Tag: Netflix

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/12/26

John Stark

A lot coming up this week for fans of returning shows. Not only do we kick off the week on Monday with The Emmys, but Dancing With The Stars (ABC), RJ Decker (ABC), The Voice (NBC), Masterchef (FOX), Kitchen Nightmares (FOX), Slow horses (Apple), South Park (Comedy), Mobland (Paramount plus), and Outlander Blood Of My Blood (Starz) all return, the latter of them may not have audio description. Netflix is also smashing the Lizzie Borden story with Eileen Wurnos for reasons unbeknownst to anyone but Ryan Murphy in Monster. Perhaps because there’s already a well known film titled Monster that … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/12/26

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Tyler Perry’s Why did I Get Married Again

John Stark

The benefit of having aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes is that you can find critics who come from all various walks of life, with different perspectives, approaching each film from a different angle, with a different background and a different subset of films that we’ve seen throughout our lifetimes. Different upbringings, different life struggles, so on and so forth. And in this regard, you have stumbled onto a review of a Tyler Perry movie. But not just any Tyler Perry movie. The third film in the Why Did I Get Married? franchise. And you get to read this from the perspective … Continue reading Tyler Perry’s Why did I Get Married Again

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/10/26

John Stark

Never Forget. Yesterday, Netflix surprisingly axed Ransom canyon, which dipped over 40% from Season 1 to season 2. It is a recurring problem with streaming TV. The longer the wait, the bigger the drop. Despite feeling like it fit perfectly along Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias, with a dash of the Taylor Sheridan vibe, Ransom canyon couldn’t buy its audience back. Also, in blind news, sighted gamers are complaining about the existence of accessibility within the new Wolverine game, and Neon’s Hope topped Spider-Man: Brand New Day in its first day of release, despite not having an English Audio Description … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/10/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/08/26

John Stark

I’m still trapped in my own personal hell, so welcome back to Reinventing the Small Screen Diaries for the time being. I tried to watch some things today, and while my attention span wasn’t always willing to cooperate, I did manage to bounce among four very different shows. First up was the new Netflix series My Brilliant Career, which follows Sybylla Melvyn, a young Australian woman who wants to become a writer and has absolutely no interest in getting married. She doesn’t necessarily want to leave her family behind either, but they’re poor, have too many children to support, and … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/08/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/06/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Walking Dead: Dead City: S3E7 (AMC Plus) no audio description, Black Torch: S1E2 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Elle: S1E8 (Amazon) with audio description,Jurassic World: Chaos Theory: S4E7 (Netflix) with audio description, The Doomies: S1E2 (Disney Plus) with audio description Dead City- No audio description again. Only one episode this season dropped with it. Baffling. Also, this episode revealed the writers are still unable to write eight episode seasons. You did not earn this episode. Black Torch- Fairly easy to understand fantasy series about an aspiring ninja with the ability to talk to animals merging with an … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/06/26

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The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103: Series Review

John Stark

This is not the first adaptation of the Lockerbie bombing, but it might be the best. That’s a hard thing to say when I haven’t seen every other version of the story, but I don’t know how another dramatization could necessarily surpass this one. We have a tendency to sensationalize true stories, oftentimes almost embarrassingly so, completely rewriting history to fit a decidedly more audience-friendly narrative. The Bombing of Pan Am 103 does simplify things and admittedly features composite characters who are amalgamations of multiple people who worked across more than a decade to bring justice to the victims, but … Continue reading The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103: Series Review

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/05/26

John Stark

Coming up this week for you to add to watch lists: Season 2 of The Paper (Peacock) returns Wednesday, the final season of Colin From Accounts (Paramount Plus) returns Thursday, and The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives (Hulu) has a truncated fifth season. new shows A Tale of Two cities (MGM Plus), Dang! (Netflix), Crew Girl (Netflix) and Last Seen (Apple) hope to draw in new viewers, while Peacock airs a retrospective for The office fans on Monday, and HBO celebrates Band Of Brothers on Wednesday. Several 9/11 specials are planned for Friday, and in film Supergirl lands on HBo … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/05/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/03/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Shrouds: S1E1 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Tomb Raider King: S1E4 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Lucky: S1E6 (Apple) with audio description, Rick And Morty: S9E2 (HBO MAX) with audio description, and Oasis: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description The Shrouds- I actually started the day thinking I’d knock this series out either in full, or in part, but it is a miserable watch, so i couldn’t do it.The Troller is just such a disgusting distraction from an 80’s piece that could actuall have something to say about sexual fluidity from the eyes of Bret Easton Ellis. Instead, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/03/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/26/26

