Happy Saturday From the Desert

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Hello to you on this gorgeous Saturday. This is going to be a quicker one than usual, because we’re out of town celebrating the wedding of our dear, longtime friends, Kingsley and Robin. They’ve been together for 14 years and have created a blended family with their awesome, grown kids. But they made it official last night at sunset at La Quinta, with a fabulous party afterward, and we were honored to witness it. We got Nic to wear actual pants with a belt and everything — that’s how you know this is important.

But this also happens to be yet another week where a ton of movies came out, many of which will be in the awards conversation. So even during this fun little getaway, the work never stops. Here’s what we reviewed on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. Take us with you if you’re running around, as well, and maybe leave us a review and a few stars if you have a moment — it helps folks find us in the ether.

• PREDATOR: BADLANDS. We didn’t have particularly high hopes for the seventh movie in the “Predator” franchise, so we were delighted to discover that this was a total blast. “Badlands” makes you rethink who’s the villain in this series, and the visual effects and action sequences are thrilling. From director Dan Trachtenberg, who also did the 2022 prequel “Prey.” In theaters in wide release.

• SENTIMENTAL VALUE. This might be the best movie of the year. Director and co-writer Joachim Trier (“The Worst Person in the World”) tells a poetic and intimate story of a fractured family, and the filmmaking production that forces them to revisit their resentments. Everyone’s excellent, especially Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve. In theaters in limited release.

• DIE MY LOVE. Jennifer Lawrence absolutely goes for it in Lynne Ramsay’s punishing depiction of post-partum depression. This is a vivid sensory experience, but the non-linear structure, which is meant to make us feel Lawrence’s frenzied state, ends up doing the story a disservice. Robert Pattinson co-stars. In theaters in wide release.

• CHRISTY. Sydney Sweeney glammed down and bulked up to play Christy Martin, a trailblazer in the world of women’s boxing. But while Christy took risks to overcome her abusive marriage and the self-loathing of the closet, “Christy” is a pretty standard, underdog sports movie. Ben Foster is chilling as her trainer/husband. In theaters in wide release.

I also wrote about “Christy” for RogerEbert.com, if you’d like to read my thoughts over there. Because who else was going to review this? I look forward to no longer seeing emails in my inbox with CHRISTY in all caps in the subject line. It’s been startling me for weeks now.

Plus: I talked about these movies and many others on both of the radio shows I do. Sometimes, it just shakes out that way schedule-wise:

• FILMWEEK With Larry Mantle on LAist 89.3. I love being on the radio with my brilliant friend Lael Loewenstein.

• PRESS PLAY With Madeleine Brand on 89.9 KCRW. Witney Siebold always has an inspired take on movies.

Finally, I have something incredibly cool for you to put on your calendar. If you’re in Southern California, come to our FilmWeek screening of “The Big Lebowski” at the Gardena Cinema. (This is the mom-and-pop theater Sean Baker championed during his “Anora” awards run last year.) It’ll be at 7pm on Saturday, Nov. 14. This is part of FilmWeek’s ongoing screening series of movies that take place in Los Angeles. We always do a Q&A afterward — sometimes it’s just us critics, sometimes we have people involved with the movie join us on stage. This time, cinematographer Roger Deakins will be there alongside his wife and longtime collaborator, James Deakins, to talk about shooting “Lebowski” and his work with the Coen brothers in general. If you know me, you know that Deakins has been my longtime hero, so I’m going to try really hard not to geek out and make a total ass out of myself. I’ve interviewed him before, and moderated a Q&A with him many years ago after a showing of “Sicario” at the old Vidiots location. but this will be a thrill. So come join us — tickets are available here.

And while you’re making plans, be sure to join us for a LIVE “Bugonia” spoiler chat on Tuesday at Noon Pacific. Alonso caught up with the latest from Yorgos Lanthimos, so now it’s time to dig into what’s really going on here. In case you missed it, here’s the non-spoiler review Tim Grierson and I did. Join us and share your thoughts!

That’ll do it for me this week. Thank you so much for sharing some of your weekend with me. If you’ve enjoyed my newsletter, I’d be honored to have you share it with a friend. And if someone shared it with you, why not subscribe? Saturday Matinee will always be free, and these days, you’re going to want to keep up with all the big movies that are coming out. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.