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- 12/30/24

John Stark

It’s the end of 2024 as we know it, until tomorrow, when I write about today. it is all very confusing, and I thank you all for being able to have the “Pacencia y Fe” to follow it all. TV Shows Watched: Squid Game: S2E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Laid: S1E5 (Peacock) with audio description, the Great north: S5E1 (Hulu) no audio description, La Machinaa: S1E6? (Hulu) with audio description, Pop Culture Jeopardy: S1E3 (Amazon) with audio description, and Landman: S1E3 (Paramount Plus) with audio description. Movies Watched: Dandelion (Apple Store) with audio description, The Seed Of the Sacred Fig … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 12/30/24

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Cheetah: 35th Anniversary

John Stark

Cheetah: 35th Anniversary- Made The Same Year We Shrunk The Kids, Does This Hold Up? Quick Take: One of my favorite film YouTube channels, Breakfast All Day, occasionally revisits older movies, and does “Was it great, or were you 8?” I was not 8. Not yet. But this was definitely not great. Cheetah, which has this odd history of being adapted from another work, and essentially whitewashing it, did not hold up. It doesn’t even feel like it is in the same year as some of the other Disney titles. I already revisited Honey I Shrunk The Kids, also from … Continue reading Cheetah: 35th Anniversary

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Endurance

John Stark

Endurance (Disney Plus)- Restoring The Legacy Of Shackleton, His Ship, And The Original Footage Quick Take: A pretty cool use of film restoration, and it has audio description on Disney Plus. This documentary parallels Shackelton’s ill fated trip to Antarctica with a modern day crew searching for his lost ship, the Endurance, which is entombed in protected waters. Not only do we see the trials and tribulations of both, but Shackelton originally took a cameraman with him on his voyage. While this would have just been footage, it is still restored for a sighted audience, which takes time and consideration. … Continue reading Endurance

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Alien: Romulus

John Stark

Alien: Romulus- In Space, No One Can Hear Fede Alvarez Quick Take: I’ve seen all the Alien movies except one. I don’t want you to know which one, but in general, I’m informed. A lot has been said about Fede Alvarez’s take on the franchise, as some find it to be nostalgia bait, with him just retreading steps taken before. There’s actually a lot to dislike here, or pick apart. he has literally used generative AI to bring back Ian Holm for an actual performance, despite his death in 2020. I wonder if ian would have agreed to this. Sure, … Continue reading Alien: Romulus

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Parenthood: 35th Anniversary

John Stark

Parenthood: 35th Anniversary- Steve Martin, Dianne Wiest, Rick Moranis Quick Take: just a few days ago I mentioned the anniversary of Ron Howard’s The Paper. But Parenthood, that has a bit stronger footing in the test of time, due in large part to the NBC drama starring Craig T. Nelson, that created a new generation of fans, and made people look back on the Steve Martin film that started it all. That drama wasn’t the first attempt to turn this into a series, as there was a short lived version in the early 90’s. But, here we have a stellar … Continue reading Parenthood: 35th Anniversary

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No Other Land

John Stark

No Other Land- Likely Future Oscar Winner For Documentary Feature Quick Take: One of the most important films you could watch this year, if you are sighted. It has no audio description, and my wish is that like 20 Days In Mariupol, that we see audio description here at some point. It takes place in Gaza, and points out the dehumanization of the Palestinian people. The problem is, that the English in the film is selections from American news. But, the heart of this a filmmaker from Palestine teaming with a journalist from Israel, and they find common ground to … Continue reading No Other Land

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Night Bitch

John Stark

Night Bitch- Amy Adams is The Most Relatable Mother Of 2024 Quick Take: I’m really just catching up in order, and now that this is on Hulu, I was ready to skip my first thoughts, and wait till I get to my inevitable second look with audio description. However, Disney had other plans. They dropped Night Bitch on Hulu without giving a consideration to making sure the necessary audio description was also day and date. It is funny how many times this has happened, and Disney never really apologizes, or improves. And, yes, Hulu, Fox Searchlight, they are Disney brands. … Continue reading Night Bitch

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The Small Screen Diaries- 12/29/24

John Stark

Damn. Earth Abides is being billed as a limited series. I so want more. Not a lot of big premieres this week either, so get ready for the balls dropping on Tuesday night. TV Shows Watched: Earth Abides: S1E5 (MGM Plus) with audio description, What If: S3E8 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Ghosts: S4E8 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, The Agency: S1E7 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Shrinking: S2E11 (Apple Plus) with audio description, SNL: Paul mescal (Peacock) with audio description, and The Lincoln Lawyerr: S3E10 (Netflix) with audio description. Movies Watched: Little Bites (Apple Store) with audio description, Amber … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 12/29/24

