On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the state of the AMPTP/SAG-AFTRA talks and why this strike might drag out longer than anyone expected. Then they review the much-anticipated Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour , which is definitely a 165-or-so-minute movie that recreates most of a Taylor Swift concert! But is it any more than that? And does it need to be? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus e...
Oct 17, 2023•49 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) break down the business sense of Universal paying $400 million for the rights to a movie trilogy that just saw its first entry open to $27 million. (The streaming wars are wild, you guys.) Then they review the initial fruits of another big rights purchase: Wes Anderson’s four short films for Netflix based on short stories written by Roald Dahl. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on ...
Oct 10, 2023•39 min
On this week’s episode, award-winning Washington Post writer Alyssa Rosenberg reports live from New York City on Toy Fair and all the hot AI trends coming to kids’ toys. And then Alyssa, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the AI-loving sci-fi original, The Creator . Spoiler alert: we talk about the things that happen in the movie, including some stuff near the end! If you haven’t seen it and want to and are worried about that sort of thing, listen to the show in a cou...
Oct 03, 2023•49 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) celebrate the end of the writers strike and ask a very important question: what the heck took so long for the studio execs to sit down and work out a deal with the writers? Then they review Dumb Money , Craig Gillespie’s look at the pandemic-era bubble surrounding meme stock AMC. As an underdog-beating-the-big-guys story, it’s … eh. But as a pandemic movie and an examination of ...
Sep 26, 2023•45 min
This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Drew Barrymore’s aborted decision to bring her show back sans writers before the WGA strike ends and how social media pressure is helping enforce solidarity. Then they review A Haunting in Venice , the latest adventure of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus episode about Hasan Minhaj and the...
Sep 19, 2023•32 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) look at the last-minute deal that brought ESPN back to Spectrum cable customers just in time for Monday Night Football. Is this deal a game-changer, or simply a delay of the inevitable diminishment of cable TV? Then the gang reviews You Are SO Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah , the latest production from Adam Sandler’s shingle featuring not only Adam but also two of his daughters. ...
Sep 12, 2023•33 min
This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if Taylor Swift and AMC got the better of the studios by agreeing to a direct distribution deal for her forthcoming Eras Tour movie concert. Given the way studios are messing with the release calendar in response to the ongoing strikes, was this a smart short-term play to fill a revenue gap for AMC, or something that augurs a whole new business opportunity? Most importantly: Will Alyssa ...
Sep 05, 2023•44 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the sticking points between the AMPTP and the WGA, and why the stickiest may wind up being data divulging. Streamers don’t want to give it up; the union doesn’t want to give up a golden opportunity to force success-based residuals. What might a compromise look like? Then they review Gran Turismo , which is either a perfectly generic sports movie or a terribly generic spo...
Aug 29, 2023•41 min
On this week’s show, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss fraud at the Korean box office and why rumors of studios and distributors inflating receipts are regular fodder for the conspiratorially minded. Then they review Strays , a movie that made some of them laugh despite themselves. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode Friday about the sad state of the R-rated comedy. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it wit...
Aug 22, 2023•32 min
This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) look at Disney’s shaky economic and creative output and discuss how it serves as a sort of canary in the entertainment industry’s coal mine. Then they review Full Circle , the entertaining-but-convoluted new show on Max (formerly, HBO Max) from Steven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon. Make sure to swing by Friday for a bonus episode on the Barbie culture wars. And if you enjoyed this episode, pleas...
Aug 15, 2023•37 min
This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the controversial (or nontroversial?) practice of digitizing extras . Setting aside issues of informed consent: Is this an existential threat to the Screen Actors Guild, or simply a necessity in the world of spiraling production costs and the risks of Covid-era shutdowns? Then the gang reviews They Cloned Tyrone , Juel Taylor’s They Live- inspired sci-fi satire. Is the Netflix film a...
Aug 08, 2023•38 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if you’re ready for the nascent Mattel Cinematic Universe (as chronicled by the New Yorker here ) currently being developed by Hollywood. If you enjoyed Barbie , you’re gonna love Uno ! Speaking of: did we love Barbie ? It’s the hit of the summer—and could wind up being the highest-grossing movie of the year—but is it any good? If you enjoyed this episode, please share it wi...
Aug 01, 2023•39 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if movie theaters could wind up being the biggest casualty of the ongoing actor’s strike despite this weekend’s huge box office returns for Barbenheimmer. Then they review Oppenheimer , which is a clear frontrunner for best picture of the year. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our Nolan Draft. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!...
Jul 25, 2023•46 min
This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) try to figure out why the studios and the actors are so far apart in their negotiations. Spoiler: It’s not entirely about the money. (Though it is, in a larger sense, always about the money.) Then they review Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part One , the latest entry in Tom Cruise’s decades-spanning series. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for Friday’s episode on Cruise, his evolving ca...
Jul 18, 2023•38 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask why WB keeps stepping on rakes by doing things like demanding GQ rewrite pieces about David Zaslav and messing with critics by scheduling Barbie screenings on the same day as Oppenheimer screenings. (Late-brekaing update here: the studio seems to be adding screening dates for Barbie in at least some cities with Oppenheimer conflicts.) Then they review Past Lives , which is g...
Jul 11, 2023•36 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if the apparent dismantling of Turner Classic Movies is a controversy or a nontroversy, before musing over what the channel should look like in a streaming-first world. Then they review Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny . Can James Mangold replace Steven Spielberg? Is it even fair to ask him to do so? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus episode on the ...
