Category: Movie Review

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The Adam Project

John Stark

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, and Catherine Keener. Directed By: Shawn Levy Where I Watched It: Netflix English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: Adam (Reynolds) is from the year 2050, in a world where time travel is possible. But, in order to solve a tragic mystery, Adam must travel back and team up with his younger self (Scoville), who is still dealing with the rather recent death of their father, in order to prevent the villain (Keener) from achieving her endgame. What Works: Having recently seen Free Guy, another collaboration between Levy and … Continue reading The Adam Project

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Turning Red

John Stark

Starring: Rosalie Chian, Sandra Oh, Ava Morris, Hyien Park, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and Orion Lee. Directed By: Domee Shi Where I Watched It: Disney plus English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: A 13 year old Chinese Canadian girl, with an incredibly stereotypical tiger mom/helicopter parent complex, tries to always be the best student she can be. But after an incident leaves her in an incredibly emotional state, she finds out that she can turn into a giant red panda. This revelation leads to larger revelations about her families history and connection with the red panda. But since the panda is … Continue reading Turning Red

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No Exit

John Stark

Starring: Havana Rose Liu, Dennis Haysbert, Dale Dickey, Danny Ramirez, Mila Harris, and David Rhysdal. Directed By Damien Power. Where I Watched it: Hulu English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: A young woman (Liu) on her way to see her mother in a hospital gets trapped in a snowstorm and finds herself holding out at a visitors center with four other individuals. Except, someone in the room also has a kidnapped girl tied up in the back of their van. Who is it? And with the roads shut down, no phones, and NO EXIT, can anyone survive? What Doesn’t … Continue reading No Exit

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Red Rocket

John Stark

Starring: Simon Rex, Bree Elrond, Suzanna Son, and Brenda Deiss. Directed By: Sean Baker Where I Watched It: Apple VOD English Audio Description?: Yes The Plot: Mikey (Rex) is a washed up porn star who moves back to his hometown, where he isn’t really welcomed. He takes up residence with an old flame, but his heart lies with a 17 year old that works at a donut shop. 17. You’ve been sufficiently warned. What Works: I always like to start off with the positive. Holy shit, Simon Rex can actually act. There’s nothing in his career that would suggest that … Continue reading Red Rocket

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Scream (2022)

John Stark

Starring: Melissa Barrera, Jenny Ortega, Jack Quaid, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Dylan Minette, Marley Shelton, Mikey Madison, Jasmine Savoy Jones, Mason Gooding, Sonia Mmare, Kyle Gallner, Heather Matarazzo, and Skeet Ulrich. Directed By: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett Where I Watched It: Paramount Plus English Audio Description Available?: Yes Spoilers Ahead. Sorry, but we must. You may always scroll to the bottom to see what my overall score is. The plot: Ghostface is back in Woodsboro, in a very self aware requel that centers around two sisters, Sam (Barrera) and Tara (Ortega), the latter of whom barely survives … Continue reading Scream (2022)

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Belfast

John Stark

Starring: Jude hill, Caitrona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Ciarian Hines, and Lewis McAskie. Directed By: Kenneth Branagh Where I Watched It: Apple VOD English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: A young boy (Hill) grows up in Belfast, Northern Ireland during a very tumultuous time in the history of the country, based largely on director Kenneth Branagh’s childhood experiences. At the forefront of this film is a multigenerational family living with their own struggles amidst an ever growing world around them. What Works: You can tell that Branagh really is directing this extremely personal piece, because there’s so much … Continue reading Belfast

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I Want You Back

John Stark

Starring: Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Scott Eastwood, Manny Jacinto, Gina Rodriguez, and Pete Davidson. Directed By: Jason Orlee Where I Watched It: Amazon English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: Two recently dumped individuals (Day and Slate) team up to try and break up their ex-partners from their new respective relationships. Of course, this is a romcom, so you know what happens… right? What Works: A fairly formulaic romantic comedy is given a charming cast that elevates it to a non-shitty level. Nowadays, with streaming, we get so many half assed attempts at this genre, that when one is competently … Continue reading I Want You Back

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Zola, The Humans, and What They Are Like Without Audio Description

