Happy Saturday From High School

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Happy Saturday, friends. Not sure how it happened, but my son started high school this week. I’m thrilled for him for so many reasons: He has a great group of friends, he’s running cross country, and he already knows the campus and the neighborhood so it isn’t totally daunting. And he’s such a smart, funny kid, I know he’ll be fine.

But also: High school looks way more fun now than it did when I was a teenager. When I went to the open house in the spring, I looked around at all the perky, poised young people and thought to myself: “I want to go here!” Obviously, this comes from the perspective of age and wisdom. When you’re in the thick of the hormonal cesspool, trapped within the social hierarchy, it’s fraught with peril. But maybe I can get bonked on the head and find myself in some sort of high-concept body-swap comedy.

As for real movies, late August is always a mixed bag, so we offered a truly random cross-section of reviews at our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel. Hope you’ll visit and subscribe if you haven’t already:

• THE CROW. The memory of Brandon Lee looms large over this re-envisioning of the tragic 1994 thriller, itself based on the comic book series. It’s not so terrible that the studio needed to be cagey with critics, but it’s not great, either. Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs co-star. In theaters.

• BLINK TWICE. Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut is twisty and stylish, with a terrific cast led by Channing Tatum, Naomi Ackie and Adria Arjona. Alonso and I have different thoughts on whether the ending works, but we agree that this was an impressive first film in our non-spoiler review. In theaters.

• DIDI. We LOVED this movie. Oscar nominee Sean Wang’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age dramedy follows an awkward Taiwanese-American teenager (Izaac Wang) as he navigates the last month of summer before ninth grade. It was the perfect film to watch with Nic as he enters high school himself. In theaters.

• CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT. You may think you’ve seen the notorious “Caligula,” starring Malcolm McDowell as the debauched Roman emperor, but this is a complete reconstruction. It’s longer than the 1980 original but less porny, with a more significant Helen Mirren performance. In theaters, if you dare.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! So much to discuss, including those fake critic quotes on the “Megalopolis” trailer, “The Acolyte” season 2 being canceled, and Jennifer Lopez filing for divorce from Ben Affleck. (I was really rooting for those crazy kids to make it work this time.) Join us every Friday at Noon Pacific — just not next Friday, because Alonso will be at the Venice Film Festival. But we’ll be back in early September.

And as always, you can enjoy all of our news and reviews in podcast form, here on Apple or wherever you download your favorite shows. Take us with you as you head to the beach one more time before summer ends.

This month’s Off the Menu poll at our Breakfast All Day Patreon was a close one, but the Faye Dunaway movie our members chose was “Network.” The 1976 satire won four Academy Awards, including best actress for Dunaway’s searing performance, and it remains as relevant as ever. Maybe even more so: The reality television Dunaway’s character envisioned seemed extreme nearly 50 years ago, but not anymore. I’ve seen “Network” so many times — often with my husband, who’s a TV news producer, which I always enjoy for his insights. But this time, I was impressed all over again by the technical acrobatics that Paddy Chayefsky’s dialogue requires. The words tumble out of Dunaway’s mouth in such a torrent, she’s borderline unintelligible at times. It’s exhilarating and exhausting at once. If you’ve never seen Sidney Lumet’s film, you’ll be startled at how timely it remains. It’s available for rental in several places including Prime Video and Apple TV.

I’m delighted to tell you about my old friend Michael Nordine’s new newsletter, Movie Brief. Michael was a film critic in LA for a while (and he grew up down here in the South Bay, in Torrance) but moved to Denver several years ago. I miss chatting with him at screenings but love catching up with him online, and I’m so happy he’s still writing about movies. When you sign up, you immediately get his list of The 25 Greatest Films of All Time, which is a solid starting point for anyone looking for a cinematic catch-up. Michael has great taste and a lively style. Hope you’ll read, subscribe and enjoy!

And thanks so much for reading, subscribing and (hopefully) enjoying my newsletter, too. I’m grateful to have you share some time with me, especially as we’re transitioning back to the reality of work and school after summer. If you’ve found value here, I’d be honored if you’d pass it along to a friend. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.

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