Going In Blind: Kraven The Hunter, Armor, The Listener
Kraven The Hunter- I have to believe that there are shenanigans going on at Sony, when JC Chandor (Margin Call) is incapable of directing a film in the Spider-Man Cinematic Universe that is worth watching. Chandor broke through with his impressive stock broker thriller, and then later took Robert Redford out on a boat for All Is Lost, a performance that should have landed Redford a nomination. So, what actually happened with Kraven? Is it that the film was ill conceived from the beginning, or has Chandor lost all of his skills? To be fair, I don’t hate this quite … Continue reading Going In Blind: Kraven The Hunter, Armor, The Listener
Wolfman
Wolfman (2025)- Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner Need New Agents Part of Universal’s classic movie monsters, or now as they lovingly call it “the Dark universe”, is the Wolfman. Obviously, there are folk tales about werewolves predating this monster classic, but once a moon has been howled at, it cannot be unhowled. The howling has taken place. In fact, quite a few movies with wolf people in them have taken place, from the scary, like Dog Soldiers or An American Werewolf In London, to far more tame versions like Jacob in Twilight, or Teen Wolf (the Michael J fox version). … Continue reading Wolfman
Going In Blind: A Different Man, 2073, First Shift
A Different Man- Sebastian Stan won a Golden Globe for this A24 awards bait, which elevated him into the Oscar conversation for a second film. Of course, he would end up nominated for The Apprentice, but his work in A Different Man is still part of a foundational building of a better Stan, one who is able to tackle deeper characters and tougher subject material. I think Sebastian Stan started out as just a pretty face. I remember him back when he recurred on Gossip Girl, and while he was fun, I never would have guessed he’d be the Winter … Continue reading Going In Blind: A Different Man, 2073, First Shift
The Small Screen Diaries- 03/20/25
Kicking off the diary today with an announcement. Tonight (3/21/25) at 8PM EST, I am hosting a panel on Diversity and Representation in Audio Description for Film and Television. I have invited a wonderfully diverse panel of audio description professionals to join me, and discuss if audio description is currently doing what it needs to do to support the diversity of the ensembles on screen, what could be done that could make a better focus on representation, and is the industry itself supporting a diverse talent pool and making efforts to hire the most appropriate talent for the job. You … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/20/25
Going In Blind: The Return, High Tide, los Frikis
The return: Ralph Fiennes reteamed with his English Patient co-star Juliette Binoche for a retelling of a Greek tragedy. Odysseus has returned home after quite an ordeal ((for more information, read up on Greek mythology), and has found his wife is basically being held prisoner until she chooses a new husband (who will then be the new ruler) and his son (Charlie Plummer) will likely be put to death so there won’t be a line of succession. It’s a little like Fiennes’s other 2024 entry Conclave, in that there is quite a bit of politicking going on, and jostling for … Continue reading Going In Blind: The Return, High Tide, los Frikis
Helen And The Bear
Helen And The Bear (2025)- Using Your Golden Years To Discover Who You Really Are If you’ve been paying attention to the news, and the way funding has been getting cut, you’ll know that documentarians are concerned about the future of their genre. Often these journalistic looks into various facets of our world are funded through grants, and if the grants go away, or a project is perceived as being a DEI film, it may not get funded. It’s a good thing then that Helen And The Bear is already out there in the festival circuit, because a film about … Continue reading Helen And The Bear
Going In Blind: Queer, Dandelion, Merchant Ivory
Queer- In his effort to continue to establish himself as an auteur, Luca Guadagnino managed to release two films in 2024. One of them was the film fanatic darling Challengers, which somehow managed no Oscar nomination, and the other is thiss film. Queer, based on the book by William S. Burroghs is a complicated take on the human experience. What in our search for meaning in life, we often find that we look for meaning in many other things, reasonings, and connection. This is explored through a terrific lead performance from Daniel Craig, as an American ex-pat living in Central … Continue reading Going In Blind: Queer, Dandelion, Merchant Ivory
The Small Screen Diaries- 03/19/25
TV Shows Watched: Another renewal notice is Hulu’s Paradise, which is coming back for a second season. TV Shows Watched: daredevil: Born Again- S1E4 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Righteous Gemstones: S4E2 (MAX) with audio description, Your Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man: S1E10 (Disney plus) with audio description, The Walking Dead: dead city: S1E1 (Netflix) with audio description, The Wheel Of Time: S3E2 (Amazon) with audio description, The Daily show: Tuesday (Paramount Plus) no audio description, Suits: LA: S1E4 (Peacock) with audio description, and Running Point: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description Best Episode: The Righteous Gemstones- A tough call, but after … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/19/25
