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Happy Saturday, Happy Fourth of July, and Happy 250th if you’re in the United States. No holiday can stop me from putting out a newsletter, but I will keep it a little shorter than usual. You’ve got places to go, hot dogs to eat, sparklers to light.
(Along those lines, please don’t lose a finger or toe today. It’s just not worth it.)
It may seem challenging to feel patriotic right now, especially given the expectation to be even more fervent than ever because of the occasion. I get it. But I’m choosing to focus on the good things around me: the elderly Boston terrier snoring in her dog bed, the delicious cup of coffee I’m drinking, the gorgeous sunrise I just looked up and noticed. And of course, this wonderful community. This is a source of pride. If we just keep looking out for each other, we’re going to be OK.
Here’s what we reviewed this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. Take us with you to the lake or the beach (and don’t forget the sunscreen).
MINIONS & MONSTERS. Nobody really needed a third Minions movie, which is also the seventh in the “Despicable Me” franchise if you’re keeping track. But this had me laughing the whole way through, as the Minions inadvertently invent Le Cinema. Cleverly staged action sequences and amusing classic film references abound. Allison Janney, Trey Parker, Christoph Waltz and Jesse Eisenberg are among the voice cast. In theaters now. Like, all the theaters.
And once you’ve seen “Minions & Monsters,” check out my friend Carlos Aguilar’s LA Times interview with director Pierre Coffin (who also voices all those tiny, yellow chaos agents) about his many movie inspirations.
ENOLA HOLMES 3. Here’s another threequel for you, this time in the “Enola Holmes” series. It’s not as fun as “Enola Holmes” (2020) or “Enola Holmes 2” (2022), but it’s always a joy to watch Millie Bobby Brown in the title role, breaking the fourth wall and busting out her comic abilities. This time, Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister is preparing to marry Lord Tewkesbury in Malta, but a mystery derails her plans. Co-starring Henry Cavill, Louis Partridge and Helena Bonham Carter. Streaming now on Netflix.
YOUNG WASHINGTON. Before he was our nation’s first president and the dollar bill guy, George Washington was a scrappy, ambitious upstart with hopes and dreams and mistakes to make on the battlefield. That’s the point of this Angel Studios movie, directed by faith-based film veteran Jon Erwin (“Jesus Revolution,” “I Can Only Imagine”). Middle school social studies teachers will show this movie for years to come. William Franklyn-Miller, Ben Kingsley, Kelsey Grammer and Mary-Louise Parker co-star. In theaters.
MOVIE NEWS LIVE! So much to discuss as always, including the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding, the “Werwulf” trailer, the Netflix “Willy Wonka” reality series, Mel Brooks’ 100th birthday and more. Join us on Fridays at Noon Pacific.
I also reviewed these movies and others on both Press Play on KCRW 89.9 with William Bibbiani and FilmWeek on LAist 89.3 with Claudia Puig and Charles Solomon. Charles and I do not agree on the new Minion movie! Take us with you on the go this holiday weekend.
Over at our Patreon, we reviewed “The Chronology of Water” for our June Off the Menu movie. Alonso curated several films from LGBTQ+ directors or ones that tell queer stories in honor of Pride Month. Our members chose Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut from earlier this year, which is both poetic and harrowing. Imogen Poots gives a vulnerable and powerful performance as writer Lidia Yuknavitch, who worked through her horrifically abusive childhood by exploring sex, substance abuse and destructive relationships. There’s a wispy and impressionistic quality to Stewart’s filmmaking approach (she also wrote the script, based on Yuknavitch’s memoir) as well as a bold muscularity. “The Chronology of Water” is a gut punch, but it suggests great promise from Stewart behind the camera. It’s rentable now in a variety of places.
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Also at our Patreon, we’ve begun recapping “Elle,” the prequel series to “Legally Blonde.” No one could fill Reese Witherspoon’s Jimmy Choos, but the impossibly adorable Lexi Minetree does a great job of mining the character’s perky, can-do attitude (and she looks SO much like her). She’s super likable, and of course the clothes are great (costume designer Sophie de Rakoff did both “Legally Blonde” movies, as well as “The Morning Show”). But this eight-episode series probably should have been a stand-alone film.
“Elle” follows the character as she leaves the comforts of sunny LA for the dreariness of Seattle grunge in 1995, just as she’s about to begin her junior year of high school. But it has pretty much the exact same structure as the first film: Elle Woods shows up in a serious place in her impeccable, pink wardrobe, and everyone assumes she’s a ditz. She must use her pluckiness and fashion know-how to prove them wrong, but also to experience growth. The whole series is streaming on Prime Video (and apparently they’ve already shot season 2), but we like to take these two at a time. Watch along with us and share your thoughts.
That’ll do it for me for this week. Nic is running the local 5K this morning with his cross country team, and then later today I’m taking him to see the “Backrooms: Everything Must Go” edition, which adds 15 more minutes of nightmare fuel to Kane Parsons’ surprise smash horror film “Backrooms.” Let me know if you plan on seeing it, too — it’s in theaters for the next week.
Thank you so much for spending some of your weekend with me, especially on a holiday. If you enjoyed my newsletter, I hope you’ll share it with someone. And if someone shared it with you, I hope you’ll subscribe. Saturday Matinee is always free. Have a great 4th and a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.