John Stark

Another tragic loss. Tim Curry, whose talent blew through The Rocky Horror Picture Show and into a variety of films, from The Hunt For Red October, Clue, and Congo, to family fare like Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Muppet Treasure Island, and his voice work in films like Ferngully, and on TV for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. he is a Tony nominated actor, he is also nominated for a Grammy, an Emmy, but sadly never an Oscar. He was chosen in 2026 by GALECA as their Timeless Star honoree (a group for which I am a member). … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/26/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/25/26

John Stark

Wow. We lost a true legend yesterday. Dolly Parton.What an immensely kind, warm, gifted, generous, and humble human being. Our world isn’t just a little less bright, we lost the North Star. TV Shows watched: Survival Of The Thickest: Season 3 (Netflix) with audio description, Last Week Tonight: Most Recent (HBO MAX) no audio description yet yes, a really short diary. My work, with classes resuming, is always far more consuming at the beginning and end. I basically focused on Survival Of The Thickest, which truth be told, I had already powered through half of it before walking out the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/25/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/24/26

John Stark

Yesterday… was nuts. I’m amazed I watched anything. TV Shows Watched: Lanterns: S1E2 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Black Clover: S1E2 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Solar Opposites: S6E9 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Strip Law: S1E10 (Netflix) with audio description Lanterns- Did we just learn in this episode that Zoey is black? Probably could have gotten that piece of info earlier. I don’t think her intro at the bar in Episode 1 described her, so it forced me into defaulting her into redneck white lady, which she apparently is not. If studios don’t want ethnic description in the AD track, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/24/26

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The Small Screen Diaries:08/23/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Walking dead: Deaad City: S3E5 (AMC Plus) no audio description, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: S1E9 (Apple) with audio description, Tomb Raider King: S1E2 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description,The Westies: S1E8 (MGM Plus) with audio description,Life Larry and the Pursuit Of Unhappyness: S1E7 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Pop Culture Jeopardy: S2E17 (Netflix) with audio description, and Marshals: S1e13 (Paramount) with audio description Dead City- Back to not having audio description again. Good job guys. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed- I love how invested I am in this woman getting to keep her daughter, more than the strange shit happening around … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries:08/23/26

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Stranger Things: Tales From 85: Season 1

John Stark

How quickly a good thing can become a bad thing is not one of the specific tales from ’85, but it is more or less the overall theme of Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. That applies both to the story connecting these ten episodes and to the general feeling I had when it was all over. Our young cast is in between mysteries in 1985, now fully aware of Eleven’s powers, the Upside Down, and everything that happened to Will. With nothing particularly strange happening at the moment, the kids are bored enough to consider expanding their detective talents. Luckily … Continue reading Stranger Things: Tales From 85: Season 1

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Freefall: A Reckoning For Boeing

John Stark

This just surprised me in my Netflix feed, and I decided to watch it. I will say that while the lack of having a publication to back me as a film critic certainly limits my exposure, one of the things it does for me is allow me to choose what I want to review and when I want to review it because I’m not working on assignment. I’m working on a wing and a prayer. So, much like pilots when they’re flying a Boeing airplane, they’re doing so on a wing and a prayer. It also tends to mean that … Continue reading Freefall: A Reckoning For Boeing

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Wishing You Were Somehow Human Again: Nothing To Lose (2026)

