Beltalowda - A podcast for The Expanse - 309 – Intransigence

On this week’s episode of SyFy’s The Expanse, Naomi’s loyalties are divided as the Belter’s go all in on the Ring, Amos spaces the reporters (but it’s not as quite as bad as it sounds), Drummer gives the best motivational speech of her life, Melba reveals her pathos, and Holden makes a leap of faith. Looks like we won’t be getting screeners for The Expanse going forward, so look for us early Friday afternoons from here on out! See you next week!

Bald Move Prestige - Ocean’s 8 (2018)

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 while she attends the annual Met Gala.  The movie, directed by Gary Ross, 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, the series trademark swanky soundtrack is intact, and the third act impresses enough to have us interested in an Ocean’s 9.

Watching Westworld - 207 – Les Ecorches

In this week’s episode of HBO’s Westworld, “Les Ecorches”, Bernard and Ford have a heart to heart, Dolores flips her daddy’s wig, William is betrayed by his old buddy Lawrence, Maeve makes a promise that she might not be able to keep, and the end game involving the Valley Beyond starts to come into focus. We also discuss our feelings about the way action is being handled on the show, debate whether the structure of Westworld itself is necessary, and consider a ton of feedback, theories, and speculation for what’s to come!

Beltalowda - A podcast for The Expanse - 308 – It Reaches Out

SyFy’s Amazon’s The Expanse this week takes a turn for the surreal in the tense, amazing episode “It Reaches Out” that will have you desperate for the next one. The episode practically drips with mystery and meaning that we’ll eventually understand (What does the protomolecule want with Holden and the Rocinante, and why is it reaching out 113 times per second? Who stands to benefit from framing the OPA for the Seung Un atrocity? Are Melba and Cohen working together, and to what end?) but for now… you got to watch your doors and corners, kid.

Bald Move Pulp - The Terror

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? To make the situation worse, they are steadily hunted by an mysterious creature. The show is gorgeous, it’s extremely well acted with Bald Move TV vets such as Jared Harris, Ciarán Hinds, and Tobias Menzies, and features genuine moments of psychological dread and horror. We talk about the show itself, and briefly talk about what the ensuing anthology AMC has recently green-lit might look like.

Bald Move Pulp - Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

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? It’s hard to tell, I feel like I used to know what a Star Wars fan would like, but after the prequels and The Last Jedi, I just don’t know. 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 possible anymore.