Happy Half Marathon Saturday!

Good to see you! As you’re reading this, I’m gearing up to run the Rose Bowl Half Marathon in Pasadena again. It’s a really fun race because the finish line is on the 50-yard line, so you sort of feel like a champion no matter how fast you’re going or what kind of shape you’re in. A lot of folks do the Rose Bowl Half as preparation for the LA Marathon, and Chris and I are doing that, too, because we’re crazy people. I’m hoping to improve on my time from when I ran it in 2022, which you’ll see in the photo below — but it’s supposed to rain on Sunday, so we’ll see how it goes!

This is not why you’re here, though. You’ve come for movie reviews, and movie reviews you shall have. This week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast, Alonso and I caught up with a bunch of the international films that have been acclaimed and/or shortlisted for this year’s Oscars. If you haven’t subscribed yet, we’d love to have you, especially now that we’re in the thick of awards season.

THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE. Germany’s Oscar entry is the kind of movie you definitely need to watch with someone else so you can talk about it afterward. What’s really happening here? Who do you trust? With its shifting alliances and exquisite lead performance from Leonie Benesch, it’s a must-see. (We ended up doing a spoiler discussion as well, if you’d like to check that out once you’ve seen the film.) In theaters now.

FALLEN LEAVES. The latest from Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki just started streaming on Mubi, so we knew we had to catch up with it. Shortlisted for the international feature Oscar, this understated film follows two lonely, isolated people in working-class Helsinki who struggle to connect with each other — but it’s hilarious, I promise. In theaters and streaming.

MONSTER. The latest from Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda (“Shoplifters,” “Broker”) is a “Rashomon”-style examination of a series of disturbing events at en elementary school. In the midst of the confusion, a touching friendship forms between two boys. It’s an insightful and heartbreaking puzzle box. In theaters now.

Plus we reviewed the one wide release of the week, I.S.S., a sci-fi thriller set at the International Space Station. It accomplishes a lot on a low budget, and it’s an interesting change of pace for Ariana DeBose after her splashy, Oscar-winning role in Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” In theaters.

Also this week, I had the pleasure of appearing on FilmWeek on LAist 89.3, one of two NPR stations here in Los Angeles. January is a pretty bleak time for new movies, but it’s always an honor to share the air with the great Larry Mantle. My fellow critics and friends Tim Cogshell and Charles Solomon were on the latest episode with me. You can listen here.

Did you watch “Fargo” season 5? We did, and we recapped it weekly on our Breakfast All Day Patreon. The conclusion was incredibly satisfying, and it solidified the tremendous work from the entire cast, including Juno Temple, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leigh. But I have to admit, I was dreading pressing play on this week’s finale. I knew bad things were going to happen to characters I’d come to care about, plus I didn’t want it to end. What did you think of the series?

We also just started recapping “True Detective: Night Country” with Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, and we’re loving it so far. So if you’re watching that, too, come join us and let us know what you think!

And speaking of the Oscars, we’re doing our annual livestream when nominations come out next week. Join us at our YouTube channel at Noon PST on Tuesday, Jan. 23. We’ll discuss who got in, who missed the cut, who was robbed and who you’d like to see win. It’s always a good time, so mark your calendar and share your thoughts! Here’s a link to the livestream, and make sure you hit the Notify Me button so you don’t miss a thing.

And since we’re still in January, you may be taking time off from drinking, tapering, or trying to stop altogether. We’re proud to work with Athletic Brewing Co., which makes delicious, non-alcoholic beers. I’ve been drinking them for a while now, and they’re a great way to stay sober but still feel social. I’m a big fan of the Run Wild IPA and the Upside Dawn Golden, but they’re all good. Take 50% off your first month’s subscription with our link and code BREAKFASTALLDAY. Plus you get 10% off any purchase with our link and code and free shipping with orders of $50 or more. (Some links are affiliate links, which means if you buy something, we receive a small commission.)

Hope you enjoy, have a great weekend, and thank you so much for being here! If you found this useful, I’d be honored if you’d share it with a friend. See you next Saturday.