The Small Screen Diaries- 02/21/24
While it doesn’t have audio description, I just need to mention that I doing think Teresa Giudice listens to music. Ever. She managed to earn 10K for her charity just by standing there on Name That Tune, despite not being able to name a tune. Even the one that was a TV show theme song from her generation, and not her competition, she couldn’t figure out. It was really silly to watch David essentially win the whole thing, but his final guess didn’t count. I think he still had some new scoring record. I love that Jane Krakowski says that … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/21/24
The Small Screen Diaries- 02/20/24
I am going to be a guest this Friday, 02/23/24 at 8PM EST, for the American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project Community Call on The Oscars! Tune in and hear me and three other panelists discuss this years Oscar nominees and so we think will win, as well as the audio description. You can join and listen in by either downloading the ACB Media app, and tuning in to Channel 6 at the scheduled time, or you can ask Alexa to “Open ACB Media”, where she then will ask you to choose a channel from 1-10, and you … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/20/24
The Small Screen Diaries- 02/19/24
Good lord. Sexy Beast (Paramount Plus) is going the shock and awe route. This week, there’s a scene where a terrifyingly fantastic female performance leads to a tragic loss for one of the characters. I was more gripped to this show than I have been so far. There were some other brutal moments in the third episode as well. The audio description is solid, I just hate that it seems to dodge a lot of the porn scenes by just kinda mentioning that porn is happening. If a sighted audience can see it, it should be in the description, and … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/19/24
The Small Screen Diaries- 02/18/24
Sunday. The day I start watching new shows for my rotation. I jumped in on Tracker (Paramount Plus), which has excellent audio description. The same narrator (Andrew Thatcher?) who did Lawman is doing Tracker. It sounds great, he sounds great, and I really fell instantly in love with Justin Hartley’s show about a man who finds missing people. There’s some kind of mystery in this show that will play out over the course of the season, but this was really good stuff. Great call to have it launch after the Super Bowl. One Day (Netflix) is fine, if you like … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/18/24
Top 10 Directors of 2023
Best Of 2023: Top 10 Directors Of The Year Continue reading Top 10 Directors of 2023
The Last Repair Shop
Oscar nominated for Best Documentary Short, The Last Repair Shop is now on Disney plus, but without audio description (at least when I watched it upon release). I don’t care this time. It’s my party and I’ll do what I want. While there are other exceptional documentary shorts this year, I am in love with this one that focuses on a small group of instrument repair workers who try to make sure the Los Angeles public schools have access to workable instruments. Not only is this a love story of sorts to these people who work in a back room … Continue reading The Last Repair Shop
The Eternal Memory
Nominated this year for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, you can now find this on Paramount Plus with audio description. the film is not originally in the English language, so I would recommend not skipping the accessibility if you are blind or visually impaired. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but the Documentary branch frequently chooses documentaries no one watches or cares about over documentaries widely accepted by the public. Every once in a while you get a Summer Of Soul, but most well known documentaries fail to even get nominated. Last year, Moon Age Daydream missed out on … Continue reading The Eternal Memory
The Other Zoey
This wonder is available to prime subscribers right now. Don’t rush. It’s just for romcom addicts. It does not have audio description, but is so surface level that I have to grade it, because calling this film “unwatchable” is insulting your intelligence. Would I have preferred to watch this with audio description? Absolutely. Am I going to tell you I couldn’t follow this? No. Zoey is an outsider. She likes books. She isn’t dating anyone. In walks in the hottest guy in school to her bookstore, because those still exist, and he leaves without taking his credit card. So, he … Continue reading The Other Zoey
The Small Screen Diaries- 02/17/24
Not a groundbreaking day for TV News,but I did watch Not Dead Yet (Hulu), whose audio description has gotten worse. Sitcoms do not offer many gaps in dialogue to add audio description, so it’s painfully obvious when the narration is this bad. There were some obvious gaps where we could have gotten something, perhaps to either explain what just happened, or set up the next scene. I think the narrator spoke twice outside of the title and the end crediting the company Vi-Tech. Right now, I wouldn’t work for Vi-Tech if my life depended on it. I’ve heard this narrator … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/17/24
The Good Mother
This is a quickie. Since this film has no audio description on its streamer of choice (Hulu), and it’s not fun to hear Hilary Swank lurk in the shadows with no context, and then all i hear is someone vomiting, I’ll say this was a waste of my time. But really, it’s a waste of Hilary Swank’s two-time Academy Award winning time. Get her out of this film. First, put audio description on it, because accessibility should be a basic right, but then remove her from this trash and start putting her with talented directors again in films that matter. … Continue reading The Good Mother
Waitress: The Musical
I bought this instantly, because of course I did. I love this musical adaptation of the film with original songs written by Sara Bareilles, who takes the opportunity to star in her own show. It’s the biggest flex of all time. Write your own musical, and then star in it as legions of fans come to see you. Sadly, because this features her, it also is missing key original cast members, like Keala Settle and the late Nick Cordero. And for reasons unknown it does not have audio description. Bleaker Street has been around too long to use being poor … Continue reading Waitress: The Musical
Self Reliance
I’m a Jake Johnson fan. I really enjoy his brand of humor, and I assumed his effort to write, direct, and star would produce an underrated gem. This movie is fine, until it’s not. It’s also on Hulu, with audio description, which somehow always feels like a victory. This was released theatrically in a one night only thing right at the end of 2023 to make it technically a 2023 film. The plot is basically Jake Johnson being offered money to be a part of this global hunt, kinda like Liam Hemsworth was in Quibby’s (remember that?) Most Dangerous Game. … Continue reading Self Reliance
The Small Screen Diaries- 02/16/24
I’m now only one episode away from learning which of the three contestants I don’t care about wins Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix). Of course, I could just look it up, since this was decided a while ago, but I don’t binge shows. I like my cliffhangers. I’m glad Ashley didn’t make the final 3, since she couldn’t see the irony in someone not following with a selfless group act. But, I’m also not sure I want Maya to win. I’m not sure I want any of these three to win, because this show has been more interested in getting … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/16/24
Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
This terrific documentary took me by surprise. I thought this was about someone named Nikki Giovanni who was trying to go to Mars. Little did I know, I’m an uneducated buffoon, and Nikki Giovanni is a civil rights fixture, poet, and all around amazing person. I loved watching her story, and I’m glad this is on MAX with audio description from Zoo digital. This was a strong year for documentaries, and even though this isn’t at the tip top of my list, it was placed quite nicely in a place where I actually could vote for it. This film takes … Continue reading Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Napoleon
Two years ago, Ridley Scott released the underrated The Last Duel, which went on to be largely ignored coming out of the pandemic, but still has its fans. I was recently putting together material for my Best Of 2023 lists for this year, and I noticed that my 2021 Award for Best Director went to Ridley Scott for The Last Duel. So, when i say Napoleon is not his best, please understand this is a man who is a very undervalued titan in this industry. Ridley Scott, who has never won an Oscar, is back again this year with Napoleon, … Continue reading Napoleon
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