Across the Movie Aisle

Very special episode this week, as Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 film, Arrival, live from the Alamo Drafthouse in Washington, D.C. This was a very fun episode to tape and I hope everyone who showed up had a good time; we certainly had a great time meeting everyone. No bonus episode this week, as Alyssa is out of the country; we’ll be back next Tuesday with our episode on Civil War. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend!

Before we get started: a handful of tickets are left for Across the Movie Aisle live tonight. If you’ve never seen (or, almost as importantly, heard) Arrival on the big screen, you’re not going to want to miss tonight’s screening on the Dolby Atmos Big Show screen at the Bryant Street Drafthouse in DC. It’s going to be a fun show, I can’t wait to see everyone there. On today’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s non-endorsement of Biden. Or Trump. Or anyone. What does it mean that wrestling’s biggest weather vane is sitting this one out? Then they review Monkey Man, Dev Patel’s directorial debut. Is the action-revenge movie “Indian John Wick,” or something different? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on Friday about Tokyo Vice and Curb Your Enthusiasm. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

Before we get started: you’re running out of time to pick up tickets to the live show at the Bryant Street Alamo Drafthouse in DC. Tuesday, April 9. We’re talking Arrival. It’s gonna be great! Tickets are just seven bucks, you really have no excuse not to be there. Yes, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is dumb. But is it fun dumb or dumb dumb? That’s the question Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) endeavor to answer this week. Before that, they talk about the Entertainment Strategy Guy’s suggestion that we’re all being a little too hard on the traditional studios and their forays into streaming and a little too easy on the tech giants and their forays into streaming. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for the bonus episode, in which we suggest some silly franchise crossovers. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

Before we get started: make sure to pick up your tickets for Arrival at the DC Bryant Street Drafthouse on Tuesday, April 9. We’re doing a live taping after the movie, so it’s a great chance to come and say hi. Tickets are only $7! For a screening on the Alamo’s Big Show! It’s going to be fun, can’t wait to see you there. On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the use of an AI-generated image in the indie horror flick Late Night with the Devil. Then they review Road House, the remake of the 1989 basic cable classic now streaming on Amazon Prime. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ this Friday for our bonus episode on Patrick Swayze and the evolution of the male action star. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

Tickets to our screening of Arrival and live-taping of an episode of the show are going fast! It’s Tuesday, April 9, at 7PM in Washington, D.C., at the Alamo Drafthouse’s Bryant Street location on their Big Show screen. Tickets are just seven bucks! Pick them up now before they’re gone for good. — This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the viewing habits of Kids These Days™ and whether or not the rise of streaming and the decline of cable/video stores have changed what gets watched and why. Then they review Spaceman, Adam Sandler’s space travel/spider therapy movie. (Trust us, it makes sense in context.) Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on sad sci-fi movies, a weirdly prolific genre. And if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend!

Before we get started, some fun news: Peter, Alyssa, and Sonny are going to be at the DC Bryant Street Drafthouse on Tuesday, April 9 for a screening of Arrival and a live show. Should be a fun time; make sure to get your tickets now, as we sold out the last one of these we did in Crystal City. (If you click above and see “no showtimes available,” make sure to click the “Tuesday 4/9” link.) And now, on to the show! It’s the Oscars episode, so in cons and nons we talk Kimmel vs. Trump before discussing the ceremony and the winners. Was this the best show in ages? Did the right nominees win? How great was that "I'm Just Ken" performance? How cool were those Godzilla shoes worn by FX artists on Godzilla Minus One? All that and more on this Tuesday’s episode. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our chat about best supporting actor winner Robert Downey Jr.’s career. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Ian Bogost’s essay at The Atlantic suggesting the 4K revolution is a bit of a scam. Then they review Dune: Part Two, the second half of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic novel. Make sure to swing by Friday for our bonus episode on Vulture’s ranking of the 100 greatest action sequences. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Ted Gioia’s breakdown of how the culture has moved from art to entertainment, into a world of distraction, and is now veering toward addiction. (Or, how we moved from Kubrick and Coppola to TikTok and IG Stories in several easy steps.) Then they reviewed Drive-Away Dolls, the new lesbian neo-noir from Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke. Is it an instant cult classic or something less impressive? Make sure to swing by Friday for our bonus episode on the Criterion Channel’s Razzies program. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode of Across the Movie Aisle, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) debated the emergence of AI video and whether it would be a net positive or a net negative for society. Then they reviewed True Detective: Night Country, which just wrapped its season up this weekend. Is it a worthy successor to season one, or something lesser? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on Madame Web. (I know, I know: comic book movies, ugh. But you’re really going to enjoy this episode, I think.) And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) talked Super Bowl trailers (which you can watch here). Then they turned to The Zone of Interest, the last of the best picture nominees they have to review. (If you want to hear their take on every best picture nominee, here’s the lineup in the order we reviewed them, from most recently to least recently: Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, American Fiction,Maestro, Poor Things, Killers of the Flower Moon, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Past Lives.) Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our discussion of the state of film criticism. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

