Category: Movie Review

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Big George Foreman

John Stark

Where i Watched It: Netflix English Audio Description?: Yes Narrated By: Elaine Joseph 2023 already had one solid boxing film with Creed 3. Having something like that in mind, fresh, going into Big George Foreman does not help this poorly directed biopic at all. George Tillman Jr has managed some interesting films in the past, like The Hate You Give, but I really don’t know how this film is this bad. George Foreman once again is beaten by Ali, who had a much more successful and higher quality biopic starring Will Smith, who went on to earn an Oscar nomination. … Continue reading Big George Foreman

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Raising Arizona

John Stark

Where i Watched it: Starz English Audio Description?: No I do like to continue to check on services like Starz that currently offer no audio description, in addition to reviewing titles on services that do, but don’t on a specific title, so we can discuss what we are missing. or, perhaps, the film might be watchable. There are some rare exceptions where a dialogue driven film is so limited in locations and set in modern times that it can work. The terrific recent indie Mass is an example of simplicity with a focus on dialogue. The Coen Brothers are known … Continue reading Raising Arizona

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Vacation Friends 2

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Hulu English Audio Description?: Yes I know when I watched the first Vacation Friends i should have assumed they would make a sequel. After all, there are three hangover movies, but then again, only one Girls Trip. Sometimes, restraint is practiced, and a sequel does not occur. I didn’t hate the first Vacation Friends. I’d put it about on par with the Hangover sequels. It had its moments. This sequel? It’s terrible. The film almost works. It promises to put our two odd couples back together for a vacation, but then it introduces Steve Buscemi, and … Continue reading Vacation Friends 2

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Kiss Me Kate

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Broadway HD English Audio Description?: No Thanks for continuing to indulge me on reviewing the lack of accessibility on Broadway HD. Tackling kiss Me Kate was a surprisingly dull experience. I wasn’t expecting it. I’m familiar with the songs, however I’ve never sat through an entire show before. I’ve heard numbers performed in cabarets and recitals, yet this production is so disappointing. I realized as a show, it’s rather easy to put together. It’s a show within a show. So, you ahve the actors and production team busting out with Another Opening Another Show, and then … Continue reading Kiss Me Kate

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You Are So not Invited To My Bat mitzvah

John Stark

where I Watched It: Netflix English Audio Description Provided By International Digital center Written and Narrated By Kathlyn Finn Girls just wanna have great movies. In a year where women have successfully been represented boldly and perfectly in movies like Are you There God? It’s Me Margaret and the current reigning box office champ Barbie, it would be nice if Netflix rounded the circle with their own contribution. They didn’t completely miss the boat, but I can’t say this didn’t fall short. The film is based on a YA book of the same name that features two Jewish girls both … Continue reading You Are So not Invited To My Bat mitzvah

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Flashdance

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Paramount Plus English Audio Description?: Yes Admittedly, this is my first time feeling like a maniac on the dance floor. I suppose in the grand scheme, had I known my blindness was coming, I might have tried to knock some of these “classics” out. I say classics, because I think this is remembered for something other than being a great cinematic work of art. I just am not the right age to have been able to see this theatrically, and the culture in the film just flew over my head. I literally had to take to … Continue reading Flashdance

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The Flash

John Stark

Where I Watched It: MAX English Audio Description?: Yes now that the maligned Flash project is on MAX, we can all make up our own opinions. Good news for the filmmakers in that I won’t be commenting on what I understand to be not very impressive visual effects. I also believe that despite how you feel about one person in a film, there are hundreds of people trying to make this art, and we need to be able to separate ourselves sometimes. So, Ezra is getting a clean slate for the purposes of this review. I also am a nerd, … Continue reading The Flash

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The Wife

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Netflix English Audio Description?: Yes One of these days, the Academy might bestow an Academy Award to Glenn Close. It just will be for a movie she is in that is better than The Wife. Finally catching up on this gem thanks to Netflix, The Wife has a simple premise. A man (Jonathan Pryce) has been declared the Nobel prize winnner for Literature, and he and his wife (Glenn Close) prepare to celebrate by taking a trip and reveling in the pomp and circumstance of the moment. Along for the ride will be their grown son … Continue reading The Wife

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A Rainy Day in New York

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Amazon English Audio Description?: no If you are trying to see if you can tackle a film without audio description, Woody Allen is actually one of the writers to try and see how that works. After all, his films pretty much live and die by the dialogue. He’s not really known for extended takes where people are silent and just sit and ponder. His characters advance story and plot through dialogue, so for the most part, the biggest chunk of his works are accessible. But, for this Allen film, which I watched on a whim as … Continue reading A Rainy Day in New York

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First Date

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Broadway HD English Audio Description?: No So this is not what I thought it would be. It is the musical first Date, but Broadway HD is running a pandemic version shot from the homes of actors as a project worthy of being alongside the rest of their content. I absolutely will not be critiquing what people were trying to do to either raise money during the pandemic, or simply pay rent, at a time when theatres were closed. It’s not a fair comparison. What I will talk about is how the lack of audio description affects … Continue reading First Date

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The Monkey King

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Netflix English Audio Description provided By: International Digital Center Narrated By Clement Chow I do kind of miss opening credits and stuff from theatrical releases that are typically missing on Netflix titles, but this thing ended up being a lot better than I thought. of course, this is a brainchild of the director of Kung Fu Hustle, so he has assembled quite an interesting treat. There’s a monkey. He is special. We don’t know why, but the world he inhabits involves The immortals, and then regular folk. There’s also a Dragon King, and monsters to fight. … Continue reading The Monkey King

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The Pope’s Exorcist

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Netflix English Audio Description?: Yes Are you sitting at home watching a film where a creepy child is speaking in an unnatural voice and for some reason crosses are being turned upside down? Did they summon a priest? Is someone clutching a rosary? Are they reading biblical text in Latin? If you weren’t watching a movie, I’d say you were having a pretty typical Tuesday night. But, you are definitely stuck in an exorcism movie. Perhaps more so than any horror sub genre, this one has the most obvious tropes. The Conjuring is the closest thing … Continue reading The Pope’s Exorcist

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The Machinist

John Stark

Where I Watched It: MGM Plus English Audio Description?: YES! I wasn’t even looking for audio description and it found me. I randomly selected this title I had never seen, and it surprisingly had an audio description track. I will caution those looking to run out and get that MGM Plus subscription, in my brief deep dive, I only found a handful of titles. I didn’t find any of their original series with audio description. But, now I can say I’ve seen the Brad Anderson psychological thriller The Machinist, which somehow feels like a box checked off. I think it’s … Continue reading The Machinist

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Dunkirk (A Second look)

John Stark

Where I Watched it: MAX English Audio Description?: Yes Written By: Matthew Vickers Narrated By Helen Beatty I’ve already seen Dunkirk once before this, before I lost my vision. it was a stunning work. not only does nolan not believe in terrifying his audience through graphic violence, but for the most part he chose mostly fresh faces for this film, where his movies are usually loaded with stars. The biggest names are largely in supporting roles, and the leads are young faces to become attached to, including a young Harry Styles breaking into acting, as well as a pre-Oscar nomination … Continue reading Dunkirk (A Second look)

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Falsettos

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Broadway HD English Audio Description?: No once again, I’m still covering Broadway HD. This airing of Falsettos was part of the live At Lincoln center series, and featured Christian Borle in the lead role. I’m a fan of the original show, and really all of the various forms this productions has been under, like March of The Falsettos or falsettoland, as composer William Finn has tried to tell this story through song a couple of times. This is also a revival cast, of course, just in case you are not familiar with the show. Marvin (Borle) … Continue reading Falsettos