Tag: Paramount Plus

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Forrest Gump: 30th Anniversary

John Stark

This year brings about the return of Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Robert Zemeckis. Later in the year, they have a film releasing together called Here, but it feels special because 30 years ago they made the Best Picture winning Forrest Gump, based on a best selling novel. The film has since not aged quite as well as others, especially since its big Oscar competition was Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption. Shawshank at the time did not have the box office, and while Pulp Fiction marked a return to form and a new career high for John Travolta, Tarantino … Continue reading Forrest Gump: 30th Anniversary

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Bob Marley: One love

John Stark

From the director of the Oscar nominated King Richard comes another biopic that hopes to capture just a fraction of the acclaim of the directors previous effort. I’ll give it a fraction, and I wasn’t even someone who believed King Richard warranted a Best Picture nomination in the first place. Like its predecessor, bob Marley: One Love becomes about the performance of its leading man, and to some extent the actress who lives in his shadow. Following the formula that worked before, bob Marley: one Love leans on the talents of Kingsley Ben-Adir as bob Marley to sell the film, … Continue reading Bob Marley: One love

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Little Wing

John Stark

We’ve made a movie about almost every single sport there is. I think what happened here, is that someone noticed that there was a gaping hole where “racing pigeons” was, and decided to write an inspirational sports drama around that. Sadly, instead of this making any sense whatsoever, they rope in an angsty teenager as the lead. So, a sport almost no one knows anything about is talked about by teens like they probably talk about the latest hashtag trends. At its core, it is a heartwarming film with room for improvement. A coming of age story wrapped in a … Continue reading Little Wing

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Mean Girls (2024)

John Stark

They call themselves The Plastics. They’re shiny fake and hard. Sometimes, when you strive to appease everyone, you end up appeasing no one. Luckily, that isn’t the case with mean Girls, the musical adaptation that hit theatres in 2024, but it does suffer from a lack of identity. The movie is neither a complete reimagining of the original film. Or a faithful adaptation of the musical. Hell, it isn’t even a new version of the musical, in the way that they just fill the movie with new songs. It tries to be everything. On Wednesdays we wear pink. Get in … Continue reading Mean Girls (2024)

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

June

John Stark

Now, this film i do remember. It was a perfectly fine look at June Carter Cash. Of course, it’s impossible to mention her without mentioning Johnny Cash, but it does really aim to center on her, her career before Johnny, and her continued contribution to music until her death. This is on Paramount Plus, and the audio description is solid for a documentary. There were things I learned about June, including her version of Ring Of Fire that Johnny really turned into his own thing. She appeared in the movie The Apostle, and this has quite a bit of her … Continue reading June

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/19/24

John Stark

Not surprising at all, but CBS will continue to air its Australian import, NCIS: Sydney for its second season, despite already having two NCIS shows, and currently in development on two more. Fun fact, this entire franchise only exists thanks to a series being rescued from cancellation. Possibly the smartest “save our show” ever has turned out to be CBS picking up JAG after it was cancelled at NBC after one season. Without that, they wouldn’t have had the long and successful run of the original show, nor would they have NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, NCIS New Orleans, NCIS Hawaii, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/19/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

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

TVLeave a comment

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

TVLeave a comment

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

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

Kokomo City

John Stark

Shortlisted for the Documentary Feature Oscar, Kokomo City landed on Paramount Plus without audio description. It is a shame, because we never really get to know the ladies of Kokomo City that way. This feature finds a few trans sex workers in the Miami area and lets them tell their stories. It does feature a few other interviews, with potential male clients, but it’s a bit nebulous to follow without the audio description. As a fan of the documentary Paris Is Burning, I can’t help but see the stark contrast time has given to this community. With a touchstone documentary … Continue reading Kokomo City

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 02/29/24

John Stark

Actually typing out the 29th of February feels like a mistake, until you convince yourself that yesterday was, in fact, Leap Day. So, how did I spend it? With some disappointing audio description. Of course, that means Abbott Elementary (ABC/Hulu), which Disney has apparently just decided to throw down the tubes this season for blind people. If ABC wanted to experiment with whaat seems to be AI generated audio description on every level, perhaps start with not your number one show. Just a thought. Over on Will Trent (ABC/Hulu), this show did have audio description, but it really felt lacking … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/29/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

The Eternal Memory

John Stark

Nominated this year for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, you can now find this on Paramount Plus with audio description. the film is not originally in the English language, so I would recommend not skipping the accessibility if you are blind or visually impaired. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but the Documentary branch frequently chooses documentaries no one watches or cares about over documentaries widely accepted by the public. Every once in a while you get a Summer Of Soul, but most well known documentaries fail to even get nominated. Last year, Moon Age Daydream missed out on … Continue reading The Eternal Memory

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 02/16/24

John Stark

I’m now only one episode away from learning which of the three contestants I don’t care about wins Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix). Of course, I could just look it up, since this was decided a while ago, but I don’t binge shows. I like my cliffhangers. I’m glad Ashley didn’t make the final 3, since she couldn’t see the irony in someone not following with a selfless group act. But, I’m also not sure I want Maya to win. I’m not sure I want any of these three to win, because this show has been more interested in getting … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/16/24

Movie ReviewLeave a comment

scrapper

John Stark

A BAFTA nominee that flew under the radar here in the states, Scrapper is now available for anyone who has been obsessed with paper Moon and wanted to see a possible update. It’s not, but it is certainly close. Sadly, this independent British feature is on Paramount Plus without audio description. Lola Campbell will steal your heart, much like Tatum O’Neal did in her Oscar nominated performance in Paper Moon. Campbell plays a young girl who is scheming her way through life as we come to realize she’s basically alone in the world. That is, until her estranged father comes … Continue reading scrapper

TVLeave a comment

The Small Screen Diaries- 02/15/24

John Stark

Did you feel like you got hit on the head yesterday? That’s because Paramount Global has axed streamer Noggin, which launched as a cable channel in 199, before developing its own paid service in 2015. Nine years later, Paramount Global is on fire, and they need to cut costs. A lot of the basic core programs of Noggin are available on Paramount Plus anyway, so I’m sure this is just a redundancy they felt was needed. I was more surprised that 800 people worked for Noggin. Just to balance themselves out, they also cancelled Evil. So, something on either end … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 02/15/24