The Small Screen Diaries- 03/19/24
Not surprising at all, but CBS will continue to air its Australian import, NCIS: Sydney for its second season, despite already having two NCIS shows, and currently in development on two more. Fun fact, this entire franchise only exists thanks to a series being rescued from cancellation. Possibly the smartest “save our show” ever has turned out to be CBS picking up JAG after it was cancelled at NBC after one season. Without that, they wouldn’t have had the long and successful run of the original show, nor would they have NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, NCIS New Orleans, NCIS Hawaii, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/19/24
Retribution
Liam Neeson is a man with a very particular set of skills. Skills that he has gathered over a long period of time, or at least since 2008 when he made Taken. Now, he’s in so many low budget action thrillers you can be forgiven for forgetting this man played Oskar Schindler. Yes, Liam Neeson was the star of Steven Spielberg’s iconic Schindler’s List. In Retribution, which Starz provided without audio description (lack of accessibility is kind of their thing), Neeson plays a man who has a family, gets in a car, and is trapped in a scenario where he … Continue reading Retribution
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom
There was a little conversation around making a film in a studio system with influence, and how Madame Webb likely had a solid creative team but Sony interfered and made shit. That conversation, for some reason, did not happen for Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, a film do inconsequential, Warner Bros opened it the same weekend as two other Warner Bros titles (Wonka and The color Purple). Had they believed this sequel had gas in the tank, doing so for three recognizable franchise films over Christmas is insane. Even in a slower market affected by the strike, you are still … Continue reading Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom
The Small Screen Diaries- 03/18/24
The Girls On The Bus (MAX) still seems to be wandering a bit as a show tonally. Maybe it just can’t find the right lane, but it feels so much like the team that was behind the The Sex Lives Of College Girls is making this show. It’s just in the way it is being presented, as something meant to be so broad it could reach anyone, while it also really ends up reaching no one. The audio description is really light, which while it is good audio description, doesn’t help the show when it tries to have a moment … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/18/24
Poor Things
To put it mildly, this is the performance of Emma Stone’s career. I actually think she transcends this film. poor Things is a wild and crazy ride, one that absolutely needs audio description if you are blind or visually impaired. this feels like a visual stunner, something you feel through the outstanding audio description this track does really well. I actually bought a digital copy of this, but it is also currently available on Hulu. Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, a woman who we see commits suicide at the top of the film. However, her body is still pretty undamaged, … Continue reading Poor Things
The Hill
Sadly, Netflix did not have an available audio description track for this at the time of my viewing, so this inspirational Dennis Quaid baseball drama is going to get the grade it gets. In general, 2023 produced a few well made faith based films that had some money thrown behind them. I’ve seen a lot of sub par ones like Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas that seem like they are barely films. The hill tells the true story of a kid who is born with skeletal problems, and spends his time in a brace. He loves baseball, and he wants to … Continue reading The Hill
The Small Screen Diaries: 03/17/24
I know The Tourist (Netflix) was trending. I had no idea what it was so I didn’t check it out initially. Then, I clicked on it, and I found out that the second season had just dropped. Jamie Dornan? Audio Description? Sure, let me jump right in… wait. It says my next episode is Season 2, Episode 1. What? Have I seen this before? So, i went back and rewatched the pilot instead, and slowly these pieces started coming back. I don’t remember how the season ended though. when was this? Why did my brain delet this show? Is it … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 03/17/24
The Zone Of Interest
This years Oscar winner for best international Feature is brought to you by Jonathan Glazer, who previously directed films like Sexy Beast and Under The Skin. While there is some flair here, this couldn’t be more different. A24 distributed this, and it is tough to look away from. 30 years since Schindler’s List, and we are just getting another truly masterful but frightening look at one of the worst periods in our history. Glazer captures this through his determination to show the life of a Commandate’s family that lives just outside the death camp of Auschwitz, and how their mundane … Continue reading The Zone Of Interest
