Bald Movies

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!

Hello, true believers! We have seen Spider-Man: Homecoming, and we pronounce it good. Really, really good. It's kind of amazing how Marvel seems incapable of making anything less than a top level comic book film, and do enough with casting, set piece design, and slight tweaks to their formula to have even cynics like Jim wanting more. Like I said, it's amazing. Spectacular, even. We talk briefly about the greatness of the film in a non-spoiler way, talk a bit about upcoming films, and then get down and dirty with Mr. Parker in the spoiler section. But! You'll have to be a Club Member to get all that goodness. 'Nuff said. Excelsior!

Jim and I got to see Edgar Wright's newest action/comedy/musical, Baby Driver. And it's glorious. Jim calls it the most entertaining movie of the year. High praise. I was blown away by the nerdy charm and magnetism of Ansel Elgort as the titular Baby. Seriously, he's the perfect young Harrison Ford. I can't believe they apparently cast someone who can't act in the upcoming Han Solo movie, but what are you going to do? See this movie, and imagine if Ansel were cast instead of some forgettable male lead in YOUR favorite movie, that's what I'd do. We also talk trailers and upcoming films, like we do, and then we get spoilery, but for Club Members only!

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.

Jim and A.Ron checked out the summer action/horror/Tom Cruise vehicle, The Mummy. A.Ron thinks it's dumb, but fun, and draws comparisons to Stargate, American Werewolf in London, Hellboy, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Jim thinks it has the kind of fun, swashbuckling, scoundrel flavor found in the Uncharted video game series. So is it a successful start to Universal's ambitious interconnected monster saga, Dark Universe? We'll have to see how much money it makes. Please enjoy our spoiler free review of the film, as well as discussion of upcoming summer movies such as Atomic Blonde, Baby Driver, and American Assassin. But if you want to hear our spoiler filled review, you'll have to be a Club Bald Move member!

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!

Hey everybody! DC has made a good post-Nolan superhero movie! Wonder Woman isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but Patty Jenkins directs Gal Gadot as a powerful avenging war goddess striding across the battlefield, but instills the heroine with enough human-scaled heart to keep us emotionally engaged. The film looks and sounds great, and Chris Pine is very good as a gender-bent damsel in various distress. Please enjoy our spoiler-free review and discussion of upcoming movies, but if you want to hear our spoiler filled deep dive, you're going to have to be a Club Member!

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!

Jim and A.Ron have seen Alien: Covenant, and declare it to be gorgeous, ambitious, and filled to the brim lofty ideas, but that it's also really, really stupid. Which is a shame, since that's a flaw that mired it's predecessor, Prometheus. Ridley Scott still knows how to shoot a film, no doubt, but has he forgotten how to put smart, sharply defined characters in peril without them being the dumbest, pettiest humans alive?

We've seen Marvel's latest installment in the never ending onslaught of comic book movies, Gaurdians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and we think it's pretty great. Some debate can be had about whether it's as "good" as the first one, how much of the first's success was due to the surprise delight factor, etc. But at the end of the day it's a really, really good comic book movie, it's fun, it's colorful, it's imaginative, it has the necessary emotional weight to make you connect to the characters and plot, it's impeccably cast with tons of surprise guest spots, and, perhaps most importantly, it's funny as hell. Please enjoy our spoiler-free review of the movie, and discussion of the latest trailers and upcoming movies for free! But if you want to know our full spoiler filled take on the movie, you'll have to be a Club Member. Why not join today? The first 30 days are on us!