Category: Movie Review

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Somewhere In Time

John Stark

Believe it or not, this is an Oscar nominated film, which helped me on my journey to try and review an Oscar nominee I never watched before off all my streaming services. This was on FreeVee. I can honestly say, I’ve met people who *this* is their favorite film. I never quite understood that, but I’ve always been intrigued. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour in a time travel romance. what could go wrong? Well, honestly, I don’t really know, because there’s no audio description. However, the plot is silly. Reeve plays a man who falls in love with a woman … Continue reading Somewhere In Time

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The Unknown Country

John Stark

I decided after her Gotham win that I needed to know about Lily Gladstone’s other film. It seemingly came out of nowhere, just suddenly winning her a Best Actress prize, and not for Killers Of The Flower Moon. I’m glad that I saw this even if it didn’t have audio description, as it gave me more of an idea of Gladstone’s range, but this film is about as independent as you can get. not that independent is really a genre, except to say it takes a lot more artistic choices than films aimed at the mainstream. It also does not … Continue reading The Unknown Country

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Vanilla Sky

John Stark

Where I Watched It: MGM Plus English Audio Description?: Yes Starring: Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee, Kurt Russell, Timothy Spall, Noah Taylor, Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, Johnny Galecki, Ken Leung, and Alicia Witt. Written and Directed By: Cameron Crowe My Oscar shame tour is continuing up until Oscar nominations are announced, with me taking this time to review films I had never seen before that were nominated. MGM Plus had an odd selection, and most didn’t have audio description, or I had seen them. I landed on Vanilla Sky, which I have seen, because I figured time … Continue reading Vanilla Sky

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Passages

John Stark

This is another exploration of why we need audio description. I rented Passages after it started popping up in awards races, before I was ever granted access as a member of Film Independent. Apple wasn’t offering audio description, and with the film being distributed by Mubi, things weren’t looking good. There’s a lot of French here, so unless you are fluent, or French Canadian, likely Passages is going to get you with a language barrier. Even the role occupied with Ben Whishaw isn’t enough to make up the difference. he’s supporting, and the film is really about an un likable … Continue reading Passages

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The Poseidon Adventure

John Stark

Another Oscar nominee I’ve never had the pleasure. It’s a shame too, because the cast is really a strong cast for the time period, and with a special Oscar for visual effects (before there was a full category), I kinda want to know how good this really looks. But, alas. This is on Starz, which of course means it doesn’t have audio description, because searching for audio description or someone who cares about it at Starz is like trying to find El Dorado or Atlantis. A futile and stupid gesture that I keep doing anyway. But, I have seen, and … Continue reading The Poseidon Adventure

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Sound Of Freedom

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Amazon English Audio Description?: No Cast: Jim Caveizel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp Written By: Rod Barr Directed By: Alejandro Monteverdi I dreaded the attention a review of this might bring to my YouTube, and that landed without any disruption, so let’s talk about Sound Of Freedom. A couple of things. I’m glad Mira Sorvino is working. Jim Caveizel is not my favorite human being, but he has turned in some terrific performances in his career. I do really love Frequency, and I even thought When The Game Stands Tall used him rather well. i pretty … Continue reading Sound Of Freedom

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The Wiz

John Stark

As you might have noticed with my review of Harriet, I’ve been dipping into the realm of Oscar nominees I had never seen before, since January is the month for Oscar voting, my Best Of 2023 lists, and eventually Oscar nominees. We already had the Golden Globes, we’ve had SAG nominations, DGA nominations, BAFTA shortlists, and today the PGA is supposed to be announced. So, my second title of shame is The Wiz. This is the original version with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, which is surprisingly directed by Sidney Lumet. This classic musical was nominated for four Oscars, despite … Continue reading The Wiz

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Earth Mama

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Paramount Plus (with Showtime) English Audio Description?: Yes Cast: Tia Nomore, Erika Alexander, and Bokeem Woodbine. Written and Directed By: Savanah Leaf Two very different stories about impoverished mothers trying to care for their child in seemingly impossible circumstances opened this past year, and A Thousand and One really took up the space in that conversation. But, despite the terrific performance of Tiana Taylor, the ending of that film makes it truly tough to use as a benchmark where it seems it wants to land. However, Earth Mama has a different approach, as no two stories … Continue reading Earth Mama

