Tag: audio description

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Poor Things

John Stark

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

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The Zone Of Interest

John Stark

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

Awards, Movie ReviewLeave a comment

20 Days In Mariupol

John Stark

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

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The Small Screen Diaries- 03/16/24

John Stark

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

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The Reeducation Of Molly Singer

John Stark

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

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the Last Voyage Of The Demeter

John Stark

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

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What Happens Later

John Stark

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

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The Small Screen Diaries- 03/14/24

John Stark

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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The Creator

John Stark

I first tried watching this on Hulu shortly after it released, but not right away. it did not have audio description, nor did it through Hulu on Disney Plus. Months later, I finally was able to watch this film with the wonderful description done by Deluxe and William Michael Redmond. I avoided really reviewing the film the first time, because I had a feeling I was enjoying the film, I just couldn’t understand it. Man, I was missing a lot. the creator stars John David Washington as a man caught in a futuristic war where countries look very different, AI … Continue reading The Creator

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Next Goal Wins

John Stark

Back when we were predicting the 2022 Oscars, this film was rumored to be hitting that block, until it got pushed. Now, it wasn’t the only film to get pushed, and some films did end up benefitting from moving, like Killers Of The Flower Moon. However, after seeing next Goal Wins, I’m not sure why it was ever “in contention”. Not that I didn’t like the film, it is just your basic inspirational sports drama. I caught this on Disney Plus with audio description by Deluxe, with narration by Mary Song. The narration is fine, since this is a grown … Continue reading Next Goal Wins

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The Marvels

John Stark

The maligned box office flop The Marvels came home to Disney Plus, with audio description by Laura Post and the team at Deluxe. Picking up where something else left off, which then had this spinoff that featured another character but had one from the movie this is a sequel to, whilst incorporating a brand new character from another TV series… this really doesn’t follow just one thing. This is an amalgamation of what happens when a cinematic universe is taken to the furthest degree. So, Brie Larson is back as Captain Marvel, who is technically the star of this film. … Continue reading The Marvels

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Wonka

John Stark

there’s certainly something to a franchise that has made Pure Imagination the touchstone of all the thematic elements. From the completely out there elements of the chocolate factory, various candy creations, to the cartoonish world these characters inhabit, imagination may be prominent, but never really pure. Starting as a novel by Roald Dahl, the story of a young boy with a golden ticket and his chocolatier hero has leapt from book to film, to film, to stage, and back to film again as a prequel. Wonka shows us the wacky candyman before he got super famous. And for reasons, this … Continue reading Wonka

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Dream Scenario

John Stark

A24 has to manage their portfolio better. It is a little like how WB dropped Wonka, Aquaman and the lost Kingdom, and the Color Purple on the same weekend. A24 needs to figure out their awards contenders, so films like Dream Scenario, The iron Claw, and other late entries aren’t forgotten. I’m happy Nicolas Cage got a Golden Globe nomination, but with the work he’s been putting in recently in films like this, Pig, Massive Talent, and a few other choices, I feel like we are pulling him away from exceptionally awful straight to streaming titles. he had at least … Continue reading Dream Scenario

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The Small Screen Diaries- 03/01/24

John Stark

Timing is everything. Netflix announced the cancellation of The Brothers Sun right after I finished the final episode of the season. I liked the show, and I would have come back for a second season, but I could say that about a number of shows Netflix sends into the void every year. I’m not angry enough to tweet them, or X them. I don’t know why Elon had to go and make that weird. I want to send tweets, not whatever the hell we call it now. But, Michelle Yeoh’s Netflix show is short lived. I will testify that Halo … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/01/24

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When Harry Met Sally

John Stark

For Valentine’s Day this year, Apple ran a sale on a lot of digital purchases for all kinds of wants and desires. One look at this broad range of titles, and I knew immediately which film I had to tackle. So, I simply told Apple “I’ll have what she’s having.” What a simple line. it has probably been used just as regular dialogue in so many projects over the years, and even a few that intentionally nod to Rob Reiner’s classic romantic comedy. But, when you say it, it evokes an immediate connection to one film, and one scene. Even … Continue reading When Harry Met Sally