Across the Movie Aisle

On this week’s episode, we discuss the killing of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, which was unexpectedly spiked by Hulu after several months of dawdling. Then we reviewed Project Hail Mary, a movie Peter describes as “preposterously charming.” Is it that good? Listen to find out! And if you loved the movie, discuss with your fellow listeners (and your humble podcasters!) in the comments!

Sonny here. So, as I mentioned at the top of this episode—and as I warned you last week—this week is kind of a nightmare for all of us. Lots going on: I was out of the country; Alyssa was starting a new job; Peter was on the West Coast. So it took us an extra day to coordinate this. But here it is, nearly an hour long … for paying subscribers. The free listeners get the first 45 minutes or so; I had to leave a little something extra for the paying folks, you know? Anyway, we hope yo...

On this week’s episode, I’m very pleased to be rejoined by Kevin Goetz, who is the guru of movie testing to discuss his latest book, How to Score in Hollywood. When you spend nine figures on a film and another eight figures marketing it, you want to know what works for audiences and what doesn’t, and Kevin’s the guy who can help you do that. He believes that nearly every movie—if it’s made for the right price and marketed to the right people—should be able to make money, and he’s happy to explain how his...

On this week’s episode, we discuss the silly kerfuffle surrounding Timothee Chalamet’s statement that he hopes movies don’t become a niche entertainment like opera and ballet. Then we review The Bride!, a movie that might force us to create a Madame Web Scale to fully comprehend its badness. Make sure to swing by movieaisle.substack.com on Thursday for our bonus episode. And if you enjoyed this one, please share it with a friend!

On this Tuesday’s episode, the gang discusses the merger of WB and Paramount Skydance. What does it mean for jobs, consumers, and … Batman? Then they review Scream 7. Alyssa’s never seen one of these movies: does she care for it? More importantly: Does she have ANY idea what’s going on? The answer probably won’t shock you! Make sure to swing by movieaisle.substack.com on Thursday for our bonus episode on horny fanfic. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend.

On this week’s episode, the gang takes a look at this op-ed from former Sony head Michael Lynton and tries to figure out why Barack Obama suggested Sony was to blame for its own hack back in 2014. Then they review Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Is it the anti-AI parable we need right now? Or a mushily meatphored bit of non-AI slop? Make sure to swing by movieaisle.substack.com on Thursday for a bonus episode on the season finale of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with...

Pretty spicy episode this week, as we dive into how much trouble folks should be in simply for emailing associates of Jeffrey Epstein back in 2003. Then we review Emerald Fennell’s new adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Or “adaptation” of “Wuthering Heights,” as the studio insists we refer to it as. Make sure to swing by Thursday for our bonus episode on The Odyssey Book Club! And if you live in Michigan, make sure to check out our guy Jake VK’s movie, which is playing at Cinema Carousel in Muskegon, MI, on February 27 and 28 and March 1. It’ll be fun! 

On this week’s episode, we kicked things off by discussing Michael Schulman’s piece on efforts to use evil for good. (That is: use AI to “recreate” Orson Welles’s cut of The Magnificent Ambersons.) Then we reviewed Send Help, the new one from Sam Raimi. It’s fun and mean and meanly funny. Make sure to swing by Thursday, because we’re going to be talking about drinking and watching movies, two of our favorite things. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, the gang discusses Rose Horowitch’s piece in the Atlantic on film students who can’t watch films. (Goddamn kids, get off my lawn and into a movie theater.) Then they review the first two episode of the new Game of Thrones spinoff, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. A GOT sitcom? What is this world coming to? (Something delightful, apparently.) You’re going to want to listen to Thursday’s episode on Melania, I think. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode we played Will-Slash-Should. It’s a fun game! Then we reviewed The Rip, a movie that is possibly about stealing from Netflix. Maybe. Fun episode this week, kind of silly as we were all getting a little stir crazy by the time we taped. All fun and no play, well, you’ll have to see what the bonus episode has to say about that.

