Category: Movie Review

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

War Of The Roses: 35th Anniversary

John Stark

War Of The Roses: 35th Anniversary- Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny Devito Quick Take: Both Romancing The Stone and War Of The roses hit anniversary years in 2024. The latter, directed by Danny Devito, is something I feel like I saw my mom watching once, tried about five minutes, and then it was over my head. As a kid, I really loved my kids centric fare, so I could have seen this anywhere from 1989-1993 and not understood or cared. Now, I see this as a nice reread for Michael Douglas and Kathleen turner. It isn’t the best. I think … Continue reading War Of The Roses: 35th Anniversary

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Kneecap

John Stark

Kneecap- An International Hopeful With Audio Description! Quick Take: From what I can tell, because I’ve seen almost the entire shortlist, this is one of two International Oscar hopefuls with audio description. If you’d like to check it out, Sony Pictures Classics currently has this on Netflix. It is Irish, and centers around the preservation of the Irish language, in staunch defense to the British colonial rule that seems to perpetually plague the Irish. They speak this language to keep it alive, and Kneecap is actually a punk rock band that rocks out in Irish. There is a fair amount … Continue reading Kneecap

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Oh Canada

John Stark

Oh, Canada- Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Jacob Elordi, Paul Schrader Quick Take: Another screener without audio description. Paul Schrader, whose last film I also did not have audio description for (Master Gardener) is back with Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, and Jacob Elordi for a Wes Anderson adjacent look at a man who was a draft dodger. There’s some quirky quality in interviewing the man as an older man (Gere), and seeing him in flashbacks as his younger self (Elordi). However, even though Schrader occasionally knocks films out of the park, which gets me interested, it does seem like his last … Continue reading Oh Canada

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Something In The Water

John Stark

Something In The Water- What Could It Be?!? Ariel? Nessie? Bo Derek? Nemo? Aquaman? Quick Take: Sharks. It is a shark movie. it shouldn’t be, but it is. The movie has a ton of promise, opening up looking nothing like a shark movie. We see a couple walking home one night, then a violent gang of teens badly beats one of them. From that perspective, we follow our victim,a year later, preparing to be a bridesmaid at a friends wedding. She’s since broken up with her partner from that night, but they’ll both be at the wedding. there are other … Continue reading Something In The Water

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Blair Witch Project: 25th Anniversary

John Stark

The Blair Witch Project: 25th Anniversary- Where Found Footage Found Footing Quick Take: I remember the hype. Kids these days don’t actually remember what it was like when films actually came out, but people actually really believed this was some weird snuff film. People thought they had really died. Found footage, as a major genre for mass consumption, really wasn’t a thing. Then a few film students from my Alma mater decided to take some cameras out into the woods, and change history. For better or worse, this movie is responsible for the found footage genre, but also really the … Continue reading The Blair Witch Project: 25th Anniversary

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Heretic

John Stark

Heretic- Could Hugh Grant Get An Oscar Nomination For This? Quick Take: this is the year of horror. Normally, horror movies don’t get their day in the awards sun, but several films have popped up various places, from a surprising Best Actress nomination for Smile 2 at the Astro awards, to the strong showing for horror-adjacent films like Love Lies bleeding and I Saw The tV Glow, to even recognition for performances in movies like Cuckoo. The International Oscar race even had a few titles that were being submitted by IFC/Shudder, including The Devil’s Bath. The film with the most … Continue reading Heretic

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

America’s Burning

John Stark

America’s Burning- Produced By Barry Levinson, Narrated By Michael Douglas Quick Take: Another screener afforded to me without audio description. However, this one becomes a bit of a challenge, as the time where you might add audio description has a built in narrator in the form of Michael Douglas. Douglas, who has teamed with Barry levinson as a producer, present a documentary that looks at the many things wrong with our country, and produces realistic options on how to change our bleak future. It would seem like a targeted hit job on either just Trump, or the right, but it … Continue reading America’s Burning

