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.

HOTD: A House of the Dragon Podcast - 308 – Second Sons

Jim and A.Ron consider the latest episode in our summer re-watch of season three of HBO’s Game of Thrones. “Second Sons” features the second happiest wedding we’ve ever seen on Westeros (which is damning with non-existent praise), Arya swinging from utter despair to something approaching optimism in her captivity with the Hound (the sweet, summer child), as newcomer Daario Naharis steals into Dany’s camp attempts to steal Dany’s heart. We discuss all this and more!

Better Cast Saul - 404 – Talk

Okay, okay, perhaps we shouldn’t have used the dreaded “b”-word when describing this episode of AMC’s Better Call Saul, “Talk”. But we’re just saying, sometimes the show’s “stately” pace dips into the realm of the “staid”, and it’s times likes this two fan boys can hope for some Cousins’ fueled mayhem. Still, the episode had its stand out moments; Mike’s intense reaction to Stacey trying to move on from the death of his son; and Kim’s soul searching by way of low stakes courtroom drama. But we’re already looking ahead to the job Gus has for Mike. We discuss all this plus tons of feedback… see you next week!

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!

A Few Good Men (1992)

Special thanks to our commissioner for today’s podcast, Sean Ray. You may recognize him as the man behind such classics as It Follows, and Black Rain, which if nothing else is unique. 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. Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner, the script is packed with Sorkinisms and shot with a steady, confident eye. The performances are phenomenal, especially Jack Nicholson’s elemental performance of Col. Jessup. 

HOTD: A House of the Dragon Podcast - 307 – The Bear and the Maiden Fair

On this week’s episode of our summer Game of Thrones rewatch, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”, Brienne picks on someone her own size, Joffery tries talking politics with his grandpa, Robb YOLOs his way through a fraught political position to buy some extra time to consort with his queen, and Sansa and Tyrion lament their respective fates. For feedback we discuss the relative intelligence of wights, debate the apparent height of the Wall, and consider people’s pet theories on what things will look like post series-finale of Thrones. See you back here next week!

Better Cast Saul - 403 – Something Beautiful

We continue to be pleased at the pace Better Call Saul is maintaining in the early stretches of season 4. Checkov’s letter? Bam! Here it is. Waiting to see how long it will take for the other shoe to drop on Nacho’s flip by Gus? Blam! Blam! You got it. There’s also some suggestion of how Jimmy eventually becomes an important underworld connector in the Breaking Bad timeline, if you know how to connect the dots. Plus, we get a pair of nifty back-alley surgery/thievery sequences. All this and tons of feedback, coming your way!

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?