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The Prince And Me: 20th Anniversary

John Stark

The Prince And Me: 20th Anniversary: Someday Your Prince Will Come? Quick Take: I did pull this one from Netflix, as I remember, and I’ve seen this a few times before. I do like Julia Stiles, more often than not, and this was a cute romantic comedy back in 2004. What is most impressive is how the plot, which involves a prince going to college in America and pretending he isn’t a prince, is simple. But, it is always in the execution, and Stiles makes sure to elevate this as much as possible. I’m not sure if this is truly … Continue reading The Prince And Me: 20th Anniversary

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Starring Jerry As himself

John Stark

Starring Jerry As Himself- A Slamdance Winner Shot In Florida! Filming In Florida!!! Quick Take: This was basically a must-see for me, as a member of the Critics Association Of central Florida. We have a category that spotlights movies made in Central Florida, and there were only two choices. This was one. It’s a slam dance winning documentary that blends a bit of fiction in with fact,but mostly focuses on the immigrant experience, namely on the filmmaker’s father. I’ll let you guess his name. no, this didn’t have audio description. the other choice was Suncoast, which was a film I … Continue reading Starring Jerry As himself

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Spellbound

John Stark

Spellbound (Netflix)- Can We Stop Asking Javier Bardem To Sing? Quick Take: I had a lot to say. For a movie with Alan Menken working on the music, I had high expectations. Rachel Ziegler is voicing the main princess in this fantastical land, where she has to babysit her parents who have literally turned into monsters. She’s been trying to hide them, but on her birthday, things go awry, and she has to set off with her parents to try and break the curse. There is one great song at the end, What About Me, but the rest feels like … Continue reading Spellbound

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Immortal Beloved: 30th Anniversary

John Stark

Immortal Beloved: 30th Anniversary- Gary Oldman’s Surprise Symphony Quick Take: As someone who spent quite a bit of time in music classes, I think its funny how frequently I was treated to Amadeus, but all I remember was being shown about 5 minutes of Immortal Beloved at one point. So, technically, this is my first watch, even though I have this image burned into my brain of Gary Oldman as Beethoven. And, even though this has audio description, Amadeus is far and away the better film. With these anniversary releases, I always ask… “Did this stand the test of time?” … Continue reading Immortal Beloved: 30th Anniversary

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Larger Than Life: Reign Of The Boy Bands

John Stark

Larger Than Life: Reign Of The Boy Bands (Paramount Plus)- Justice For LFO! Quick Take: This made me wish I had gotten into the docuseries Dirty pop, because trying to cram the entire boy band movement into a reasonable film runtime is apparently harder than it looks. Not only did I think they spent very little time on major groups like Boyz II Men, but they also just didn’t mention groups like All 4 One and LFO. I guess they didn’t like girls who wear Abercrombie and Fitch. there’s quite a bit of time devoted to *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys, … Continue reading Larger Than Life: Reign Of The Boy Bands

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Maria

John Stark

Maria (Netflix) Could Angelina Jolie’s Grand Return Land Her An Oscar? Quick Take: When you hear “From the director of Jackie and Spencer”, the takeaway might be that you only remember the performances, and that is fair. Natalie Portman really swung for the accent in Jackie, and some people liked what Kristen Stewart did in Spencer. I’m not one of them. So, Pablo Lorraine is coming into Maria with a 50/50 shot of getting excellence from Angelina Jolie, and supporting her with a strong film. While I might have been mostly receptive to Maria, it seems as though many other … Continue reading Maria

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Quiz Show: 30th Anniversary

John Stark

Quiz Show: 30th Anniversary- Robert Redford’s Best Picture Nominee Is Still Fantastic Quick Take: As I am doing these anniversary releases, I’m realizing just how excellent some years were. 1994 brought us definitive classics like The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, and Forrest Gump, but also adored auteur efforts like Leon: The Professional and The Crow, and blockbuster smashes like The Lion King and True Lies. But, Quiz Show deserves to be remembered as well. The absolutely excellent historical drama unpacks the real story of 21, one of the original TV Game Shows, and how the producers rigged the results, and … Continue reading Quiz Show: 30th Anniversary