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Happy Saturday, all. Apologies that this is reaching your inbox a little later than usual this morning. We’ve got a slightly different routine around here these days. Nic has his first track meet of the season today, which required him to get out of bed at 5:45 am to make the team bus (he was thrilled, as you can imagine).
But we also have this sweet girl staying with us, which is a great reason to wake up and walk out the door early.
Our latest Boston buddy.
Meet Molly. She is a 10-year-old Boston terrier we’re fostering through Boston Buddies. You might remember them from when we fostered Moseby last year. The couple who owned Molly surrendered her to the Pasadena Humane Society because the husband was suffering from serious medical issues, and they could no longer care for her. Thankfully, the wonderful folks at Boston Buddies scooped her up and took her to the vet, and my dear friend Alexis and I drove out to Anaheim on Wednesday to bring her home. She’s a little overweight, I’m guessing because she hasn’t gotten much exercise lately, but she loves to go on walks and has lots of perky energy, especially for a senior dog. It’s been so fun to see her personality come out. Like every Boston we’ve ever had, she’s obsessed with tennis balls, and she loves to play tug with the rope toy. She’s adapted so quickly to life here, and is currently snoozing (and snoring) in a comfy dog bed in front of the fireplace. Will keep you posted on how she’s doing!
As for the real reason you’re here today, here’s what we reviewed this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. Take us with you as you’re running around this weekend, and maybe leave a few stars if you’re feeling inclined. It helps people find us in the ether.
You’d never know it, but that’s Glen Powell.
HOW TO MAKE A KILLING. Glen Powell dons a variety of disguises and identities to bump off the seven people in line in front of him for his family’s billion-dollar fortune. It’s an updated version of 1949’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” and while this dark comedy gives Powell room to play, it’s also frustratingly superficial. Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp and Ed Harris co-star. In theaters.
Taking care of business.
EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT. Baz Luhrmann went into the Warner Bros. archives when he was doing research for his 2022 extravaganza “Elvis” and came out with 59 hours of never-before-seen footage from Elvis’ Las Vegas residency. The result is thrilling, particularly if you can see it during its exclusive IMAX run this week, which you really should. They don’t call him The King for nothin’. Expanding to more theaters Feb. 27.
They’ll get to the Rivoli eventually.
NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE. The cult-favorite Canadian comedy series is now a feature-length film. But you don’t have to be familiar with Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol’s work to enjoy their wacky schemes or their infectious camaraderie. So many of our viewers asked us to watch and discuss this movie, and I’m so glad we did. It’s lo-fi sci-fi, and the time travel element actually makes sense. In theaters.
The gorgeous “Little Amélie.”
LITTLE AMELIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN. The LA Film Critics Association chose this as the best animated movie of the year, and it’s obvious why from the very beginning. “Little Amélie” is breathtakingly beautiful, with a gentle and clever story about a 3-year-old Belgian girl living with her family in Japan. Oh yeah, it’s also up for the Academy Award for best animated feature, so we wanted to catch up with it. Available for online rental.
MOVIE NEWS LIVE! Lots to discuss as always, including the deaths of Robert Duvall (more on that below), Frederick Wiseman, Tom Noonan and Eric Dane. Plus: Stephen Colbert standing up to CBS, and the trailer for “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Join us on Fridays at Noon Pacific.
We discussed several of these new movies and more on FilmWeek on LAist 89.3. The always entertaining Tim Cogshell was my fellow critic this time. Give it a listen, and if you’re in Southern California, there’s still time to get tickets for our annual Oscar Preview show, live at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Saturday, March 7. Come see us in person!
RIP to an absolute legend.
We spent some time this week remembering Robert Duvall, who died at age 95. It seems impossible to encapsulate everything Duvall contributed over his seven decades in film and television, but we tried. Duvall truly could do it all, as a commanding lead or in a juicy supporting role, across genres. He was a chameleon, from “The Godfather” movies and “Apocalypse Now” to “Network” and “The Great Santini” to “Tender Mercies” and “The Apostle,” but he had an intensity that was consistent. We’ll honor Duvall in March with our Off the Menu poll, where our Patreon subscribers will get the chance to pick the film of his they’d like us to review. Until then, what’s your favorite Robert Duvall performance?
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Eternally young and beautiful, through Ryan Murphy’s lens.
Also over at our Patreon, we’ve begun recapping “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.” This was very much my idea, and Alonso was kind to indulge me. The nine-part miniseries from Ryan Murphy examines the glamorous and doomed romance that defined New York in the ‘90s. JFK Jr. was People’s Sexiest Man Alive (oh yeah, and the son of a president); Bessette was a willowy and effortlessly chic fashion publicist. They died in a plane crash, along with Bessette’s sister, Lauren, in July 1999, but there’s been a cultural fascination with them ever since. To this day, there are multiple Instagram feeds devoted to Bessette’s signature minimalist style. Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly are both perfectly cast, with a great ensemble including Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy and Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein. We’ve recapped the first three episodes, and will do one a week on Tuesdays as they air on Hulu. I remember this time so vividly. If you do, too, come and join us.
That’ll do it for me this week, but before I go, I have a few things for you to put on the calendar:
True indie cinema.
If you’re in the LA area, join me Sunday at the Gardena Cinema. I’ll be moderating a Q&A with Sean Baker after the 3pm screening of one of his earliest films, 2008’s “Prince of Broadway.” It is the definition of indie cinema: largely improvised, with unknown actors on the streets of New York, and Baker doing about eight jobs including casting and sound design. He’s has been a champion of this historic, single-screen theater, so I look forward to chatting with him there.
Our next Lunch Date for our Patreon friends will be at Noon Pacific on Monday, Feb. 23. If you’re at that level, you should have a received a link. If you’d like to join our monthly meet-ups, you can find out more at the Membership tab. It’s a good group!
We’l do our annual Oscar predictions livestream on Tuesday, March 10 at Noon Pacific. The brilliant Glenn Whipp, awards expert for the Los Angeles Times, will be back to offer his insights. This is always a fun conversation, so come join us and win your Oscar pool. I’ll have a link for that soon, which will include a downloadable ballot so you can follow along with us.
Thanks so much as always for spending part of your weekend with me. If you’ve enjoyed my newsletter, I hope you’ll share it with someone who loves movies, too. And if someone has shared it with you, I hope you’ll subscribe. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.
