Across the Movie Aisle

This is a tease of the bonus episodes on Thursdays! They have video too over at the Substack! MovieAisle.substack.com. Go sign up! On this week’s special bonus episode, you get video, you get audio, you get it all. You get everything. (I’m still tinkering with the Riverside video editing software but … it’s pretty good? Just need to figure out how to incorporate clips and the such. Maybe next ...

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa said goodbye to Diane Keaton, a key part of one of all of their favorite movies, The Godfather. Then they reviewed Tron: Ares, a music video in search of a purpose. Make sure you swing by movieaisle.substack.com (http://movieaisle.substack.com/) on Thursday for our bonus episode. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend. And if you ha...

Before we get to the episode, a quick note: we are spinning off Across the Movie Aisle into its own separate thing; it will no longer be part of the Bulwark network of shows, but it will still exist on Substack at movieaisle.substack.com (http://movieaisle.substack.com/) . If you listen via Apple, nothing much will change for the moment; if you listen via Substack there may be a few changes for...

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa discussed Apple’s move to shelve the TV show The Savant in the wake of multiple bouts of politically inspired violence. Then they reviewed One Battle After Another, the latest movie from Paul Thomas Anderson starring Leonardo DiCaprio. (Here’s a link to the New York Times profile (https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/19/magazine/his-way.html) of PTA m...

On this week’s episode, delayed slightly due to technical difficulties, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa broke down the struggle between Jimmy Kimmel, Disney, Nexstar/Sinclair, and Brendan Carr at the FCC. Is this just business as usual at the FCC, or has the regulatory administration overstepped its bounds here. Then we said goodbye to Robert Redford, looking at some of his 1970s classics like All the...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch, Alyssa Rosenberg, and Peter Suderman discuss Comedy Central’s decision to pull a recent South Park from the rerun rotation after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Then they review The Long Walk, a movie that is either appropriately brutal or exploitatively violent. Which? Hard to say, but the end result is pretty depressing, regardless. Make sure to swing b...

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Alyssa, and Peter asked why Activision would turn down a chance to have Steven Spielberg direct a Call of Duty movie. Then they reviewed Highest 2 Lowest, the latest collaboration between Spike Lee and Denzel Washington. Spoiler: We all loved the score, which is apparently a controversial opinion in some quarters! (Also the rest of the movie is pretty good too.) M...

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Alyssa, and Peter discuss the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots at Disney World, as chronicled in this New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/opinion/disney-world-economy-middle-class-rich.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare) piece. Then they review Caught Stealing, the new Darren Aronofsky film that’s being marketed...

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Alyssa, and Peter highlight the shocking success of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters at the box office last weekend and muse about what it means for the streamer’s overall strategy. Then they review the first three episodes of Alien: Earth, the gory, thought-provoking new show on Hulu. Is it another hit for Noah Hawley (who made the TV shows Fargo and Legion?) Or a mi...

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa discussed the problem of productions fleeing Georgia (https://www.wsj.com/business/media/disneys-marvel-abandons-georgia-taking-livelihoods-with-it-c3bd03c2?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) for other locales with bigger tax incentives. Then they reviewed Nobody 2, one of the rare films to, possibly, be a too-tight 90. No bonus episode this w...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch, Alyssa Rosenberg, and Peter Suderman discussed how to best respond to South Park’s war on the Trump Administration and its cronies. Then they reviewed Weapons, the funniest scary movie of the year (so far!) that nevertheless has a poignant, melancholic core. (There are spoilers in this chat, so just let it be known that all three recommended it heartily if y...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch, Alyssa Rosenberg, and Peter Suderman ask why The Wizard of Oz is being mutilated via the alchemy of AI to be shown on the enormous 16K-resolution screen at The Sphere … and why Sonny is, honestly, kind of into it. (You can watch the CBS Sunday Morning segment on Oz at The Sphere here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gpwcaNyIrY) .) Then they review The Naked...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discussed the New York Times’s decision to move away from traditional reviews for certain cultural products. (You can read the Richard Brody piece discussed here (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/in-defense-of-the-traditional-review?_sp=ca1cc203-c67b-4141-b269-c2502dc...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discussed the cancellation of The Late Show. Is this move being motivated by politics or the declining economic prospects of linear TV more broadly? Then they reviewed Eddington, Ari Aster’s gonzo look at life in 2020, the year of Covid and The Doomscroll. Make sure to swing by...

