Bald Move Prestige - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Special thanks to our twin commissioners, Steven S. and Mozbeet for commissioning one of my very favorite films, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, directed by Peter Weir and based on the Patrick O’Brian series that is my very favorite books of all time. Thank god Jim thinks it’s awesome too, or there might have been bloodshed. We discuss the film’s historicity and verisimilitude, the unique relationship between Captain Jack and Doctor Maturin, life aboard an 19th century Man o’ War, and I make a pitch for reading the original novels towards the end. Thanks again Steven and Mozbeet, this was a real treat!

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.

Bald Move Prestige - Shutter Island (2010)

For this week’s commissioned podcast, we got to watch one of the many great collaborations between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, the 2010 psychological thriller, Shutter Island. While neither of us think this movie cracks the top 5 of either gentlemen’s work, it is an effective film with a pretty good twist, and features a solid Leo performance that drifts into “great” territory later in the film, and has great supporting performances in Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow, among many others.

Bald Move Prestige - The Fugitive (1993)

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!

Bald Move Pulp - Twin Peaks (1990)

This community commissioned podcast is for the 1990 television series, Twin Peaks. Created Mark Frost and David Lynch, we can only imagine the impact this had on audiences 30 years ago as 30 million Americans obsessively tuned in every week to answer the question, “who killed Laura Palmer?” Jim ultimately doesn’t like it, but I see it’s potential and got a lot of enjoyment from the crazy tonal swings and quirky, off beat nature. Also, lots of beautiful and interesting people on screen constantly, which always helps.

American Gangster (2007)

Special thanks to our commissioner Josh “Anubus21” from Saxapahaw, NC. This time he has something special to celebrate, his marriage to sweetheart Jessica. Congratulations, you guys! Josh selected American Gangster, the 2007 Ridley Scott crime drama starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Jim and I have never seen it, but it immediately fit right besides other greats like Godfather, Goodfella, Casino, and Scarface in the pantheon of films about the criminal underworld. It’s a great looking, well written, and extraordinarily acted film, that touches on a lot of Bald Move hot buttons of racism, crime, drugs, and $50k mink coats. Thanks again, Josh and Jessica! Enjoy your honeymoon!

Bald Move Prestige - Jackie Brown (1997)

Special thanks to all our community commissioners for this podcast; Steven Sprague, Spencer H., Libby Ross, dreduble, Cellmouse, Brooks Rittel, betmarik, cocoa2mc, nobrainsallsadness, Martin Karlsson, Eric Brown, rjjone2, and Keith A. This podcast is for the 1997 Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown, which is based on the classic Elmore Leonard novel, Rum Punch. Awfully good bones to build a movie on, then you add an amazing cast featuring Pam Grier, Robert DeNiro, Sam Jackson, Bridget Fonda, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton, among many others, and filter it through a restrained, grounded Tarantino lens, and you get something pretty magical, that was beyond what Jim and I were expecting. Thanks again for treating us to this movie! We hope you enjoy your podcast!

Bald Move Prestige - The Wicker Man (2006)

Special thanks to David Pavlicko and the ProjectorPeople.com for commissioning this very “special” movie, the Nicolas Cage remake of The Wicker Man. This movie is perhaps the epitome of the genre of “crazy ass Nick Cage movies”. It makes no sense, it gives Mr. Cage an excuse to act progressively more and more insane, leading up to the incredible third act which sees him reduced to screaming at Maximum Cage levels, while, for example, having thousands of bees poured down his throat. It’s breathtaking, really.

Bald Move Prestige - Aliens (1986)

Multiple-commissioner Josh from Saxapahaw, NC is back with another goodie, James Cameron’s take on the Aliens franchise. One of the all time great sci-fi action movies, it supplies nearly non stop action with a sturdy heroine to build around, lots of colorful characters to die, implacable, terrifying antagonists, and impressive effect and design work. Plus, we eulogize the late, great, Bill “Tons of Peace” Paxton. Thanks again, Josh, this was a lot of fun!

Premium

Empire Business – Commissioned Podcasts – 3/28/2017

We’re starting a new feature designed to give you a more transparent look into the day to day decisions and inner workings of the Bald Move empire, exclusively for our club members. In honor of one of the all-time great series and the one that gave us our start, we’re calling it Empire Business. It isn’t meant to be a regular weekly feature, it’s more of a “whenever we have something interesting to talk about and remember to turn the mics on” kind of thing. We hope you enjoy it.