Author: John Stark

Blogger. EIC of macthemovieguy.com. Contributor to mjsbigblog.com and houseofgeekery.com. Previously featured on starpulse.com.
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The Small Screen Diaries- 05/24/25

John Stark

Coming up this week, I’m excited for the return of And just Like That and Rick and Morty, as well as some promising new shows like Adults on FX or Department Q on Netflix. it also will be the final episode for the Handmaids Tale ever, and the season finale of the Last Of us. Captain America: Brave New World hits Disney plus on Wednesday, reality staple America’s Got Talent returns on Tuesday, and Dogman finally hits Peacock on Friday. TV Shows Watched: nine Perfect Strangers: S2E1 (Hulu) with audio description, Sirens: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Murderbot: S1E3 (Apple … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 05/24/25

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Becoming Led Zepplin

John Stark

Often documentaries open me up to things I know very little or nothing about. It feels great to learn these other perspectives, or to see someone shine a light on an underserved community or a special interest topic that doesn’t get enough attention. Then there are the documentaries shaped around famous people, so you have a passing knowledge, or maybe even some super fan level of obsessed knowledge of your subject. while I absolutely know Led Zepplin is a band, I never could have told you a song they did, or who was in the group. So, an offer to … Continue reading Becoming Led Zepplin

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Fountain Of Youth

John Stark

Indiana Jones inspired many kids to crack a whip, take up archeology, and for a few, they were inspired to make movies. Some even made a low budget shot for shot remake of Raiders Of The Lost Ark. We love our adventurers, who set out to follow a trail of clues to lead to treasure we know ultimately won’t be worth the price. Romancing The Stone, National Treasure, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, and The Mummy all celebrate this in obvious ways, but even more broadly, this extends to the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, personality traits for Star Lord, kids offerings … Continue reading Fountain Of Youth

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Mob Cops

John Stark

Yes. this has audio description. I watched a movie just because it had audio description. I figured, someone out there might want to watch this, and maybe I can give them my thoughts. there are two sides to this coin. I believe in audio description for all. I may not like the same things as you, but you deserve accessibility. An easy case would be that I’m not a parent, nor am I a toddler, but parents with blind kids deserve access to age appropriate programming. So, regardless of how I feel about this, it does have existing audio description. … Continue reading Mob Cops

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Going in Blind: Worth The Wait

John Stark

Tubi is often like playing Russian roulette, but there’s more than one bullet in the chamber. The chances are not in your favor. It has offered filmmakers a huge opportunity to get their films onto a platform, but also it becomes like hunting for the Ark of the Covenant. So, when Tubi goes out of their way to brand something a Tubi original, i expect them to roll out the red carpet. break from your normal fast channel strategy, and perhaps seek a sponsor who is comfortable with running an ad at the beginning. Ad supported versions of the services … Continue reading Going in Blind: Worth The Wait

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The Small Screen Diaries- 05/23/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: #1 Happy Family USA- S1E7 (Amazon) with audio description, Duster: S1E2 (MAX) with audio description, Survivor: S48E13 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, got To Get Out: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description, Love Death and Robots: S4E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Bad thoughts: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Ransom Canyon: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Tucci In Italy: S1E1 (Hulu) no audio description, and Hacks: S4E5 (MAX) with audio description. Best Episode: hacks- There’s still this bubbling chaos between our leads as the talk show is getting off the air, and a resistance to listen to each others … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 05/23/25

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Introducing The Blind Film Critics Society, And Our Winners From The 2024 Film Season

John Stark

A lot of what I do is to try and deepen the accessibility for the blind and visually impaired audiences, who like to enjoy film and television. I review films and discuss how the audio description did or did not work, or for projects without audio description, how easy or hard they were to watch, and what a viewer like me would be missing. I’m fortunate enough to have been accepted into a few critics organizations, and if lucky, I’ll be the first blind film critic on Rotten Tomatoes, bringing representation on the biggest scale there is. Discussing film critically, … Continue reading Introducing The Blind Film Critics Society, And Our Winners From The 2024 Film Season

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The Small Screen Diaries- 05/22/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Murderbot: S1E2 (Apple plus) with audio description, Sirens: S1E1 (Netflix) with audio description, Midcentury Modern: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description, Etoile: S1E6 (Amazon) with audio description, ghosts: S4E21 (Paramount Plus), Will Trent: S4E18 (Hulu) with audio description, She the people: S1E1 (Netflix) with audio description, Government Cheese: S1E7 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Octopus: S1E2 (Amazon) with audio description, and Your friends And neighbors: S1E6 (Apple Plus) with audio description Best Episode: Sirens- While I enjoyed several shows, I’m always impressed with a strong pilot episode. In a day and age where most shows aren’t required to … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 05/22/25

