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 - 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.

Bald Move Pulp - Sharp Objects Ep. 5 – “Closer”

Jim and A.Ron talk about another hard to watch but impossible to turn away from episode of HBO’s Sharp Objects, “Closer”. The town of Wind Gap celebrates what could charitably be called a a dark and regrettable moment from their past history, while Adora tortures her daughter Camille in ways that would make Ramsay Bolton blush. Not much is advanced in terms of the central murder mystery, but we get the sense that this show is about to take a big step off a deep, dark cliff that is this toxic town and the damage it’s done to the people unfortunate enough to have been stuck there.

Bald Move Pulp - Sharp Objects Ep. 4 – Ripe

Jim and A.Ron continue to focus on HBO’s Sharp Objects, with a deep dive on the fourth episode, “Ripe”. Of course, Adora is just The Worst, but we see hints that the crazy awfulness of her family didn’t start with her. Who knows how many generations of Wind Gap women have been caught in this cycle of rage and shame?  Also, Camille and Willis get handsy, suspicion swirls around John Keane and Bob Nash, and Amma gets (probably) fake murdered by the end of the episode.

Bald Move Pulp - Sharp Objects Ep. 3 – “Fix”

This week’s episode of Sharp Objects, “Fix”, is rough to watch. Filled with painful encounters with family, self-harm, and suicide, it is bleak and yet remains engaging and thoughtful as the camera captures the horrific events without artifice or judgment. Amma appears far more at risk and overtly dangerous than we first anticipated, Adora is an absolute monster, and Camille is clearly in over her head with this situation that she isn’t emotionally prepared for. The authorities are getting nowhere in their investigation, with bickering, mistrust, provincialism, and envy clouding their judgment. Who or what is Camille trying to “Fix”, anyway?