"The new Anaconda is not good, precisely, but it is a tribute to the power of star-driven charisma." ICYMI, @sonnybunch.bsky.social reviews: lnk.thebulwark.com/4aGBvmB

Weirdly amusing congruence here. I will not be elaborating further.

If you’ve never seen the Nicolas Cage movie RED ROCK WEST, you really should. The Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray looks great and is just $16 right now. Good deal! vinegarsyndrome.com/products/red...

ANACONDA (1997) was goofy: big performances, silly FX, a campy classic. ANACONDA (2025) is "goofy." And there's a huge difference contained within those quotes. I tried to explain how Hollywood's problems are encapsulated in these two movies. www.thebulwark.com/p/anaconda-r...

And @petersuderman looks happy, doesn't he folks? That's right, we're reviewing HAMNET on this week's bonus episode. It's Oscar season, baby! Get those hankies ready, we've got a weepy for you this week! movieaisle.substack.com/p/hamnet-or-...

nicely grouped on my timeline

My thoughts on the evolution of podcasting from an audio-first medium to a visual-first medium: movieaisle.substack.com/p/marty-supr...

EDDINGTON is the best movie of the year, by far. (Sorry to spoil my own list; you can see the rest of my picks here: www.thebulwark.com/p/the-ten-or...)

Without further ado, @sonnybunch.bsky.social's roundup of the best movies of the year: lnk.thebulwark.com/4sbavC5

Look, there are many year-end best-of lists, but this is the only objectively accurate one. These ARE the ten (or so) best films of the year. www.thebulwark.com/p/the-ten-or...

Do you prefer Sad Santas, Mad Santas, or Bad Santas? www.thebulwark.com/p/when-santa...

MARTY SUPREME is so good—so kinetic, so riveting—that you almost don’t even realize the middle hour of the movie is largely concerned with returning a dog to a vicious gangster. One of the best of the year, insta-classic about a classic American type. www.thebulwark.com/p/marty-supr...

My one-sentence review of AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. movieaisle.substack.com/p/avatar-fir...

The same old tricks are visually amazing, but at this point they *are* the same old tricks. ICYMI @sonnybunch.bsky.social reviews "Avatar: Fire and Ash": lnk.thebulwark.com/4pRKvKg

I know a lot of movie folks are kind of distraught by the Oscars going to YouTube but I’m … kind of intrigued by it? I mean, at the very least, I don’t think it’s necessarily a disaster. www.thebulwark.com/p/the-oscars...

Bernie Sanders sucks. www.thebulwark.com/p/pediatric-...

Been trying (and failing) to convince my wife to watch Apocalypto for years. This @sonnybunch.bsky.social review of the new Avatar provides the perfect opening for another shot. Did you like it? Yes? Great, I have a comparable film we should watch next. www.thebulwark.com/p/avatar-fir...

I was not expecting AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH to feel so much like APOCALYPTO by way of Pandora. But when it's at its best, it absolutely feels like APOCALYPTO by way of Pandora! (Sadly, that's only around a quarter of the 195-minute (!) run time.) www.thebulwark.com/p/avatar-fir...

Enjoyed this discussion on Rob Reiner, with @sonnybunch.bsky.social, @richardrushfield.bsky.social, & @daveweigel.bsky.social. They provided insightful commentary on his remarkable work. I added a story of when I was (very briefly--but very humanely) directed by Rob. www.youtube.com/live/iBofLeW...

We've been talking about this internally at The Bulwark as something like a vigil or shiva—just sitting and talking and remembering together. Rob Reiner's work meant so much to so many of us, let's be together for a while.

We're sitting Shiva tonight for Rob Reiner at 9PM. Join @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social , @sonnybunch.bsky.social , @richardrushfield.bsky.social, @daveweigel.bsky.social to talk his movies and more. Watch on: YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/iBofLeW... Substack: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

"I just want to celebrate his work, which was incredibly important to me, almost weirdly important." And probably for a lot of people. @sonnybunch.bsky.social remembers Rob Reiner: lnk.thebulwark.com/3MEHyOs

On Rob Reiner's incredible legacy, by @sonnybunch.bsky.social www.thebulwark.com/p/rob-reiner...

In a very real way, Rob Reiner's run through the 1980s and 1990s defined what I thought "movies" were. Master of the basic cable classic. He was just insanely versatile. Funny, sweet, dark, and, occasionally, sad: he was one of the greats. RIP. www.thebulwark.com/p/rob-reiner...

I am not the biggest fan of the KNIVES OUT series but I found the new one, WAKE UP DEAD MAN, oddly moving as it's the first in the series to treat its villains with a shred of empathy. It's also Rian Johnson's most interesting movie, visually, since BRICK. www.thebulwark.com/p/wake-up-de...

Netflix isn't just buying a movie studio in WB: It's buying parks deals and a video game studio and the second-biggest comic company in the country. I picked Vulture critic Nicholas Quah's brain about some of the less-discussed angles to this deal. www.thebulwark.com/p/whatll-net...

