In Bruges (2008)

Martin McDonagh, director of Banshees of Inisherin, made his directorial feature debut with this dark comedy. Between the uneasy laughter, watch-between-your-fingers moments, and Catholic guilt, there’s a lot to unpack. Brendan Gleeson and Colin Ferrall play two hit men on a mysterious and fateful trip in Bruges. And it’s a Christmas movie. A miserable, vulgar Christmas movie.
Thank you Michael for commissioning this podcast!

Valkyrie (2008)

Not many people know this, but in 1944 Tom Cruise attempted to assassinate Hitler and bring World War II to an end. He came really, really close. So close that they made this documentary about the attempt in 2008. Join us for the podcast to hear our thoughts on Valkyrie.

Gran Torino (2008)

At it’s heart, Gran Torino is about an old, set-in-his-ways (racist) war veteran realizing that he has more in common with the hardworking, honest Asian family next door than he does with his own spoiled American family. The trouble is, the guy is just so damned racist that it’s hard to get comfortable with him. And even when his opinion of the family next door changes, the offensive language he uses to describe them doesn’t. Gran Torino is a tough movie to talk about.

Bald Move Pulp - Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (2008)

Special thanks to Tyler Shumway for commissioning the 2008 musical web series, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog for our review. The creative fruit of the 2007 WGA strike, Joss Whedon employed his Hollywood friends and family for a whimsical take on Superheroes and Villains, casting Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion as a dynamic duo struggling to control the heart of their city, and one particular woman who dwells within it. From that fairly silly premise, a surprisingly good musical with plenty of heart is born. Also, there is an accompanying musical commentary track to go along with it. That’s something you don’t see every day.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Special thanks to a bunch of Aron’s gaming buddies, namely Hobbsam, CLUSTER_F, SheIsGeeky, TONYDETH, Jormagund, and Meatplow77 for coming together to commission perhaps the greatest superhero movie of all time, Batman: The Dark Knight. Featuring a Heath Ledger performance that won him a posthumous Oscar, this film has a unique blend of superb writing and direction, dazzling action, well grounded performance, and just enough heart to make it a modern classic. Jim and A.Ron talk about the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy in general, and the Batman himself before lavishing praise upon the film, and of course, poking around for the few problems the film has.

Bald Move Prestige - Pontypool (2008)

Josh Black stepped forth to commission the mind blowing 2008 film, Pontypool. Starring the very underrated Stephen McHattie, and directed by veteran cult filmmaker Bruce McDonald, Pontypool is set in a small Canadian town where a humbled former shock jock takes on the job of talking about the sleepy local news in the wee hours of the morning. And then something big happens. I really can’t tell you more without spoiling a great film that should be seen by a lot of people, and right now you can see it streaming from among other places, Netflix, so I encourage you to give it a whirl before listening to this podcast. Things get crazy and “deep” in the way things sometimes do on these podcasts. Do not translate this message.