovieguy.com. Contributor to mjsbigblog.com and houseofgeekery.com. Previously featured on starpulse.com.
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One Of Them Days

John Stark

I’m sure there’s at least one person bemoaning how we keep recycling ideas or gender flipping, but often the problem isn’t either of those things. It is a lack of perspective that kills a movie. Whether you gender flip, remake, adapt, or straight up ripoff a film and slap a new name on it (Transmorphers), if you don’t know why you are doing it, there’s no point.One Of Them Days is one of those films that beats back against the odds. Not only is it fresh, but it clearly owes a lot to a very popular film, and this also … Continue reading One Of Them Days

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The Small Screen Diaries- 04/24/25

John Stark

You are not crazy. there was no diary yesterday. I only watched one show, which is almost a historic low for me, so rather than do a hilariously awkward version of the SSD, I just rolled that show into this day. TV Shows Watched: Andor: S2E1 and S2E2 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Righteous Gemstones: S4E7 (MAX) with audio description, The Studio: S1E6 (Apple TV +) with audio description, The Residence: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description,Top Chef: S22E? (Peacock) with audio description, Good American family: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description, The Bondsman: S1E5 (Amazon) with audio description, The masked … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/24/25

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Janis Ian: Breaking Silence

John Stark

Currently in limited theatrical release before landing on video-on-demand, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence is a wonderful introduction to an artist time may have forgotten, but certainly never should have. Janis Ian (who is still alive) shares the most intimate details of her life, growing up in a household that welcomed her musical inclinations, through becoming a magnet for social change as a teen simply because she recorded a song about interracial relationships at a time when it was wildly unpopular in some areas to do so. Still, Ian uses her musical influences, which rise out of the excellent professional musicians … Continue reading Janis Ian: Breaking Silence

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Going In blind: on Swift horses

John Stark

While the lack of blind film critics means that studios are not yet accustomed to attaching an English Audio description track to digital (or even physical) screeners, I have to believe that there are visually impaired critics who would benefit, but more likely guild members. So it always baffles me when i get a screener for a film like on Swift horses, which is being released by Sony Pictures Classics, and there’s no description. Not only does their screener platform support changing the audio track, if an alternate one were uploaded, but they make audio description for their titles on … Continue reading Going In blind: on Swift horses

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The Small Screen Diaries- 04/22/25

John Stark

I totally forgot to do anything Earth Day related yesterday. What did you do to celebrate the big ass rock we all live on? Did you plant a tree? did you watch a documentary about someone planting a tree? Did you plant a tree in Minecraft? Did you watch the Minecraft movie only to be assaulted by flying popcorn and soda? TV Shows Watched: the Handmaid’s Tale: S6E5 (Hulu) with audio description, American Idol: S23E12 (Hulu) no audio description, Tracker: S2E14 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Million Dollar Secret: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Dope Thief: S1E7 (Apple TV +) … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/22/25

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The Small Screen Diaries- 04/21/25

John Stark

So that certainly happened. Did you find yourself on Monday talking more about the most recent episode of the Last Of Us, or the death of the Pope? The answer to that will probably be a nice quantitative measure as to how nerdy you are in general, and your immediate circle of friends and family. For me, my nerd clout was off the charts. TV Shows Watched: The Last Of Us: S2E2 (MAX) with audio description, American Idol: S23E11 (Hulu) no audio description, North of North: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, Dying For Sex: S1E5 (Hulu) with audio description, Pulse: … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/21/25

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The Small Screen Diaries- 04/20/25

John Stark

I hope you had the best 4/20 Easter ever. What a weird combination of dates. TV Shows Watched: Number One Happy Family USA: S1E1 (Amazon) with audio description, Jurassic World: Chaos theory- S3E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Government Cheese: S1E2 (Apple plus) with audio description, 911: S8E11 (Hulu) with audio description, Happy Face: S1E6 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Papa’s House: S1E17 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Million Dollar Secret: S1E5 (Netflix) with audio description, The Residence: S1E7 (Netflix) with audio description, the Masked Singer: S13E10 (Hulu) no audio description, Celebrity Jeopardy: S3E? (Hulu) with audio description, Matlock: S1E? (Paramount … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/20/25