Going In Blind: Small Things Like these, Seeking Mavis Beacon, The Girl in The Pool
Small Things Like These- I mentioned when I talked about White Bird and its poor box office performance, despite being a good film, that Lionsgate likely just ran out of money. I didn’t even get a single screener link from them, and I don’t know anyone who did. So that’s how a movie like this falls through the cracks, because no one is pushing it. It is also a very internal performance, very quiet, from last year’s Oscar winner Cillian Murphy. Small things like Irish dramas based on a true story don’t seem to have the profile to attract attention … Continue reading Going In Blind: Small Things Like these, Seeking Mavis Beacon, The Girl in The Pool
The Small Screen Diaries- 03/18/25
TV News: I decided to check up on some of the fates of shows I have on my watchlist to see if anything had been cancelled, or renewed. Here’s a shortlist of some decisions I hadn’t yet mentioned or reported. Netflix has picked up XO Kitty for a third season, and they also commissioned scripts for a third season of The night Agent, which is generally a good sign. Amazon had renewed Reacher for a fourth season ahead of its premiere. They have yet to pick up Clean Slate, though the showrunner claims there are talks headed in a positive … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/18/25
Going In blind: Wildcat, Unstoppable, The Black Box Diaries
Wildcat- for my awards consideration, I did manage to squeeze in Ethan Hawke directing his daughter Maya in a loose biopic of Flanders O’Connor. Maya Hawke has really started to bloom as an actress, and it’s interesting to see her take on a historical figure in this really big swing from Hawke. it certainly doesn’t follow traditional biopic tropes, but instead sees O’Connor moving home to live with her southern belle of a mother (Laura Linney), who has very interesting and offensive thoughts about pretty much anyone who isn’t her. oscilloscope didn’t submit a profile for my awards consideration, so … Continue reading Going In blind: Wildcat, Unstoppable, The Black Box Diaries
The Electric State
The Electric State (Netflix)- Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie Years ago I remember when Robopocalypse was being kicked around as a potential summer blockbuster, based on a best-selling novel. I believe Spielberg was actually interested at one time, but likely became more interested in ready Player One. Sometimes it is a blessing in disguise to not have your book turned into a film. I loved the ready Player One book, but not the film. Robopocalypse likely dodged a bullet. What didn’t dodge the bullet is the Electric State. While I have not read the source material, … Continue reading The Electric State
Going In Blind (Playing Catch Up): The First Omen, The Day of The Fight
The First Omen- I finally broke down and had to get this film on my own, despite having Hulu/Disney Plus, the streaming home for this movie, because Disney cannot be bothered to upload the existing theatrical audio description track for their own film. the First Omen was distributed under Disney’s acquired 20th century Fox label, which feels like it is working now as a modern day touchstone for the more adult projects they can’t wholeheartedly slap a Disney logo on. I should not have such a problem with this track. it exists. This is a Disney owned streamer. I did … Continue reading Going In Blind (Playing Catch Up): The First Omen, The Day of The Fight
The Small Screen Diaries- 03/17/25
TV Shows Watched: The White Lotus: S3E5 (MAX) with audio description, American Idol: S23E3 (Disney Plus) no audio description, Tracker: S2E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description, clean Slate: S1E8 (Amazon) with audio description, Krapapolis: S2E12 (Hulu) no audio description, Win Or Lose: S1E5 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Real time With bill Maher: Most Recent (MAX) no audio description, Last Week Tonight: Most recent (MAX) no audio description. Best Episode: The White Lotus- Certainly Rick and frank had a conversation that took a whole new direction, but Tim had a great moment near the end where he was clearly battling … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/17/25
The Parenting
The Parenting (MAX)- This Movie Feels Tailor Made For Me It is always a cabin in the woods. No one ever rents a haunted condo in Fort Lauderdale on a timeshare. It is always something oddly rustic in these horror movies. I like horror comedies more than straight horror because I feel like it is easier to be funny and poke fun at the genre, than it is to be reliant upon jump scares that don’t work. Most of my favorite horror titles have a tinge of comedy to them, so I was already predisposed to liking this. the cast … Continue reading The Parenting
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