Here’s the elevator pitch: It’s “Left, Right, and Center” meets “Siskel and Ebert.” Three friends from different ideological perspectives discuss the movies and controversies (or nontroversies!) swirling around them. You’ll have to sign up for the Substack to get bonus episodes and you can do that at movieaisle.substack.com.
Wes Anderson's Experimental Netflix Shorts
Oct 10, 2023
Show notes
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 Friday for our bonus episode on some of our favorite short films. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
The AI Toys Coming for Your Kids
Oct 03, 2023
Show notes
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 couple of days! Make sure to swing back to Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus episode on robot movies and the decline of original sci-fi features. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
Is 'Dumb Money' a Smart Movie?
Sep 26, 2023
Show notes
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 the ways in which it made us all go a little nuts, it’s really quite interesting. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus episode about the end of prestige TV and the retrenchment to more populist fare. And if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
A ‘Haunting’ Murder Mystery
Sep 19, 2023
Show notes
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 duty, if any, standup comedians have to the truth. And if you enjoyed this episode make sure to share it with a friend!
Did the Streaming Game Just Change?
Sep 12, 2023
Show notes
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. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for the bonus episode on Friday; we’re going deep on the ways in which digital piracy can be used as a preservation tool instead of simply a means of theft. Many thanks to Jonathan Siri for producing this, and every other, episode of the show. If you enjoyed it, make sure to send it to a friend!
Why Taylor Swift and AMC Bypassed the Studios
Sep 05, 2023
Show notes
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 browbeat Sonny into seeing the movie? We’ll have to see. Then the gang discusses The Equalizer 3, director Antoine Fuqua’s concise cinematic case for Just War Theory. Make sure to swing by Friday for our bonus episode on old-man action movies. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
Why Streamers Want to Keep Their Data Secret
Aug 29, 2023
Show notes
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 sports movie. It all depends on your point of view. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on Friday. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
Fraud at the Box Office! Plus: 'Strays' Reviewed.
Aug 22, 2023
Show notes
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 with a friend!
Disney: Canary in the Showbiz Coal Mine
Aug 15, 2023
Show notes
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, please share it with a friend!
Are Digital Extras the Future of Movies? Plus: 'They Cloned Tyrone.'
Aug 08, 2023
Show notes
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 hit or a miss? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for a tribute to William Friedkin, one of Hollywood’s great directors. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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