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 Only Girl In The orchestra

John Stark

The Only Girl In The Orchestra (Netflix)- Could This Win Best Documentary Short? Quick Take: Currently my favorite documentary short of 2024. I was surprised to find out that not only is our main subject interesting in her own right through her set of achievements, but she’s also the daughter of John Wayne. She talks about breaking standards and norms, but also not wanting a ticker tape parade for doing so, as the stories singled her out, when she was just one instrument. Her inclusion was already changing perspectives, but her fellow instrumentalists resented her individual attention. Well, now sh’es … Continue reading The Only Girl In The orchestra

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Azrael

John Stark

Azrael- Samara Weaving Is So Good She Can’t Even Speak Quick Take: Essentially a silent film, Azrael takes the Quiet Place approach one further by pushing humanity into a Hellraiser-esque landscape, and the humans alive actually sever their vocal chords so they can’t make noise even accidentally. Samar Weaving is a scream queen, and I thought this might get some more love from the horror community. it is pretty straightforward a horror film, like In The Mouth Of Madness, and some fucked up things are described through the fantastic audio description. Also, the film is fully reliant on audio description … Continue reading Azrael

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Smile 2

John Stark

Smile 2- Parker Finn Makes A Sequel That Improves On His Original Concept Quick Take: If I had made a list of films I wasn’t looking forward to in 2024, Smile 2 would have made that list. I thought the first was overrated, just a reinterpretation of It Follows, and full of cheap jump scares. As I write this, I know I’ve done a video of my Top 10 horror films of 2024, and it was a great year. Smile 2 made the top 10. I would have never guessed it. Parker Finn grows up a little, and his jump … Continue reading Smile 2

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Bread And Roses

John Stark

Bread and Roses (Apple Plus)- A Timely and Important Doc That Apple Dropped The Ball On With AD Quick Take: Apple was pushing its last two documentaries of the year for awards consideration. A lot of times, I drag companies that don’t care, or I complain about a small film with no audio description.bread And roses has the financial backing of Apple, a platform that until I watched Bread and roses, I believed their streamer (Apple Plus) to be fully audio described. I’ve gone down many an international show with them just because they describe them. that was not the … Continue reading Bread And Roses

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The Small Screen Diaries- 01/18/25

John Stark

TV News: Paramount Plus has axed the Frasier revival after just two seasons. Your move NBC. I’m looking right at that Night Court reboot. It is time. TV Shows Watched: Goosebumps: S1E7 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Traitors: S3E44 (Peacock) with audio description, On Call: S1E8 (Amazon) with audio description, 911: S8:E8 (Hulu) with audio description, Krapapolis: S2E9 (Hulu) no audio description, Landman: S1E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description, and The Rookie: S7E2 (Hulu) with audio description. Movies Watched: La Cocina (Screener) no audio description, Inheritance (screener) no audio description, Poolman (Hulu) no audio description Best Episode: The Traitors- … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 01/18/25

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The Lost Children

John Stark

The Lost Children (Netflix)- Documenting The Rescue Of Plane Crash Survivors In Harsh Conditions Quick Take: I’m not mad for watching this. It was an interesting story about groups of very different individuals converging to rescue indigenous children after a plane crash. this is a documentary based on a real story of how some children survived a small plane crash in the Amazon, and how they came to be found. A wonderfully complex story, that I wish had audio description. it does have an English dub, as the movie is not in English. However, technically, since you never visually understand … Continue reading The Lost Children

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The Wild Robot

John Stark

The Wild Robot- Dreamworks Beautiful Spin On What It Means To Be A Parent Quick Take: I’ve been waiting to catch up to this point. This is on my list of films to rewatch when I have free time. I caught this in the middle of my awards screener blitz, and it is the best thing Dreamworks has done since How To Train Your Dragon. Following the story of a robot created to help humans, who finds herself lost in the wild where there are none, the robot (voiced by lupita Nyong’o) has to adapt to her new surroundings. We … Continue reading The Wild Robot

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Family Pack

John Stark

Family Pack (Netflix)- Jean Reno Anchors This French Jumanji-esque Adventure Quick Take: Jean Reno stars in French Jumanji, as Netflix has chosen to dub this adventure where a family is pulled into a videogame where a scared village is trying to hunt down werewolves. The various family members end up with their own quirks, but it turns out one of their own might be a lycan, and they have to figure out a way to save them, and get out of the videogame. It is French jumanji, especially since the newer remakes deal with being sucked into video games. the … Continue reading Family Pack

