Across the Movie Aisle

Plus: David Fincher's 'The Killer' is in theaters for a minute. Catch him while you can.

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the late-night drama in Burbank, where former Disney CEO Bob Iger replaced current Disney CEO Bob Chapek. From tumbling stock prices to unhappy talent to a messy reorg, things weren’t going well … but is Iger the guy to right the ship? And then the gang reviews Martin McDonagh’s latest, The Banshees of Inisherin, a darkly comic parable about friendship in a time of civil war. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for this week’s bonus episode on our favorite foodie movies. 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) try to figure out if the Gentleminion craze sweeping the nation—in which teens and tweens wear suits to see Minions: The Rise of Gru and get rowdy while doing so—is a controversy or nontroversy. Then they review Elvis! Make sure to swing by Friday for the special bonus episode on our own history of rowdy moviegoing. And if you loved the 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 Netflix’s Spiderhead and the tumult at the world’s largest streamer. How is it that a film from the director of the biggest movie of the summer can release a movie starring a key part of the MCU and the star of one of Netflix’s biggest hits ever can just kind of … show up, and then disappear? How does this make sense from a business standpoint? Is the movie of the week model sustainable? Sadly, no bonus episode this week, as our travel/vacation schedules made coordinating impossible.

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) try to figure out why Lightyear dramatically underperformed projections. Is this a function of new customer behavior, the burgeoning culture war Disney finds itself embroiled in, or both? And then the gang reviews Lightyear, which is at best fine and at worst not fine. Very not fine indeed. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ Friday for our conversation about the movies of 1995, sparked by Lightyear’s insistence that Lightyear is a movie that would have appealed to a child in 1995 (spoiler: it would not have). 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 ways in which entertainment companies and the media inadvertently highlight and promote marginalized racists, a phenomenon noted by Kat Rosenfield in this essay for Unherd. And then the gang reviews Jurassic World Dominion, the latest big dumb movie in a series full of big dumb movies. Make sure to come back to Bulwark+ Friday for our bonus episode on David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future! 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 Magazine) discuss why Top Gun: Maverick is succeeding and whether or not it codes “conservative,” like American Sniper or The Passion of the Christ. And then they review We Own This City, David Simon and George Pelecanos’s angry look at a real-life police scandal in Baltimore streaming now in full on HBO Max. Make sure to come back to Bulwark+ for this week’s bonus episode on Friday, in which we make some more streaming recommendations for you. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

On this week’s Across the Movie Aisle, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) review the biggest hit of the summer (so far!), Top Gun: Maverick. Meanwhile, the gang discusses the pluses and minuses of “militainment,” entertainment in bed with the military-industrial complex. Make sure to head back to Bulwark+ on Friday for our discussion of what makes a great summer blockbuster.

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask whether or not the firing of Frank Langella (background here and here) was a controversy … or a nontroversy. Then they review Men, the new folk-horror flick from Alex Garland. What’s the matter with men—and Men? Make sure to come back for Friday’s bonus episode, in which we’ll discuss whether Tom Cruise is the last movie star or something a little weirder. And share this episode with a friend if you enjoyed it!

On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) try to figure out why Netflix had to clarify to their employees that hosting a breadth of content may mean working on something they disagree with ideologically. Doesn’t everyone work at a journal of ideas that tolerates dissenting viewpoints? And then they discuss Moon Knight, the Disney+ MCU series that is only mildly distinguishable from the other Disney+ MCU series despite dealing with gods and stuff. Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode on the renewed plague of advertisements. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!