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Blitz

John Stark

Blitz (Apple Plus)- It Could Have Been So Much Better Quick Take: Steve McQueen is a great director. 12 Years A Slave, Widows, and Mangrove are all excellent.This is not. He made a very mediocre war film that was Apple’s final hope, that Oscar prognosticators had thought might find a groundswell at BAFTA, and it just ended up being one of the lost films of the year. Honestly, I didn’t hate Blitz. The audio description is insufficient, but it isn’t bad. It is just disappointing. Sometimes, it is bad to be disappointing. Like, while I still need to fully review … Continue reading Blitz

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary

John Stark

Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary- For Me, It Was Tuesday Quick Take:It was serendipitous. Sometimes I check Tubi, just to see if there’s something there to review, and right at the top of recommendations was Street Fighter. No audio description. 30th Anniversary. This is one of what I could call a “Good Bad Flick”, meaning I enjoy this, but I also think it is terrible. I remember being disappointed even as a kid, but also kinda blown away. What they do with various characters is just weird. Blanka? I guess it was always hard to put him on screen. The exception … Continue reading Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Remarkable Life Of ibelin

John Stark

the Remarkable Life Of Ibelin- A Love Letter To Those Gamer Friends You’ve Never Met Quick Take: The Warcraft doc of the year, available now on Netflix, talks about a player who was disabled, and found his online family through gaming, only to sadly pass away. It made me think a lot about being a gamer, and when someone you’ve known for sometime as a gamer tag just disappears, you wonder why. Before going blind, I played a ton of online games, and had a rich base of friends I’d never met. Some of us had exchanged real life information, … Continue reading The Remarkable Life Of ibelin

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Borderlands

John Stark

Borderlands- Eli Roth Was An Odd Choice For A PG-13 Version Quick Take: A lot has already been said about Lionsgate’s expensive foray into adapting Borderlands for the big screen. Not enough is being said about Lionsgate likely being the reason for the problem. Borderlands is a fun game, and it does have a story, which you advance through with the help of the most obnoxious sidekick in Claptrap. You can also team up with friends in the franchise, and run missions together. I’ve long wanted a Left 4 Dead movie, especially with how many excellent horror directors there are … Continue reading Borderlands

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Rob Peace

John Stark

Rob Peace- Am Inspirational Story weighed Down By Being An Inspirational Story Quick Take: Chiwetel Ejiofor tries his hand at directing again, and also acting in this inspirational film that is too busy being inspirational to really ever get off the ground. When we meet our young protagonist, we see that he has this challenged relationship with his father, which is made worse when his father is accused of, and convicted of murder. His son then has to balance seeking a better life for himself, getting an education, moving on with his life, finding love, and all the while burdened … Continue reading Rob Peace

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Nickel Boys

John Stark

Nickel Boys- A Bold Directorial Narrative Feature Debut Quick Take: Another screener without audio description, and one that I really wanted to have the track for. Ramel Ross made a strong directorial choice to tell this film in first person point of view, that I was really intrigued as to how the audio description team would handle it. Sadly, Amazon does not provide audio description for its screeners. Without my help, nickel Boys has gotten close to its Best Picture Oscar Nomination, after landing in the Golden Globe race. I ahve a feeling I will love the final product, but … Continue reading Nickel Boys

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Escape From Alcatraz: 45th Anniversary

John Stark

Escape From Alcatraz: 45th Anniversary- Clint Eastwood Must Get Off The Rock Quick Take: This is one I fell in love with at some point when it was on cable. It was in pretty decent rotation, so I think I’ve seen it more than once prior to watching it again with audio description. This is available in the Apple Store, if you are curious to see if Clint Eastwood can break out of the Rock. This is one where he’s just acting, and not directing, though it feels like he could have easily done both. It is an action packed … Continue reading Escape From Alcatraz: 45th Anniversary

Movie Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Sing Sing

John Stark

Sing Sing- Is This One Of The Very Best Of The Year? Quick Take: Last year, when critics were bouncing around festivals looking for 2023 Oscar contenders, the Toronto International Film Festival landed a buzzy indie that had everyone saying “just wait for 2024”. Coleman Domingo was already firmly in the race with Rustin, and the hope was this little gem would be given room to breathe by entering 2024 an early frontrunner. Then, A24 bought the film, and scheduled it for a summer release. last year, this helped the little indie Past Lives get noticed, but that ultimately led … Continue reading Sing Sing