Category: Movie Review

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Dog Man

John Stark

Dreamworks Animation has laid quite a groundwork for itself. There are so many of their projects that have gravitated into my favorites list, including the entire How To Train Your Dragon trilogy, Shrek, Shrek 2, The Prince Of Egypt, Kung Fu Panda, Rise Of The Guardians, and even Mr. Peabody and Sherman. After adding one more last year with the excellent The Wild Robot, their next project could have built on the momentum. Well, their next project is Dog Man. I immediately need to admit I’m not familiar with the source material at all, so it felt a little like … Continue reading Dog Man

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The Friend

John Stark

The Friend (2025)- Naomi Watts, Carla Gugino, Bill Murray, Constance Wu Quick Take: This is admittedly just my first thought of The Friend. I was invited to get an advance screener for this film, which actually didn’t arrive to me until after the release of this film, and it does have audio description, though like 95% of the screeners I get, it did not come with the track. So, I have a basic idea of the film, but the co-lead for Naomi Watts is a dog. I would consider audio description paramount for blind and low vision viewers. Naomi Watts … Continue reading The Friend

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The Rule Of Jennypen

John Stark

Originally making a splash at last year’s Fantastic Fest, The Rule Of jennypen stood out among the crowd for featuring two lead actors with Oscar nominations. So, Fantastic Fest took notice, and the movie won the acting prize for stars Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow. Then, it became a Shudder title, which led to any possible audio description appearances might be spotty. I’m unaware of any existing audio description for this, as not every Shudder title receives it, and having watched it without, I would say to blind and low-vision users, that it is unwatchable without it. The film centers … Continue reading The Rule Of Jennypen

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Sacramento

John Stark

Sacramento (2025)- Michael Angarano, Michael Cera, Kristen Stewart, Maya Erskine Opening this Friday in theatres is a real pain of a film. Sacramento, which has Michael Angarano with three hats as a star, writer, and director, is an indie comedy that feels a little like one of 2024’s best films. It isn’t that Jesse Eisenberg’s A real Pain has ownership on two close young men going on a journey together while the audience discovers how they are both wildly opposite and shockingly similar, its just that Eisenberg’s comedy did such a lovely job doing it. both features are short, and … Continue reading Sacramento

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O’Dessa

John Stark

Only the power of music can save your soul. I feel like we’ve seen this before. But, in Hulu’s exclusive premiere, O’dessa, the power of music compels you. What it compels you to do is a different question. it is possible that given time, O’dessa could be respected as a cult phenomenon. There are so many specific examples of movies that, for better or worse, popped into the zeitgeist even though by all accounts they shouldn’t have. Grease 2 has its own little following of fans, who either ironically or unironically watch the initial disappointment. when repo: the genetic Opera … Continue reading O’Dessa

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The Luckiest Man In America

John Stark

Imagine finding an old VHS tape of Press Your Luck from 1984, and being so inspired by this artifact that you decided to make it your American film debut. That’s exactly how Samir Oliveros got to gift us with The Luckiest Man In America. Based on the true story of Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser), a mild mannered ice cream truck driver who has a persistent dream of being on press Your Luck. he drives his truck all the way from Ohio to Los Angeles just to try and get on the show. He seems to the executive producer (David … Continue reading The Luckiest Man In America

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The Life List

John Stark

Since the last bucket list film was Blink, a film I was not fond of its messaging, the bar was fairly low going into The Life List for it to exceed expectations. Still, it is a Netflix release, and one that certainly doesn’t seem like it is poised for awards consideration. A lot of this has to do with Sofia Carson’s inability to land theatrical releases, and a seemingly unbreakable bond with Netflix,but Netflix also does this very well. In fact, while I can’t place the name of the film, I feel like there was a Netflix film where a … Continue reading The Life List