Apologies: an editing snafu led to last week’s episode being reedited and uploaded in the initial version of this post. On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask why Keanu Reeves, of all people, is the most-impersonated celebrity by scammers and how AI is being used to take money from lonely elderly people. (For m...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discussed the bad precedents set by media outlets being bullied by Donald Trump into backing down from defending the free press. Then they review Jurassic World Rebirth, a dino adventure more interested in the ethics of big pharma than big dino. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ o...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Denis Villeneuve’s new gig: director, Bond director. Is he the man for the job? And who should he bring on as his James Bond. What does James Bond even mean in the modern world? Then they review F1: The Movie, Apple’s first big theatrical hit. Make sure to swing by Bulw...

In this bonus episode, Sonny, Alyssa, and Peter draft their favorite Danny Boyle films—from 28 Days Later to Slumdog Millionaire, Sunshine to Steve Jobs. But the real star of the show? Boyle’s new film 28 Years Later. The crew breaks down why it might be one of the best movies of the year—and how it redefines the legacy sequel.

Danny Boyle says he couldn’t — and shouldn’t — make Slumdog Millionaire today. Sonny Bunch, Alyssa Rosenberg, and Peter Suderman dive into the cultural appropriation debate, the limits of identity in art, and how this all relates to Boyle’s latest film, 28 Years Later. They also tackle how these same culture-war battles are reshaping YA fiction, Hollywood, and who gets to tell which stories.

In this bonus episode of Across the Movie Aisle, Sonny Bunch, Alyssa Rosenberg, and Peter Suderman debate the state of the romantic comedy. Is When Harry Met Sally the unbeatable blueprint for the entire genre? Why have rom-coms fallen off—and are they finally making a comeback? They break down everything from Ephron classics and screwball oldies to Judd Apatow bros and modern rom-cons.

In this episode of Across the Movie Aisle, host Sonny Bunch is joined by Alyssa Rosenberg and Peter Suderman to unpack the outrage over indie film platform MUBI’s investment ties and whether ethical boycotts are even coherent in modern capitalism. Then they dig into Celine Song’s latest film Materialists, a rom-com that tries to be profound—but might just be pretty nonsense.

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the latest effort by conservatives to break into the world of big-time film production, this effort headed by Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society. Then they review The Phoenician Scheme, a movie some might describe as … conservative? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if the fractured media landscape makes it harder to mint movie stars. (You can read the discussed piece by Nicholas Quah here (https://www.vulture.com/article/new-media-circuit-hollywood-publicity.html?_gl=1*er5kq5*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3NDc0MDM2NjEuQ2owS0NRand4SnZCQmhEdUFSSXNBR1V...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discussed how AI is both helping animators lip sync cartoons (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/business/media/ai-cartoons-animation.html) and also completely inventing books for summer reading lists (https://apnews.com/article/fake-book-list-ai-newspaper-summer-reading-fcdf45...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) say goodbye to Max and take a mild victory lap in the process. Then they review Friendship, the new cringe comedy from Tim Robinson and A24. Is it the feel-bad movie of the year or just a feel-bad movie? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our summer preview episode on Friday. A...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Spencer Kornhaber’s feature (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/06/american-pop-culture-decline/682578/?gift=w4PTtxWc02_-PLPUpVBLHymFSLn28jRBZaHB2-FeVKw&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share) in The Atlantic asking if this is the worst...

On this week’s episode, Peter’s off today, so Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark) is joined only by Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post) to discuss what, precisely, Donald Trump hopes to accomplish with his movie tariffs. Or what they’d even look like, really. Then they review Thunderbolts*, a well-reviewed standalone Marvel movie. What is this, 2014? Make sure to swing by on Friday for our bonus episo...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the aging up of our movie star roster (https://puck.news/the-actors-gen-z-and-everyone-else-loves-best/?utm_campaign=What+I%27m+Hearing+-+SUBSCRIBERS+%284%2F24%2F25%29&utm_content=What+I%27m+Hearing+-+SUBSCRIBERS+%284%2F24%2F25%29&utm_medium=email_action&utm_source=cust...

Alyssa is off this week, so Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark) and Peter Suderman (Reason) are joined by Ben Dreyfuss (Calm Down (https://www.calmdownben.com/) ) to discuss all things Sinners. In cons and nons, they ask if Coogler’s unusual deal granting him copyright on the movie 25 years hence will really “destroy the studio system.” And then they review the film, which has done boffo box office and e...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the myriad ways in which tariffs could hurt (and maybe in one very minor way help) the entertainment business. Then they review Warfare, the latest film from Alex Garland and co-writer/co-director Ray Mendoza. No bonus episode on Friday, but we’ll be back with a full ep...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason/Coruscant (https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c2400x1350-w2400-q80/uploads/2017/12/151391173414.jpg.webp) ) ask if the wild behavior of teens and tweens at A Minecraft Movie is good or bad for the moviegoing experience. Then they review The Studio, AppleTV+’s new panic at...