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Tyler Perry’s Duplicity

John Stark

I think we can talk about this film now. I’m not really sure there is a point to ever reviewing Tyler Perry films. He seems to have these teflon contracts, and his name immediately draws attention, so people just keep on making more and more Tyler Perry projects invade our atmosphere. I’m beginning to think that because critics have been hard on Perry, he ignores reviews, and therefore is not capable of growth. in fact, he’s most likely to regress, as his desire to create no longer comes from necessity, or artistic merit, but out of obligation, or a drive … Continue reading Tyler Perry’s Duplicity

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The Small Screen Diaries: The Weekly Rankings

John Stark

We’re back, and we have some new shows breaking onto the list. Joining an already tight block of shows are The last Of us (MAX), Your Friends And Neighbors (Apple Plus), Government Cheese (Apple plus), Ransom Canyon (Netflix), and Number One Happy Family USA (Amazon). Winner: The Handmaids tale (Hulu)- The venerable drama produced a somewhat calmer fourth episode that really allowed characters like Luke and Moira to unleash their emotions, as well as a dance for Serena that definitely made us wonder if Serena was headed for a happy ending, or if she was getting drawn back in by … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: The Weekly Rankings

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The Small Screen diaries- 04/19/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Ransom Canyon: S1E1 (Netflix) with audio description, Yellowjackets: S3E10 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Will Trent: S3E14 (Hulu) with audio description, the Connors: S6E4 (Hulu) with audio description, Wolf King: s1E6 (Netflix) with audio description Best Episode: Yellowjackets- While the show has definitely continued its descent into madness in the third season, i thought the finale wrapped up the narrative for the third season rather well. Based on where we are, I’m wondering if Season 4 is the last. This show definitely wouldn’t be able to sustain more than two seasons, at best. But, it was horrifying, … Continue reading The Small Screen diaries- 04/19/25

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The Twister: Caught In The Storm

John Stark

I remember one evening in May looking at my Facebook feed and seeing a lot of posts about severe weather. It wasn’t severe weather for where I currently live, but where I grew up. In the coming days, I would see pictures of devastation, hear stories of lives lost, and wonder if any of them would be people I knew. As a resident of Orlando, and LGBTQ, I had a similar moment waking up on a morning in June. But, while I had friends who had gone to Pulse on a regular basis, i had never been. I didn’t know … Continue reading The Twister: Caught In The Storm

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The Four Points

John Stark

I recieved a screener request for the Four Points, asking me to consider reviewing the film. I could have requested a screener link, but it seemed deeply redundant as the film was already on Tubi. It does not have any known audio description, and is definitely independent cinema. I don’t believe that is necessarily the blanket excuse for lack of accessibility in cinema, but I do believe there are a lot of indie, first time filmmakers, who because they don’t need the accessibility, are unaware of it, or how important it is. that is why I’m here, doing this, because … Continue reading The Four Points

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The Small Screen Diaries- 04/18/25

John Stark

TV News: Amazon has wiped Clean Slate off their table, cancelling the freshman Laverne Cox sitcom after one season. I had a feeling this would happen, but the show runner was sending out good vibes like he was having productive conversations with Amazon. Never trust a showrunner. TV Shows Watched: Good American Family: S1E6 (Hulu) with audio description, The Bondsman: S1E4 (Amazon) with audio description, Survival Of The Thickest: S2E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Survivor: S48E8 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Got To Get Out Of Here: S1E2 (Hulu) with audio description, Lazarus: S1E2 (MAX) with audio description, 1923: S2E4 … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/18/25

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Bloat

John Stark

I always love when studios hype “from the producers of”, like having a past hit under your producing credit gives you the same credibility as writing or directing. I think because we’ve seen a couple of producers rise to the top through careful curation of the type of film they make this has bled into other producers. But am I really supposed to believe that the producer of Searching is going to only make films with that unique perspective? And, isn’t Searching more of a success based on the ingenuity of the concept and choices made initially in the screenplay, … Continue reading Bloat

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The Small Screen Diaries: 04/17/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: the Studio: S1E5 (Apple plus) with audio description, The Righteous Gemstones: S4E5 (MAX) with audio description, The Residence: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, The Wheel of Time: S3E5 (Amazon) with audio description, Long Bright River: S1E8 (Peacock) with audio description, Dying For Sex: S1E4 (Hulu) with audio description, deli Boys: S1E6 (Hulu) with audio description, Surface: S2E7 (Apple Plus) with audio description, and Ghosts: S4E16 (Paramount Plus) with audio description. Best Episode: The Studio- Two of the supporting cast got to shine in an episode that had two execs facing off to see whose pet project would … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 04/17/25