Bald Move Prestige

Welcome to The Rock, and welcome to the first review of Super Serious Film Fest's "Season of the Cage". Released in 1996, this modern classic stands as one of Nic Cage's, as well as Michael Bay's, finest action movies. It's not quite the level of Caginess you're probably looking for but the Season of the Cage is just warming up. Join us next week for The Weather Man. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and I checked out the latest episode of HBO's The Deuce, "The Feminism Part", and boy, just a lot happened. There's mob money, murder, attempted murder, betrayals, breakups, Bobby's kid lost his virginity! The stakes can be as low as Vince losing himself for a few days tending bar in sleepy Vermont towns, or as high as a dead prostitute washing up and into Detective Alston's case load. That's life on The Deuce. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and I watched an unexpectedly spooky episode of Matthew Weiner's The Romanoffs, "House of Special Purpose". It's a tale that asks us whether we believe in ghosts or if one or perhaps more people are actually losing their minds. Does the spell work, and what is Weiner saying about coercive / abusive directors and set environments? Despite the super serious subject matter, we also find time to pitch a sequel to Twister, somehow, because of Paul Riser? Perhaps it is us losing our minds after all. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to super serious film fest, our themed series of movie reviews. This season covers the best and the worst of Nic Cage, the summer and winter of his career, in what we're calling "Season of the Cage". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.Ron and Jim blow all the doors down on the latest episode of HBO's The Deuce, "We're All Beasts". It provokes a lot of meta discussion about progressive politics, America's long lost battle against vice, and offensive analogies. We also talk about Eileen's guerrilla film-making campaign for what looks to be the very watchable Red Hot. Finally, A.Ron reacts to a 70s-era porno! Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been three years since Don Draper left our televisions, and now Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner is back with something to say? Is it good, is it bad, is it something even worth saying? After seeing 180 minutes of his new series, The Romanoffs, we're still oddly divided on answering those basic questions. It's beautiful, and thoughtful, and at times absorbing, but are the disconnected lives of eight (perhaps delusional) offspring of the fallen House Romanov interesting enough to merit our attention? Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and A.Ron saw Bad Times at the El Royale and give it mixed reviews. Writer/Director Drew Goddard throws a lot of slow, character and dialog driven set pieces at the audience, mixed up and out of order, until finishing the movie with a spasm of violence and action. Jim enjoyed the performances and the movie held his interest throughout, whereas I thought the ending didn't do enough to justify the other two hours. But the film is stylish and slick enough that perhaps you'll be able to forgive it's flaws? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and A.Ron go cruising for the latest episode, "All You'll Be Eating Is Cannibals". The Deuce has always featured duality; Frankie/Vincent being the parade example. But here we see two raids; one on an underground card game by a professional crew of criminals, another by professional law enforcement on an above ground massage parlor. We also see members of the gay community step out of the shadows and emerge as people, basically. And Vincent is confronted by his duality being converged. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to Sean Ray for commissioning the classic 1992 western, "Unforgiven". Directed by and starring a perfectly-aged Clint Eastwood, the story has him reconciling the man he was in his drunken youth with the man he wants to be, and more importantly, the man his dead wife would have him be. Where does he come down on it? It's a classic so you probably already know but one of us didn't and the discussion is interesting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.Ron and Jim are down to talk about the latest episode of HBO's The Deuce, "What Big Ideas". The Deuce drops another couple of bodies, which draws the increasing attention of the Public Morals Task Force. Unfortunately, that attention is incompetent, corrupt, or often both. Bobby and Vincent have trouble dealing with their involvement in the flesh trade, even as Abby and Dorothy beat the streets trying to organize and help their fellow women, often to little result. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special thanks to Sarah Sugas for commissioning 1944's Laura, a film-noir set around a hard boiled detective attempting to solve the mystery other murder of a remarkable young woman. Thanks once again to Sarah for her support and excellent choice of film! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time since The Young Pope, Jim and Cecily come together to record a podcast, this time on season 2 of Netflix's Ozark. We talk about the many things we liked and the few things we didn't. We also christen the deadliest road in all of the Ozarks, squeeze a baby for all of its juice, and find out just how much Cecily knows about poison. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HBO's The Deuce moves out the LaLa land in the latest episode, "Seven-Fifty". The title reminds us that even people that we think of as "good" are capable of terrible exploitation in this world, a reminder that Simon and Pecalanos like to give us every 10 minutes or so. Lori gets her time to shine without her pimp clouding her view, Eileen makes some slight headway towards securing the budget for her high concept adult film, while the first shot is fired in a mob war for control over NYC's sex trade. