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Good morning and Happy Saturday to all you fabulous folks. We just returned home late last night from our Thanksgiving Week trip to Whistler, where we got in a couple great days of skiing, even though the vast majority of the mountain hasn’t opened yet. Still, it’s always a joy to be up there, and it was especially encouraging to continue feeling stronger after tearing my ACL last year.

This week’s newsletter is going to be a little shorter than usual because I tried not to work too much while we were on vacation. You know me, though — I never truly take time off, especially during this time of year, when there are so many movies to watch before next weekend’s LA Film Critics Association vote. Someday, I will learn to let go completely. I’m working on working less.

But for now, here’s what we reviewed this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. I hope we’ve been able to keep you company if you’ve been traveling this past week, too.

• HAMNET. The hottest of hot takes: We didn’t love this movie, which has become a major awards front-runner this year. Expectations can be so tricky. The latest from Oscar-winning “Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao, about the death of Shakespeare’s 11-year-old son, left festival audiences sobbing. As the mother of a son myself, I was prepared to be a wreck. But I didn’t cry, and neither did Alonso. Maybe we’re monsters. Anyway, I’d love to know what you think if you see it. “Hamnet” is in theaters now in limited release before opening wider in upcoming weeks.

• WAKE UP DEAD MAN. The third film in Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” murder mystery series is my least favorite so far (I’d rank them: “Glass Onion,” then the original “Knives Out,” then this). But it’s always a pleasure to revel in the complex precision of his puzzle boxes, and he always amasses an impressive cast. This time, Josh O’Connor, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington and Andrew Scott are among those joining Daniel Craig’s delightfully flamboyant Detective Benoit Blanc for a killing at a Catholic church. Once again, this is a non-spoiler review, because the less you know, the better. In theaters now in limited release before streaming on Netflix Dec. 12.

With both of these reviews — as well as last week’s “Jay Kelly” and “Rebuilding,” we shared them with our channel members and Patreon subscribers first before making them open to the public. It’s a little perk we like to offer at the Breakfast Burrito level and up. So if you’d like to know more about the extras that are available at our YouTube channel, check out the Membership tab.

Did you watch season 5 of “Stranger Things” over the holiday week? Or at least part one of season 5? The very complicated release schedule for this final season goes as follows: The first four episodes came out Wednesday, then the next three come out on Christmas Day, then the absolute finale — which is two hours long — comes out on New Year’s Eve, and you can go see it in a theater if you’d like. (That’s what Nic and I plan to do.) We’ve loved this show and have loved watching it together over the years. We even drove up to Burbank when they did the Scoops Ahoy pop-up ice cream shop in 2019. But we’ve not really been feeling this last season so far. The fact that these actors, whom we first got to know as scrappy kids, are now in their mid-20s — and look it — is a huge distraction. I look forward to hearing what Alonso thinks when we recap the first part of season 5 on our Patreon next week. And if you’d like to check out our season 4 recaps, they’re available here, either for individual purchase or the whole collection. Join us in the Upside Down.

That’ll do it for this week. I have a full day of vacation laundry to do (which I’m weirdly excited about — it’s the Virgo in me). But before I go, I wanted to say thanks. I started this newsletter two years ago, and it’s been truly gratifying to watch it grow. We all get so many newsletters in our inboxes, so the fact that you’ve chosen to subscribe to mine, and that you read it and respond with your own thoughts on movies, means the world to me. So THANK YOU for being here and sharing some of your time with me. If you’ve enjoyed Saturday Matinee, I’d be honored if you’d share it with a friend. And if someone shared it with you, I’d be honored if you gave it a shot and subscribed. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.