The Bulwark: Across the Movie Aisle

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 misfire lost in its own metaphors? If you enjoyed this episode, leave a comment or share it with a friend!

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On this week’s episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa discussed the problem of productions fleeing Georgia 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 week, see you guys next Tuesday!

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On this bonus episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa discuss this piece in the New York Times, in which Sharon Waxman asked if Hollywood is “hot, horny, and white again” after a dalliance with diversity mandates.

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 you’re worried about that sort of thing.) Make sure to swing by Thursday for a discussion of the shifting political winds in Hollywood. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

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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.) Then they review The Naked Gun, a movie so funny it brought this episode to a screeching standstill when Alyssa couldn’t keep it together while trying to recount one of the jokes. Funny movie! You should go see it! No bonus episode this week, but we’ll be back Monday with a brand new one.

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The Hollywood Reporter’s list of the 25 best horror movies released since 2000 is just really bad. So we discussed what, precisely, makes a horror movie a horror movie, and what we might put atop our own such lists.

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.) Then they reviewed The Fantastic Four: First Steps, a perfectly fine movie that strenuously avoids really digging into any of the ideas the film hints at. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Thursday for a bonus episode on one of the worst movie lists ever made. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

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On this week’s episode, we talk about Christopher Nolan’s decision to offer tickets for the 70mm IMAX screenings of The Odyssey a year in advance and cinematic anticipation more broadly. Is this hubris? Or is Christopher Nolan simply better than the movie gods who preceded him?

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 Doom Scroll. Make sure to swing by Thursday for a bonus episode on Christopher Nolan’s gutsy strategy for The Odyssey. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

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On this week’s special bonus episode of Across the Movie Aisle, the gang talked about Superman as an idea, as a symbol for something to strive for.