John Stark

Netflix does this thing where they randomly select international titles on their streaming service and tap them for audio description. I’m not really sure what the wheel of algorithms that drives them to do this tells them in terms of supportive data. Pick this film because the English-speaking blind audience will like this one more. Don’t pick that one because the English-speaking blind audience won’t like it. It’s such a tremendous fallacy given the fact that a film like Nothing to Lose just kind of randomly and quietly dropped on Netflix with little fanfare, yet Netflix has had films in … Continue reading Wishing You Were Somehow Human Again: Nothing To Lose (2026)

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/21/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Silo: S3E8 (Apple) with audio description, Stuart Fails: S1E4 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Mating Season: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Robin Hood: S1E6 (MGM Plus) with audio description, The Miniature Wife: S1E10 (Peacock) with audio description Silo- The episode is titled Grey Goo, and when you get to the end, that’s all you really need. It’s like Silo’s version of Olaf’s Frozen quote “some people are worth melting for”. Jedediah Barton and Pixel Logic do more wonderful AD as they cram a lot into this episode. Not only do we check on the past, but we … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/21/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/20/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: among Us: Season 1 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Daemons Of The Shadow Realm: S1E12 (CruncyRoll) no audio description, and Berlin: S2E? (Netflix) with audio description Among Us- Not a big day, but I did knock off the entire first season of Among Us (likely the only season) which was a lot of fun. Totally bingeable by the way. Each episode is approx. 15 minutes, So it’s under 2 1/2 hours. The audio description was interesting, and I didn’t catch credits in the span of time before it pushed me into the next episode. The characters here … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/20/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/19/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Ted Lasso: S4E3 (Apple) with audio description, Nemesis: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Sheriff Country: S1E19 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, The Comeback: S2E4 (HBO MAX) with audio description, St Dennis Medical: S2E13 (Peacock) with audio description, and Breaking Bad: S4E9 (Netflix) with audio description Ted Lasso- I enjoyed this episode with open tryouts. Plus, Ted got to hang with Henry for a smidge, the whole reason he left to begin with. Ted Lasso is slowly finding its feet. Will it ever be as good as it once was? Probably not, though I like this reboot of … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/19/26

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Avatar: The Last Airbender: Season 2 (2026)

John Stark

We are certainly living in a golden age of television, regardless of how you feel about the endless adaptations. The fact that we’re getting so many of them, and that they are as well funded as they are, is at least promising because some of them are producing quality work. Thirty years ago, science fiction, fantasy, and superhero television meant shows like seaQuest DSV, Earth 2, The Flash, Xena: Warrior Princess, and Sliders. I remember that live-action Flash series starring John Wesley Shipp, who would later play Dawson’s father on Dawson’s Creek. Budgets were lower and casts were largely filled … Continue reading Avatar: The Last Airbender: Season 2 (2026)

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/16/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Walking Dead: Dead City: S3E4 (AMC Plus) WITH audio description, Unconditional: S1E8 (Apple) with audio description, The Westies: S1E7 (MGM Plus) with audio description, Avatar: The LAst Airbender: S2E6 (Netflix) with audio description, The Rookie: S8E10 (Disney Plus) with audio description, and The Five Star Weekend: S1E2 (Peacock) with audio description The Walking Dead: Dead City- I’ve suspected in the past that AMC Plus uses synthetic voice, and I’d still buy that here. They tipped their hat previously when the narrator couldn’t pronounce the name of a character, so I operate as if this was synthetic. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/16/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/15/26

John Stark

Coming up this week, a bit of a slow week, Lanterns (HBO) premieres tonight, Outer Banks (Netflix) returns for a final season on Thursday, with Conan O’Brien Must Go (HBO) dropping on Friday. Disney is celebrating itself all week long with various content on Disney Plus, and features like Passenger (Paramount) and Mother Mary (HBO MAX) hit their streamers. I also believe THe Christophers (Hulu) is dropping this week. TV Shows Watched: Avatar: The LAst Airbender S2E1-5 (Netflix) with audio description, Pop Culture Jeopardy: S2E16 (Netflix) with audio description, Marshals: S1E12 (Paramount Plus), Little House On The Prairie: S1E7 (Netflix) … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/15/26

