One Saturday After Another

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Happy Saturday, all. Feeling especially invigorated this morning after the great turnout we had for our hangout before “One Battle After Another” at CinemaWest Beach Cities last night. We had a nice mix of old friends and new faces, with people coming from as far as Burbank and Riverside and even Nashville! Thanks so much for making the schlep during rush hour on a Friday.

We will definitely do more of these, probably on a Saturday, and we’ll arrange it even earlier before the movie. Our time together flew by too quickly. We always love seeing our people in person, especially when there’s an event movie like Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest epic.

Here’s what we reviewed this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. (If you’re looking for an update on our foster dog, Moseby, that’s at the end, so keep reading.)

• ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. In case you missed our super-early, spoiler-free review last week, here it is again. We tried really hard not to ruin the many twists and turns this movie has in store for you. But! We’re doing a LIVE spoiler chat on Tuesday at Noon Pacific on our channel, so come on back for that and we’ll get into everything. In theaters now (and see it on the biggest screen you can find).

• ELEANOR THE GREAT. Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with this story of a 94-year-old woman who moves back to New York after the death of her best friend and tells a big lie that spirals out of control. June Squibb has impeccable comic timing, as always, but this movie is a mess tonally. Still, when I led a discussion after a South Bay Film Society screening of this recently, people were weeping, so maybe I’m just coldhearted. In theaters.

• STRANGE JOURNEY: THE STORY OF ROCKY HORROR. Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the premiere of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” This entertaining and affectionate documentary from Linus O’Brien (son of Richard O’Brien, who created the show and played Riff Raff) tracks the development of the original cult movie. Featuring interviews with Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick and many more. In theaters.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! So much to discuss, including the return of Jimmy Kimmel, trailers for “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “The Bride,” and a “Weapons” spin-off movie about Aunt Gladys (which I don’t think we need — the mystery of her origin was part of her allure, but I do love Amy Madigan in that role). Join us here every Friday at Noon Pacific.

We talked about these movies and many others on FilmWeek on LAist 89.3. I always love being on with Manuel Betancourt — he’s so quick-witted and makes me look at movies from a different perspective. This week was a hoot as host Larry Mantle shared his memories of seeing “Rocky Horror” in the ‘70s. Tune in, or take us with you in podcast form.

Over at Ebert, I reviewed “Dead of Winter,” which feels like a cross between “Taken” and “Fargo.” It features Emma Thompson like you’ve never seen her before: as an action hero. She plays a widow who tries to rescue a kidnapped teenage girl from a desperate couple in the remote and snowy Minnesota woods. She’s got a particular set of skills, but she’s unfailingly polite in using them. After the esteemed career Thompson has had, it’s wild to see her in grungy coveralls, grappling on the ice for a rifle with Judy Greer. But she still brings all that craft and nuance to this explosive spectacle. “Dead of Winter” is in theaters now.

Also this week, I really enjoyed “All of You,” an old-fashioned weepy with a sci-fi twist. Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots star as longtime best friends who are obviously meant for each other. But in this near-future version of London, people are turning to a highly accurate test to find their soulmate. Poots’ Laura takes it and winds up with someone else — but that doesn’t stop the deep attraction she shares with Goldstein’s Simon. These two enormously likable actors have insane chemistry with each other, and the script (which Goldstein co-wrote with director William Bridges) makes several elegant time hops to show how their relationship evolves over the years. And as great as Goldstein is as the gruff Roy Kent on “Ted Lasso,” it’s a joy to see him play a character that allows him to show off that radiant smile. “All of You” is streaming on Apple TV+.

As for Moseby, he’s fitting in just fine in his first week with us. He’s made himself right at home, and is snuggling next to me on the couch as I write this. He’s great on walks and does well in the crate when we’re gone. I’m glad he feels comfortable with us — he’s only 2 but he’s been through a lot. We did a little doggie DNA test to find out what kind of mix Moseby is (although he did not enjoy having his inner cheek swabbed, which he let us know about) and I can’t wait to get the results. I suspect he’s not a Boston terrier at all, but perhaps part-Frenchie, part Jack Russell. Nic thinks there might be some beagle in there. Will keep you posted as we get to know him better!

A few quick things as we look ahead to next week:

• Our monthly Lunch Date for our Patreon friends is Monday at Noon Pacific. If you’re already a subscriber at that level, great! We’ll see you there. If you’d like to join, great! Details about the perks we offer are available on the Membership tab.

• Monday is also National Coffee Day, although who needs an excuse to load up on caffeine? In honor of this occasion, our friends at Coffee Bros. are offering 20% off with code NCD2025. Now’s a great time to try their single-origin coffees from Guatemala, India and Kenya, or maybe their best-selling espresso roast. I’ve loved everything I’ve tried from them, so you really can’t go wrong. _{(Some links are affiliate links, which means if you purchase something, we may receive a small commission.)}

• Don’t forget about our “One Battle After Another” LIVE spoiler chat on Tuesday at Noon Pacific. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Thanks so much for sharing some of your weekend with me. If you’re enjoyed my newsletter, I hope you’ll pass it along to friends and family. And if someone passed it along to you, I hope you’ll subscribe. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.