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!
Martin Scorsese is back at the ripe old age of 80 to spin another one of his gangster tales. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, Killers of the Flower Moon depicts the injustices suffered by the indigenous poeples of America through the lens of one family’s maniacal and murderous attempts to steal their rights to oil found on their land.
Jim and A.Ron are diving into one of Martin Scorsese’s earliest films; Mean Streets. It was the Pulp Fiction of its day, it paved the way in pop music soundtracks, and was the foundation of Scorsese’s signature style. A young Robert De Niro stars as a loose cannon getting mixed up in all the wrong kinds of trouble. Get your fix of behind the scenes trivia in this anniversary episode of Bald Move Prestige.
Get ready for great dialogue, sudden bouts of grayscale, and lots and lots of blood. The Bride’s revenge-rampage is just as epic 20 years later. Jim and A.Ron discuss not only their experiences with the film, but also have behind the scenes stories for the movie nerd inside of you. Keep your shoes securely on and dive into the most Tarentino-y movie to ever exist.
If you’re a fan of robots, AI, Asimov-ian scifi, this might be the movie for you. Following on the all-too-relevant theme of AI, The Creator tells the story of a future where a large part of the world has embraced augmented humans, and the other hates it. It’s visually arresting and sometimes tonally unbalanced, but it will leave you with plenty to think about. And it was a struggle to get into the theater, so thank Jim and A.Ron for braving the difficulties.
This atypical romcom is the story of two broken people helping each other. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper play characters in the throes of their mental illnesses. David O. Russell adapted and directed this project, and JLaw won her first Oscar playing Tiffany. With such a high pedigree in cast and director, it’s no surprise that this film delivers on every front. And yes, it is a Christmas film.
Not much plot, just vibes. Richard Linklater gives us a look at the teenage years with doses of refreshing honesty, but keep in mind, this movie is still plenty problematic. But maybe that’s the point? Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, and Ben Affleck star in this time capsule of the teenage years. Jim and A.Ron reflect on the cultural shifts between now and the setting of Dazed and Confused.
There are conspiracy theories to be made out of this movie. From director Tony Scott comes a thriller with more relevance to us now than ever. A big wig in the NSA needs to cover his tracks and Will Smith gets caught in the middle. The fight for privacy will feel familiar and depressing. To distract you from that, there’s a great cat actor. What did this movie get right and what did it get wrong about privacy?
Thank you Andy for commissioning this podcast!
What’s your favorite memory? Would you inhabit it for all eternity? From filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda comes a documentary-style film featuring characters in limbo and given the choice to inhabit a past memory. This film won’t give you clear answers to every question, and that’s part of the intrigue. Watch these characters accept, reject, and reflect as they contemplate their past lives.
Thank you Andy for commissioning this film!
In honor of The Fugitive being released 30 years ago today, we’re doing a special rerelease of this pod so you can experience the heart-pounding chase all over again! 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!