Halfway There on This Saturday

Happy Saturday, all. I’m so happy to have you here with me. Please forgive me in advance if today’s newsletter is a little loopy. I’m still reeling from last night’s “Superman” screening at IMAX headquarters. Reviews are embargoed until July 8, and the movie comes out July 11, so I can’t really say anything until then. But Alonso and I shot a quick little social reaction we’ll share as soon as possible, and we’re excited to talk about it more in-depth. This is definitely one of those movies that requires a separate live spoiler talk, so keep an eye out for all of that.

As for movies we can talk about now, we’ve got a lot of them for you this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. Give us a listen while you’re out and about on summer adventures, and maybe leave us a quick review and a few stars if you have a moment. It helps folks find us in the ether.

• F1: THE MOVIE. As opposed to “F1: The Breakfast Cereal.” This movie obviously cost a lot of money to make, and Brad Pitt is still a total movie star. But “F1” is 2 ½ hours long and very repetitive. Still, if you’re a fan of racing, you may enjoy this more than we did. And if you’re going to see it, see it in IMAX the way it was intended for maximum vroom-vroom. In theaters.

• M3GAN 2.0. It’s really hard to capture lightning in a bottle twice, so nothing could match the gonzo delights of the original “M3GAN,” which was a surprise hit in early 2023. But this sequel has several laughs, especially when it leans hard into the robot’s absurdity. In theaters.

• SORRY, BABY. One of the best movies of the year and an incredible debut from writer, director and star Eva Victor. Try to go in knowing as little as possible, but just trust me when I tell you this is thrilling filmmaking: bold and delicate at the same time. In theaters in limited release, opens wider July 18.

• 28 YEARS LATER LIVE SPOILER CHAT. There’s so much we didn’t want to give away in our non-spoiler review, so it was really fun to dig into it all here. Watch along once you’ve seen the film and share your thoughts.

• JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH REACTION. Some quick takes, right out of the theater, on the latest dino-tacular. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey are all wildly overqualified for this. Full review coming Tuesday.

Also this week, I had the pleasure of talking about these movies and many others with a couple of my favorite fellow critics on both radio shows I do:

• FilmWeek on LAist 89.3 with the lovely Manuel Betancourt.

• Press Play on 89.9 KCRW with the brilliant Tim Grierson.

One of the movies we reviewed on FilmWeek, which I highly recommend, is the documentary “My Mom Jayne.” Mariska Hargitay makes her feature filmmaking debut here as she explores the life and legacy of her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay, the star of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” was only 3 years old when Mansfield died in a car crash at age 32 — and she was in the car with her siblings at the time. Similar to another beautiful documentary I mentioned here recently, Rachel Elizabeth Seed’s “A Photographic Memory,” “My Mom Jayne” investigates the woman she never knew, and tries to discern between lore and truth. When your mom is a legendary starlet and pin-up, though, there’s a wealth of material, and Hargitay arranges it all in a way that’s thoughtful and clear-eyed. But she also makes herself vulnerable in the process, as she explores the shocking truth about her biological father. “My Mom Jayne” is on HBO, or HBO Max, or Max, or whatever they’re calling it these days. If you’re a fan of classic Hollywood, it’s definitely worth a watch.

Over at our Patreon, we’ve begun recapping season 4 of “The Bear.” Hulu likes to put entire seasons of television out there at once, but we like to savor the experience, so we take it two episodes at a time. (And we don’t jump ahead, despite the instinct to binge.) Alonso and I discuss the first two episodes here, and so far, it feels like a kinder, gentler “Bear,” as Carmy and his team lick their wounds after that scathing review in the Chicago Tribune. Please, no spoilers if you’ve already watched the whole season. But we’d love to know your thoughts. And you can catch up with our recaps of previous seasons here.

One of the things I love about being an ambassador for Athletic Brewing Co. is that I get to tell you about all the specialty non-alcoholic brews they offer. You may have seen the Run Wild IPA or the Upside Dawn Golden at the grocery store, or tried them at your favorite restaurant. But Athletic also makes awesome seasonal brews, including the Layback Lime & Salt. I was so excited when I saw that they had these back in stock, because they’re only around for a limited time. Light and flavorful, they taste like summer, and they’re perfect for backyard grilling or bringing to the beach. Take 20% off with my link and code CHRISTYL20. And let me know what you think!

Gonna wrap it up here, but first, a quick reminder: If you’re a member of our Patreon at the Lunch Date level, our next meet-up is Monday at Noon Pacific. We love these monthly live chats with our folks. You can find out more and join us here at the Membership tab. If you’ve enjoyed my newsletter, I’d be honored if you passed it along to the movie lovers in your life. Have a great week and a safe Fourth of July, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.