Tag: featured

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The Piano Lesson

John Stark

The Piano Lesson (Netflix) Misguided Direction Saved By Stunning Detweiler And Ensemble Quick Take: Malcolm Washington, son of Denzel, is making his feature directorial debut with a challenging August Wilson work. We meet several members of a tight knit family, with Samuel L Jackson serving largely as the de facto patriarch of this clan, and most of the film taking place in his home. Though, he is often just a voyeur as the energy between John David Washington and Danielle Detweiler powers the film, as he is looking to buy some land that has a deep familial connection, and wants … Continue reading The Piano Lesson

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The Outrun

John Stark

The Outrun- Saorise Ronan Makes A Sprint For The Best Actress Race Quick Take: This was provided for my consideration, but without audio description. With Saorise Ronan on the edge of the Oscar conversation, i dove in. This film is basically an addiction drama, with Ronan’s character going through the wringer, and dealing with her parents, as well as a potential love life, and things like rehab. It isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, but it is based on a memoir. Ronan is good, but not one of my favorite performances of the year, nor do I think she eclipsed … Continue reading The Outrun

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My Old Ass

John Stark

My Old Ass- If You Could Tell Your Past Self One Thing, What Would It Be? Quick Take: One of the more charming surprises of the year, this film features a simple concept, if you got really high and suddenly could communicate with your future self, what would you learn? Well, in this case, the older version (which depresses me because I’m older than her old ass) is played by Aubrey Plaza, and she just wants her past self to stay away from one guy. She can’t tell her why. But, of course… So, even though you know the trajectory, … Continue reading My Old Ass

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Didi

John Stark

Didi- Kids Actually Feel Like Kids In This Winning Indie Featuring Joan Chen While it has been a minute since I’ve viewed Focus Features Sundance acquisition, I’m aware this is being campaigned as a possible Supporting Actress bid for Joan Chen.Knowing that, I expected to be moved by her work, but the film really is just mostly about kids doing shenanigans, with a hint of that specific culture thrown in. Chen plays the Grandmother to our lead, an aspiring artist. The film really does belong to the main kid, and the silly things kids do, but Joan does have some … Continue reading Didi

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Salem’s Lot

John Stark

Salem’s Lot (2024)- A Spooky Season Review A seemingly impossible to adapt Stephen King novel hit MAX quietly. That has to be a good sign. This movie has been in the can for a while, and had a theatrical release briefly scheduled, before drawing the ire of Stephen King by winding up heading straight to streaming. is it really that bad? Well, it certainly is better than last year’s Pet Sematary prequel. It is also a far cry from many of King’s best film adaptations, including Brian DePalma’s Carrie, Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption, and the most recent two-parter adaptation … Continue reading Salem’s Lot

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Long Legs

John Stark

Long Legs- A Spooky Season Review An unnecessarily divisive movie. I watched so many critics join in on the artistic backlash of Long Legs, which originally had the vibe of being the scariest movie of the year, only to see the late stage critics writing it off as self indulgent and boring. Is it perfect? No. this is not in my Top 10 of the year either, but I can put each of the little problems in their own bubble and enjoy the totality of what was intended. And when you do that, Long Legs is just shy of brilliant. … Continue reading Long Legs

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

John Stark

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice- The Ghost With The Most Unnecessary Side Characters What was the last great Tim Burton movie? I think that is probably why so many years later, Tim Burton finally jumped on the legacy sequel train and made beetlejuice beetlejuice, which brings back a handful of original players and puts them in the mix with some new faces. Once again, despite the title, Michael Keaton is still not the star of this film. I will concede that he does feel somehow in more of this film than the original, which probably could have expanded even further if this was … Continue reading Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

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Thelma

John Stark

Thelma- Can June Squibb Land A Best Actress Nomination For This Delightful Comedy? One of the reasons I always get into this conversation of accessibility, and the need for an overwhelming prevalence, is that I think Hollywood is under the misconception that blind people live on blind island and only communicate with other blind people. We actually have sighted friends and family members, who often are aware of our accessibility needs, and when they aren’t met, the burden is pushed onto them to fill it. If I watch a TV Show or a movie without audio description, that person feels … Continue reading Thelma

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Will And Harper

John Stark

Will and Harper (Netflix)- A Film That Should Feel More Like It Is About Harper First, a big thank you to anyone who checks out my video, with any likes, comments, and subscribes. I definitely enjoyed Will and Harper, which premiered a few weeks ago on Netflix, and centers on this relationship that Will Ferrell has with his friend, a former Saturday Night Live writer, who now lives authentically as a trans woman. Of course, the dynamic between the two feels like two old friends on a road trip, which is what this is. Will has decided that Harper can … Continue reading Will And Harper

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Wolves

John Stark

Wolves (Apple Plus)- Clooney/Pitt Make This Jon Watts Action Comedy Worth A Theatrical Release Much like another review I just posted, I need to drive more traffic, so I’ve included my original YouTube review. For more in depth thoughts, feel free to check that out. Likes help drive traffic, Subscribers help me get to a point where people stop looking at me like I’m crazy. Ha. Wolves is from jon Watts, the man behind the last three Spider-Man films, and he has teamed with real life friends George Clooney and Brad Pitt for a rather basic story that relies heavily … Continue reading Wolves

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It’s What’s Inside

John Stark

It’s What’s Inside (Netflix)- A Sundance/SXSW Hit With Excellent Audio Description For my own sanity, I have to start including or streamlining the process. Truth is, I could use more subscribers, likes, and views on YouTube, a platform I might one day reach some level of monetization on. So, above is my video review of Its What’s Inside, if you’d like to hear my thoughts. My general thoughts are that the film has an interesting premise, a body swap film that makes a bold choice that forces a tough decision. It feels very light, despite the catalysts in all of … Continue reading It’s What’s Inside

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The Garfield Movie

John Stark

Sony has claimed the rights to this iconic character, and considering the last cinematic effort is not necessarily beloved, you would think that they’d be able to raise that bar. After all, the 20 year old Garfield movie featuring Bill Murray isn’t on anyone’s favorites list. Well, I think this is maybe a reason to revisit our feelings about that original Bill Murray version, because this one seems to have been written by artificial intelligence. Instead of Bill Murray, we now have Chris Pratt, in yet another animated voice performance. He’s not the worst choice for the lazy lasagna loving … Continue reading The Garfield Movie

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Oddity

John Stark

I always say Shudder is missing out by not attempting to make their streaming service accessible, and the fact that their theatrical titles are tied to IFC, where they end up getting audio description makes it all the more frustrating that the service itself, which now has Oddity, will run it without the track they paid for. Bizarre. But perhaps not as bizarre as this film. When this film first hit the blind market, I remember seeing a specific reaction from someone in the community who was turned off because of the feature in this film that the central blind … Continue reading Oddity

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A Quiet Place: Day One

John Stark

This entire franchise has been out of my vision reach. The first movie was released in April 2018, and I was already having eye surgery by that point. I remember being interested in this concept, but I’ve experienced the entire thing with comments from friends or audio description shaping the experience. I remember after the first movie came out, I was in a conversation with a friend who said they looked like vaginas. Of course, I only have the audio description to compare it with, or other opinions, but you can imagine what my mind is thinking every time I … Continue reading A Quiet Place: Day One

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The Deliverance

John Stark

What lee Daniels did in Precious is truly nothing short of a miracle. In one film, he got one of the most remarkable and memorable performances out of a stand-up comedienne whose prior work suggested she had none of that range. Monique’s work in precious is astounding, for anyone who has had to sit through something like her cinematic masterpiece Phat Girlz. That is the director I’m always looking for,and why I follow him into something like The Butler. To be fair, he got good performances in that as well, but from actors far less surprising. Fast forward to 2024, … Continue reading The Deliverance