Category: Movie Review

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Steel Magnolias

John Stark

Again, living out my Oscar shame. Though, Steel Magnolias surprisingly was not nominated for as many Oscars as I would have assumed. Thanks to AMC Plus, I was able to watch this without the accessibility I need. I think about the supposed streaming wars, and the inevitable collapse of streamers, and I kind of wonder if the ones that are doing things like ignoring accessibility features will survive. Food for thought. But, likely your local theatre will do Steel Magnolias at some point, so you might have to cross that bridge of getting audio description in live theatre. This is … Continue reading Steel Magnolias

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Killers Of The Flower Moon

John Stark

No matter what words I have for this film, it already has won a barrage of trophies, and is a Best Picture nominee this year, among its many other nominations. Of course, it is directed by Martin Scorsese, who earned his 10th Best Director nomination, becoming the most lauded living director.It’s part of the reason streaming services like Apple and Netflix give him massive budgets for films that likely will never make that back. The profile his films hit, and the status he gives to them during awards season is almost this intangible quality you can’t put a price on. … Continue reading Killers Of The Flower Moon

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Terms Of endearment

John Stark

Continuing on my journey of watching Oscar films for the first time, a period I’ve come to call my shame period, I found Terms of Endearment. I found it without audio description, which is problematic, since this is a Best Picture winner. I’m of the belief that any Best Picture winner or film added to the National Film Registry should be required to have audio description. These are all cornerstones of cinema, even if in some cases we like films that didn’t win, or aren’t in the registry yet more. My thoughts on this include the fact that I didn’t … Continue reading Terms Of endearment

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The Retirement Plan

John Stark

Despite being offered gems in 2023, Nicolas Cage is still saying Yes to anything. No wonder he wants to retire. We are so close to having a Cage renaissance, but he desperately needs an agent who won’t put him in useless shit. The Retirement Plan is that. Useless. It’s a “guy with a particular set of skills” movie, when Cage is introduced as a former heavy who is drawn back in to protect his daughter and granddaughter.I think Cage has already done this Liam Neeson genre before, so I’m not sure why he’s back. And he just protected a child … Continue reading The Retirement Plan

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Anatomy Of A Fall

John Stark

Justine Treat’s lauded courtroom drama is exactly everything you’ve heard. And, Neon has come in clutch with an audio description track, allowing a rare international title that is accessible to American blind audiences. So, you too can live out the drama of this mostly in English title. Sandra Hueller plays an actress who is living with her husband, their son, and their dog. Seriously, the dog has been included in the awards circuit. I think the dog from this film has more awards than Ava Duvernay does for directing Origin. Pretty much at the top, we discover that the husband … Continue reading Anatomy Of A Fall

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American History X

John Stark

I’ve been trying to watch Oscar movies I hadn’t seen before and cover all the streaming services I typically cover. Hulu being the exception, because it would seem every film I find on there that has an Oscar nomination. I’m very familiar with. Tubi, which just started into audio description this year, has an atrocious list of films with audio description, rarely offering films people want to actually watch. Shockingly, none of them have ever been nominated for an Oscar. Broadening my search, while I would have preferred this review to be la Cage Aux Folles (even with English dubbing), … Continue reading American History X

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Birth/Rebirth

John Stark

the good news is that you can find this title with audio description. the bad news, is despite this being a Shudder release, and on AMC Plus, you won’t find it there. If I was going to wait this long to see Birth/Rebirth, I decided I’d rent the damn thing and make sure I got the audio description. It helps that I’m a voting member for the Spirit Awards and this is in consideration. However, I didn’t use the non-audio described screener offered to me. I knew too many people who kept swearing this was the best, or one of, … Continue reading Birth/Rebirth

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Murderball

John Stark

When I decided to start revealing my failings with Oscar nominees I hadn’t seen yet, I remembered having seen a certain title on the list for Peacock, and I knew what I was watching. Somehow, despite the fact that the majority of the described content on Peacock does not predate the streaming service, even with their own content, and even with titles that have known audio description, Murderball has audio description. It’s not a Universal or Focus release, it is 20 years old, and a documentary I’m sure isn’t climbing their ratings ranks. However, this nominee qualifies. Yes, nominee. It … Continue reading Murderball