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special thanks once again to Sean Ray for commissioning thus podcast for the 1982 John Carpenter sci-fi/horror classic, The Thing. The location, sense of isolation and paranoia, and atmosphere of dread this film is able to generate is incredible. Kurt Russel is iconic in his role as everyman bad*ss. And the gruesome, disturbing practical effects work still effectively sells the horrific alien action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.Ron and Jim check out another funky episode of HBO’s The Deuce. Lori and Eileen’s careers heat up as the pimps are left out in the cold! Vincent gets nostalgic with Abby, while Paul and Bobby do their best to fight off rivals to their trades. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This edition is intended to be the definitive version. The interesting thing is, Jim and I have always been a bit “meh” on the classic Blade Runner experience. Sure, we always saw how influential it is, and could understand why it was highly regarded “for it’s day”. We both felt like we saw the film with fresh eyes on this cut. There are problems with world building and pacing here and there, but everything tracks so much cleaner, and the third act which was always a standout is now a pure joy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mandy is a film by Panos Cosmatos starring Nick Cage. It is both a slow burn, 70’s style horror film dipped in acid, and a gonzo Nick Cage action film. It continually suffers from being torn in these two very different directions. A.Ron dug it, Jim wants nothing to do with it. This film boasts near universal acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes and yet is a tough one to wholeheartedly recommend. If you want to hear Jim and I argue about Mandy’s merits, you’ll have to be a Club Member! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and A.Ron are happy to be back into the swinging 70’s with HBO’s The Deuce, with it’s return episode, “Our Raison D’être”. This time and setting are so colorful, fun, and alive that it’s easy to forget the layer of decay and menace that lurks just beneath each scene. Whether it’s pimps losing their grip on the game or mobsters that have grown fat and lazy from politicians looking the other way, there are a lot of dangerous people that could quickly decide that they are being squeezed out. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special thanks to commissioner Jaimie T. for having us check out the classic 1946 British film classic, “A Matter of Life and Death”. Featuring a story that pits love against the cosmic law of death, it explores post World War 2 tensions between the England and the Unites States. Both of us see the film’s obvious charm; lavish and colorful visuals, inventive special effects and set design, and appealing lead actors. We also have a few third act quibbles and thematic issues, but not enough to sink the Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and A.Ron put on their brown pants tonight to go out and see The Nun, the latest installment in The Conjuring universe, but only one of us needed to. The film’s getting mixed reviews; and Jim worries that co-writer James Wan’s bag of tricks are getting played out and the movie suffers from inconsistent internal logic. Perhaps I’m the biggest wuss alive, but the movie got my hair standing up on the back of my neck fairly consistently. Your mileage may vary! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back to finish up (?) our coverage of HBO’s Sharp Objects, and discuss our thoughts on Hulu’s Castle Rock through S01E08 (00:26:04). Next week we’ll be back to start our coverage of the second season of HBO’s The Deuce. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and I had high hopes for The Little Stranger, thinking it would be an ultra atmospheric mash up of The Witch with Downton Abbey. Instead, we got a commentary on upper class angst during the 1940’s as their fortunes crumbled alongside their estates masquerading as a dull, drab little ghost story. At no point does the film ever manage to generate anything but mild disquiet and malaise. Which is a shame, because all the pieces were there for genuine horror. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching Sharp Objects these past few months. We found the finale to be of a piece with the whole. Maybe there weren’t satisfying answers to every single element or question raised by the series, but isn’t that the way life goes? We feel we got enough through Camille’s point of view to understand what motivated Adora and Amma, and liked that the show left some things ambiguous and open to interpretation. But what did everyone else think? Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special thanks to our commissioner for today’s podcast, Sean Ray. Today he selects the great A Few Good Men, where a gruff Colonel in the US Marine Corps takes issue with the USMC’s kinder, more gentler ways of discipline and organization, leading to the death of one of the men under his command. Tom Cruise and Demi Moore are effective as the counsel for the defense, and are given a lot of juicy material to work with. The script is packed with Sorkinisms and shot with a steady, confident eye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we discuss the penultimate episode of HBO’s Sharp Objects, “Falling”, as well as our thoughts on the first six episodes of Hulu’s Castle Rock. Sharp was an especially wild hour, chock full of stomach churning child abuse and problematic sex scenes between damaged and self-destructive people, before promising a truly epic conclusion from the setup of a five way collision between Camille, Amma, Adora, Alan, and Chief Vickers. Will Detective Willis find his way into the middle of this perfect storm. