It's 9 O'Clock on a Saturday

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Happy Saturday, all. Still trying to hold onto summer for a little longer, even as the Virgo in me is planning for fall. Nic is home from cross country training in Mammoth, school resumes in a couple of weeks, and I am ready to start wearing the approximately 1,000 oatmeal-colored sweaters I own. Although, to be be fair, some of them are ivory.

Here’s what we reviewed this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. Take us with you as you’re prolonging reality for a little while (and maybe leave a review and a few stars, if you have a moment — it helps people find us in the ether).

• WEAPONS. Our viewers have been very excited about this one for a while now, and it did not disappoint. This is a spoiler-free review, because one of the best things about “Weapons” is not knowing anything about “Weapons.” Writer-director Zach Cregger’s follow-up to “Barbarian” is nuts, and best experienced with an audience so you can squirm and scream together, as well as linger in those suspenseful silences. We’ll do a LIVE spoiler chat on Tuesday at Noon Pacific time, so join us then and let’s get into it. In theaters.

• FREAKIER FRIDAY. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are back for more body-swap shenanigans in this sequel to 2003’s “Freaky Friday,” which itself was a remake of the 1976 Disney classic. Given all that, this movie is way better than you might imagine. Both actresses are game for all the physical comedy and I laughed the whole way through. But Curtis in particular finds surprising emotion within the many layers of her performance. Plus it’s an LA movie where the geography makes sense, which I always enjoy. In theaters.

• BILLY JOEL: AND SO IT GOES. So many people from various parts of my life told me I needed to catch up with this two-part, five-hour Billy Joel documentary, and I’m so glad I did. And then I’m so glad Alonso did, because we had a great conversation about it. It’s riveting, and the rare warts-and-all depiction of a famous person who’s agreed to share his life story. It’s also a great reminder of what an enduring entertainer Joel is. The stories behind his signature hits will make you feel like you’re hearing them all over again for the first time. Streaming on HBO Max.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! We hadn’t done a news livestream in about a month and a half because of vacation and various obligations, so it was nice to be back with our people. And there was so much to talk about, including “The Wizard of Oz” at Sphere, Hulu folding into Disney+, “Hamilton” playing in theaters, and Dean Cain trying to be an ICE agent. We will be more consistent about these now that we’re both in town for a while, so join us at Noon Pacific on Fridays.

I also had the pleasure of discussing these movies and more on FilmWeek on LAist 89.3, with the very talented Austin Cross filling in for Larry Mantle. The lovely Beandrea July was my fellow critic, and it was fun chatting (and sometimes disagreeing) with her for the first time. Our NPR stations need our support more than ever these days, so give it a listen!

Over at Ebert, I reviewed “The Pickup,” which is as generic and forgettable as the title would suggest. This bland action-comedy stars Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson as mismatched-buddy security guards whose armored truck gets hijacked. Keke Palmer is the leader of the heist crew targeting them. The banter is banal and the action is flat, although there is some clever use of dye packs during the actual robbery. Nobody here has any chemistry with anyone else. The most dismaying scene of all comes when Murphy’s character and his boss, played by Andrew Dice Clay, stand around trading insipid exposition. These are people who did dangerous comedy decades ago. It’s not even a worthwhile fold-your-laundry movie, but if you’re truly bored, it’s streaming on Prime Video.

For our Patreon subscribers, Alonso and I have begun recapping “Overcompensating,” which is much better programming on Prime. Yes, we know it came out in May, but that was a wacky month for me, so we’re doing some catch-up. (Along those lines, keep en eye out for recaps of “Sirens” on Netflix starting next week.) Benito Skinner created and stars in this series about a closeted jock struggling to navigate his freshman year in college; Wally Baram plays his first friend on campus, with whom he attempts an awkward hook-up. We’re only a couple of episodes in, but this is a lot of fun so far. The over-the-top, performative nature of everyone’s behavior — male or female, gay or straight — provides a lot of cringe laughs. Everyone is working hard to be who society (and social media) expects of them. Skinner has an appealing presence, although at 31, he’s distractingly way too old to be a college freshman. Still, this is breezy and enjoyable. Let me know what you think of the show.

Finally, Chris and I had a blast last weekend watching “To Live and Die in L.A.” at The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana. Somehow, we’d never seen William Friedkin’s modern-day noir, which we realized while hearing that Wang Chung theme song at the start of every episode of John Mulaney’s Netflix talk show “Everybody’s Live!” This movie kicks ass. It’s lurid and muscular, full of twists and turns and gripping action sequences. Two chases in particular were heart-pounding: the one through the LAX, and the one on the 110 Freeway, which is even more impressive when you consider this was 1985, and they had to do it practically. William Petersen is fascinating and flawed as an obsessed secret service agent trying to take down a counterfeiting ring, and Willem Dafoe is always so good at providing a menacing presence as the bad guy he’s chasing. And of course, I loved all the Los Angeles locations; they actually should have called this “To Live and Die in San Pedro,” because so much of the movie takes around the Port of Los Angeles. Thanks to the fine folks at the Frida for providing such inspired programming. Go support your local art house theater!

That’ll do it for me this week. This morning, I’m heading out for another volunteer day with Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, which I try to do once a month. It feels so good to get out there and pull weeds, clear trails and restore native plants. It’s a tidy, repetitive chore, which I always enjoy, and it’s an immediate, tangible way to feel like I’m doing something for the community. Plus it’s a great way to get outdoors on a Saturday morning. So whatever that looks like for you, I hope you find it, too.

Thank you so much for sharing some of your time with me this weekend. If you’ve enjoyed my newsletter, I’d be honored if you’d pass it along. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.