28 Saturdays Later

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Happy Saturday, and welcome to the many new people who’ve joined me in the past week. In case this is your first time here: Hi, I’m Christy. I’m a longtime film critic, LA native, wife and mom. I really do write mostly about movies in this newsletter — and sometimes running, and sometimes skiing. But lately, the world has been on fire, so we’ve gotta deal with that, too.

Here’s what we reviewed this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel. We also do all of this in podcast form, so take us with you and maybe leave a review or a few stars — it helps people find us in the ether.

• 28 YEARS LATER. We were already psyched about this movie and it exceeded our expectations. This is a non-spoiler review of the Danny Boyle-Alex Garland reunion, but we’re doing a live spoiler chat next week so we can get into all the zombie nitty gritty. Join us at Noon Pacific Time on Wednesday, June 25 at our YouTube channel. This movie is a journey! It’s also extremely divisive among our viewers. Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

• 28 DAYS LATER. Before we saw “28 Years Later,” we went back and reviewed “28 Days Later,” the 2002 movie that reinvented the zombie genre. I’m happy to report that it still kicks ass. We love the eerie spareness of Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography and the rock score from John Murphy that builds and adds tension. Definitely worth a re-watch.

• 28 WEEKS LATER. We also reviewed this second film in the series, which came out in 2007. But in retrospect, you don’t need to have seen either movie recently — or at all — to understand and enjoy “28 Years Later.” Calling this movie terrible is apparently a controversial opinion, as I’ve learned from the comments on our review. What do you think of the first two “28” movies?

• ELIO. If you’re looking for a gentle movie in these stressful times, the latest from Pixar Animation might be the right choice for you and your family. This is a very sweet story about a misfit kid who dreams of having aliens abduct him, and the colors and creatures are wondrous. In theaters.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! It had been a couple weeks, so this was a lengthy livestream. Among the topics we discussed were the “Brokeback Mountain” 20th anniversary, the trailer for the Bruce Springsteen biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” and Francis Ford Coppola taking “Megalopolis” on the road. We’ll be back next Friday at Noon Pacific, so come hang out with us.

Over at our Patreon, we reviewed “Thank God It’s Friday” for June’s Off the Menu. It’s Pride Month, so Alonso curated a collection of what he amusingly called “cuckoo musicals” for our latest poll. Our folks chose this 1978 disco comedy extravaganza, which is a mess, but it’s also an Oscar winner for best original song. I’m not sure it’s worth sitting through the entire movie to enjoy Donna Summer’s infectious performance of “Last Dance.” (You can watch that clip here instead.) But “Thank God It’s Friday” does feature performances from a young Jeff Goldblum, Debra Winger, and Terri Nunn before she was better known as the lead singer of Berlin, as well as some classic LA locations. This was more fun to talk about than to watch. Thanks to everyone who voted, and keep an eye out for July’s poll. We’ve got a good one in store.

Friday, June 20 was the official start of summer. It was also the 50th anniversary of “Jaws,” the movie that changed movies — or at least, the way movies come out. The idea of a blockbuster seems like a given now, and summer movie season seems to start a little earlier every year. But back then, the escapist thrills “Jaws” provided were groundbreaking, and they kept audiences coming back for more. I was too little to see Steven Spielberg’s film in the theater at not quite age 3 — my parents weren’t that permissive — but its cultural impact loomed large, particularly because of John Williams’ startling, minimalist score. Ten years ago, I wrote an article looking back at “Jaws” on its 40th anniversary for Parade magazine. (Typical me, I massively oversourced it.)

I’d love to hear your thoughts on “Jaws” in the poll below!

And speaking of our Patreon, we’ll have a ton of new TV recaps for you in the next couple weeks, with so many series that we love returning. “The Gilded Age” is back for season 3 intrigue starting Sunday on HBO. The “Black Panther” spin-off series “Ironheart” starts Tuesday on Disney+. “The Bear” season 4 picks up after that cliffhanger ending Wednesday on Hulu. And “Squid Game” wraps up with its third and final season of challenges Friday on Netflix. Plus, we’re continuing our recaps of “Poker Face” on Peacock. So if you’re not already a member, now is a great time to join us! Or if you’d like to check out specific videos or collections of recaps, they’re all available for purchase individually. We always love hearing what you have to say about these shows.

That’ll do it this time. Thank you so much for sharing some of your weekend with me. If you’ve found this newsletter even the slightest bit helpful or entertaining, I hope you’ll pass it along to a friend or family member. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.