Do Something This Saturday

In partnership with

Happy Saturday to you. Monday is MLK Jr. Day, meaning it’s a three-day weekend for those of us in the United States. If you’ve been feeling demoralized and despondent about the state of … well, everything, this is a great opportunity to do something positive and constructive in your community. It won’t fix the world’s problems, but it’s a start. Nic and I are doing the annual day of service with the great folks at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. It always feels good to get outside with other people who care about the planet, and it’s preferable to staying inside, doomscrolling. So whatever that looks like for you, I hope it’s meaningful.

Maybe that looks like going to the movies — and remembering to toss out your popcorn bucket and soda afterward. (I’m always amazed at the mess grown-ass people leave for those underpaid teenage theater workers.) Here’s what we discussed this week at our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. Take us with you as you’re running around this weekend, and maybe leave a review and a few stars if you have a moment. It’s so helpful in the crowded podcast ether.

• 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE. The sequel to 2025’s “28 Years Later” picks up right where that movie left off. But director Nia DaCosta’s film strikes a different tone from Danny Boyle’s: gory and harrowing, for sure, but also more somber, and maybe even funny …? Ralph Fiennes gives a spectacular performance as the kindly Dr. Ian, whose construction of the titular bone temple gives him purpose within the ravages of the rage virus. This movie is not for the faint of heart, but it is pretty bad-ass. In theaters.

• THE RIP. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are together again, this time in a twisty crime thriller from writer-director Joe Carnahan (“Narc,” “The Grey”). The longtime best friends co-star as Miami cops who stumble upon a staggering amount of cash hidden in a drug cartel’s stash house. This feels like the kind of mid-budget action movie you’d watch a thousand times on cable in the ‘90s (and I mean that as a compliment). The impressive ensemble cast includes Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, Catalina Sandina Moreno and Kyle Chandler. Streaming now on Netflix.

And while we’re on the subject of Matt and Ben, please enjoy this very entertaining segment they did on Jimmy Fallon’s show, where they read the names of every single city and town in Massachusetts in alphabetical order. Surprisingly, Damon pronounced Quincy wrong (locals know there’s no C in it), but he and Affleck are both leaning haahd into their New England accents.

• THE SECRET AGENT. We’ve been meaning to catch up with this movie, and the week after its big Golden Globe wins was the perfect time. The latest from writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho stars Wagner Moura as a tech researcher who gets caught up in the political turmoil of 1977 Brazil. This will definitely get nominated for best international feature at the Oscars, and probably also best picture and best actor. All of our friends and fellow critics love “The Secret Agent,” but we found ourselves mixed on it. In theaters.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE!. Among this week’s many topics were Kathleen Kennedy leaving LucasFilm; “Dune: Part Three” and “Avengers: Doomsday both opening on Dec. 18, aka “Dunesday”; and Matthew McConaughey trademarking the phrase “Alright, alright, alright.” No news next week because Alonso is traveling, but come on back Friday, Jan. 30.

I had the pleasure of talking about these movies and many others on both radio shows this week: Press Play on KCRW with my darling Amy Nicholson, and FilmWeek on LAist with the hilarious Tim Cogshell. Give ‘em a listen and support public radio this weekend.

• GOLDEN GLOBES LIVE CHAT. And speaking of the Golden Globes, we did a last-minute live chat to break down who won, who was best dressed, how did host Nikki Glaser do, and does any of it even matter? (We were surprised, though, by the conspicuous lack of political speeches during this tumultuous time in our country.) Did you watch? What did you think of the evening?

Have I mentioned that I love The A24 Podcast? These are fascinating conversations between two artists who have great anecdotes and go deep into process. This week, Josh Safdie and Sean Baker sat down to discuss “Marty Supreme” and so much more. They go into the casting of all those incredible faces in Safdie’s film and get nerdy about lenses, but they also have amusing stories to tell about how to time your edibles during the Oscars. If you love the nuts and bolts of filmmaking — and the work of these two exciting indie directors — then you’ll love this.

A couple of things to put in your calendar for the upcoming week:

• If you’re in the LA area today, I’m moderating a Q&A with “One Battle After Another” editor Andy Jurgensen. It’ll be after the 2pm showing at the great Gardena Cinema, the last family-run, single-screen theater in Los Angeles. Come hang out with us in the South Bay! Details and tickets are available here.

• Thursday, Jan. 22 is Oscar nominations morning, and Alonso and I will be doing a livestream bright and early to break it all down. Join us at 7am Pacific time at our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel. Yes, you read that right. I’m up at 530 every day anyway, and this is the most fun morning of the year.

That’ll do it for me this week. I know I say it all the time, but I’m truly grateful that you’re here and that you’ve chosen to spend some time with me. If you enjoyed my newsletter, I hope you’ll pass it along to someone else. And if someone passed it along to you, I hope you’ll subscribe. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.