Happy Saturday, And Welcome!

Thank you so much for being my first subscribers! I’ve wanted to do a newsletter for a while now, but first had to revamp my languishing website. Huge thanks to the talented Rich Cohen for doing such a beautiful job on the ChristyLemire.com redesign, and to my husband, Chris, for shooting those lovely photos. Now, on to the reason you’re here!

• New York Film Critics Circle selects “Killers of the Flower Moon” as the year’s best picture. It’s funny, there’s always so much speculation as to how critics’ groups vote. I don’t know the nuts and bolts of how our friends across the way do what they do, but as far as the LA Film Critics Association goes, it’s all about reaching an eventual consensus. That’s tough to achieve in a room full of passionately opinionated people; sometimes it comes down to a difference of just one vote, and LAFCA is notorious for ties. Who knows how much love there was for other awards season favorites like “Oppenheimer” (which won best director for Christopher Nolan and best cinematography), “Barbie” or “Maestro”? Anyway, “Killers” is a killer choice and definitely one of the year’s best. We vote on Dec. 10, and I’ll write a little bit about that afterward.

• This week’s Breakfast All Day videos. If you already subscribe to our YouTube channel, wonderful! If not, I’m happy to share the links to our latest reviews, and I welcome you to head over there and see what we have to offer. This week, Alonso and I discussed:

• MAY DECEMBER, Todd Haynes’ deft melodrama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore (and speaking of the NY critics, they honored this movie for Charles Melton’s supporting performance and for its screenplay).

• THANKSGIVING, Eli Roth’s real horror movie based on a fake trailer. It’s fun in a sleazy ‘80s kind of way.

• EILEEN, a noirish thriller about another twisty female relationship, this time starring Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway.

• We also have a quick, out-of-the-theater reaction to POOR THINGS, the latest from daring Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos. If you’re a fan of “The Lobster,” “The Favourite” or his extremely messed-up “Dogtooth,” you’ll dig this one — he’s outdone himself here, and it might be the year’s best film. My great friend and frequent plus-one, Silversun Pickups lead singer Brian Aubert, came along and shared his equally ecstatic thoughts. Full review with Alonso coming Tuesday.

• November’s Off the Menu review on our Patreon is HEAVEN’S GATE, Michael Cimino’s legendary 1980 flop, which has become synonymous with big-budget failure. Every month, Alonso curates a list of five or six films on a particular theme. Just in time for Thanksgiving, we offered several “turkeys,” and “Heaven’s Gate” is the movie that won the poll … or lost, however you want to look at it. Members at our $5 level and up get to vote but all of our patrons are welcome to watch. If you already subscribe to our Patreon, thank you! If not, we hope you’ll consider it. Lots of goodies over there including TV recaps (right now we’re doing “Fargo” on Hulu, “Fellow Travelers” on Showtime and “The Gilded Age” on Max) and monthly Lunch Date live chats.

And speaking of “Fargo,” shout-out to our patron Curt Myers for pointing out this very entertaining GQ interview with series creator Noah Hawley, who discusses such intricacies of the show as Jon Hamm’s nipple rings. Are you watching season 5? Are you a fan of the Coen brothers’ original 1996 film? It’s probably top-5 Coens for me, although that’s an impossible decision to make.

And speaking of Joel and Ethan Coen, they’re the subject of this week’s poll. They’re probably my favorite filmmakers ever, and I find something rich and new with each rewatch. Let me know which of their works you love most in the poll below. And if I didn’t include your choice, let me know what I left out! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Thanks so much for reading my first issue of Saturday Matinee! I’m so grateful to have you here as I launch this baby out into the world. Please let me know what you’d like to see more of, or if you have any suggestions for tweaks. Be on the lookout later today for our review of the epic documentary RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ, as well as our latest podcast episode. Have a great week!