Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Saturday, friends. It’s my birthday. I’m 53. This may not sound like a significant year or one that calls for the kind of massive celebration I’ve had in the past. (When I turned 40, I staged a drunkfest at The Viper Room; when I turned 50, I gathered some friends to watch the sunset at the beach. Things change.)

But 53 is an age I’ve been looking toward with nervous expectation and a touch of melancholy, because that’s how old my father was when he died of a heart attack in 1995. Granted, I am not my father. My life is very different, and my choices have been much healthier, especially over the past several years. But it’s a strange sensation to realize I’m about to surpass the amount of life he experienced. Anyone who lost parents young will understand this. I was 23 when my dad died and 25 when my mom died (so we’ll get to go through this little emotional exercise again when I turn 60, the age my mom was at her death). There’s no immediate precedent for me as I hurtle through middle age, so I feel like I’m blazing my own trail. (Then again, maybe those are just hot flashes.) It’s surreal, but also a reason for optimism.

Anyway, I promise I’m not here to be a bummer on your Saturday, especially the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, when you should be squeezing out the last few joyous drops of summer. But as I’m celebrating being another year older — probably with a non-alcoholic brew from Athletic Brewing Co. (code CHRISTYL20 gets you 20% off!) — I’ll pour a little out for Frank Nemetz, who was the life of the party before he got sober, and still a hell of a lot of fun afterward.

As for the real reason you’re here, we kept it simple at our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast because Alonso wanted to take the week off as summer ends. So we caught up with “Lurker,” a twisty thriller about modern celebrity. Théodore Pellerin stars as Matthew, a Melrose clothing store employee who shrewdly insinuates himself in the inner circle of up-and-coming pop singer Oliver (Archie Madekwe from “Gran Turismo” and “Saltburn”). This is the feature filmmaking debut of Alex Russell, who’s been a writer and producer on “The Bear” and “Beef,” and it feels especially attuned to the way social media colors our perception and creates a false sense of familiarity. I never knew where this was going, and I couldn’t wait to see how far Matthew would go to stay in this fickle star’s good graces. “Lurker” is playing in theaters now.

Over at our Patreon, we revisited Akira Kurosawa’s “Ikiru” for our August Off the Menu review. A tour of 4K restorations of nine Kurosawa classics is making its way around North American theaters, so we thought it would be a good time to honor the Japanese master. Our subscribers picked the one movie on the poll that we’d both seen already, but that’s OK! Any chance to rewatch this gorgeous 1952 drama will do. Takashi Shimura gives a quietly moving performance as a stoic Tokyo bureaucrat who learns he has stomach cancer and probably only about six months left to live. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because a remake of “Ikiru” (which means “To Live”) came out in 2022: “Living,” which earned Bill Nighy a best-actor Oscar nomination. Both films are lovely and a great reminder of the importance of making the most of our time here on Earth. Thanks to our patrons who voted, and keep an eye out for our September Off the Menu poll, where we’ll honor the late, legendary Terence Stamp.

I realize I frequently mention the Team Deakins podcast, but it’s consistently so good, I always want to recommend it. This week’s episode was particularly informative and entertaining as Roger Deakins and his wife and collaborator, James, interviewed Barry Jenkins. The filmmaker spoke at length about “Moonlight” (and how everything changed after “Moonlight” won the best-picture Oscar), “If Beale Street Could Talk” and his visionary series “The Underground Railroad,” which we recapped on our Patreon. I even felt differently about “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which we didn’t exactly love, after hearing him talk about his motivation for making the movie and the technical challenges behind the scenes. Despite being so acclaimed and accomplished, Jenkins remains a grounded and gracious storyteller. If you like process like I like process, you’ll really enjoy this episode.

Finally, before we head into fall festival season, I wanted to look back at my favorite movies of the summer. This has been a great season and a particularly strong August — a time of year that used to be a dumping ground but has become the destination for cool indies and horror movies. I’m picking five because it sounds like a solid number, and I’m listing them alphabetically because I don’t feel like ranking them, but I could have chosen many others:

• 28 YEARS LATER. Danny Boyle is back with a zombie movie that’s visceral and harrowing and unexpectedly funny.

• SINNERS. Ryan Coogler takes wild, ambitious swings that pay off big-time with this Southern vampire musical.

• SORRY, BABY. Eva Victor emerges as a singular voice with an impeccable grasp of tone.

• SUPERMAN. The most thoroughly entertaining blockbuster of the summer, but also a movie with a lot on its mind.

• WEAPONS. Hopefully you knew nothing going into this one, and hopefully you saw it with a packed audience.

What were your favorite movies of the summer? I’d love to know.

That’ll do it for me for this weekend. I can’t decide whether to go for a morning run or eat birthday cake for breakfast. Maybe a little of both, in that order. If you’ve enjoyed my newsletter, I’d be honored if you’d pass it along to the movie lovers in your life. Have a great holiday and a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.