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Don’t Say Good Luck

John Stark

I’m sure many critics don’t really know what to do right now. We’re in a little bit of a daze. It’s certainly an unfamiliar place. Had I known that this would be what it was, I would have tried to get an advanced screener so I could get my thoughts out on this film earlier. But instead, I watched it with the normies on Netflix. And color me surprised that Happy Madison produced a coming-of-age drama starring Sunny Sandler, which is both extremely on brand for them, given the actress, and extremely off brand for them, given the fact that … Continue reading Don’t Say Good Luck

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/14/26

John Stark

Two shows entered cancellation thunderdome, with one getting renewed, and the other cancelled. Stuart Fails To Save The Universe has been picked up for a second season at HBO MAX, while the synthetically described Deli Boys failed to make it to a third season.Synthetic narration. It may be hazardous to the health of your series. TV Shows Watched: Silo: S3E7 (Apple) with audio description, Stuart Fails: S1E4 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Tomb Raider King: S1E1 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Detective Hole: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Will Trent: S4E17 (Disney Plus) with audio description And in other news, stay … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/14/26

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The Witness (2026): Series Review

John Stark

Well, at least it was only three episodes. I know that’s not necessarily the most reassuring way of convincing you to watch a show, but these days, sometimes reminding an audience that something is appropriately lengthed instead of being drawn out for ulterior motives is oddly refreshing. The Witness could have been some 10-episode limited series where every aspect and detail of the case was spread out and beleaguered, with additional material packed in for dramatic effect until the passage of time slowed considerably and we spent a lifetime in a story that is rather simple for what it is. … Continue reading The Witness (2026): Series Review

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/13/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Citadel: Season 2 (Amazon) with audio description, Stranger Things: Tales From 85 (Netflix) with audio description, Life Larry and the Pursuit Of Unhappyness: S1E6 (HBO MAX) and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: S5E3 (Disney Plus) with audio description Citadel- I did review this yesterday, so check it out. Also, if you were thinking about watching the second season of Citadel, and have pushed it down your watchlist, move it up before someone ruins that finale for you. Jaw dropped. I couldn’t go enough into it in my review, but the show takes a really big swing … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/13/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/12/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: X-Men 97: S2E9 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Ted Lasso: S4E2 (Apple) with audio description, Nemesis: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Sheriff Country: S1E18 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, The Comeback: S2E3 (HBO MAX) with audio description, and- S4E8 (Netflix) with audio description X-Men 97- What a bumpy ride this was. I do have every intention of doing a season review because I’m a big fan, but I’m deeply disappointed that Disney cut the budget on Deluxe, forcing them to use a synthetic narrator for one of their branded shows. It’s already entering pre-production on Season 4, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/12/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/10/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: House Of The Dragon: S3E8 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: S1E8 (Apple) with audio description, Big Mistakes: S1E10 (Netflix) with audio description, The Bear: S5E8 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Rise and Fall Of Reggie Dinkins: S1E10, Last Week Tonight: Most Recent (HBO MAX) no audio description yet, and American Classic: S1E5 (MGM Plus) with audio description House Of The Dragon- Full review dropped yesterday, but this is one hell of an AD track, and for every company that has told me that those big mean studios kept them from putting credits, let … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/10/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/09/26

John Stark

Some shows coming up this week include Reacher (Amazon), Tires (Netflix), and a new Happy Madison film starring a Sandler child on Friday, along with the premiere of Girls like Girls on Peacock. It’s a slow week. TV Shows Watched: Walking Dead: Dead City: S3E3 (AMC Plus) still no audio description, Your Friends And Neighbors: S2e10 (Apple) with audio description, A Good Girls Guide To Murder: S2E3 (Netflix) with audio description,The Westies: S1E6 (MGM Plus) with audio description, Daemons Of The Shadow Realm: S1E11 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, The Five Star Weekend: S1E1 (Peacock) with audio description Dead City- AMC … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/09/26