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The Martial Artist

John Stark

I don’t mind being sent films to review that are off my radar. I like independent film, and I want to support it as best I can. the truth is, that this sub-grouping of films rarely has audio description, which makes it a challenge to support. But, for a little film with a decidedly not A-list cast opening against Minecraft, I think it’s important for me to veer left and champion these types of films. Sometimes, these random titles end up being quite enjoyable, even with the struggle of the lack of accessibility. earlier this year, I was able to … Continue reading The Martial Artist

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Holland

John Stark

Holland (Amazon)- Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Gael Garcia Bernal, Jude Hill As someone who uses sites like Gold Derby to track the awards races, I have noticed that for the past two years, there was a Nicole Kidman mention for something called Holand, MI. It never materialized in 2023, nor did it join the multitude of projects Nicole Kidman churned out in 2024. Amazon instead opted to abandon this title in March of 2025, sidestepping a theatrical launch, and serving it to their hungry Prime subscribers.Should that give you pause? Perhaps. Holland is a bit of a mess, but it … Continue reading Holland

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Freaky Tales

John Stark

Freaky Tales (2025)- Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Ben Mendelssohn, Tom Hanks Quick Take: Anthology movies can be a tough sell, because often each segment can be weighed on their own merits. So, while you might like or love all or most, one segment that feels off, or just doesn’t inspire you the same way as the other segments, can change your perception of the totality of the work. For example, with last years Kinds of kindness, i found something in the first two segments, but struggled a bit more with the third and final. For Freaky Tales, I found myself … Continue reading Freaky Tales

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Control Freak

John Stark

What I can say about Control freak is that it has good audio description. Roy Samuelson is narrating this,and while he’s pretty much his consistent usual strong performer, this is a horror film, so the devil in these details belongs to the audio description writer. For a film that isn’t pervasively gory, but does have fleeting moments, and even some attempts at jump scares, the writing is strong. From describing pus coming out of a wound, to the manifestation of a demon, and an intense drowning flashback, this is a very well written film considering its genre. What it isn’t, … Continue reading Control Freak

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Wolfman

John Stark

Wolfman (2025)- Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner Need New Agents Part of Universal’s classic movie monsters, or now as they lovingly call it “the Dark universe”, is the Wolfman. Obviously, there are folk tales about werewolves predating this monster classic, but once a moon has been howled at, it cannot be unhowled. The howling has taken place. In fact, quite a few movies with wolf people in them have taken place, from the scary, like Dog Soldiers or An American Werewolf In London, to far more tame versions like Jacob in Twilight, or Teen Wolf (the Michael J fox version). … Continue reading Wolfman

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Helen And The Bear

John Stark

Helen And The Bear (2025)- Using Your Golden Years To Discover Who You Really Are If you’ve been paying attention to the news, and the way funding has been getting cut, you’ll know that documentarians are concerned about the future of their genre. Often these journalistic looks into various facets of our world are funded through grants, and if the grants go away, or a project is perceived as being a DEI film, it may not get funded. It’s a good thing then that Helen And The Bear is already out there in the festival circuit, because a film about … Continue reading Helen And The Bear

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The Electric State

John Stark

The Electric State (Netflix)- Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie Years ago I remember when Robopocalypse was being kicked around as a potential summer blockbuster, based on a best-selling novel. I believe Spielberg was actually interested at one time, but likely became more interested in ready Player One. Sometimes it is a blessing in disguise to not have your book turned into a film. I loved the ready Player One book, but not the film. Robopocalypse likely dodged a bullet. What didn’t dodge the bullet is the Electric State. While I have not read the source material, … Continue reading The Electric State

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The Parenting

John Stark

The Parenting (MAX)- This Movie Feels Tailor Made For Me It is always a cabin in the woods. No one ever rents a haunted condo in Fort Lauderdale on a timeshare. It is always something oddly rustic in these horror movies. I like horror comedies more than straight horror because I feel like it is easier to be funny and poke fun at the genre, than it is to be reliant upon jump scares that don’t work. Most of my favorite horror titles have a tinge of comedy to them, so I was already predisposed to liking this. the cast … Continue reading The Parenting