John Stark

To be fair to the original filmmakers, this should not constitute an actual review of either film and whether or not it is good. It just serves as a reminder of why audio description is sometimes paramount, even in English language titles. I attempted to watch both films, because they both were “in the Oscar conversation” this year, with Zola just winning awards at the independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, and The Humans being an adaptation of a Tony award winning play. I’m sure both are good, but I can’t give you that stamp of approval. What I Knew About … Continue reading Zola, The Humans, and What They Are Like Without Audio Description

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West Side Story (2021)

John Stark

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Ziegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Mike Faist, Brian D’Arcy James, Corey Stoll, and Josh Andres Rivera (plus a ton of other Jets and Sharks). Directed By: Steven Spielberg Where I Watched It: Disney Plus (though it is also currently available as of this writing on HBO MAX as well) English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: A remake and reimagining of the classic Leonard Bernstein musical that hit screens sixty years ago. The Romeo and Juliet inspired plot follows to rival gangs, the Jets (the poor white kids) and the Sharks (the Latino immigrants) … Continue reading West Side Story (2021)

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House Of Gucci

John Stark

Starring: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Irons, and Jack Huston. Directed By: Ridley Scott Where I Watched It: Apple VOD English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: Love at first sight. When a man (Driver) meets a woman (Gaga) and falls in love with her, you would think that this story would be simple. Except the man is part of the Gucci family, and their fashion house is legend. Over the course of their relationship, decadence and betrayal break the relationship, eventually leading to murder. It’s based on a true story, so that’s not … Continue reading House Of Gucci

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Kimi

John Stark

Starring: Zoey Kravitz, Erika Christensen, Rita Wilson, Jaime Camill, and Devin Rattray. Directed By: Steven Soderbergh Where I Watched It: HBO MAX English Audio Description Available?: Yes The plot: Angela (Kravitz) works from home , in an age of covid, where her job is analyzing data for an Alexa/Siri like entity called Kimi. While doing her job, she comes across an audio clip that convinces her someone was just murdered. And then the film gets all twisty. What Works: If I was all certified and stuff on Rotten Tomatoes, I would want my little blurb to be “a delightfully magical … Continue reading Kimi

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Fresh

John Stark

Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, and Jojo T Gibbs. Directed by: Mimi Cave Where I Watched it: Hulu English Audio Description Available?: Yes The plot: I didn’t bother to watch a trailer for this, but even I could figure out what “unusual eating habits” meant. So, if you think this is a spoiler, you don’t watch enough movies. The film centers around a woman (Edgar-Jones) who is trying to navigate a seemingly awful dating scene when she encounters a charming man (Stan), who invites her away for a little trip on their second date, which is bad for her, because … Continue reading Fresh

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Cop Shop

John Stark

Starring: Frank Grillo, Gerard Butler, Alexis Louder, Toby Huss, and Chad L. Coleman. Directed By Joe Carnahan Where I Watched It: Peacock English Audio Description Available?: Unknown. The plot: A con artist (Grillo) on the run tries to hide by getting himself locked up, but pretty soon, those who wish him dead still find their way to the police station. What Works: What a great out of nowhere movie. This was recommended to me by someone whose opinion I usually agree with, and this was a delightful action crime caper full of vibrant characters, great dialogue, and inventive plot development. … Continue reading Cop Shop

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Ascension

John Stark

Documentary Directed By Jessica Kingdon Where I Watched it: Paramount Plus English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: There is no plot.Ascension is a documentary largely centered around life in China, from an observatory standpoint, across many different paths and walks of life. What Works: If you were to visit Epcot at Disney World, you would be able to visit the world showcase, where several of the countries featured have short documentary films representing life in their country. This could (except probably for the sex toy assembly sequence) be one of those films, specifically and obviously for the China pavilion. … Continue reading Ascension

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C’Mon C’Mon

John Stark

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Woody Norman, Gaby Hoffman, and Scoot McNairy. Directed By: Mike Mills Where I Watched It: Apple VOD English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: A radio journalist (Phoenix) is asked to look after his nephew (Norman) for a short period of time, and the two explore other parts of America together, as well as each other’s thoughts. What Works: A film like this always hinges on just how good the child actor is. And, I’m proud to report that Woody Norman is exceptional. I don’t think I’ve seen a performance this good in a movie since Jacob … Continue reading C’Mon C’Mon