Category: Movie Review

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Going In Blind: The Birthday Party

John Stark

I really do enjoy Willem Dafoe as an actor. I have this thing where a lot of times performances and actors sell me on movies even more than what the actual film is about, or anything else about the film. Sometimes I can just see that there’s an actor in a film and I’m immediately more intrigued by their presence, and it makes me want to see it. So when I was offered the opportunity to screen The Birthday Party, starring Willem Dafoe, I was at first concerned that it might not be in English, but after I was assured … Continue reading Going In Blind: The Birthday Party

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Going In Blind: Union COunty

John Stark

This would not be the first film about drug addiction, nor would it be the first film about the rehabilitation process. The state of battling addiction, no matter what it was you were addicted to, is a bit of a gold mine, albeit a depressing one, for filmmakers. Often, that’s because it allows for personal reflection and offers that human connection to the audience. People will watch Union County and immediately be able to relate to it or take something away from it, whether they themselves have found themselves on the exact same path or they’ve watched somebody else go … Continue reading Going In Blind: Union COunty

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

The Last House

John Stark

It’s only been a short period of time since The Last House dropped on Netflix, and I’ve already seen some really wild reactions to the film. The latest in Netflix’s continued onslaught of skipping theatrical brings recent Academy Award nominee Wagner Moura and Greta Lee to a pandemic-era-style film where it’s a limited location, trapped inside a house with seemingly no end in sight. The director bringing this masterpiece to life is Louis Leterrier, the man behind The Transporter, The Incredible Hulk, and Now You See Me, and unfortunately, most recently, Fast X, which was not a great film and … Continue reading The Last House

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert

John Stark

In case you thought that year where Austin Butler walked around doing every interview pretending he was such a heavy method actor that he couldn’t shake his Elvis Presley voice was some sort of fever dream, it actually wasn’t. Baz Luhrmann really did direct an Elvis biopic, and it really was nominated for multiple Oscars. As a byproduct of making that film, Luhrmann clearly developed an even deeper fascination with Elvis Presley, and that eventually led him to dig through archival material, restore and assemble footage from different performances, and create one of the most exhilarating concert films I’ve ever … Continue reading EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

The Highest Stakes

John Stark

Every once in a while I watch a movie where I can see that the elevator pitch is solid, and somewhere along the way it just got lost. Maybe there was a good treatment that slowly became muddled in the screenplay, or perhaps the director simply wasn’t sure how to translate the concept to the screen. Whatever happened, The Highest Stakes is built around an interesting premise that never quite works. It reminded me of those morality tales where some unseen force gathers a group of people together for reasons that aren’t immediately clear, with the audience slowly uncovering the … Continue reading The Highest Stakes

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy

John Stark

Probably one of the most prominent documentaries in my life remains Super Size Me. It’s one of only a handful of documentaries that I’ve watched more than once. It followed documentarian Morgan Spurlock as he attempted to survive on nothing but McDonald’s for an entire month, ordering breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the Golden Arches. Every meal came with an entrée, fries, and a drink, and back when McDonald’s still offered Super Size, he agreed to supersize only when the cashier asked if he wanted to. His health absolutely cratered over the course of the experiment. Spurlock has since passed … Continue reading Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy

Editorial, Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Wishing You Were Somehow Human Again: 23,000 Lives (2026)

John Stark

One thing that continues to frustrate me is trying to figure out Netflix’s logic for deciding which international originals get English audio description and which ones don’t. Sometimes it feels like they’re just spinning a wheel. I still can’t get over the fact that Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar-nominated Roma never received an English audio description track, nor did acclaimed films like Bardo or El Conde. Yet I stumble across a German film called 23,000 Lives, something I’d never even heard of, and it not only has English audio description, it even has an English dub. Granted, the description uses a synthetic … Continue reading Wishing You Were Somehow Human Again: 23,000 Lives (2026)

