The Review

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FILM REVIEWS
UPDATED WEEKLY

Don’t just watch a movie; understand it. Don’t just hear a song; consider what it has to say. On The Review, writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves, and how that defines the way we see the world. Join The Atlantic’s writers as they break down a work of pop culture each week, exploring the big questions that great art can provoke, making some recommendations for you, and having a little fun along the way.

25/05/2022

Top Gun

Top Gun: Maverick is out soon! But can any movie with fast planes, Tom Cruise, and beach volleyball truly compare to the classic fighter pilot movie about, as writer Shirley Li puts it, "cute boys calling each other cute names"? Find out with Shirley, Megan Garber, and David Sims, and explore the moral (but fictional) simplicity of an earlier era: the Cold War 80s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

42 min
18/05/2022

Knocked Up

In a possibly-soon-to-be-post-Roe v Wade world, our hosts Sophie Gilbert, Megan Garber, and Hannah Giorgis thought it'd be worth re-examining the Judd Apatow/Seth Rogan comedy "Knocked Up," to discuss the way the movie treats women's bodily autonomy, angry reactions from men, and abortion. Megan also wrote recently on what it says that the movie simply edits direct mention of abortion out — and what that portended for the future of Roe, even fifteen years ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

43 min
12/05/2022

Winning Time

The 1980s Los Angeles Lakers were one of the most dominant teams in sports. At a time when professional basketball was on its heels, the Lakers dynasty brought new excitement: Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird, Jerry Buss and the glitzy Forum Club, and an uptempo flow offense. That’s the story of HBO’s big-budget series Winning Time, whose season 1 finale aired on Sunday, May 8th. David Sims, Vann Newkirk, and Ross Andersen—three of The Atlantic’s biggest basketball fans—get together to discuss the series. Does it manage to weave together the era’s many storylines? Does producer Adam McKay’s style energize or distract? And why is the story of the Showtime-era Lakers called “Winning Time”? Ross Andersen: It Had to Be the Lakers (Oct 2020) Ross Andersen: Fight Night With LeBron (Oct 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

50 min
04/05/2022

Severance

The Apple TV+ dystopian thriller Severance is one of the most acclaimed shows of the year. Its grim take on the furthest extreme of "work-life balance" speaks to our strained pandemic-era relationship with the workplace and, according to our critics, offers a gripping throwback to an era of prestige TV before (as David Sims sees it) Netflix ruined everything. Spencer Kornhaber, Sophie Gilbert, and David Sims go down the elevator to Lumon’s basement to talk waffle parties, real-life workplace anxieties, and what dystopian sci-fis they recommend besides Severance. Further reading: Sophie: 'Severance' Makes the Workplace Eerily Dystopian David: The Netflix Bubble Is Finally Bursting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

49 min
27/04/2022

The Northman

Shirley Li, David Sims, and Sophie Gilbert discuss the brutal new blockbuster The Northman. From the director of The Lighthouse and The Witch and based on the viking legend that inspired Hamlet, the film is a visceral experience that’s hard to summarize: Is it an arthouse revenge epic? A viking myth about toxic-masculinity? Shakespeare for people who love crossfit? The Northman joins The Green Knight and The Last Duel as part of a trend of recent films recontextualizing medieval tales. David, Shirley, and Sophie unpack that trend. They discuss the 10th century tale the film is based on, how both Shakespeare and director Robert Eggers adapted it, and how modern storytelling has tried to bring the historical experiences of women into these hypermasculine myths. Further reading: The Northman Is an Unsentimental Portrait of a Hero Coming Soon: Severance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

39 min
20/04/2022

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Shirley Li, David Sims, and Spencer Kornhaber discuss the hit action comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once. At a time when every show or movie has a multiverse, how does this film’s “verse-jumping” manage to be so cathartic it made us cry? The trio follows up on last week’s discussion of Turning Red to unpack how this movie uses a multiverse to convey the experience of an immigrant family. They also unpack Michelle Yeoh’s incredible career and how the film’s unique mix of silliness and sentiment gave her an opportunity she’s waited years for. Further reading: Everything Everywhere All at Once Is a Mind-Bending Multiverse Fantasy How Hollywood's Weirdest Filmmakers Made a Movie About Everything Everything Everywhere All at Once Is a Masterpiece Coming Soon: The Northman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

44 min
14/04/2022

Turning Red

Shirley Li, Spencer Kornhaber, and Lenika Cruz discuss the Pixar coming-of-age film Turning Red, why they found it utterly charming, and why this post-villain era of animation is a welcome one. Further reading: What the Controversy Over Turning Red Misses Pixar's Turning Red Has the Cleverest Take on Puberty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

55 min
06/04/2022

Is Pop Music Obsessed With Nostalgia?

Spencer Kornhaber, Shirley Li, and Hannah Giorgis assess the state of pop music following the Grammys. While the much-derided awards have improved at celebrating the diversity of modern music, they still tend to reward safer throwback sounds. And modern music as a whole seems to be going through a nostalgic phase—just look at Silk Sonic’s retro soul, or Lady Gaga’s big-band ballads, or even Olivia Rodrigo’s pop-punk influences. The trio reviews the Grammys, debates pop music’s retro obsession, and explains why we’re in a moment with more sound-recycling than usual. With streaming tracking all our listens, is old music killing new music? Or is the industry finally seeing (and monetizing) a type of listening we’ve always done? And with a backward-looking mainstream intersecting with a Tik-Tok-ification of pop stardom, where do we expect music to go next? Further reading: How Jon Batiste's Album of the Year Win Broke Grammys Expectations Is Old Music Killing New Music? An Artist Who Makes Me Excited About the Future of Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

46 min

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TRAILER

Introducing: The Review

On The Review, The Atlantic's writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves and how that shapes the way we understand the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29/09/2021

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2 min

Don’t just watch a movie; understand it. Don’t just hear a song; consider what it has to say. On The Review, writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves, and how that defines the way we see the world. Join The Atlantic’s writers as they break down a work of pop culture each week, exploring the big questions that great art can provoke, making some recommendations for you, and having a little fun along the way.