Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007)

Special thanks to multi-multi-multi-commissioner Sean Ray for dialing up the number to Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007). This edition is intended by director Ridley Scott 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 see how influential it is, and can understand why it was highly regarded “for it’s day”. We both felt like we saw the film with fresh eyes on this cut. Their 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. Thanks again, Sean! It’s not every day that a commission completely has us do a 180 on a project, this is one of those rare times!

Bald Move Pulp - Castle Rock Wrap Up

So Jim and I saw the final two episodes of Castle Rock, and unfortunately for any Bald Movers that walked away as fans looking forward to season two, we’re not among that number. We’re not upset with the people who do like the show, as it’s charms are evident; it looks great, boasts an incredibly talented cast, and cribs from very highly regarded plots and material by genius of horror Steven King that should add up to a mystery box show that we’re desperate to open. Maybe that’s the problem, that we’re not as steeped in King lore, so we don’t connect as much to this material? Or maybe we just don’t have faith in the show runners to give us a satisfying end? Ultimately a show either grabs you or it doesn’t, and we flat out slipped through Castle Rock’s creepy grasp.

Bald Move Pulp - The Deuce – 201 – Our Raison D’être

Jim and A.Ron are happy to be back into the swinging 70’s with the cast and crew of 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. Who knows what kind of damage they could wreak on their way out? We hope you join us each week here on Bald Move TV as we watch another David Simon-led look into the intersection of politics, money, crime, and corruption.

Bald Move Pulp - The Nun (2018)

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!

Bald Move Pulp - The Little Stranger (2018)

Jim and I had high hopes for the Gothic horror film, 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. An interesting core idea, excellent cast, excellent location, and fantastic atmosphere that were all unfortunately squandered with disinterested filmmaking.

Bald Move Pulp - Sharp Objects Ep. 8 – Milk

We thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching Sharp Objects these past few months. While we could, and do, nitpick a few storytelling elements here and there, 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? We’ll be back next week to discuss the next few episodes of Castle Rock and bat clean up for Sharp Objects. See you then!

Bald Move Pulp - Sharp Objects Ep. 7 – Falling, Castle Rock

On today’s BMTV, 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? 

Bald Move Pulp - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002)

Special thanks to Brian Strader, previous commissioner of the podcast for the underrated sci-fi saga, Babylon 5. This time he’s back to, as he says, “play ‘TV Show Dumpster Fire’ roulette.” Unfortunately we think he may have lost by betting on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. We were suitably impressed with the detail of the animations, certain aspects of world building, and the themes were philosophically engaging here and there. Unfortunately, other aspects of the world building struck us as silly or worse, the dubs and probably general translation on the version we watched were almost universally bad, and the themes that were otherwise engaging have been either dated or made more engaging by later works such as Altered Carbon.