Happy Saturday, and R.I.P. David Lynch

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Happy to be back with you on this Saturday, friends. I hope you’re safe wherever you are, and if you’ve had to evacuate during the LA wildfires, I hope you find your way home soon (and that there is indeed a home waiting for you). So many have lost so much, it’s staggering, but the way people all over this city have come together to help each other has been truly inspirational.

Along those lines, thank you SO much to the many lovely folks who’ve signed up to do Table for One reviews with us for charity. In case you missed my midweek newsletter, Alonso and I have planned a couple of different wildfire fundraisers. One of them is taking the money from 10 Table for One reviews and passing it along to various relief efforts (more on that below). We’ve already raised $1,500 as of this writing, with a few more people still in the planning stages with us. All 10 spots are full now, but if you’re interested in doing a Table for One review with us in the future, you can find out more and sign up at ChristyLemire.com.

The other thing we’re doing is turning our annual Oscar Nominations Livestream into a fundraiser. All the money we receive from Super Chat and Super Thanks donations during the stream will go to the three charities we’ve selected: the Entertainment Community Fund, the Pasadena Humane Society and World Central Kitchen. Join us at 8am Pacific time on Thursday, Jan. 23. That’s earlier than usual, but we’re excited to talk about who’s in, who’s out and what you hope to see happen. We look forward to seeing you.

As if 2025 weren’t tragic enough, we lost David Lynch this week at age 78. He was a filmmaker whose aesthetic was so singular and immediately recognizable, his very name became an adjective. When someone describes a scene as Lynchian, you know exactly what that means — what it looks and sounds like, how it makes you feel, and how it lingers with you long afterward. His surrealist instincts could be unsettling, even shocking. His willingness to hang out in a hazy, subconscious state could challenge some viewers (see: “Inland Empire,” if you have three hours and like bunny rabbits). His explorations of the seedy underbelly of genteel, small-town America were a trademark in films like “Blue Velvet” and the entire “Twin Peaks” world. The twisted Hollywood noir “Mulholland Drive” is his towering masterpiece, but so much of his signature vibe also exists in the gentle, G-rated “The Straight Story.” But no matter what story he was telling, I loved the way Lynch took risks, and the specificity of his voice and craft. He could make you laugh and provide nightmare fuel, sometimes in the same moment. It may seem impossible to pick a favorite Lynch movie, but maybe give it a shot in this poll, and then go enjoy some damn fine coffee. There are no wrong answers. No hay banda.

As for new movies, we tried to simplify things at our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast during this stressful week, but we’d never let you down entirely:

• WOLF MAN. Leigh Whannell does his own take on the classic wolfman tale, with serious actors (Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner) who are up for such dark material. There’s some style and mood here, but something’s missing in terms of substance. In theaters now.

• BACK IN ACTION. Cameron Diaz returns to movies for the first time in a decade in this formulaic action comedy that’s as forgettable as its title. She and Jamie Foxx have shockingly little chemistry as ex-spies who get ripped from their quiet life in suburbia. Streaming now on Netflix. (I also reviewed “Back in Action” for RogerEbert.com, in case you’d like to read my thoughts there.)

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! This was a longer than usual news segment between all the wildfire and awards news. Plus, we struggle to untangle the whole Justin Baldoni/Blake Lively debacle that emerged from “It Ends With Us.” Join us every Friday at Noon Pacific.

Over at our Patreon, we wrapped up our recaps of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” on Disney+. The delightfully Spielbergian series follows a group of kids who leave the safety of suburbia on their home planet to go on adventures throughout the galaxy with a duplicitous space pirate. We really enjoyed this show, which has a playful tone and a charmingly roguish performance from Jude Law. Series creators Jon Watts (director of the Tom Holland “Spider-Man” movies) and his writing partner, Christopher Ford, break down their approach to “Skeleton Crew” in this spoiler-heavy Q&A at Variety. Season 2 could be in the works, and if so, we’ll be there, too.

Thank you so much for your support during this horrific time. We appreciate all the enthusiasm for our upcoming fundraisers, and we can’t wait to see you on Oscar nomination morning. If you’ve found value in my Saturday Matinee newsletter, or just enjoyed the brief distraction, I’d be honored if you’d pass it along to friends and family. Hang in there this week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.

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