The Small Screen Diaries- 07/10/24
The Acolyte (Disney plus) showed us what happened when the Jedi faced off against Space Witches, in what I assume is the thing that we were about to get in Episode 6, but that episode was dedicated to talking about talking. This episode is better as things actually happen, it is by far the most Carrie Anne moss has had to do all season, and now we have a better idea. I’m not sure this show was written by anyone who had ever watched a Star Wars property thing before though. I also watched the first two episodes of the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 07/10/24
The Small Screen Diaries- 07/09/24
I’m getting closer and closer to the final Sweet Tooth (Netflix). Gus was rescued last episode, by a much older hybrid, and we learn that hybrids have been around longer than most people know. The cave is the secret to saving the human race, which Gus wants to do, and now that he has his mom with him, he might get to do. There’s a knock at the door at the end of the episode, and even though just two seconds later Big Man was with everyone else talking about going out to find Gus, I’ve noticed that despite how … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 07/09/24
Black Barbie
Obviously, 2023 belonged to Barbie. it was the top grossing film worldwide, and managed multiple Oscar nominations, even winning for What Was I Made For? I feel like this documentary is not reactionary, but something that was in the works anyway. It explores how Barbie is important to black girls, and dolls in general. How black women have worked hard at Mattel to make sure Black Barbie exists, and that she’s not Barbie’s friend, because no one grows up wanting to be someone’s friend as their aspirational choice. this is retrospective, personal, and the only thing that’s lacking at all … Continue reading Black Barbie
The Small Screen Diaries- 07/08/24
It looks like the social media trend that had people turning on audio description for Bridgerton to make it steamier, is now also happening for The Acolyte, as people are watching the most recent episode where Manny Jacinto is shirtless and bathing himself. I’m all for this trend. turning on audio description creates a visible metric to the companies tasked with providing it, and their entire model is about providing things that will make them money and bring in subscribers. So if this really became a thing, I could see a streamer taking full advantage of it by trying to … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 07/08/24
Supacell: Season 1
I binged this thing so you don’t have to. Not that you shouldn’t, necessarily, but perhaps it will be more of a thing for you than it was for me. I already posted a video review, and I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the show. Supacell takes place in England, in what seems to be a sketchy neighborhood where gangs exist. The iMDB listing for this supports what I swear I picked up from the audio description, and that was that the five leads are all black. It’s in the plot summary for the show, that a … Continue reading Supacell: Season 1
Trigger Warning
I’m a believer in the idea that certain things can move the needle in a positive or negative direction. yes, there’s a core movie, but sometimes something stands out that is better or worse than the rest, and it is possible to move your feelings about that film just a little bit. For example, sitting through a movie you don’t really care for, only to find out that it secretly was headed to a mindfuck of an ending. That ending alone could sway you. Sometimes, because Netflix’s mold relies on one or two stars anchoring a project, the charisma of … Continue reading Trigger Warning
Iron Will: 30th Anniversary
I’m very nostalgic. I’m one of those people who watches a movie like 17 Again, and thinks that I’d love that opportunity. Even more, I’d love to have the knowledge i know now, and repeat my childhood. We had Saturday Morning Cartoons, afternoon cartoons when we got out of school, a block on Saturday night, kids played with physical toys… outside, and I mostly watched films aimed at kids. My parents took me to the theatres to see Batman in its original theatrical release, and I fell asleep. So, the beginning of my film journey is dominated by films aimed … Continue reading Iron Will: 30th Anniversary
The Small Screen Diaries- 07/07/24
This is going to be so short. I used most of my TV time to knock out the final three episodes of Wandla (Apple Plus), which I do plan on doing a more in depth review of. What I’ll say for sure is that I’m down for Season 2, and I think families will love this. It might be a bit much for little ones, but probably 6-7 on up will enjoy this. Even adults (though, it’s not going to be like your new Bridgerton or something). I did another episode of the excellent Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (Netflix), which … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 07/07/24
Federer: 12 Final Days
Admittedly, as an independent critic, I have no editor telling me what to watch. What I love about documentaries, and why I often take a swing on ones I have little interest in, is that I might learn something, or gain perspective.That’s my way of telling you I do not like Tennis. I don’t follow it. I can’t even fully conceive how much of a GOAT Roger Federer is compared to the other male tennis players, even after this Amazon doc. This is essentially content creation for Amazon. Someone followed roger around for the final days of his career before … Continue reading Federer: 12 Final Days
The Small Screen Diaries- 07/06/24
I finished some shows today. First up, bridgerton (Netflix), which is going to be impossible to not recommend as the best audio description for a TV show next time around. I loved the season. There was one moment when they were mentioning all the Bridgerton’s, and I feel like we’re at that point where we are just pretending like Season 1 never happened. Violet is sad to see Francheska move so far away, and this would have been the best time to point out that her eldest daughter didn’t appear at all, but instead we just decide to never mention … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 07/06/24
Brats
Andrew McCarthy has some time on his hands. So, he’s decided to tackle the most pressing question of all. What was it like to be in “The Brat Pack”? In order to do this, he has to track down a bunch of people he barely knows and hasn’t seen in years, all so Hulu has more content. Well, that and he also had a lot of free time. Andrew starts out in a very home video setting, starting off by explaining his premise from his perspective, and interspersing it with hopeful phone messages for people who were generally recognized as … Continue reading Brats
The Small Screen Diaries- 07/05/24
Presumed Innocent (Apple Plus) is really starting to make me wonder if they’re gonna follow the ending from the film. There were some clues dropped, but Gyllenhaal is also quite an unreliable narrator. I don’t like the timeframe that he supposedly had to do all this, when he didn’t go there for that. And, the statement about her being afraid of some guy from work, I’m wondering if the casting of Peter Sarsgaard is going to lead to a surprise twist. he’s a big enough name that it would be one hell of a twist for the man prosecuting Gyllenhaal, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 07/05/24
Monkey Man
Before watching this, I had already heard all the interesting tales of how this came to be. As Dev Patel was making his directorial debut, while starring, he managed to injure himself a few times, and still kept filming.It seems like the kind of press you leak to get fans of action films uniquely excited for the experience as the action scenes must be intense for Patel to have sustained multiple injuries. This isn’t just a tragic accident like Dylan O’Brien on the set of the Maze Runner sequel. Patel got knocked down, and chumbawumba’ed himself back up again multiple … Continue reading Monkey Man
The Small Screen Diaries- 07/04/24
How did you spend your Independence Day? Luckily, we didn’t have to fight aliens. That’s good news. I celebrated with The Boys (Amazon), which had a killer twist ending to it, but also featured so many rule pushing moments. I love how The Boys is constantly always asking itself “what can we get away with?” Or “what will our audience be willing to watch?” Because there are things in this episode, I’m not even sure would earn an R rating. Definitely across the run of the show, but maybe even in each episode. Like, Firecracker’s gift to Homelander? And, if … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 07/04/24
Tarzan (1999): 25th Anniversary (with Tarzan II!)
Come stop your crying, it will be an all right. I know you just watched The Acolyte, and you are missing classic Disney, which is a great time to take a look at what Classic Disney looked like. Following my celebration of The Lion King, in all its 30th Anniversary glory, five years later they released Tarzan. It’s one of the divisive movies that not everyone loves, but I do. And if you think just because we hit the sweet spot with TThe Lion King, Inside Out 2, and Tarzan, that I adore everything Disney, this just happens to be … Continue reading Tarzan (1999): 25th Anniversary (with Tarzan II!)
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