A Saturday Amid the April Showers

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Happy Saturday to you. It’s gonna be May, to borrow from everyone’s favorite ‘90s boy band meme, which means we’re in a bit of a lull movie-wise as we wait for summer blockbuster season. Here’s what we covered this week at our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast:

• THE ACCOUNTANT 2. Did you forget “The Accountant” even existed? Yeah, so did we. But this follow-up to the 2016 action movie finds Ben Affleck returning to the titular role as the math whiz with a particular set of skills. Jon Bernthal is back as his wise-cracking brother, and the two have an enjoyable banter with each other. It’s fun until it isn’t. In theaters.

• DROP. We got lots of requests to catch up with this twisty little thriller, which came out while I was on spring break. So here we are. The insanely likable Meghann Fahy (“The White Lotus” S2) stars as a widow on a first date who starts receiving menacing text messages. This is what the Do Not Disturb button is for. In theaters.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! Among this week’s topics were the changes in Oscar voting, the “Heartstopper” movie, this weekend’s Turner Classic Movies Festival and more. We’ll definitely have a news livestream next Friday at Noon Pacific before my surgery, and from there … who knows. We’ll see how I’m feeling. Thanks for your patience.

I also had the pleasure of discussing these movies and many more at FilmWeek on LAist with the always great Larry Mantle. Give it a listen if you’re out and about this weekend.

Over at Ebert, I reviewed the Georgian drama “April,” a film that’s as exquisite as it is excruciating. Writer-director Dea Kulumbegashvili tells the story of a rural OB/GYN (Ia Sukhitashvili) who comes under scrutiny for the work she does to provide teenage girls and women with necessary reproductive care. Kulumbegashvili will hold a shot way past the point of discomfort, but there’s artistry and poetry in her images. It’s a tough watch, but that’s that point, and if you can endure the languid pacing, there is a cumulative reward. “April” is in theaters now in limited release.

For a much more joyous experience at the movies, check out the 4K restoration of “Pink Floyd at Pompeii — MCMLXXII,” as it’s now been retitled. And see it in IMAX if you can. Similar to the recent documentary “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” this 1972 concert film is awesome if you can experience it on a giant screen with the best possible sound. The members of Pink Floyd are all young and skinny and full of promise here — they don’t hate each other, and they’re about to become absolutely enormous with the release of their “Dark Side of the Moon” album, which we see them tinkering on a bit. But the spectacle of watching them perform in a totally empty amphitheater at Pompeii, except for a few roadies and crew members, is startling and surreal. This is a limited engagement, so look here to see whether “Pink Floyd at Pompeii” is playing near you.

For our April Off the Menu review at our Patreon, we honored the late Val Kilmer by revisiting 2005’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” Shane Black’s self-aware neo-noir takes place in a Los Angeles where everyone wants to be an actor, or a detective, or both. Kilmer has a ton of swagger and verbal panache as a private eye known as Gay Perry, who’s tasked with training Robert Downey Jr.’s character on how to be a convincing P.I. in the movies. This dark comedy is a blast, with lots of rat-a-tat dialogue and meta humor. Thanks to our members who voted, and keep an eye out for our May poll.

We’re so happy to have “Andor” back! Season 1 of this Disney+ series is the best “Star Wars” thing we’ve ever seen, in part because it’s the least “Star Wars”-y. Season 2 gets us closer to “Rogue One,” so some of the imagery is looking a little more familiar, with TIE fighters and Stormtroopers and such. At first, Alonso and I were a little concerned about the release schedule: We’re getting three episodes a week, four weeks in a row, which sounded like a lot. But having seen the first cluster, we realize that each one is going to feel like a feature film. Showrunner Tony Gilroy knows what he’s doing: Once again, this is intelligent, thrilling television. And I still want to raid Mon Mothma’s wardrobe. We’ll have recaps for the next few Fridays, and you can catch up with our thoughts on Season 1 here.

And if you love process like I do, check out this behind-the-scenes video with fascinating details and insights on the first three episodes.

That’s gonna do it for me this week. Later this morning, I have to head up to West Hollywood for an LA Film Critics Association meeting, and it’s always nice to see my friends and colleagues in person. If you’re a Patreon member at the Lunch Date level, our next meet-up is this Monday, April 28 at Noon Pacific time. I do enjoy our monthly live chats. To find out more about the benefits we offer at various levels, check out the Membership tab. Hope you’ll consider joining us. And if you’ve enjoyed my newsletter today, I hope you’ll share it with the movie lovers in your life. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.