Jul 04, 2023•36 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) try to figure out how this Vulture feature on the work that went into making Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse depicts an abusive workplace. Then they review Wes Anderson’s new film, Asteroid City , a movie about a fictional play anthologized on a fictional TV show set in a fictional town. (The essay collection Sonny mentions, Do Not Detonate Without Presidential Approval , is...
Jun 27, 2023•38 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) talk about the summer of nine-figure bombs. With movies like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts , Elemental , and The Flash all slated to lose more than $100 million at the box office—and movies like The Little Mermaid and Fast X unlikely to break even—is it time for Hollywood to start getting insane action budgets under control? Then they reviewed The Flash , a multiversal mess o...
Jun 20, 2023•43 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss whether or not the digital censorship of The French Connection is the inevitable result of our puritanical desire to protect present audiences from past prejudices. Then they discuss Transformers: Rise of the Beasts . Sure, it’s a little boring, but at least it’s more coherent than Revenge of the Fallen ! (The FAQ referenced in the episode can be found here .) Make sure ...
Jun 13, 2023•36 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask what the future of indie theatrical films looks like if festival purchases continue to crater . Then they talked about one of the best films of the year (so far!), the amazingly inventive and spectacular-looking Spider-Man , which snared all three in its beautiful web. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on Friday about cliffhanger movies. And if you enjoyed...
Jun 06, 2023•39 min
On this week’s show, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) argue over whether or not “kink” is the right word to use when discussing a movie about a teenage mermaid. Then they discuss just went wrong with Disney’s latest live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid . Make sure to swing by for the bonus episode, in which we critique Disney’s addiction to the dollars generated by these monstrosities as creativity-killing coporate endpoints. ...
May 30, 2023•36 min
On this week’s episode Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman explain why the phrase “go woke, go broke” obscures more than it illuminates in the case of Disney and its various business dealings/struggles. Then the gang reviews Fast X , a bad movie with a very interesting (although also possibly bad) performance at the heart of it. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode this week on the destruction—and, soon, recreation—of the cable bu...
May 23, 2023•37 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if people should stop fighting the war on spoilers once and for all . Then they review the new J-Lo movie The Mother , Netflix’s number one movie. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for a special live bonus episode this Friday. (Looking forward to seeing some of you folks at the Crystal City Alamo Drafthouse tonight for the WarGames screening. Make sure to say hi if you stop by....
May 16, 2023•33 min
Only four tickets are left for Across the Movie Aisle live , on Tuesday, May 16 at 7:30 PM at the Crystal City Alamo Drafthouse. (They’re marked as handicapped but there are actual chairs there and the rest of the tickets are sold out, so they’re fair game.) We’re showing WarGames and then talking about it (and other apocalypse-minded movies) afterward. Tickets are just $7! If we don’t sell it out, Paul Newman’s gonna have my legs broke! This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (Th...
May 09, 2023•34 min
Before we get started, wanted to share a cool little thing I learned literally yesterday. Typically at a movie theater—or, at least, the movie theaters I’ve been to—the handicapped seats are just empty spots where you can fit a wheelchair. At the Crystal City Alamo Drafthouse, they’re actual chairs that can be taken out to provide a space for wheelchairs. There’s a cool little animation on the site and everything. I bring this up because there are only 11 seats left for Across the Movie Aisle’s ...
May 02, 2023•38 min
Just a quick reminder to pick up tickets for Across the Movie Aisle live at the Alamo Drafthouse in Crystal City on Tuesday, May 16 , where we’re presenting the Matthew Broderick classic WarGames . There are only 20 tickets or so left, but I’ve got good news: they’re the best seats in the house! The front row! You’ll be very close to Alyssa, Peter, and me as we do the show! Can’t ask for more than that. This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suder...
Apr 25, 2023•39 min
Before we get to today’s episode, a piece of exciting news: Across the Movie Aisle is teaming up with the Alamo Drafthouse in Crystal City for a special screening of the Matthew Broderick classic Wargames (1983) on Tuesday, May 16, at 7:30 PM. Alyssa, Peter, and Sonny will all be there, and they’re going to be taping a bonus episode of the show in addition to hanging out and enjoying a draft or two. Click on this event page to buy tickets (make sure to pick Tuesday 5/16 and Crystal City.) Make s...
Apr 18, 2023•33 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss a rumor that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences want to broaden the theatrical exhibition requirement. Would this benefit theaters or just serve as a way for entrenched streaming powerhouses like Netflix to shut out mid-level distributors? Then the gang discusses Tetris , a movie that inspired confusing feelings in Peter and Sonny who, for one of the first ...
Apr 04, 2023•35 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark) and Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post) ask if the well-oiled machine that is Marvel studios is about to see the wheels come flying off. (Peter is out this week, but have no fear: He should be back next week.) And then they discuss John Wick: Chapter 4 , a movie that is not only immensely fun to watch but also, possibly, sneaky-deep? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode this week on the great action franchises of the last 40 ye...
Mar 28, 2023•34 min
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) talk about departing NYT film critic A.O. Scott’s thoughts on fandom and its effect on the way we talk about movies. Then they review HBO’s hit show The Last of Us and ask a very important question: Was Joel right? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ this weekend for a bonus episode on the late, great Lance Reddick. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
Mar 21, 2023•45 min
