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- 10/19/24

John Stark

TV News: Shockingly, the ratings are down this season for Abbott Elementary. Who would have thought placing it after The Golden Bachelorettee, and leading it into… is anyone even watching the lead out show? Skemanda? What is that? Who would have thought that dropping this show into the middle of nonsensical bullshit would lead to lower live ratings. I’m sure its streaming numbers will be fine on Hulu, but does ABC really think that’s a great time slot? TV Shows I Watched: Disclaimer: S1E4 (Apple Plus), Hysteria: S1E1 (Peacock) with audio description, Teacup: S1E3 (Peacock) with audio description, The Legend … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 10/19/24

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Gary

John Stark

When I grew up, it was basically at this time where Gary Coleman had almost become dehumanized into a celebrity punchline. I didn’t grow up watching him on TV, and only knew about him from his coverage in tabloaids. He seemed to be this thing people enjoyed to watch, but not appreciate why they ever wanted to watch him in the first place. While Gary Coleman clearly has his own story, this is really a pervasive problem with child stars, as they really become tabloid fodder far more than they should. I think the culmination of this peaked with Honey … Continue reading Gary

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We Will Dance Again

John Stark

Much like how last year’s 20 Days In Mariupol touched me on a very visceral level, this harrowing exploration of concertgoers desperately trying anything to stay alive is one of the most powerful things you could possibly watch this year. It takes interviews with survivors, and mixes it with found footage, to tell a terrifying narrative of HAMAS terrorists that caught everyone off guard, and left behind a wake and range of victims. If you are wondering why the war in Israel is continuing on, this is a documentary for that answer. People came from all over to attend this … Continue reading We Will Dance Again

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The Small Screen Diaries- 10/19/24

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Disclaimer: S1E3 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage: S1E1 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Rivals: S1E1 (Hulu) no audio description, Grotesquery: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description, the Old Man: S1E? (Hulu) with audio description, NCIS: Origins- S1E2 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Young Sheldon: S3E13 (MAX) with audio description, The Masked Singer: S12E4 (Hulu) no audio description, SNL: S50E2 (Peacock) with audio description, and Emily In Paris: S4E9 (Netflix) with audio description. Podcasts: Next Best picture (Interview: Anna Kendrick), Matter Of Opinion (Politics) YouTube: Oscar Expert (October Acting Predictions), Breakfast All Day (Review: … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 10/19/24

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The Small Screen Diaries- 10/17/24

John Stark

TV News: Silo fans. Get excited. The hit Apple plus drama returns in November! TV Shows Watched: Agatha All Along: S1E6 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Heartstopper: S3E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory: S2E1 (Netflix) with audio description, Starting Five: S1E10 *(Netflix) with audio description, Love Is Blind: S7E10 (Netflix) with audio description, Colin From Accounts: S2E3 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Are You Smarter Than A celebrity?: S1E1 (Amazon), and Abbott Elementary: S4E2 (Hulu) with audio description. Podcasts: Friends From Work (Marvel) YouTube: Chris Stuckmann (Review: Smile 2), Jeremy Jahns (review: The Substance) Movies Watched: None … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 10/17/24

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The Small Screen Diaries- 10/16/24

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Bad Monkey: S1E8 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Where’s Wanda: S1E4 (Apple plus) with audio description, High Potential: S1E4 (Hulu) with audio description, American Sports Story: S1E6 (Hulu) with audio description, Teacup: S1E2 (Peacock) with audio description, Starting Five: S1E9 (Netflix) with audio description Podcasts: The Gole Derby Podcast (Predicting SAG), Christian Harloff Show (Sony still wants to make Sinister Six), and The NPR Politics Podcast (Politics) YouTube: None Movies Watched: Van Helsing (Netflix) with audio description So, today’s shoutout needs to go to Teacup. International Digital Center is doing this one. I’m intrigued by this show, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 10/16/24

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The Small Screen Diaries- 10/15/24

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The English Teacher: S1E8 (Hulu) with audio description, Solar Opposites: S5E11 (Hulu) with audio description, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft: S1E7 and S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Starting Five: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, 911: Lone Star- S5E4 (Hulu) no audio description, Queen’s Court: S1E4 (Peacock) with audio description, and only Murders In the Building: S4E8 (Hulu) with audio description. Podcasts: Awards Chatter (interview: Joan Chen) Youtube: The Awards Contender: (His Top 10 Favorite Wins That Everyone Else Hates)- Some totally debatable choices. Movies Watched: House On Haunted Hill (Tubi) no audio description the QC … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 10/15/24

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The Small Screen Diaries- 10/14/24

