Rumors- Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, and Charles Dance star in a film that resembles a G7 summit that goes very weird and horribly awry. It leans horror, somewhat, butt more on the surreal satiric side. I know people were excited for the director, and while I thought the film had some interesting and fun parts, it didn’t quite rise to the level. If you enjoy satirical horror comedies, this should be for you. But, maybe not? I wish I could remember the audio description track, but I’m still catching up and this was not a film that stood out to me. I do remember there being some biting satire, and interesting representation of the countries. It reminded me a lot of Death Of Stalin. The audio description did have a lot of horror adjacent things to deal with, and I think it did it well.
Fresh: Final Grade: B- Audio Description: B+?
Breathe- This was in the post-Christmas, pre-New Years frame, and even though critics overall didn’t like the movie, I needed to know what this cast had been up to. A couple of Oscar nominees. however, it was living on Paramount Plus with audio description. My initial thoughts were that it had an idea, and some decent performances, but I couldn’t get a read that I was secretly watching something amazing that doesn’t have audio description, though I also have seen far worse, even with audio description. Still, no accessibility, and if you have the money to pay for this cast, you have the money to ensure your film is accessible.
Unwatchable Due To Lack of Audio Description
Wallace and Gromit: vengeance Most Fowl- I really would love to find a way to communicate to blind and low vision audiences what actually makes a stop motion film so interesting. I love almost everything Laika has done, but Aardman has always been a tough sell. Still, Netflix has this, which won Animated Feature at the BAFTA’s, and was nominated for British film of the year. I have never really gotten Wallace and Gromit. Though, i can say the same for chicken Run. this just isn’t my thing. I reveal my biases. So, if you love Wallace and Gromit, and Aardman, this is more of the same. For me, the humor is occasionally cute, butt not the whole thing. There’s a clever lean here with AI gone wrong, and lawn gnomes that slowly take over the world, or at least the neighborhood, and I appreciate the effort. I was truly passionate about some animation this year with the Wild Robot and inside Out 2, and I liked memoir of A Snail and Transformers one. It wasn’t a great year for this medium. it has been two months since I saw this, and for some reason I remember liking some parts of the audio description a lot, but I found some problems. I’m leaning toward remembering this track favorably.
Fresh: Final Grade: B- Audio Description: B+
Out Of My Mind- This disability centric family drama landed on Disney Plus in November, and features a wonderful performance from an actress with the same condition as her character, which is refreshing. however, what would be more refreshing is seeing young Phoebe Rae Taylor cast again. i put her on my list of the Best Actress performances of the year, and I feel like I was a lone wolf in that regard. this movie hit me, and did an excellent job showing a specific disability, the typical problems one may face, but also offered a look at how someone in this situation can actually have a life, and what sort of accessibility devices make that possible. Unlike the Disney Plus documentary Blink, this isn’t a slow walk to death, it is an inspirational story that brings together the typical family heartstrings, uplifting vibes, and a surprising amount of humor. Jennifer Aniston lends her voice to Taylor’s performance, as a non-verbal girl struggling to find her own voice by the end of the film. I don’t fondly remember the audio description, but I also don’t negatively remember it. it was two months, and the reason for posts like this, so I can get to timely reviews. I highly recommend Out Of My Mind, and this Disney plus original film made my list of the Top 28 films of 2024.
Fresh: Grade: A, Audio Description: B
The Wizard- i made it through a lot of anniversary releases last year, and most of them had audio description. The Wizard turned 35, and it felt so quintessentially part of my childhood, that I took to my YouTube to discuss this Fred Savage/Beau Bridges/Christian Slater Nintendo movie. it doesn’t have audio description, and feels so trapped in 1989, that I can’t imagine it will ever get more than a TTS track from Amazon. But, I’ve seen this cheesy kids adventure at least ten, maybe closer to fifteen times in my life. It has a surprisingly dark core to it, about the family dynamic, and a twin that isn’t around anymore. If The Wizard ever gains audio description, check it out. I’ve seen this film enough that I would take this easily to my desert island. It’s bulletproof for me.
