Bald Move Prestige - Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again (2018)

Cecily and A.Ron have seen the sequel to one of their favorite movies, Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again, and we think if you’re a fan of the original, there is a lot for you to like here. It’s too damn bad the trailers spoiled a reveal that would have otherwise brought the house down, and the first half of the movie might have you worried a little bit. But by the time you hit the half way mark you’re going to laugh and cry so much who even cares what happened in the first act! There are tons of surprises and twists and crowd pleasing moment, the cast is having way too much fun, the big musical numbers are bright and colorful and kinetic… I could go on and on, but the bottom line is we left the movie with a big smile on our faces and red rims around our eyes content. Can’t wait for the Blu-Ray to come out so I can watch it a dozen more times.

Bald Move Pulp - Skyscraper (2018)

Jim and A.Ron are back with another first run Bald Move, this time taking in The Rock’s latest family friendly action flick, “Skyscraper”. Die Hard + Towering Inferno = a pretty damn engaging and entertaining action film, smarter than most, and with plenty of heart courtesy Dwayne Johnson’s charisma and chemistry with co-star (and fellow badass) Neve Campbell. You’re going to be able to predict most beats of the film from the first 10 minutes, but it’s still a pleasure to watch Mr. Johnson do his thing. The flaming 220 story building against the dramatic back drop of Hong Kong serves up several great set pieces and looks great doing it. 

Bald Move Pulp - Incredibles 2 (2018)

Cecily and A.Ron are back to discuss Incredibles 2, a sequel that’s been a long time in the making. Brad Bird returns to direct the original cast and some fun new cameos. If you liked Incredibles, this is more of it in every way.  More supers, bigger action scenes, more Mr. Incredible angst, super teenage dating, and the best animal control scene in movie history. The script is literally the same script from the first, with the same twist at the mid-way point, but the plot is really secondary to the pleasure of watching the characters metaphorically and literally bounce off each other.

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.

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.

Hard Boiled (1992) LIVE WATCH

Special thanks to Ajas, who commissioned a very special project; our first commissioned Live Watch!  If you don’t know, a Live Watch is where we watch a show and record commentary for it, which you can sync up to watch with us at home with your own personal copy.  And this movie is one of the craziest, over the top action films of all time. A John Woo picture, starring Chow Yun-fat, it features a hard-boiled detective desperate to put an end to the violent gang of gun runners who murdered his partner. Boasting an improbably number of bird and bullets, and featuring stunts that are just slightly less lethal than filming actual gunplay, the plot makes no sense but the gonzo nature of the film more than makes up for it. You thought Jason Statham’s baby routine in Fate of the Furious was crazy?  You haven’t seen nothing!

Bald Move Pulp - Deadpool 2 (2018)

We have seen Deadpool 2!  If you saw Deadpool, and liked it, well, here is more of it.  It is arguably even better, or at any rate, just as good.  We loved Deadpool, and had an even better time with 2.  There are more jokes, more over the top action, better cameos, and truly shocking and original things put on screen that you’re just not going to see in other franchises, all done in a very brisk, slick, and above all else, entertaining fashion. The trailer does not ruin this film, there are plenty of fresh jokes and action you’ve never seen.  If you didn’t like Deadpool, nothing here is going to change your mind.

Bald Move Pulp - Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

It took ten years of careful buildup to make the massive undertaking that is Avengers: Infinity War possible, but was all the effort worth it?  Hell, yes.  This is hands down the most epic comic book film ever made, and it is full to bursting with Marvel Studios hallmarks; funny interactions within the heroes, inventive and imaginative fight scenes, jaw-dropping, awesome world and universe building, and genuine character beats.  The final act contains some effective gut punches that Jim and I are both more than a little skeptical of, but in the moment really work well, and can only really be judged after we see what comes next.  At this point, I’m not willing to bet against Marvel.

Bald Move Prestige - A Quiet Place (2018)

Jim and I went to see the new horror/suspense film, A Quiet Place, directed by and starring John Krasinski, who is joined by his co-star Emily Blunt.  Both are extremely effective at wringing genuine fear and emotion from the audience as they interact with a cast of really talented young actors.  There are problems we have with the film, some of them big ones, but the bottom line is the movie offers a very unique theater experience, it’s extremely tense and scary, and the parts that have to work really work well.

Bald Move Pulp - Hackers (1995)

Max commissioned one of his beloved films from high school (shout out to the Class of ’95!), Hackers.  Directed by Iain Softley and starring Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie, Hackers is a mostly ridiculous look into mid-90s hacker culture that’s core plot is a rehash of Office Space, which is to say it’s a rehash of Superman III.  We discuss the film as contemporary computer nerds and as grown men looking back at the naivety of early hacker culture and the weird prescience the move shows.