This week Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) asked whether Nikki Haley should be persona non grata from Saturday Night Live. Then they reviewed Argylle, which is a strange combination of distressingly empty and absurdly overstuffed. Make sure to swing by Friday for our bonus episode, in which we will offer up some suggestions of stuff to see since the multiplex is letting us all down. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) asked the most pressing question in the history of awards season: Was Barbie snubbed? Or was this, in fact, one of the best crops of nominees in decades? Then they reviewed one of the best picture nominees, Anatomy of a Fall. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus episode about the biggest move Netflix has made in years. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

A programming note: We tape on Monday afternoons, which means you will have to wait until next week for our Oscar hot takes. I know, you are quivering with anticipation! Quiver a moment or two longer. On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the decline of Pitchfork, which was gutted by Conde Nast and moved under the GQ banner. What happened to the once-storied indie-rock website? Then they review The Holdovers, one of the nicest movies of the year. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on Friday about the Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

Apologies, got sent the wrong file this morning, which necessitated me, Sonny, doing an emergency edit to get this to you ASAP. So when you listen to this and you hear how much worse it sounds, know that’s the difference between getting a professional Jonathan Siri edit and a quick-and-dirty Sonny Bunch edit. Sorry for the mixup! On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) talk about the NFL’s decision to give the Peacock streaming service exclusive rights to a single playoff game for the low-low price of more than $100 million. Then they review The Beekeeper, the delightful new Jason Statham action film from director David Ayer. Is it a cathartic action-revenge romp, or something less than that? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on the joys of Jason Statham. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (the Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) talked about the TikTok-ification of The Sopranos. Clever marketing, or grotesque desecration? Then they reviewed American Fiction, which is going wide this week after a relatively limited run. Does it effectively skewer its targets in the publishing-industrial complex? Or is it simply a satisfying comedy? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on directorial debuts. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Peter Suderman (Reason), and Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post) discussed their ten (or so!) favorite movies of the year. You may have already seen Sonny’s list, but who knows how much things have changed in the weeks between its publication and the taping of this episode. One thing that’s definitely true: there’s more divergence this year than in years past. Many different movies get a shoutout and only a few share positions. If you want to win an argument against the friends you talk movies with, by sharing your favorite ATMA host’s list, please forward this to a friend!

Merry Christmas! Peter, Alyssa, and I hope everyone out there is having a happy holidays. As you try to figure out what to watch with the family in this down week, we took a look at Netflix’s awards season favorite, Maestro. Before that, we dove into Marvel’s Jonathan Majors mess and asked if they made the right call in dropping him following his criminal convictions. Swing back by Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus episode about what we’re looking forward to at the multiplex in 2024. Our annual best-of episode is coming next week, though it may be a day late owing to New Year’s travel schedules. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! We had a great 2023, hope you did the same. 

On this week’s show, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) talked about Netflix’s big data release. What plays? What doesn’t? What are they trying to signal to talent? Then they reviewed Poor Things, the latest confection from Yorgos Lanthimos. Does this feminist Frankenstein starring Emma Stone have something to teach us about the world? Or is it an amusing trifle? Make sure to swing by for Friday’s bonus episode on studios’ recurrent desire to hide that musicals are in fact musicals. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the Golden Globes and the odd fact that the same company owns not only the Globes but also the three biggest trade publications in Hollywood, meaning that studios will feel pressured to pay the press that covers them hefty For Your Consideration spots in exchange for awards consideration. Seems bad! Then they review what is, supposedly, Japanese animation giant Hayao Miyazaki’s final film, The Boy and the Heron, the number one movie at the box office last weekend. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus episode on subtitles, dubbing, and one good thing AI might be able to do. And if you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend!

This week, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Bob Iger’s decision to slam Disney’s “messaging” in recent movies. Does he really think the company is going broke because it went woke? Or is he simply trying to distract from the structural problems Disney has made for itself with its streaming service? Then the gang discusses May December, the new Todd Haynes movie starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman that just hit Netflix and is earning tons of Oscar buzz. Make sure to swing by this Friday for our bonus episode on the epic new John Woo movie, Silent Night, in theaters now. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!