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The Last House

John Stark

It’s only been a short period of time since The Last House dropped on Netflix, and I’ve already seen some really wild reactions to the film. The latest in Netflix’s continued onslaught of skipping theatrical brings recent Academy Award nominee Wagner Moura and Greta Lee to a pandemic-era-style film where it’s a limited location, trapped inside a house with seemingly no end in sight. The director bringing this masterpiece to life is Louis Leterrier, the man behind The Transporter, The Incredible Hulk, and Now You See Me, and unfortunately, most recently, Fast X, which was not a great film and … Continue reading The Last House

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/07/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Silo: S3E6 (Apple) with audio description, Stuart Fails: S1E3 (HBO MAX) with audio description,XO Kitty: S3E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Deli Boys: S2E6 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Kevin: S1E5 (Amazon) with audio description, and Little House On The Prairie: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description Silo: Foward momentum. Camille finds what she’s looking for, Juliette tries to make her play after remembering Silo 17, and the Sheriff might have found out who killed the Shadow. It’s a shame the Shadow died, because they know what evil lurks in the hearts of men. Nice audio description, not a … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/07/26

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Running Point: Season 2

John Stark

Spoiler Warning: It’s possible to like something that is in the middle of an identity crisis, and that would be Running Point, Netflix’s sophomore comedy about Isla Gordon, played by Kate Hudson, who is continuing to run a professional basketball franchise against all odds. At the end of last season, her brother Cam, played by Justin Theroux, managed to get out of rehab. This season, he rejoins the family business, clearly with the intention of taking it over again, although he settles for a smaller position while the family slowly welcomes him back, believing that he’s sober when he is … Continue reading Running Point: Season 2

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Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy

John Stark

Probably one of the most prominent documentaries in my life remains Super Size Me. It’s one of only a handful of documentaries that I’ve watched more than once. It followed documentarian Morgan Spurlock as he attempted to survive on nothing but McDonald’s for an entire month, ordering breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the Golden Arches. Every meal came with an entrée, fries, and a drink, and back when McDonald’s still offered Super Size, he agreed to supersize only when the cashier asked if he wanted to. His health absolutely cratered over the course of the experiment. Spurlock has since passed … Continue reading Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/05/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: X-Men 97: S2E8 (Disney Plus) with audio description,Ted Lasso: S4E1 (Apple) with audio description, Daemons Of The Shadow Realm: S1E10 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Strip Law: S1E9 (Netflix) with audio description, Tales Of The TMNT: S2E10 (Paramount) with audio description, Life Larry And The Pursuit Of Unhappyness: S1E5 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Breaking Bad: S4E7 (Netflix) with audio description X-Men 97- Still synthetic, but in terms of the written context, it was fine. Some of the X-Teams take a back seat, and aren’t mentioned anywhere, but they basically are all now in the same plot line. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/05/26

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Wishing You Were Somehow Human Again: 23,000 Lives (2026)

John Stark

One thing that continues to frustrate me is trying to figure out Netflix’s logic for deciding which international originals get English audio description and which ones don’t. Sometimes it feels like they’re just spinning a wheel. I still can’t get over the fact that Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar-nominated Roma never received an English audio description track, nor did acclaimed films like Bardo or El Conde. Yet I stumble across a German film called 23,000 Lives, something I’d never even heard of, and it not only has English audio description, it even has an English dub. Granted, the description uses a synthetic … Continue reading Wishing You Were Somehow Human Again: 23,000 Lives (2026)

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/04/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Devil May Cry: Season 2 (Netflix) with audio description, Off Campus: S1E8 (Amazon) with audio description, and Marshals: S1E11 (Paramount) with audio description Devil May Cry- I did watch and immediately review this. I have no idea what’s going on, conceptually, but the audio description is fantastic. It is part of my pull quote on RT. The only reason I went Fresh was because of the AD, but honestly the only reason I watched was because of AD. The series would be totally unintelligible without it. Kudos to DVW, David Chan, and Paula Hoffman. I wouldn’t have … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/04/26

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Devil May Cry: Season 2

John Stark

I think I finally understand the argument for waiting until an entire series has finished before starting it. I know people who actually do that, somehow avoiding spoilers until every episode has dropped so they can binge the whole thing in one sitting. Personally, that would drive me insane because I like staying up to date on new releases. But with a show like Devil May Cry, I’m starting to understand why people do it. I’m not very familiar with the lore, so asking me to wait between seasons and then remember exactly what happened in season one or who … Continue reading Devil May Cry: Season 2