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: the Penguin: S1E4 (MAX) with audio description, the Franchise: S1E2 (MAX) with audio description, Tracker: S2E1 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Starting Five: S1E7 (Netflix) with audio description, Tomb Raider: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Heartstopper: S3E6 (Netflix) with audio description, and Last Week Tonight: Most Recent (MAX) no audio description. Podcasts: Offline with Jon Faverau (Politics), Breaking Points (Politics), and The NPR Politics Ummm… Politics?) YouTube: None Movies: Unfriended (Netflix) with audio description I have to keep complimenting Dakota Green for her excellent audio description for the Penguin. Just excellent work. But, I think I sleep … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 10/14/24

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The Small Screen Diaries- 10/13/24

John Stark

Movie News: A question to ponder… does the announcement that Dreamworks is already developing a sequel to The Wild Robot hurt its chances at winning an Oscar/ Does it somehow make it feel less special? TV Shows Watched: Daryl Dixon: S2E3 (AMC Plus) No Audio Description, The Ark: S2E12 (Peacock) with audio description, Grotesquery: S1E56 (Hulu) with audio description, Tomb Raider: S1E5 (Netflix), Starting Five: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description), Heartstopper: S3E5 (Netflix) with audio description, and have I got News For You? S1E5 (MAX) no audio description. Podcasts: Pod Save America (Politics), The interview (JD Vance) YouTube: Breakfast All … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 10/13/24

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The Small Screen Diaries- 10/12/2024

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Disclaimer: S1E2 (Apple Plus), Starting Five: S1E5 (Netflix) with audio description, Pachenko: S2E8 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Tomb Raider: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, Teacup: Peacock) with audio description, Love Is Blind: S7E8 (Netflix) with audio description, The Legend Of Vox Machina: S3E4 (Amazon) with audio description, Futurama: S5E7 (Hulu) no audio description Podcasts: None YouTube: Perry Nimaroff (FYC: Best Actor Predictions) Movies: Bad Boys Ride Or Die (Netflix) with audio description, Wimbledon (Netflix) with audio description, Lonely Planet (Netflix) with audio description, Didi (Peacock) with audio description A format I haven’t used in a while. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 10/12/2024

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Stopping The Steal

John Stark

I’m hesitant to write a review of this film. My YouTube review attracted trolls, so I disabled comments. So, let’s break this down into truths. 5) It does feel like there are gaps in who they were able to talk to. While Barr is the big get, there should have been more dots along the way. The audio description was fine. It did feel like it could have been balanced a bit louder, but that’s just a little thing. It is audible, but I might have kicked it up a notch. Despite my political leanings, I don’t just throw out … Continue reading Stopping The Steal

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Daddio

John Stark

Films like this often fall under the radar in terms of “exceptional audio description”. It seems like we look at the complex, and think about how much is being thrown at the screen and how amazingly it all was seemingly translated to us through the power of audio description. But, what we don’t often recognize is the simplicity, and what a solid audio description team can do with that. What do you have to describe when your film has two characters, and they rarely change location, position, and certainly never clothing. How do you manage this around a script that … Continue reading Daddio

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Spooky Season: 10 Movies On Paramount Plus With Audio Description For A Fright

John Stark

Already behind me this season are Hulu, Disney Plus, Peacock, and MAX. The Mountain is up next, and the question is… do they deliver an avalanche of horror? 2) A Quiet Place The Mountain is home right now to all three films in this series, but I prefer the OG. Directed by John Krasinski, this horror/thriller with deadly aliens murdering everything that makes sound is so well directed. You forget it is directed by Jim from The Office. The performances here are also really strong for a genre nomination, and while her first Oscar nomination was for Oppenheimer, would anyone … Continue reading Spooky Season: 10 Movies On Paramount Plus With Audio Description For A Fright

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The Small Screen diaries: 10/11/24

John Stark

TV News: Netflix has ordered a second season of Nobody Wants This, but has also cancelled Rob Lowe’s underrated Unstable after 2 seasons. TV Shows Watched: Disclaimer: S1E1 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Tomb Raider: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Starting Five: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, Queens court: S1E3 (Peacock) with audio description, The old man: S2E6 (Hulu) with audio description, Grotesquery: S1E5 (Hulu) with audio description, The Masked Singer: S12E3 (Hulu) no audio description, The Daily Show: Most Recent (Paramount Plus) no audio description, 911: S7E6 (Hulu) with audio description. Podcasts: None YouTube: Adam Does Movies (Review: Apartment … Continue reading The Small Screen diaries: 10/11/24

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Child Star

John Stark

Demi Lovato’s directorial debut follows a few looks at child stardom this year, namely the buzzy docuseries Quiet on set, but also Andrew McCarthy’s Bratz, and even Gary, which took an expansive look at child star Gary Coleman. Lobato has made a lot of friends along the way, and she gets to do a little of what Quiet On set and Brats did, which is sit down with these major players and discuss what went wrong, or what went right. She also blends this with her own story, so it ends up being half a Demi Lovato story. I can … Continue reading Child Star