Apologies: Due to an audio editing error, Peter Suderman’s track wasn’t audible in the first version of this file that went out. Everyone’s here now! —SB On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) examine how Donald Trump’s “warrior for free speech” at the FCC, Brendan Carr, is using his position to punish companies w...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if Tom Ortenberg and Briarcliff’s mission to distribute contentious movies like The Apprentice and Magazine Dreams is a controversy or a nontroversy. (You can find the Wall Street Journal article referenced in the episode here (https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/canceled...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Joe Russo’s war on Harvey Weinstein (https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/interview-russo-brothers-marvel-movies-not-just-for-kids-8mszh8jxv) (but not for the reasons you might think). Then they review Black Bag, a movie that makes marriage look fun. (Kinda. De...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) try to fairly adjudicate Kathleen Kennedy’s run at the Disney-owned Lucasfilm. Then they review Mickey 17, a movie that’s more committed to timely satire than big ideas. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for an episode on the new literalism. And if you enjoyed this episo...

On this episode of Across the Movie Aisle, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) said goodby to Gene Hackman, who was found dead at the age of 95 last week. Then they discussed the Oscars, hosted by Oscar O’Brien. How was the show? What about the winners? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for a bonus episode with some reading recom...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) talked about Amazon’s newfound ability to greenlight James Bond vehicles without the approval of the Broccoli family or Eon Productions. What does this mean for the British superspy? Then they review the first proper MCU movie in nearly 18 months. Has absence made the heart gro...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the blight of the Inappropriate Laughers. (Here’s a gift link to the New York Times piece we reference. (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/style/laughter-movie-theaters-nosferatu-anora-babygirl.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wE4.vcPf.KUk3yHXuo_jJ&smid=url-share) ) Then t...

Some websites and podcasts start putting out their best-of lists on December 1. Not Across the Movie Aisle. We want to make sure you had plenty of time to see all the award-season stuff. If it takes until February, well, so be it. 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, frankly, bonkers number of nominations received by Emilia Perez. Will the Academy favor it for best picture as a way to stick it to Trump? Then they review Presence, Steven Soderbergh’s new haunted house movie told from the perspective of the ghost. Is it just a fo...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask what, precisely, Trump’s “ambassadors to Hollywood (https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/01/17/mel-gibson-trump-special-ambassador/77772649007/) ” are supposed to be doing. Then they review September 5, the harrowing tick-tock examination of how ABC...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) broke down why the PVOD window has settled where it settled. Then they review The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half hour portrait of artistry and immigration and assimilation in America. (We know this movie isn’t out in most of the country yet, so we tried to keep it p...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discussed the announcement that a Melania Trump documentary is in the works with director Brett Ratner for Prime Video. (No, this is not Mad Libs.) Then they reviewed Nosferatu, Robert Eggers’s remake of the 1922 silent film by F.W. Murnau. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Fri...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason), discussed Will Tavlin’s n+1 opus on Netflix (https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-49/essays/casual-viewing/) and the rise—or maybe resurgence—of casual viewing as the primary mode of media engagement. Then they reviewed A Complete Unknown, James Mangold’s movie about Bob Dylan’s ...

Merry Christmas Eve! On this week’s supersized episode to get you through the airport, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if it’s a controversy or a controversy that Blake Lively’s costar and director, Justin Baldoni, seems to have orchestrated a virtual sliming of her in response to fears he was going to get called out for harassi...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) looked at The Entertainment Strategy Guy’s breakdown (https://entertainment.substack.com/p/this-wasnt-the-podcast-election-joe-rogan-trump-youtube-views-election) of podcast stats and asked if this truly was “the podcast election.” Then they reviewed Kraven the Hunter, a movie ...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discussed a controversial (or possibly nontroversial?) op-ed in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/magazine/diversity-era-movies.html?unlocked_article_code=1.gU4.QCvD.aoDYO9QXAMfr&smid=url-share) asking if “the awkward diversity era” of blockbuster filmmakin...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if it matters that people prefer AI slop (https://maxread.substack.com/p/people-prefer-ai-art-because-people?r=1gn7x&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true) to art produced by real-world hacks. (Kinda?) Then they review Wicked, a movie that’s half a movie despite being 160 minut...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) examine a shocking story in Vanity Fair (https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/cormac-mccarthy-secret-muse-exclusive) by Vincenzo Barney about the legendary writer Cormac McCarthy’s “secret muse,” Augusta Britt, whom the 42-year-old writer met when the girl was just 16. Then t...

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson “fight” that was “watched” (when they could get the stream to work) by “60 million people” (okay I’ll stop with the scare quotes) represents the future of streaming. Then they reviewed A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg’s new film about a pair of very ...