Final Grade: A+
Blink- I heard this movie screened in LA without audio description. It was doing an Oscar qualifying run, and I guess they figured a documentary about blind people would wait until streaming. Unlike the superior Sugar Cane, this has audio description on Disney Plus. it is also a deeply frustrating and troubling movie that pisses me off. it is the complete opposite of out of My Mind, or the excellent Patrice: the Movie, two things that talk or are centered around disability, but present a realistic outlook on life, as well as what you might want to do to help someone in this situation. Blink is the equivalent of Free Willy, a feel good (I guess) movie that will change nothing, means nothing, and has very little to say. free Willy didn’t change the way we kept killer whales. Blackfish did that. Blackfish kept trainers out of the water. Hell, Willy isn’t even free. They made two sequels. how Free is Willy? In blink, two parents realize their kids are all (but one) losing their sight. So, because this is like death, and totally relatable to have disposable income, they take the kids on a bucket list of things they want to see around the world. look, I wouldn’t change my sighted experiences either, but I also wouldn’t make a film about it. This movie acts like these kids are dying, and presents no real examples of what these kids will be able to do once their sight is gone, or if the parents are really even prepared, or looking for those kinds of resources. mom just finds Google, and goes from there. I know they were hoping to pull heart strings, but I’m so glad this didn’t even touch the Oscar shortlist. There were at least 50 better documentaries than this. The audio description is as solid as it can be, but I feel like it was probably frustrating to have to write a track for blind and low vision people that treats their ailment like death. Maybe, we should explore why able bodied people feel that way, and bring accessibility to the conversation so it doesn’t feel like a terminal fucking illness. But that isn’t the conversation this doc wants to have. In a time where people think DEI is allowing us to be in control tower positions so we can be responsible for a plane crash, or that somehow Boeing’s structural failures are a result of their DEI initiatives, Disney and Nat Geo needed a meaningful documentary. I feel for this family, but you didn’t need to turn their lives into a documentary.
Rotten: Final Grade: C, Audio Description: A-
White Bird- A Wonder Story! You wouldn’t know that from the box office results, but then again, Lionsgate basically abandoned the remainder of their 2024 slate. I never even got a screener, and I liked White Bird, Small Things Like These, and The return. but, sadly, they all were rather unceremoniously dumped. This movie centers on the bully from the original movie, who now has to listen to his grandmother tell her story of growing up as a Jewish teen during World War II, where the Nazi’s were rounding people up. She managed to escape and hide in a barn with the help of a classmate who had a little bit of a problem walking. I can’t remember if it was polio, but I feel like it was. I actually was pleasantly surprised by White Bird, and even though we have dozens of movies like this, it is still a rather effective genre. It certainly isn’t a bad film, and I wish it wasn’t ignored by virtually everyone. I remember liking the track to some extent.
Fresh: Final Grade: B+, Audio Description: A-
September 5- Nominated for Best Original Screenplay, September 5 is now on Paramount Plus. I got a screener for this in early December, but I was worried about a review embargo, so I waited until i knew it was in theatres. So, it has actually been almost three months. September 5 is a movie that stays with you. While it is nearly impossible to single out any one performance from this film, the script is really good, and the acting is terrific. However, it is the true story, the editing (this film is only about 90 minutes), and the alignment with current anti-Semitic ideology that drives home the message of September 5. This is based on the true story of the Israeli Olympic team taken hostage by terrorists during the Munich Olympics, and ABC Sports fighting to cover the story. This movie also was in my top 28 films of 2024. On top of that, Paramount actually sends out films with audio description as screeners, so my accessibility was met right away. The track wasn’t anything truly spectacular, but it did get the job done. The quality of it, the way it was mixed, just felt like it wasn’t at the right quality to match the film. Sort of like putting mono audio description on a stereo film. You should definitely see this. Especially if you have Paramount Plus.
Fresh: Final Grade: A, Audio description: B