20 Days In Mariupol
This years winner for Best Documentary Feature was the right choice. In an increasingly uncertain world, the documentary branch has now had the opportunity two years in a row to bestow honors on documentaries that aim to bring focus to Russia’s extermination of Ukraine, first through a feature about Putin’s greatest opposition, who has since died in a Russian prison from “sudden death syndrome”, and now through 20 Days In Mariupol, which has a few journalists capturing the beginning of Russia’s strike on Ukraine. I couldn’t imagine voting for anything else, and there were some terrific documentaries. It is harrowing … Continue reading 20 Days In Mariupol
The Small Screen Diaries- 03/16/24
Apples Never Fall (Peacock) is just a travesty. Mostly, the show suffers from poor direction and writing, but I can pinpoint some specifics. This show centers around a retired wife (Bening) who goes missing from her family, and former tennis star husband (Sam Neil). Her kids think something is afoot, so they start investigating, and over the course of 7 episodes, we will learn why Apples Never Fall (far from the tree). They introduce a character, Savannah (Georgia Flood), who shows up in the middle of the night supposedly fleeing domestic abuse. Flood delivers one of the worst performances I’ve … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/16/24
The Reeducation Of Molly Singer
Now that I’m middle aged, I have these moments where I feel very old. Films celebrating anniversaries is one way of doing that. Last year, Mean Girls hitting 20 was kind of mind blowing. Now, I have Britt Robertson starring as “too old for college” in The Reeducation Of Molly Singer, which is a little like what it felt like to watch Jennifer Lawrence in No Hard Feelings. Lawrence is 33, so I guess she’s safely beyond college years, even if you stay and get your Doctorate and have a gap year or two. Shockingly, the former star of Life … Continue reading The Reeducation Of Molly Singer
The Small Screen Diaries- 03/15/24
Good news for fans of The Bear! Variety is reporting that as Season 3 of The Bear is ramping up production, Hulu is actually quietly ordering Season 4 so it can be filmed back-to-back. My guess, is the cast is getting popular now, and they have them for this window, so they are trying to film two seasons so they have another to follow even if their top talent are off shooting movies like Fantastic Four. I started a new show today, the MAX original The Girls On The Bus. As far as pilots go, it was really disappointing. I’m … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/15/24
the Last Voyage Of The Demeter
I think more people should take a small section out of other novels and adapt them into their own movies. It is a banner idea. It could mean that all the deleted Quidditch stuff in Goblet Of Fire could make for its own film. Yeah, I said it. But, in the meantime, let’s talk about that one time Dracula was on a boat, and it’s not a cool Saturday Night Live song either. This was surprisingly good, despite the premise. from the very beginning, we see the titular ship floating to land, and someone goes to inspect and finds everyone … Continue reading the Last Voyage Of The Demeter
What Happens Later
Meg Ryan is back. She’s writing, directing, and starring now. Blazing her own path. Perhaps, maybe, she shouldn’t. I love Meg Ryan, and I’ve long thought her exile from Hollywood was unfair. The idea that she reached a certain age, or didn’t look the way she once did while trying to live up to unreasonable standards of beauty, took nothing away from her acting. she never lost her charm. Sure, in the early 2000’s, she seemed more interested in chasing dramatic role than romantic comedies, but let the woman pivot back. For a machine that keeps finding ways for Liam … Continue reading What Happens Later
The Small Screen Diaries- 03/14/24
I’m not really sure what was going on with the actress playing Crystal on The Connors (Hulu), but her few lines were some of the worst line readings I had heard in a long time. Honestly, it felt like a regular person had won the chance to be on The Connors from their live studio audience, and had never acted before. I loved the meta moment where Darlene was trying to answer a trivia question in which she would be the answer in the real world. I also watched Abbott Elementary’s (Hulu) very special post-Oscar episode, which was hilarious as … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/14/24
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