Author: John Stark

Blogger. EIC of macthemovieguy.com. Contributor to mjsbigblog.com and houseofgeekery.com. Previously featured on starpulse.com.
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Harold And The Purple Crayon

John Stark

Not the most obvious choice for a film adaptation, but I liked it. It takes Harold out of the book and sends him on a journey to find his creator (the author of the book), along with his friends from the book, and his purple crayon. It smartly casts Zachary Levi, who is great at playing a manchild, and puts him opposite Zooey Deschanel, who is excellent at dealing with manchildren. Like Elf, which she starred in, she’s the voice of reason as Harold brings this new perspective. This was an utter failure, and it seems like everyone disliked this, … Continue reading Harold And The Purple Crayon

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Always: 35th Anniversary

John Stark

Always: 35th Anniversary- The Often Never Mentioned Steven Spielberg Film Quick Take: When tackling movies with audio descriptions that were in an anniversary year, I took this opportunity to get one film closer to having seen Spielberg’s entire filmography. I’m really close now, and basically the remaining ones are films people try to ignore. I’ve seen all his heavy hitters. Always is definitely at the bottom of his list, or near it, depending on your taste, which is sad because it is also the final film for Audrey Hepburn. For that reason alone, I enjoyed it. She doesn’t have a … Continue reading Always: 35th Anniversary

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Timecut

John Stark

TimeCut (Netflix)- Didn’t I See This Movie Already? Last Year? Quick Take: Last year, Amazon released Totally Killer, which saw Kiernan Shirpka travel back in time to save her mom from a serial killer. Netflix took that plot, and made it more confounding. Based on the dates given, this doesn’t make any sense. Bailee Madison now has to travel back, to save her sister, who was murdered 20 ears ago. but, she’s a teenager now, so like… her sister would be how old? I kept trying to pick up what this movie was putting down, and the random time travel … Continue reading Timecut

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Janet Planet

John Stark

Janet Planet- A24’s Spin On Coming Of Age Movies Quick Take: A24 gravitates toward movies that that take often typical concepts and present them in atypical fashion. Case in point, Annie Baker’s feature directorial debut Janet Planet, which evokes a similar style of last year’s Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret?, which was well received already. Toss that into a blender, with a dash of and a dash of a more complicated mother/daughter dynamic like in something like Anywhere But Here or 13, and you have the groundwork for this three act story. What looks like a coming of … Continue reading Janet Planet

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The Small Screen Diaries- 12/21/24

John Stark

One voting block done. It was all film, and I had the opportunity to vote for several of my favorites this year, including )in at least one category): Ghostlight, Conclave, The Substance, Ezra, A Real Pain, Nickel Boys, September 5, A Complete unknown, Sing Sing, The Last Showgirl, Late Night With The Devil, nosferatu, Deadpool and Wolverine, It’s What’s inside, Strange Darling, Boy Kills World, A Wild Robot, The Commandante’s Shadow, Wicked, Hard Truths, Problemista, and many others. It isn’t 100% reflective of my personal lists, which I’ll put out later, but I worked around titles that had been deemed … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 12/21/24

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My Favorite Martian: 25th Anniversary

John Stark

My Favorite Martian: 25th Anniversary- Does It Hold Up? Did It Ever? Quick Take: So, I only have passing knowledge of the TV show, and this was my first time watching this. Not every movie stands the test of time, and much like the 90’s adaptation of Leave it To Beaver, I’m pretty sure this has been buried. I’m surprised it had audio description on Disney Plus. The cast is intriguing, ranging from Jeff Daniel’s and Christopher Llloyd to Elizabeth Hurley and Wallace Shawn. Did it stand the test of time? Honestly, if this was the 10th Anniversary, I’d answer … Continue reading My Favorite Martian: 25th Anniversary

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Entrapment: 25th Anniversary

John Stark

Entrapment: 25th Anniversary- The Film Sean Connery Made Instead Of The Matrix  Quick Take: Entrapment isn’t a groundbreaking piece of cinema, but it is a fairly entertaining film from a very strong year full of movies. Sean Connery plays an experienced thief who is either being taken as a mark by Catherine Zeta-Jones, or she is actually a real thief herself, and her job is the cover. A game of cat and mouse is afoot, and for good measure, there’s a little bit of sexual tension between the generationally different leads, but it isn’t driving the story. In 1999, … Continue reading Entrapment: 25th Anniversary

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The Small Screen Diaries- 12/20/24