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back to talk HBO’s Sharp Objects and a preliminary spoiler-free discussion of Hulu’s spooky Castle Rock! Here are some time stamps to help you navigate the podcast… 00:00:52 – Castle Rock 00:12:18 – Sharp Objects Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spike Lee has thrown a very well made, very funny, and very devastating bomb into American movie theaters with his latest joint, BlacKkKlansman. Will White America listen to the message we so desperately need to hear? What will we do about the resurfacing of explicit racism in our country, that has until recent years been hiding beneath the still waters of institutional racism? What will you do with friends and family who bemoan Black Lives Matter, or offer the limp rebuttal that “both sides are bad?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and A.Ron talk about another hard to watch but impossible to turn away from episode of HBO’s Sharp Objects, “Closer”. The town of Wind Gap celebrates what could charitably be called a a dark and regrettable moment from their past history, while Adora tortures her daughter Camille in ways that would make Ramsay Bolton blush. Not much is advanced in terms of the central murder mystery, but we get the sense that this show is about to take a big step off a deep, dark cliff that is this toxic town. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and A.Ron continue to focus on HBO’s Sharp Objects, with a deep dive on the fourth episode, “Ripe”. Of course, Adora is just The Worst, but we see hints that the crazy awfulness of her family didn’t start with her. Who knows how many generations of Wind Gap women have been caught in this cycle of rage and shame? Also, Camille and Willis get handsy, suspicion swirls around John Keane and Bob Nash, and Amma gets (probably) fake murdered by the end of the episode. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The plot around the bonkers stunt work is a bit thin, but the stunts themselves fully justify the movie. You can see ever dollar spent and bone broken literally up there on the screen, but it also must be said that these stunts are clinging desperately to the line from believable to unbelievable. And half the time they careen over that line and land in Fast & Furious territory. Unless they find an emotional core to build future episodes, this might be as good as a retro-futuristic spy thriller can get. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode of Sharp Objects, “Fix”, is rough to watch. Filled with painful encounters with family, self-harm, and suicide, it is bleak and yet remains engaging and thoughtful as the camera captures the horrific events without artifice or judgment. Amma appears far more at risk and overtly dangerous than we first anticipated, Adora is an absolute monster, and Camille is clearly in over her head with this situation that she isn’t emotionally prepared for. Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cecily and A.Ron have seen the sequel to one of their favorite movies, Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again, and we think if you’re a fan of the original, there is a lot for you to like here. There are tons of surprises and twists and crowd pleasing moment, the cast is having way too much fun, the big musical numbers are bright and colorful and kinetic… I could go on and on, but the bottom line is we left the movie with a big smile on our faces and red rims around our eyes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to Paul Kilgore, who commissioned this podcast for the 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. I’ve never seen this particular version but am familiar with the source and other adaptations, while Jim had no idea what to expect. What will we make of some early 19th century high romance? Is it physically possible for Keira Knightley to play a plain Jane, err, Elizabeth? What does culturally enforced manogamy look like in practice? Were 30 foot high water fountains even possible in the 1800s? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back for more discussion of HBO’s miniseries, Sharp Objects, discussing the second episode, “Dirt”. But it turns out we can’t resist the siren call of discussing “all of television” as we do a deeper dive than is truly necessary on the 2018 Emmy nominations, as well as talk about the Stranger Things season 3 teaser that just dropped. We just can’t help ourselves! 00:00:00 – 2018 Emmy nominations 00:21:18 – Stranger Things season 3 00:24:53 – Sharp Objects episode Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and A.Ron are back with another first run Bald Move, this time taking in The Rock’s latest family friendly action flick, “Skyscraper”. Die Hard + Towering Inferno = a pretty damn engaging and entertaining action film, smarter than most, and with plenty of heart courtesy Dwayne Johnson’s charisma and chemistry with co-star (and fellow badass) Neve Campbell. You’re going to be able to predict most beats of the film from the first 10 minutes, but it’s still a pleasure to watch Mr. Johnson do Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects features Amy Addams as a journalist who returns to the small town she grew up in to investigate a series of killings. Giving us strong True Detective vibes, the mystery is intriguing and the characters are vivid and well developed just one episode in. We’ll be back with weekly coverage of Sharp Objects, if you’d like to join the conversation, use the links below! Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cecily and A.Ron are back to discuss Incredibles 2. Brad Bird returns to direct the original cast and some fun new cameos. If you liked Incredibles, this is more of it in every way. More supers, bigger action scenes, more Mr. Incredible angst, super teenage dating, and the best animal control scene in movie history. The script is literally the same script from the first, but the plot is really secondary to the pleasure of watching the characters metaphorically and literally bounce off each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.Ron and Cecily are back to take in Ocean’s 8, where Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett head up a team of shady ladies as they aim to steal six pounds of diamonds off the neck of Anne Hathaway. The movie looks great, is a lot of fun, but doesn’t really cover much new ground or stray outside the Ocean’s lane that’s been well established. Still, everyone is having a lot of fun, there are a lot of cool cameos, New York looks gorgeous, and the third act impresses enough to have us interested in an Oc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and A.Ron have seen AMC’s The Terror, the epic horror/historical drama set in the mid-nineteenth century that tries to answer the question of what went wrong during the doomed Franklin expedition to the arctic circle. These intrepid men were looking for a path through the sea ice that would open up speedier (and more profitable) trade to the new world and eastern markets, but instead they find themselves trapped in a frozen hell for years. Which will run out first? Their supplies or their sanity? Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve seen Solo: A Star Wars Story and really liked it! Maybe it was low expectations, maybe it’s just impossible to hate on Han, Chewie, and Lando dashing around the galaxy doing derring-do (although…), all we know is that we found ourselves grinning like idiots throughout huge chunks of this movie. Maybe you will too? The big takeaway is that we’re both back to being pretty excited to see what kind of storytelling can take place in this universe, which is something we were afraid wasn’t possi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bald Move TV is back! Jim and A.Ron discuss the fifth season of HBO’s Silicon Valley before considering the brilliant first season of Barry, starring Bill Hader as a hitman trying to turn actor. It probably goes without saying, but massive spoilers for both shows in this episode. If you’d like to skip around, here are timecodes for the discussion… Silicon Valley – 00:00:33 Barry – 00:19:10 Join the discussion: Email | Forums Follow us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have seen Deadpool 2! If you saw Deadpool, and liked it, well, here is more of it. It is arguably even better, or at any rate, just as good. We loved Deadpool, and had an even better time with 2. There are more jokes, more over the top action, better cameos, and truly shocking and original things put on screen that you’re just not going to see in other franchises, all done in a very brisk, slick, and above all else, entertaining fashion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is hands down the most epic comic book film ever made, and it is full to bursting with Marvel Studios hallmarks; funny interactions within the heroes, inventive and imaginative fight scenes, jaw-dropping, awesome world and universe building, and genuine character beats. The final act contains some effective gut punches that Jim and I are both more than a little skeptical of, but in the moment really work well, and can only really be judged after we see what comes next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and I saw the new horror/suspense film, A Quiet Place, directed by and starring John Krasinski, who is joined by his co-star Emily Blunt. Both are extremely effective at wringing genuine fear and emotion from the audience as they interact with a cast of really talented young actors. There are problems we have with the film, some of them big ones, but the bottom line is the movie offers a very unique theater experience, it’s extremely tense and scary, and the parts that have to work really work we Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max commissioned one of his beloved films from high school (shout out to the Class of ’95!), Hackers. Directed by Iain Softley and starring Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie, Hackers is a mostly ridiculous look into mid-90s hacker culture that’s core plot is a rehash of Office Space, which is to say it’s a rehash of Superman III. We discuss the film as contemporary computer nerds and as grown men looking back at the naivety of early hacker culture and the weird prescience the move shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We saw Ready Player One and were surprised that it managed to be a good film. We’d heard shaky things leading up to it, but with our appropriately set expectations, we had a lot of fun with it. It’s not perfect, the ending in particular, but it works if you want it to work, and if you’re in this movie’s target demo, you’re going to want it to work. Since we’re both pretty much at ground zero of that target, we can’t say how well it would hold up if you’re safely outside the film’s no Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s commission is courtesy the kind support of Sean Ray. He selected It Follows, an extremely clever and inventive horror flick written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. It has big ideas, and while it struggles to live up to them in places, the concept and performance of the plucky cast of likable yet relatively obscure young actors really makes the film shine. It’s fun to watch, it’s fun to think about, and it’s fun to talk about. How would you survive being hunted by “It”? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and I saw a movie about giant robots punching even bigger monsters, and it was even dumber than we thought it would be. Jim and I have no small amount of affection for the first Pacific Rim. Pacific Rim: Uprising might up the robot on monster action slightly, but removes all of the spunk and charm of the original to give us a loud, boring, and thoroughly by the numbers action movie. My 11 year old loved it, though, so if you have one of those around don’t let us stop you from seeing Pacific Ri Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special thanks to our buddy Jason Shankel for commissioning this podcast for the 1986 sci-fi action fantasy film Highlander starring Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert. As for us, we thought Highlander was cheesy fun. The film boasts an excellent soundtrack, exciting and varied sets for the extended sword fights, and some of the sturdiest and most interesting fantasy bones to hang a franchise on. We walk away wondering why hasn’t anyone rebooted this? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices