Master
Starring: Regina Hall, Zoe Renee, and Amber Gray. Directed By: Mariama Diallo Where I Watched It: Amazon English Audio Description Available: Yes Provided By: The Media Access Group Narrated By: Michael Bove The Plot: The story centers around two black women at a predominantly white New England college. Jasmine (Renee) is a student just starting out, and Gale (Hall) is a tenured professor. But as the movie unfolds, unsettling things happen to and around them, and while the school claims to want to increase diversity, there seems to be a supernatural presence that would suggest otherwise. What Works: in what … Continue reading Master
Spider-Man: No Way home
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Jon Faverau, Thomas Haden Church, Jamie Fox, Rhys Ifans, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, JK Simmons, Benedict Wong, Tony Revelori, and Charlie Cox. Directed By Jon Watts Where I Watched It: Apple VOD (Purchase!) English audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: Picking up after the events of Far From home, the world knows Peter Parker (Holland) is Spider-Man, which complicates his life, as well as those of his friends and family. in an effort to restore some balance, Peter turns to Dr Strange (Cumberbatch) to cast a … Continue reading Spider-Man: No Way home
Licorice Pizza
Starring: Alana Hain, Cooper Hoffman, Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Maya Rudolph, Christine Ebersole, and John Michael Higgins. Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson Where I Watched It: Apple VOD English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: Deeply entrenched in early 70’s culture, featuring everything from waterbeds, corded phones, gas shortages, and commentary on Vietnam, this story follows the unlikely pairing of Alana (Hain), a 25 year old Jewish girl struggling to find her place in Southern California, and Gary (Hoffman) a 15 year old aspiring actor following in his fathers footsteps. This unlikely coupling is the core of the … Continue reading Licorice Pizza
Deep Water
Starring: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts, Kristen Connelly, Lil Rel Howrey, Dash Mihok, Finn Wittrock, and Rachel Blanchard. Directed By: Adrian Lyne Where I Watched It: Hulu English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: Vic (Affleck) is a wealthy man, who retired early after inventing a chip that made him a ton of money, and married a real firecracker (de Armas), with whom he also produced a daughter. But of course, this is an Adrian Lyne film, so the sexy angle here is that he lets his wife sleep around with other guys… or does he? What Works: … Continue reading Deep Water
Against The Ice
Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, and Charles Dance. Directed By: Peter Flint Where I Watched It: Netflix English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: Based on the true story of men who traversed Greenland in the early 1900’s trying to map out the territory, we follow an ill fated group that must fight together if they want to survive the ice. What Works: I do like Coster-Waldau as an actor, and I do wish him a good film career. I applaud him for adapting a book, as he’s a credited screenwriter here, as this story must be dear to his … Continue reading Against The Ice
The Too Much TV Roundup
Once again, I’m running down the list of the 10 shows I most want to talk about from the past week. Not all may have audio description available, but it will be noted. Not all of these are recommendations, and i don’t binge watch, so I might be in a different place than you in a streaming series. 1) The Shining Veil (STARZ) English Audio Description?: No Definitely a show I would love to have audio description for, because I thought the pilot was clever as hell. It’s obviously not made to be taken too seriously, but there’s a hint … Continue reading The Too Much TV Roundup
The Adam Project
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
Turning Red
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
No Exit
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
Red Rocket
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
Scream (2022)
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)
Belfast
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
I Want You Back
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
Zola, The Humans, and What They Are Like Without Audio Description
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
The too Much TV Roundup
A day late and a dollar short. Changing up the format a bit. Previously, I just ran down the streaming services and picked a show. Now, I’ll just be doing the top 10 programs that hit me one way or the other in the last 7 days. Remember, I don’t binge watch. So, some of these might be a bit old, and you might already be done, or even behind where I’m at. Thanks to peak tV. 1) The Walking Dead (AMC/AMC Plus) English Audio Description Available?: Frustratingly, no. It’s always bothered me that this show doesn’t feature audio description … Continue reading The too Much TV Roundup
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