On this week’s episode, we say farewell to Kathleen Kennedy, who had a … checkered tenure as the head of Lucasfilm. Then we review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. It’s like 28 Years Later, but with more flaying and stoner comedy antics. (Seriously.) Make sure to swing by Thursday for even more zombie chatter! And if you enjoyed this episode, hit that like button and restack this post to your friends! 

It’s one of our favorite episodes of the year: Our top ten! Jampacked as always and extra-length as always, we bring you our top tens in this (very long) episode. Hope you enjoy! Leave your favorites of the year in the comments or in the chat!

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa break down why Mubi’s fans are mad at Mubi and how silly it is that some of them have chosen to champion Tubi instead. (You can read the story discussed here.) Then they take turns reviewing Die My Love, Sentimental Value, and It Was Just an Accident. (Links take you to the JustWatch pages for all those films, which will help you find where to stream them on VOD.) As always, there will be some spoiler talk about those movies, so please don’t yell at us if you come across...

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas and/or a happy holidays! On this week’s episode, we pick the biggest stories of the year and/or the biggest stories of the year to come. Then we review Marty Supreme, a guy who is charming and/or a borderline sociopath. Make sure to swing by the Substack for our bonus episode on Hamnet, a movie that’s unbreably sad and/or unbearable. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, we discussed YouTube’s acquisition of the Academy Awards starting in 2029 and why it might not be quite as disastrous as everyone is making it out to be. Then we reviewed Avatar: Fire and Ash, a movie that has approximately 498% more Spider than anyone could possibly want. But at least it still looks pretty great!  As a reminder: If you’re a paying member, you can set up a private RSS feed through Substack to get ad-free episodes delivered right to your preferred app. If you’re not a paying member, you can always si...

Just a quick programming note, combining emails so as not to kill your inbox: On Tuesday of next week we’ll be discussing Avatar: Fire and Ash.  Sad news this week about the death of Rob Reiner. We weren’t quite sure what to do so we just talked for 20 minutes. Hopefully it helps. This bonus bonus episode is open to all because we didn’t feel right putting it behind a paywall. If you enjoyed it, please share it with a friend?

Before we start, we just wanted to say how shocked and saddened we all are by the news of Rob Reiner’s death. Sonny wrote an obit here; if you’d like, the chat is open for subscribers to discuss here. The news broke literally as we were taping this, so we couldn’t work it into this week’s episode, but we plan on taping an extra podcast at some point this week to discuss his life and legacy. Stay tuned for that.---We’re trying something new with this week’s episode: We have a speci...

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa look at another side of the Netflix/WB deal, namely what will happen to HBO and WB’s more experiential events. Then they review Netflix’s big awards season play, Jay Kelly. A movie about movies: will this help Netflix win that Oscar trophy they’ve been chasing? Make sure to swing by the Substack page on Thursday for our bonus episode on Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair and his idiosyncratic top 20 list. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! 

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa discuss James Cameron’s interview with Matt Belloni and his take on the state of the industry. (You can listen to part one of that interview here and part two here.) Then they discuss Guillermo del Toro’s new adaptation of Frankenstein. It’s a beautiful movie, lovingly crafted and exquisitely designed … yet one that undercuts the point of the book through the characterization of the monster and a performance by Jacob Elordi that occasionally feels as though it’s channeling a classic Ben Stiller character. If you enjoyed this episode, please share...

On this week’s episode, Sonny, Peter, and Alyssa highlight all the problems with the potential buyers of Warner Bros. Then they review Wicked: For Good, a movie that fails on nearly every conceivable level. (Or maybe it doesn’t, make your case in the comments!) Make sure to swing by the site on FRIDAY, not Thursday (Happy Thanksgiving!) for our bonus episode/gift guide. Speaking of gifts: Treat yourself to something nice from the Dashery Store, we’re doing a Black Friday sale! And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, you’re our best source o...