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/03/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: House Of The Dragon: S3E7 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Widows Bay: S1E9 (Apple) with audio description, Detective Hole: S1E? (Netflix) with audio description, Robin Hood: S1E5 (MGM Plus) with audio description, St Dennis Medical: S2E11 (Peacock) with audio description, Last Week Tonight: Current (HBO MAX) no audio description yet, and American Classic: S1E5 (MGM Plus) with audio description House Of The Dragon- I got cheated out of my Bring The Usurper To Me! But, the episode still featured an epic dragon battle, the most oedipal thing on HBO ever, and something presumed dead rises. There’s also … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/03/26

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Unchosen: Series Review

John Stark

Netflix’s six-episode limited series Unchosen is supposed to be about cults, but it really isn’t. It wants to be. It opens with a statement about how there are all these tiny little cults peppered throughout society that most of us never even realize exist. Right down the street, there could be a quiet little cul-de-sac where every family shares the same bizarre beliefs, and nobody outside of that neighborhood would ever know. That’s a genuinely fascinating premise. The idea that a cult can exist right in the middle of suburbia, living alongside everyone else while still remaining completely isolated from … Continue reading Unchosen: Series Review

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/02/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Walking Dead: Dead City: S3E2 (AMC Plus) no audio description, Unconditional: S1E7 (Apple) with audio description, Ghosts: S5E11 (Paramount) with audio description, The Westies: S1E5 (MGM Plus) with audio description, Unchosen: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Running Pointe: S2E10 (Netflix) with audio description, and The Rookie: S8E8 (Disney Plus) with audio description Dead City: OMFG. Second week in a row, where the show and episode are advertised as being audio described but are not. Fuck off, AMC. The show is still interesting as the new showrunner, who worked as a writer on the original series, is … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/02/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 07/31/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Silo: S3E5 (Apple) with audio description,Stuart Fails To Save The Universe: S1E2 (HBO MAX) with audio description,Mating Season: S1E? (Netflix) with audio description, Will Trent: S4E16 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Invincible: S4E8 (Amazon) with audio description, The Hawk: S1E4 (netflix) with audio description, and Little House On The Prairie: S1E5 (Netflix) with audio description Silo- Man, this is hard to describe now without spoilers. So, I’ll just say that it had solid audio description, especially regarding the person with the burns. However, I wish we had a better idea of the expansiveness or lack thereof of … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 07/31/26

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The Four Seasons: Season 2

John Stark

The Four Seasons returned for a second season on Netflix, and honestly, I’m not surprised. Netflix has been persevering with this one, likely because it has such an incredible cast behind it that how could they not? It also came back remarkably quickly. That’s becoming one of the biggest advantages a show can have these days. Netflix has run into a real problem with series that take forever to film and even longer to return. Shows like The Four Seasons, My Life with the Walter Boys, and The Diplomat all feel like safer bets for renewal because audiences can actually … Continue reading The Four Seasons: Season 2

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72 Hours

John Stark

Tim Story certainly has a diverse slate of films on his resume. He’s already crossed paths with 72 Hours star Kevin Hart in the Ride Along franchise, but Story has bounced around from Barbershop to Fantastic Four to Ride Along to Tom and Jerry to The Blackening and now this, along with sequels to several of those films. He certainly doesn’t have a niche, although I’m not really sure he has a strength either. He does seem to do his best work in films with predominantly Black casts, or at least Black leads, as most people would probably put Fantastic … Continue reading 72 Hours

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I Will Find You: Series Review

John Stark

I’m not a Harlan Coben fan. I think he’s highly overrated, or at least his television adaptations are. I’ve enjoyed very few of them. Previously, I would have said Shelter was the best adaptation of one of his books. However, this Sam Worthington-led limited series, running eight episodes, features a stacked cast, delivers a fairly thrilling ride, and even though I saw certain twists coming, it’s far better than I expected it to be. Sometimes Coben’s stories reach a little too far. They swing too wide, becoming increasingly nonsensical as they go. The adaptations I’ve liked the most are the … Continue reading I Will Find You: Series Review