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An Officer And A Gentleman

John Stark

Love lift me up! Yes, this is part of a series where I’ve been crunching some Oscar films that I hadn’t seen before. I always assumed this was a romantic drama that I’d get around to if I felt like it. The romantic part is the least interesting thing about this film. the most interesting? It has audio description right now on MAX! Also, I had no idea Taylor Hackford (Ray, Ant-Man) directed this. It’s a shame that Richard Gere wasn’t nominated, and when it comes time to revisit this year, I hope I have finally seen enough content to … Continue reading An Officer And A Gentleman

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The Shepard

John Stark

Disney Plus has another short film contender this year in which they partnered with Alfonso Cuaron. Just like last years, it’s also vaguely a Christmas movie, and it’s also just OK. I feel like these budgeted short films with major talent attached to them are kind of making the short category less fun for breakthrough potential from new directors. It’s a perfectly nice film set on Christmas Eve, with a predictable ending. It involves wartime, and planes. Talking about something this short much beyond that will spoil it entirely, so let’s just say I have faith in any audience to … Continue reading The Shepard

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Lakota Nation vs United States

John Stark

I really do wish that AMC Plus would consider hosting all of the existing audio description, especially for its own AMC, IFC, and Shuddder titles. It actively makes them look like they are trying to dismiss the accessibility needs of a disenfranchised population. Hey, look, it’s a documentary about a disenfranchised population. What are the odds? I watched this without audio description, and while I’m sure this could have been made better, this is a pretty straight forward exploration of how we have continuously screwed over the indigenous populations of this country, especially the titular Lakota Nation. This has quite … Continue reading Lakota Nation vs United States

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Bedknobs And Broomsticks

John Stark

This little window of time where I keep watching random titles on streaming services that were nominated for Oscars but I still hadn’t seen has been rewarding. One of those titles is this film right here. Yes, I’ve never seen the utterly bonkers Bedknobs and Broomsticks. It feels like a project that was green lit because of the success of Mary Poppins, and Angela Lansbury jumped in because she was affronted that she wasn’t Mary Poppins, so she was going to do this… dammit. Disney has let Roundabout do the audio description, which has been a mixed bag in the … Continue reading Bedknobs And Broomsticks

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Dog Day Afternoon

John Stark

My readers are learning a lot more about which classics have eluded me all these years as I continue to fill the pre-Oscar nominee period with Oscar nominees I had never seen. Of course, this is a biggie. It’s usually on lists of the best films ever made, and I’m positive is on an AFI list of some kind. Sidney Lumet, making his second appearance in this timeframe, directs Al Pacino in an electric performance about a bank robbery gone wrong. Of course, they didn’t count on being up against One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. But, with multiple Oscar … Continue reading Dog Day Afternoon

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society Of The Snow

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Netflix English Description Provided By Descriptive Video Works Written By David Chen Narrated By Paula Hoffman Directed By JA Bayona I posted a review of this on my YouTube, and i happened to mention that the film was a little long. Not necessarily a bad thing, depending on how you pace the film, and someone commented that 72 days in the Andes is a long time. Well, yeah, and as intensely tragic as these circumstances are, the film isn’t 72 days long either. Movies are meant to capture and funnel the ideas into a more succinct … Continue reading society Of The Snow

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Amistad

John Stark

when I was in film school, there used to be classes that tackled the body of work of a prolific director. When I took it, I was lucky enough to land Alfred Hitchcock, so I’ve taken a class that was a full dive into the Cock. But, the semester before was Steven Spielberg, and perhaps I would not be here having to admit I never saw Amistad. Although, after having seen it, i can actually feel pretty good in saying it’s not in my top 10 for whatever year or crop of films it was against. Spielberg has heavy hitters, … Continue reading Amistad