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Hokum

John Stark

I have not seen all of Damian McCarthy’s filmography. My experience with him is still fairly limited, but after being so pleasantly surprised by Oddity, I was excited to see what he would do next. Oddity impressed me not simply because it featured a blind lead character, but because of the way McCarthy created genuine fear and sustained tension without relying on an endless barrage of cheap jump scares. I appreciate horror directors who aren’t dependent on excessive gore or loud stingers, but instead want to build a story, develop memorable characters, and slowly tighten the screws. That approach is … Continue reading Hokum

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Untitled Home Invasion Romance

John Stark

Warm apple pie. That’s what it feels like to direct your first feature. Or at least that’s what I imagine Jason Biggs would say, that directing his first feature was like warm apple pie. Yes, Jim from American Pie has grown up and is now directing Untitled Home Invasion Romance, which is, in fact, the title of the movie. It’s not like they forgot to name it. They’re trying to be clever, much like Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, or any of those other films that tell you exactly what they are while pretending they aren’t. Jason Biggs stars … Continue reading Untitled Home Invasion Romance

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Going In Blind: Tow

John Stark

Rose Byrne had a great 2025. Technically it bled into 2026, the year she actually heard the words “Academy Award nominee,” but the film that earned her that recognition, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, was released in 2025. It was excellent, one of my ten favorite films of the year, and easily the best performance of her career. That’s a tough act to follow, but she’s followed it up with another terrific performance in a film that, for some reason, seems to have entered the witness protection program. Did you even know she starred in a movie this … Continue reading Going In Blind: Tow

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Over Your Dead Body

John Stark

Over Your Dead Body looked like it was tailor-made for me. You have Jason Segel starring in a film directed by Jorma Taccone, the man who gave us one of the most underrated comedies of my lifetime, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched that movie or listened to the soundtrack, but it’s one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. So I was hoping Over Your Dead Body, which is billed as a horror comedy, would capture even a fraction of that energy. Alongside Segel is Samara Weaving as his wife, Lisa, an … Continue reading Over Your Dead Body

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

The Devil’s Mouth

John Stark

*Spoiler Warning* Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. Or perhaps it never was. Ever since Steven Spielberg made it appealing to tell stories about sharks in the water, everybody has been chasing the same dream: one day standing on top of Shark Mountain and saying, “I did it. I beat Steven Spielberg. I made a film greater than Jaws.” It’s literally impossible, and the hundreds of shark movies we’ve gotten since have proven that. The best you can hope for is to stand on your own as a great shark movie that sits … Continue reading The Devil’s Mouth

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie

John Stark

Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie is definitely the most fun title to say in 2026. Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie. It feels like I’ve somehow successfully defeated a tongue twister, even though it’s not really a tongue twister. It’s just remembering to list everything in the right order. First they’re the band, then there was the show, and now there’s the movie. And if you’re thinking to yourself, “Wait, is this a Kurt Cobain thing?” No. It’s not that Nirvana. This is a completely different Nirvana the Band, and they are not famous at all. Well, … Continue reading Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Avatar Ang: The Last Airbender

John Stark

There’s certainly been a lot of frustration surrounding the takeover of Paramount, CBS, Paramount+, and the rest of the company’s brands by David Ellison. Early on, I remember reading comments from one of the executives brought in to evaluate the studio’s future, talking about which brands were considered viable and which weren’t. That mindset didn’t exactly inspire confidence, especially when projects started disappearing. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series spun off from Mutant Mayhem was canceled despite already having episodes completed, and the most recent Dora series also had a large number of finished episodes left sitting on the shelf. … Continue reading Avatar Ang: The Last Airbender

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

The Sheep Detectives

John Stark

I think in any other year, The Sheep Detectives would be in the Oscar conversation, which seems like a crazy thing to say because just hearing there’s a movie called The Sheep Detectives immediately makes you wonder how on earth. But hear me out. Babe was a Best Picture nominee because it was original, it had heart, and it really took advantage of the technology available at the time to tell this wonderfully charming story about a little pig. The Sheep Detectives feels like that kind of unexpected movie. It takes this absolutely bonkers premise about a shepherd, played by … Continue reading The Sheep Detectives