Happy Saturday, and R.I.P. James Earl Jones

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Happy Saturday, friends. It feels like we’ve found a groove around here, with fall creeping up and high school settling in; no one in this house has been late yet for zero period French, which is a bonus. Later on today, I’m taking Nic and one of his friends to an early showing of “Transformers One,” which we’ll review on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. It actually looks like a good “Transformers” movie …? We’ll find out.

I’ve been writing a lot here lately about the celebrities who’ve left us, but the death of James Earl Jones is an especially sorrowful loss. Jones was 93 years old, and contributed mightily to the culture throughout his life and career. From King Lear to Darth Vader, “Fences” to “Field of Dreams,” “Coming to America” to “The Lion King,” with CNN and some soap opera work in between, he was as versatile as he was hardworking. His resonant baritone was immediately recognizable — it could be warm, it could be fearsome — but there was something about the man’s physical presence that was reassuring. You were always happy to see him when he showed up on screen. And the fact that Jones overcame a debilitating childhood stutter to become such a towering figure makes his success that much more meaningful. Ken Makin has a beautiful appreciation over at Andscape. Hope you’ll give it a read, and ponder some of your favorite Jones performances.

As for new movies, we reviewed a random mix this week over at our channel and podcast:

• SPEAK NO EVIL. Our dear friend and fellow critic Kristian Harloff moved back to New York this summer, and I miss seeing him at screenings. But he was nice enough to help me out with a review of this thriller, which is a remake of a Danish film of the same name. James McAvoy is perhaps not the warm and welcoming host that he initially appears to be when he invites an American family to his remote, English farm. I’m just happy I never have to see this trailer again. In theaters.

• MY OLD ASS. Writer-director Megan Park’s film is a clever and delightful throwback to the high-concept. coming-of-age comedies from a bygone era — think “Freaky Friday,” “Big,” or “13 Going on 30.” Maisy Stella gives a star-making performance as an 18-year-old who meets her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza) while tripping on mushrooms. I also had the pleasure of reviewing “My Old Ass” for RogerEbert.com. I love this movie so much, it’ll probably end up on my top-10 list at the end of the year. In theaters.

• THE FRONT ROOM. Brandy battles a diabolical mother-in-law in Kathryn Hunter in this darkly funny but eventually empty horror movie. Hunter always has a fascinating screen presence, but the mumbling Southern drawl she’s doing sounded so much like Meatwad from “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” it completely took me out of the movie. In theaters.

• THE SUBSTANCE REACTION. I did a quick reaction after an early screening of “The Substance” because I couldn’t wait to rave about it, and also because I needed to process my feelings. This movie is insane in all the best ways, and Demi Moore has never been better as a desperate, aging starlet. We’ll have a full, spoiler-free review on Tuesday, but I suspect we’ll also have to do a separate spoiler talk after its Sept. 20 opening. Details on that coming soon.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! It’s a thing Alonso and I do on Fridays at Noon Pacific. This time, we talked about James Earl Jones, Sunday’s Emmy Awards, Cameron Crowe’s lost Tom Petty documentary and more. We’d love to see you, so come hang out with us.

If you’re awake and reading this on Saturday morning, hop on over to our YouTube channel at 9am Pacific time. Alonso and I are meeting up for coffee at the Farmer’s Market with a friend who’s visiting from out of town, so we thought we’d do a quick little livestream while we’re together. Grab a cup of coffee and join us. We’ve never done one of these out in the wild before, so who knows how it’ll go? Find out through the link here. 

Thanks so much for sharing some of your time with me this weekend. I never take it for granted, and I’m thrilled to see so many new folks out there. Welcome! If you’ve found value in my newsletter, I’d be honored if you’d pass it along to a family member or friend. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.

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