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Oscar Season: Harriet

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Netflix English Audio description?: Yes Cast: Cynthia erivo, Leslie Odom Jr, Janelle Monae, and Joe Alwyn. Directed By: Cassy Lemons Nominations: Best Actress and Best original song It’s Oscar season, and I’m living my shame out in the open by tackling films I’ve never seen before, but managed Oscar nominations. I’m trying to spread the love across streamers, and prioritize audio description (where applicable). Netflix luckily hosts this right now, and I was glad to finally get to see it. you know, this original song is a banger. Still. And, Cynthia erivo earns her nomination. however, … Continue reading Oscar Season: Harriet

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How To Blow Up A Pipeline

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Hulu English Audio Description?: No Cast: Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lucas Gage, Forest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, and Irene Bedard. Director: Daniel Goldhaber Once again, an interesting film makes its streaming debut on Hulu, and it lacks audio description. I was intrigued by this after hearing several people speak positively of this ecoterrorist indie, and I figured I’d check it out. Those of us who like to explore film actually like to watch things that don’t just have superheroes or giant freaking robots in them. Independent film is where a lot of great directors got their start. … Continue reading How To Blow Up A Pipeline

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The Holdovers

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Peacock English Audio Description?: Yes Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’vine Joy Randolph, and Carrie Preston. Written By: David Hemingson Directed By Alexander Payne What would be fun would be to start each year, try and find some grand master list of all the projected titles for the year, and predict my top 10. if I had done that, I would have predicted The Holdovers. It feels like something that was made for me. Not that films like this don’t disappoint me, or that I’ve been let down before, but ever since i heard about The … Continue reading The Holdovers

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Foe: The Review To End All Reviews

John Stark

I’ve been pretty transparent about my goal for audio description prior to this moment, and while I’ve had my struggles with audio description in the past, none really compares to that of the recently released Foe. I’m actually behind on reviews, havent’ even done my YouTube review just yet, and we already need to talk. After watching a lot of exceptional audio description this past year, I can’t even begin to describe how offensive Foe is. Like, I’m openly considering cancelling my Prime membership. It’s the equivalent of serving me dog food This is quite possibly the worst audio description … Continue reading Foe: The Review To End All Reviews

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Master Gardner

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Hulu English Audio Description?: No Cast: Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, Quintessa Swindell, and Esai Morales Written and Directed By: Paul Schrader I’d love to have more thoughts about this film, but sadly, there’s no audio description. It’s a new dawn, and a new day, and I’m feeling spicy. Yes, I sat all the way through the film. I’ve also sat through Paul Schrader films before, and he’s very much a director that does things through symbolism. His films doen’t just translate through written word. For example, First Reformed plays a lot with religious symbolism as the … Continue reading Master Gardner

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The Expendables 4

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Digital Copy English Audio Description provided By: Deluxe Narrated By: Laura Post Cast: Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Megan Fox, Andy Garcia, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jaa, and Curtis “50 Cent’ Jackson The dreaded 4th entry that bombed at the box office, and has been appearing on several “Worst of” lists. Just wait for the Razzies.Good news for these long in the tooth action stars. I can’t see how bad the visual effects are and if the fight choreography sucks. So, I’m all about the story, the characters, and… even that stuff wasn’t that good. However, … Continue reading The Expendables 4

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The Expendables 1-3

John Stark

Where I watched Them: Digital Copies English Audio Description for The Expendables: Directors Cut: No English Audio Description For The Expendables 2 and 3 provided by Deluxe. Expendables 2 Narration by Travis Expendables 3 Narration By: Ron Snow Main Series Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews. Additional Cast: Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, Harrison Ford, Jean Claude Van Damme, chuck Norris, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, Charisma Carpenter, and Kelsey Grammer. Directors: Sylvester Stallone, Simon west, and Patrick Hughes In preparation for obviously the best film … Continue reading The Expendables 1-3