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The Small Screen Diaries- 05/21/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Bet: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, The Studio: S1E10 (Apple plus) with audio description, overcompensating: S1E3 (Amazon) with audio description, Devil may Cry: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, the Pitt: S1E4 (MAX) with audio description, Krapapolis: S2E19 (Hulu) no audio description, The Rehearsal: S1E5 (MAX) with audio description, Jordan Klepper Fingers America (Paramount Plus) no audio description, The Four Seasons: S1E5 (Netflix) with audio description best Episode: Overcompensating- today was really close, but I love watching a show hit its stride, which I feel like Overcompensating is doing. Some shows hit with a banger pilot, and others … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 05/21/25

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The Small Screen Diaries- 05/20/25

John Stark

I generally try to avoid spoilers here, but this weeks episode of The Handmaids Tale is so epic, and so full of spoiler potential, I’m hitting you right away with a warning of sorts. It will be next to impossible to not reveal something about that episode that might make your jaw drop is you just go see it without knowing anything. TV Shows Watched: The Handmaids Tale: S6E9 (Hulu) with audio description, Black Mirror: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Motorheads: S1E1 (Amazon) with audio description, No Man’s Land: S1E2 (Hulu) with audio description, Love, Death, and Robots: S4E1 (Netflix) … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 05/20/25

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Havoc

John Stark

There are some critics who are broadly resistant to the streaming originals produced, with no real intent of a meaningful theatrical release. That’s basically how Netflix handles any film not seeking awards consideration,and therefore havoc, the new tom hardy action film, has to play well on your phone, tablet, TV, or if you are super fancy, home digital projector. It’s a reductive way of looking at film, as if anything not produced explicitly for theatrical release is somehow initially deficient at the start. Of course, anyone who sat through several of HBO’s original movies, or the Hallmark Hall of Fame … Continue reading Havoc

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going In blind: Knock Out Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story

John Stark

Stories like this matter. I may know a ton of random pop culture tidbits, and actors names that could cause me to win every possible version of Six degrees there is, but I’m not really into sports. i look like i should be. I could easily sit in any stadium, for any sport, and no one would think I had little clue who was on the field at the time, and had very little interest in which team won. I know major names, because I know pop culture, but in the boxing world, I’m limited to a handful of obvious … Continue reading going In blind: Knock Out Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story

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The Small Screen Diaries- 05/19/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Last of Us: S2E6 (MAX) with audio description, American Idol: S23E19 (Hulu) no audio description, Wandla: S2E4 (Apple plus) with audio description, forever: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, You: S5E5 (Netflix) with audio description, Last Week Tonight: Most recent (MAX) no audio description Best Episode: The Last Of Us- I love character development in shows, and the opportunity to know more abut the people whose lives we are supposed to react when they live or die in any given situation. So to take an episode where Ellie and Joel flashback quickly through the time jump between … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 05/19/25

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The Small Screen Diaries- 05/18/25

John Stark

TV Shows watched: the walking dead: dead city: S2E3 (AMC Plus)no audio description, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory: S3E6 (Netflix) with audio description, from: S2E1 (MGM Plus) with audio description, Got To Get Out: S1E6 (Hulu) with audio description, Grimmsburg: S1E10 (Netflix) with audio description, Government Cheese: S1E6 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Overcompensating: S1E2 (Amazon) with audio description, the Stolen Girl: S1E3 (Disney Plus) no audio description, Bet: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Yes Chef: S1E3 (Peacock) with audio description, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: S1E1 (Hulu) with audio description, Bosch legacy: S3E2 (Amazon) with audio description, and Poker … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 05/18/25

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Going In blind: The comeback Trail

John Stark

Originally listed for a 2020 debut, this comedy just released this year rather unceremoniously onto video on demand, and later Paramount Plus. I’m sure when you hear that, along with the realization this film has no available audio description, you’d assume it was just another critically underfunded film that just didn’t have it in the budget. My counter to that would be, if the stars of this film, who likely all hand nice paychecks, contributed a little portion they wouldn’t even notice, no matter the budget, they could have collectively made their film accessible. Starring Oscar winners Robert DeNiro, Tommy … Continue reading Going In blind: The comeback Trail