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The Small Screen Diaries- 01/17/25

John Stark

Yesterday, I reviewed the first film of 2025 (for me), in what I’m calling my first Quality Check. It is essentially a stream of consciousness watch. I knew very little going in, nothing about who did the AD, or the general plot of the film. Hopefully, it is somehow helpful, as I frequently don’t get the opportunity to go that much into detail as reviews typically lean toward “was it good?” But if you see Quality Check in front of a review now, it means that review leans more toward was the description effective or good? TV Shows Watched: Silo: … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 01/17/25

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Quality Check: Back In Action

John Stark

I’m quite backed up in terms of reviews of 2024 titles. I wanted to shake things up a bit, so this is hopefully a first in a series for me. As of me writing this, I have not seen this movie. These thoughts are first impressions and immediate reactions to moments in the audio description track. I’m not sure, at the onset, who made this, who narrated, or who wrote it, so we’re in this cold. Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz star. Diaz hasn’t done a film in years, and you would think Netflix would give her a better slot … Continue reading Quality Check: Back In Action

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Cruel Intentions: 25th Anniversary

John Stark

Cruel Intentions: 25th Anniversary- Still Just A Bittersweet Symphony Quick Take: one of the rare instances where an adaptation or a remake of a source material gains life of its own. Much like how 10 Things I Hate About You went on to have life beyond just the movie, despite just being an adaptation of The Taming Of the Shrew, this adaptation has a straight-to-video sequel that started as a FOX pilot, a stage musical, and a recent Amazon series. roger Kumble’s sexy teen drama from 1999 still can put it wherever it wants. I have nostalgia problems. I often … Continue reading Cruel Intentions: 25th Anniversary

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Red Rooms

John Stark

Red Rooms (2024)- A French Canadian Indie Hit In Need Of Audio Description Quick Take: this is a quickie. Red Rooms was recommended to me, and I also was given a screener. Sadly, to my knowledge, this movie has no known English audio description. It is also a French Canadian thriller, and while it may have fans, i can’t read the subtitles. I need audio description for films not in the English Language. Nevertheless, I sat through this, since the assumption always is that if a film is presented to me without accessibility, it must be in a form that … Continue reading Red Rooms

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The Last Showgirl

John Stark

The Last Showgirl- Pamela Anderson Is Mind Blowing In This Dramatic Turn Quick Take: I’ve had the opportunity to debate this quite a bit since seeing this film, and I prefer to reward talent when i truly believe they are near or at the top of their game. So in a year where Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet, Soarise Ronan, and others delivered strong performances, none of them were definitively their best. In what is like watching a baby walk for the first time, that can’t be said of Pamela Anderson who was matched perfectly to the right role … Continue reading The Last Showgirl

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The Small Screen Diaries- 01/16/25

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Goosebumps: S1E5 (Disney Plus) with audio description, High Potential: S1E9 (Hulu) with audio description, Will Trent: S3E1 (Hulu) with audio description, On Call: S1E7 (Amazon) with audio description, XO Kitty: S2E1 (Netflix) with audio description, and virgin River: S6E8 (Netflix) with audio description. Movies Watched: Unstoppable (Amazon) with audio description, Queer (Apple Store) with audio description Before we dive in, we did lose an iconic filmmaker in David Lynch. One of the true auteurs of cinema, and someone whose presence was always felt behind the camera, for better or worse. I have not seen his entire filmography … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 01/16/25

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Afraid (2024)

John Stark

Afraid (2024)- Hey Siri, Tell Alexa There’s Nothing Remotely Scary Here Quick Take: I refuse. They tried to follow the AI horror title M3gan, with their own obnoxious title, Afr1d, which is just totally unnecessary. The whole film is unnecessary. this film isn’t scary, there are no consequences, and it is fundamentally everything wrong with cheap horror. John Cho, who seems to get sucked into shitty horror movies rather easily, is the father of this family that gets a special advanced AI, but things start happening, and the AI starts manipulating the children. It is a bafflingly useless movie, which … Continue reading Afraid (2024)