Bald Move Prestige is where the best of the best come to shine. In the Prestige podcast, we talk about serious dramas, excellence in filmmaking, and everything in between; on television or on the big screen. Prestige doesn’t cover sci-fi, but if that is your thing, you might be looking for Bald Move Pulp.
Special thanks to Steven Sprague, celts77, Laura Hamilton, ztziemke, and Don C for commissioning this podcast, on the 1992 Quintin Tarantino crime drama, Reservoir Dogs. We discuss the writing, the performances, our opinions on the true meaning of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”, the insights QT has on crime and society, and debate it’s place in the Tarantino pantheon. Thanks again to all of our commissioners, we couldn’t do it without you!
Jim and A.Ron have seen Darren Aronofsky’s newest film, Mother!, and A.Ron hates it while Jim isn’t sure. But it’s rated 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, so don’t let us put you off it. It’s a piece of art, and it makes you feel things, that’s for sure. Oh, by the way, if it hasn’t been clear, me — that is to say, A.Ron — is the guy who writes all of these little stub articles that no one reads and I’m still kind of angry and raw that I sat through this film, so I’m going to see myself out. Enjoy the free part of the movie review and trailer talk, and if you want to hear us try to decompress the film, there’s that too but only if you’re a Club Member. See you next week for Kingsmen 2: The Golden Circle.
We saw the new action spy thriller Atomic Blonde tonight, starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy. We give universal praise to the action and the stars for delivering great performances and believable stunt work. The visual flair of the movie is incredible too. But, we’re just not sure about the plot. We might be having a slow night, but we’re not sure everyone’s motivations and spy stuff work out. And, I’m at least a little bummed that this movie was more gritty and introspective and less fun than the romp I was expecting. Still, with stunt work nestled comfortably between the grounded pummeling of The Bourne Identity and the over the top wet work of John Wick, you owe it to yourself to see it and form your own opinion.
We’ve seen Christopher Nolan’s new film, the war epic Dunkirk, and found it hard to immediately react to. It’s a very visceral, claustrophobic, unflinching, and moving film, epic in scale, but equally effective in zooming in to focus on a small number of actual human beings to focus on and care about. It offers views of the best and worst of humanity, and constantly dares you to both judge and empathize with the men dealing death and narrowly avoiding it. Another fantastic film from Nolan.
Special thanks to our twin commissioners, Steven S. and Mozbeet for commissioning one of my very favorite films, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, directed by Peter Weir and based on the Patrick O’Brian series that is my very favorite books of all time. Thank god Jim thinks it’s awesome too, or there might have been bloodshed. We discuss the film’s historicity and verisimilitude, the unique relationship between Captain Jack and Doctor Maturin, life aboard an 19th century Man o’ War, and I make a pitch for reading the original novels towards the end. Thanks again Steven and Mozbeet, this was a real treat!
For this week’s commissioned podcast, we got to watch one of the many great collaborations between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, the 2010 psychological thriller, Shutter Island. While neither of us think this movie cracks the top 5 of either gentlemen’s work, it is an effective film with a pretty good twist, and features a solid Leo performance that drifts into “great” territory later in the film, and has great supporting performances in Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow, among many others.
Special thanks to DrKen (previous commissioner of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) for commissioning this great thriller from the 90’s, The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford as brilliant doctor wrongfully accused of the murder of his wife evading the dogged pursuit of Tommy Lee Jones as U.S. Marshal. This is one of the tightest films you’ll ever see, effortlessly moving from one set piece to another, drawing strength and vitality from the charisma and presence of it’s two brightest stars, achieving the rare balance where you want the protagonist and antagonist to find a way to both win. We have fond memories of this film from our youth, and we found it held up like Ford’s Finger ‘O Doom. Thanks again, DrKen! If you ever have to evade justice, we got a couple of bucks and a bed in the basement for you!
Special thanks to our commissioner Josh “Anubus21” from Saxapahaw, NC. This time he has something special to celebrate, his marriage to sweetheart Jessica. Congratulations, you guys! Josh selected American Gangster, the 2007 Ridley Scott crime drama starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Jim and I have never seen it, but it immediately fit right besides other greats like Godfather, Goodfella, Casino, and Scarface in the pantheon of films about the criminal underworld. It’s a great looking, well written, and extraordinarily acted film, that touches on a lot of Bald Move hot buttons of racism, crime, drugs, and $50k mink coats. Thanks again, Josh and Jessica! Enjoy your honeymoon!
Special thanks to all our community commissioners for this podcast; Steven Sprague, Spencer H., Libby Ross, dreduble, Cellmouse, Brooks Rittel, betmarik, cocoa2mc, nobrainsallsadness, Martin Karlsson, Eric Brown, rjjone2, and Keith A. This podcast is for the 1997 Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown, which is based on the classic Elmore Leonard novel, Rum Punch. Awfully good bones to build a movie on, then you add an amazing cast featuring Pam Grier, Robert DeNiro, Sam Jackson, Bridget Fonda, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton, among many others, and filter it through a restrained, grounded Tarantino lens, and you get something pretty magical, that was beyond what Jim and I were expecting. Thanks again for treating us to this movie! We hope you enjoy your podcast!
Jim and A.Ron have seen the future, and it is The Circle, and we’re not sure if it’s good. This movie, or the future. They’re both kind of a mess. While extremely well cast and for the most part acted, the basic plot is caught between a cautionary tale, a psychological thriller, and a Young Adult novel, and doesn’t manage to pull any facet off well. But it is legitimately thought provoking. You’ll find the spoiler section for this movie to be positively chocked full of provoked thoughts, but you’ll have to be a Club Member to hear us talk about the tensions between liberty and privacy and our fears for the inevitability of radical transparency.