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Man On Fire: Season 1

John Stark

Perhaps I should give the Tony Scott-directed Denzel Washington film Man on Fire another look, because after watching Netflix’s adaptation starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, a recent Emmy nominee for Wonder Man, I’m reconsidering the entire concept. It’s possible there was something I missed more than 20 years ago when I watched the original film, which at the time didn’t resonate with me. I wasn’t much of a fan despite strong performances from both Denzel Washington and a very young Dakota Fanning. The Netflix series changes a number of things, mostly so that if they decide to continue Man on Fire … Continue reading Man On Fire: Season 1

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The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 4

John Stark

I’m more than happy to finally jump in and add my thoughts on The Lincoln Lawyer now that I’m on the Tomatometer. It’s a show I’ve enjoyed watching for four seasons now, and even though it’s heading into its fifth and final season, it’s remained one of Netflix’s most consistently entertaining dramas. Season 4 picks up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of Season 3, with Mickey Haller becoming the prime suspect in a murder after a body is found in the trunk of his Lincoln. That storyline dominates the entire season, forcing Mickey to defend himself against all odds, first … Continue reading The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 4

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Little Brother

John Stark

Dysfunctional family comedies have always had an anchor in cinema. They’re practically comfort food because almost everyone has some kind of dysfunction somewhere in the family tree. Maybe it’s an eccentric uncle, an odd cousin, or a grandparent who makes every holiday unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. Those little pockets of chaos make these movies relatable because, at the end of the day, we’re all at least a little kooky. This is why we love revisiting the Griswolds and Fockers, why the road trip in Little Miss Sunshine works, or why we’d even entertain the possibility that it is … Continue reading Little Brother

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In The Hand of Dante

John Stark

I’d heard about In the Hand of Dante coming out of the Venice Film Festival and knew it hadn’t been especially well received. At the time, though, a lot of the conversation seemed to revolve around the cast and the controversy surrounding their positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict rather than the movie itself. Now that it’s on Netflix, complete with an excellent audio description track from International Digital Center written by Stephen Christopher and narrated by Jamie Lemchek, I finally had the chance to check out Julian Schnabel’s latest film. On paper, this thing should be incredible. It’s produced by … Continue reading In The Hand of Dante

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Voicemails For Isabelle

John Stark

I’ve always had a soft spot for a good melodrama. Not necessarily a feel-good movie, but the kind that mixes romance, grief, humor, and heartbreak into a story that asks audiences to spend a couple of hours with characters navigating extraordinary circumstances. Netflix’s Voicemails for Isabel absolutely fits that mold, and more importantly, it understands something that a lot of modern romance dramas seem to have forgotten. In recent years, we’ve seen a wave of adaptations from authors like Colleen Hoover. Films like It Ends With Us, Regretting You, and Reminders of Him often begin with tragedy and then build … Continue reading Voicemails For Isabelle

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Office Romance

John Stark

Little known fact. Lady Gaga was this close to titling her song Office Romance instead of Bad Romance. Don’t fact check me. But, the fairly generic title found its way into Jennifer Lopez’s pantheon of equally vague titles like The Back Up Plan, Marry Me, and Unstoppable (a title so generic Denzel also has a film called Unstoppable). Regardless of the premise, Jennifer Lopez remains a queen of romantic comedies, and her sex appeal at 56 has allowed her to be able to pull off being desirable enough to carry films like this. Jennifer Lopez is not the problem here. … Continue reading Office Romance

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Wake Up Dead Man

John Stark

Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. If you build it, he will come. In Rian Johnson’s third outing in what is called the Knives Out series (for no other reason than it being the title of the first Benoit Blanc outing), we are asked to have a little faith. or, perhaps it is better to have a lack thereof. Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man may center in a church, but this is no Murder In the Cathedral. If you dress it up with simplicity, it could be seen as a modern day version of that, but woven in Johnson’s narrative … Continue reading Wake Up Dead Man