John Stark

So, this diary, and likely tomorrow’s will be a bit light on TV. I’ve been able to balance a pretty impressive amount of shows and movies, but basically today (Saturday) is one of my deadlines for guild voting. So, I’m going to cram a lot of movies in just in case something strikes my fancy at the last minute. Not a ton of TV here today, nor likely tomorrow. But… some. TV Shows Watched: Silo: S2E5 (Apple Plus) with audio description, St Dennis Medical: S1E? (Peacock) with audio description, No Good Deed: S1E5 (Netflix) with audio description, and Dream Productions: … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 12/20/24

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Patrice: The movie

John Stark

Patrice: The movie (Hulu)- A Winning Documentary With A Heart Of Gold Quick Take: It has been a minute, but when I saw this, the audio description track was FUBAR. I mentioned this, and an enterprising person let the producers of the film know, who responded basically with an apology and the fact that Hulu hadn’t responded to them. i don’t know if it has been fixed, but I loved Patrice either way. The movie centers around a disabled couple who just want to be able to put a ring on it, but due to current legislation, if they were … Continue reading Patrice: The movie

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Canary Black

John Stark

Canary Black (Amazon) The Director Of Taken Gives Kate Beckinsale A Set Of Skills Quick Take: A desperately forgettable vehicle for Kate Beckinsale finds her as a spy pushed to treacherous limits to save the one she loves. A simple premise. Director Pierre Morel is famous for giving Liam Neeson a particular set of skills, and the starved Kate Beckinsale is looking for leading vehicles that don’t involve reviving the Underworld franchise. Though, in this day and age, it does seem inevitable that Underworld will return with or without her. Based on the mediocrity of Canary Black, I’d suggest to … Continue reading Canary Black

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Natural Born Killers: 30th Anniversary

John Stark

Natural Born Killers: 30th Anniversary- Is Oliver Stone’s Controversial Film Resonant Today? Quick Take: Oliver Stone’s treatise on “if it bleeds it leads”, and a reflective look at violence in the media was sensationalized in 1994, but now seems like it was ahead of its time. The conversation on violence in the media certainly hasn’t gone away, but our news is still fascinated by mundane killings, because our society has become ultra obsessed with true crime. Natural Born Killers pre-dates an era of mass shootings, and true crime podcasts. In 1994, Dateline and 20/20 used to cover stories outside of … Continue reading Natural Born Killers: 30th Anniversary

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The Small Screen Diaries- 12/19/24

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Jurassic World: Chaos Theory: S2E10 (Netflix) with audio description, Black Doves: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Creature Commandoes: S1E4 (MAX) with audio description, Laid: S1E1 (Peacock) with audio description, Are You Smarter Than A celebrity?: S1E? (Amazon) with audio description, Happy’s Place: S1E? (Peacock) with audio description, and The Masked Singer: Season Finale (Hulu) no audio description. Podcasts/YouTube:: None Movies: Rumors (Apple Store) with audio description, Wicked (Screener) no audio description, Red One (Amazon) audio description, Handling The Undead (Screener/Hulu) no audio description, Zarofsky V Texas (screener) no audio description Best Episode Watched Yesterday: Black Doves- This … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 12/19/24

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Trap

John Stark

Trap- Finally, M. Night Reveals The Twist At The Beginning For A Change Quick Take: It is a little bit of a spoiler to talk about wht this film really is, but for once, M Night Shyamalan reveals his hand really early on. there’s something oddly refreshing about seeing him throw a twist at the top, because you aren’t quite sure if there will be another, or if he is boldly evolving as a filmmaker. But, the movie centers around a father (Josh Hartnett) who is taking his daughter to a concert for her favorite artist. When he gets there, … Continue reading Trap

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The Small Screen Diaries- 12/18/24

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Skeleton Crew: S1E4 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Shrinking: S2E10 (Apple plus) with audio description, No Good Deed: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, Dream productions: S1E2 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Diplomat: S2E1 (Netflix) with audio description, Frasier: S2E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description YouTube/Podcasts: None Movies: Blink (Disney Plus) with audio description, Good one (Screener) No Audio Description, Dear Santa (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Piece By piece (screener) has audio description. Best Episode Waatched Yesterday: Shrinking- I have to go with this as it starts to wrap up its second season. i was pretty … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 12/18/24

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The Small Screen Diaries- 12/17/24

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Cobra Kai: S6E10 (Netflix) with audio description, No Good Deed: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, What We Do In The Shadows: S6E10 (Hulu) With Audio Description, La Macquina: S1E3 (Hulu) with audio description, Get Millie Black: S1E4 (MAX) with audio description, Call Me Ted: S1E5 (MAX) with audio description, Abbott Elementary: S4E8 (Hulu) with audio description, and A Man On The Inside: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description. Podcasts/Youtube: Mostly limited to critics for films without audio description, but I did watch the Oscar Expert break down the Oscar Shortlists. Some pretty sad snubs. Very odd choices. I … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 12/17/24