Bald Move Prestige

Today’s commission is courtesy the kind support of Sean Ray. He selected It Follows, an extremely clever and inventive horror flick written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. It has big ideas, and while it struggles to live up to them in places, the concept and performance of the plucky cast of likable yet relatively obscure young actors really makes the film shine. It’s fun to watch, it’s fun to think about, and it’s fun to talk about. How would you survive being hunted by “It”? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and I saw a movie about giant robots punching even bigger monsters, and it was even dumber than we thought it would be. Jim and I have no small amount of affection for the first Pacific Rim. Pacific Rim: Uprising might up the robot on monster action slightly, but removes all of the spunk and charm of the original to give us a loud, boring, and thoroughly by the numbers action movie. My 11 year old loved it, though, so if you have one of those around don’t let us stop you from seeing Pacific Ri Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special thanks to our buddy Jason Shankel for commissioning this podcast for the 1986 sci-fi action fantasy film Highlander starring Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert. As for us, we thought Highlander was cheesy fun. The film boasts an excellent soundtrack, exciting and varied sets for the extended sword fights, and some of the sturdiest and most interesting fantasy bones to hang a franchise on. We walk away wondering why hasn’t anyone rebooted this? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight Cecily and I saw the movie we were supposed to see last week, Red Sparrow. Starring Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian ballerina turned deadly secret agent, and Joel Edgerton as just a dumb*ss American spy it manages to be lurid without being interesting. We’ll tell you what we thought about the movie up front, then talk about upcoming movies and trailers for a bit, but if you want our full spoiler-filled take you’ll have to be a Club Member! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So Jim and I did this 24 hour Groundhog Day marathon on Groundhog Day, lots of Bald Move fans showed up to cheer us on, and together we wound up raising $10,205 for the homeless! You can watch the entire thing on YouTube if you’re so inclined, but if you want to know the highlights, listen to this podcast. We couldn’t be prouder of the Bald Move family. We truly felt like we really came together and did something special. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special thanks to Stephen Moore, who selected the classic 1973 horror film, The Exorcist. Directed by William Friedkin and starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller, it tells the harrowing tale of a mother who turns to Catholic priests as her last hope when her daughter gets possessed by an ancient evil spirit. Not only does it still manage to be genuinely disturbing, but it elevates the form of the horror flick into a generally excellent film in terms of art. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve just seen Annihilation, and boy are our minds blown. Written and directed by Alex Garland and starring Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaacs, Tessa Thompson, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, it features a plot that it is alien, wondrous, unfathomable, and terrifying, with visuals to match. It compares favorably to The Arrival, and is the kind of movie we wanted Alien: Covenant to be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special thanks to Freddy C, friend of the pod and one of the heroes from our recent Groundhog Day charity drive, who commissioned the epic 1995 crime thriller, Heat. Directed by Michael Mann and starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, among many, many other notable stars, it features some of the best looking and sounding action ever committed to film, not to mention an inspired mano a mano acting showdown between some of the greatest actors of their generation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Black Panther is a great super hero film, and an even better launching point into discussions about the politics of colonialism and liberation. Starring Chadwick Boseman as the Panther himself, and Michael B. Jordan as the best Marvel villain since Magneto, the movie is a constant challenge to one’s complacency and sense of justice. The world they are building is both visually and philosophically amazing, to the point that one of the films weaknesses is that we were desperate to learn and know more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to Melonusk for commissioning the 2005 french crime drama, The Beat That My Heart Skipped. It tells the tale of a criminal operating in the lowest levels of French crime that has an unexpected opportunity to follow his dreams of being a concert pianist. We enjoyed the cyclical themes of father/son, teacher/student, infatuation/love and are once again impressed with Audiard’s storytelling ability, even if Jim questions how much story we’re actually being told. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices