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Dwayne Johnson's 'Smashing Machine'

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 22h

On Across the Movie Aisle this week, Alyssa, Peter, and I discussed the dying production scene in Los Angeles and reviewed THE SMASHING MACHINE. Fun episode, everyone loves Serious Rock. www.thebulwark.com/p/dwayne-joh...

Plus: Some podcast news!

Randolph Scott, Virtuous Loner of the West

sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 1d

Well both of those guys were already legit stars at that point in their careers (or at least had had big roles in big movies); I was trying to highlight a few folks who hadn’t made the jump or spent most of their careers as a “oh yeah, that guy” afterwards.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 1d

Budd Boetticher was by nature a swashbuckler. In his youth, he fought bulls in Mexico. He spent years as a matador before his horrified mother, a society lady back in Evansville, Indiana, arranged a job in Hollywood instead. His westerns hold up: www.thebulwark.com/p/randolph-s...

Lonesomeness, nobility, and anti-machismo: the ‘Ranown’ westerns are an underappreciated treasure of American cinema.

Randolph Scott, Virtuous Loner of the West

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 1d

"Hemingwayesque in their brevity and violent candor, the films are humanistic tragicomedies, with a tenderness and a poetry in their language and assumptions about life."

Hannah Long on the best westerns you never heard of:

Lonesomeness, nobility, and anti-machismo: the ‘Ranown’ westerns are an underappreciated treasure of American cinema.

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 2d

Haha when I was watching the movie this time I was like “okay this character makes NO SENSE, why is he in this?” And it’s really a vestigial plot point; originally the altered flight logs were supposed to bring Jessup down for real. He needed to deliver that info.

A Few Good Men: Why Today’s Leaders Sound Like Col. Jessup

sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 2d

Talked A FEW GOOD MEN on the Movie Club this week with @jvl.bsky.social and @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social, which remains one of the all-time "Oh yeah, he's in this" movies. Cruise/Nicholson/Moore, yes, but also Kevin Pollack, JT Walsh, Noah Wyle, Josh Malina, Cuba Gooding Jr, etc. Off the charts!

“All the President’s Men” vs. Trump’s Daily Insanity

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Citizen Cohn / Jonathan Cohn @citizencohn.bsky.social · 2d

This was such an absolute treat

@sonnybunch.bsky.social let me sit in on @thebulwark.com "Movie Club" to discuss one of my all-time favorite films, All the President's Men

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQC7...

Saudi Arabia’s Useful Idiots

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 4d

I honestly don't care THAT much if comedians want to perform in Saudi Arabia, but I do take issue with them being useful idiots for medieval barbarism in an active way. www.thebulwark.com/p/saudi-arab...

Plus: ‘The Smashing Machine,’ Reviewed

How an MTV Prank Helps Explain the Internet

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 4d

Remember TRL? The MTV show where you voted for boy bands? What if I told you that Yourgo Artsitas's documentary on the time the show got hijacked to include a New Kids on the Block video will forever change how you look at the late-90s music scene? www.thebulwark.com/p/how-an-mtv...

Yourgo Artsitas on his documentary short, 'TR(ol)L.'

‘The Smashing Machine’ Review

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 5d

"Not to wear my philistine badge too proudly, but my problem with 'The Smashing Machine' may be that it needed to be a bit more formulaic. Formulas are good; formulas work; that’s why they’re formulas."

@sonnybunch.bsky.social reviews: www.thebulwark.com/p/the-smashi...

Some amazing sequences and strong acting, but an uncompellingly messy subject.

‘The Smashing Machine’ Review

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 6d

A thing I don’t know that I’ve ever written before: I wish THE SMASHING MACHINE were slightly *more* formulaic rather than less? www.thebulwark.com/p/the-smashi...

Some amazing sequences and strong acting, but an uncompellingly messy subject.

Kimmel Suspension Triggered MAJOR Disney+ Exodus (w/ Julia Alexander)

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 7d

I broke down the Kimmel cancellation data with Julia Alexander from Puck. Turns out there was a huge spike (around 6x the normal churn rate) that couldn't really be attributed to anything else. Needless to say, that likely played some part in Kimmel's hasty return. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB-L...

“All the President’s Men” vs. Trump’s Daily Insanity

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 7d

Had a fun time talking ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN with @jvl.bsky.social and @citizencohn.bsky.social on the movie club. It's streaming on the Criterion Channel and it really is insanely riveting for a movie that's often just dudes talking on phones. Movie stars, baby! www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQC7...

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 9d

A distribution like that is virtually always the result of a negative review-bombing campaign that originates on social media, typically motivated by politics. You don’t have to demonstrate you’ve actually seen the movie to leave a rating. Verified audience number at 85% on RT.

sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 9d

tbf that sort of distribution curve smacks of review bombing

How Movies Can Better Prep Us for the AI Threat

sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 11d

I'm kind of mixed on ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, but one thing I absolutely believe is that Teyana Taylor should be in the awards season mix. The first 40 minutes are relentless in large part because of her vibrancy. www.thebulwark.com/p/one-battle...

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 11d

I was one-degree of separation from Yudkowsky so I got to bust out my "Actually, EX MACHINA is about an AI-Box Experiment and not a Turing Test," and Soares was like "yes, obviously."

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 11d

Yes.

sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 11d

I don't mean to be alarmist, but: AI is going to kill us all. (Accidentally. Maybe.) Anyway, I talked to Nate Soares aboout his and Eliezer Yudkowsky's new book, "If Anyone Builds it, Everyone Dies" and how storytellers could better prepare us for this. www.thebulwark.com/p/how-movies...

Nate Soares on his new book, 'If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies.'

Why ‘Clear and Present Danger’ STILL Hits in 2025

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 14d

Yes

sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 14d

CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER: not the *best* Jack Ryan adaptation but probably my favorite. Discussed why here with @jvl.bsky.social and @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social : youtu.be/h7MTqQ3gvmw?...

youtu.be

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 14d

Should be, yeah.

Plus: RIP, Robert Redford.

sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 14d

On Across the Movie Aisle this week, Alyssa, Peter, and I looked at the struggle between Jimmy Kimmel, Disney, ABC affiliates, and the FCC. Then we said goodbye to Robert Redford, one of the greats. www.thebulwark.com/p/the-fcc-v-...

The FCC v. Jimmy Kimmel