"I cannot think of another time when the administration wanted something this badly, and failed this catastrophically to get it from Republicans." @samsteindc.bsky.social, @sonnybunch.bsky.social, and @adamwren.bsky.social on how Indiana Republicans defied Trump and rejected his redistricting push.

"I guess we just don't even pretend that the government isn't corrupt anymore." @jvl.bsky.social, @crampell.bsky.social and @sonnybunch.bsky.social discuss how Jared Kushner and Trump allies are shaping the bidding war for Warner Bros. lnk.thebulwark.com/4aF2Bdz?utm_...

NEW: A look at three awards-season movies that has as a central story element children put in danger. (As @sonnybunch.bsky.social notes, it can be difficult or unbearable for parents to watch such scenes.) www.thebulwark.com/p/children-i...

In my newsletter this week, I begged folks to check out a brave movie from a brave filmmaker: Jafar Panahi's IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT. I hope you can track it down or watch it once it hits video on demand. www.thebulwark.com/p/what-the-n...

"This is the ultimate, final form of the lost-child movie, the recognition and the realization that, on a certain level, life is over when a child goes." @sonnybunch.bsky.social on the "child in peril" film: lnk.thebulwark.com/49TCfUZ

As it happens, I interviewed @scottmendelson.bsky.social earlier this week about, among other things, what Netflix buying WB would mean for theatrical. Spoiler: nothing good! (That’s about 30 minutes in. We also discussed RUSH HOUR 4, the weirdest bribe ever.) www.thebulwark.com/p/is-there-a...

As someone whos dad was of the era that when a John Wayne movie came on, we watched it, I can say that The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is my fav John Wayne film. Loved the pod. Def buying this book for my dad for Christmas @chrisyogerst.com @sonnybunch.bsky.social www.thebulwark.com/p/printing-t...

Netflix buying Warner Bros. would be an extinction-level event for movie theaters. But don’t take my word for it! Take James Cameron’s. www.thebulwark.com/p/why-netfli...

I really enjoy the FAMILY PLAN movies and also really enjoy talking to David Coggeshall, so it was a no-brainer to have him back on the pod to discuss turning AppleTV’s big hit into a series, the joy of shooting in London/Paris, and what’s next for him. www.thebulwark.com/p/sticking-w...

WICKED: FOR GOOD? More like WICKED 2: IT'S BAD, amirite? Haha, but seriously folks, it's terrible. www.thebulwark.com/p/wicked-for...

I had a blast talking about how Fast & Furious souped up Hollywood's intellectual-property engine (have I abused the car metaphors too much?) with @sonnybunch.bsky.social for @thebulwark.com. Buckle up and listen below!

Longtime listeners/readers will know I'm not a fan of the Fast and Furious franchise. But Barry Hertz's book on the series is a.) entertainingly written, b.) thoroughly reported, and c.) a fascinating micro-history of 21st-century Hollywood economics. www.thebulwark.com/p/a-fast-and...

excuse me only Beatrix Kiddo can do this

Of all the bad and insane things about Trump, his proximity to RFK Jr is, I think, the worst and most insane. I've felt this way since the election: He is going to literally get people killed because he doesn't understand how medicine works. www.thebulwark.com/p/is-rfk-jr-...

On the ATMA bonus episode this week, we discussed the concurrent decline of movie theaters and movie stars. Peter asked Alyssa and me the million dollar question: movieaisle.substack.com/p/can-movie-...

"Exciting news: The Pope said everybody has to go to the movie theaters." Well, not quite, but it might be good for your mind, even your soul. @sonnybunch.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/pope-leo-a...

Apropos of the Pope's endorsement of the movie-theater experience, check out this list from @sonnybunch.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/pope-leo-a...

"There’s an internal element too, an inner peace that comes from entering the sanctum sanctorum of those movie palaces with the wall-sized screens. Don’t take it from me. Take it from a higher authority: his holiness, Pope Leo XIV." New @sonnybunch.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/pope-leo-a...

Saying “I don’t need to see this in a theater because it’s not a big blockbuster” totally misses the point of why going to a theater matters. But don’t take my word for it: take the Pope’s! www.thebulwark.com/p/pope-leo-a...

I'm not saying this definitely happened because of us but I'm not not saying it either.

BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER and NOUVELLE VAGUE are both streaming on Netflix now. They’re a rare breed: dramas for adults. I reviews them and tried to suss out why movies like this are so rarely made. www.thebulwark.com/p/ballad-of-...

I hadn’t watched THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE in years and was shocked by how hard the ending—a forgotten, foundational man exiting the scene in a cheap casket—hit me. (Probably means nothing.) Talked to @chrisyogerst.com about it this week on the pod! www.thebulwark.com/p/printing-t...

"Kash Patel's girlfriend is suing MAGA conspiracy theorists for claiming she's a Mossad operative who is covering up Epstein's blackmail ops" is by far the funniest story to come out of this administration so far. www.thebulwark.com/p/kash-patel... x.com/SonnyBunch/s...

My goal in the introductions to these segments is to get someone to call Child Protective Services on Alyssa's parents for neglect in years past. movieaisle.substack.com/p/alyssa-has...