Rocking the Vote This Saturday

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Happy first Saturday of December! I realize I sound like that Jimmy Kimmel montage of news anchors saying “I can’t believe it’s October!” But here we are.

The first weekend of December in particular means it’s time once again for our annual LA Film Critics Association voting. This is where we all gather in a room to eat bagels and cream cheese and drink coffee but also decide on the best films, performances, etc. of 2025. Leading up to this day always feels like cramming for a final exam. I just finished watching the 5 1/2-hour documentary “My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 - Last Air in Moscow,” which is about Russian TV journalists covering the invasion of Ukraine. It’s excellent: Inspiring and infuriating in equal measure. And it’s the kind of movie I like to make time for before we vote because so many people whose taste I trust have raved about it.

You can follow along with our voting here at our LAFCA BlueSky account. We start at 10am Pacific on Sunday.

As for new movies, here’s what we talked about this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. It’s sort of a quiet week: the calm before the storm of all the major year-end releases.

• MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. This is the filmed version of the stage production of the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical. It was a notorious flop when it first came out in 1981, but has gained a cult following since, and is now considered a triumph. Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez are all excellent. This is Alonso’s favorite Sondheim, so he was very excited about this. In theaters for a limited run. Find out here if it’s playing near you.

• SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE. The always delightful Dave White (also known as Alonso’s husband) joined me to review the original “Sisu” from 2023, so of course he had to come back for the sequel. This time, World War II is over, so Finnish badass Jorma Tommila is killing Russians instead of Nazis. The violence is wildly over the top in a cartoonish way, but it’s very satisfying. In theaters.

• AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH REACTION. The embargo on actual reviews doesn’t lift until Dec. 16, but social reactions are OK, so I wanted to share a few quick thoughts on James Cameron’s third “Avatar” movie, right out of the theater. It’s beautiful (as always), but way too long (as always). We’ll have a full review for you as soon as we can. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” opens Dec. 19. Until then, here’s our review of the second film, “The Way of Water.”

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! It had been literally a month since our last movie news livestream, and there was so much to discuss between Netflix buying Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion and all the latest awards season developments. “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” seem to be your front-runners at this point. Plus: Why is Quentin Tarantino trashing Paul Dano? We always love seeing our folks, and we had a great turnout. Alonso’s gone next Friday but we’ll be back on Dec. 19.

But before then, make sure you join us for our annual Christmas Movie Livestream! Alonso the Christmas King answers your questions and shares his thoughts on the latest movies and classics alike. This is always a lot of fun, and this year he has an updated version of his book, “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas,” to discuss. It’ll be at Noon Pacific on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Hope you’ll join us.

Over at our Patreon, we reviewed “Reds” (1981) for our November Off the Menu. We wanted to honor the late, legendary Diane Keaton, and this is the movie our members selected for us. I’d never seen it, and while now is not a great time for yet another 3-plus hour movie, I’m so glad I finally caught up with it. Warren Beatty’s Oscar-winner has the structure and trappings of a weighty historical epic, set as it is against the 1917 Russian Revolution. But it’s actually a playful rom-com, with Keaton and Beatty’s characters meeting cute and enjoying zippy banter. Keaton is a spitfire here, showing off her delightful comic timing, and she has real chemistry with both Beatty and Jack Nicholson.

Thanks to our subscribers for voting. There’s still time to vote in our December Off the Menu poll, which is Christmas-themed (of course). And if you’d like to join our Patreon and vote in the future, you can find out more about the perks we offer at various levels at the Membership tab.

Finally this week, I had the pleasure of moderating a Q&A with David Osit about his documentary “Predators,” which takes an eye-opening look at the TV series “To Catch a Predator.” This was the early aughts hidden camera show in which decoys would pose as teenagers online to lure child predators to a house. Host Chris Hansen would then confront them about what they were doing. It was a reliable formula, and watching bad guys get caught in the act was consistently satisfying. Hansen would ask smoothly, “Why don’t you take a seat over there?” and we’d get to watch them squirm. But Osit, as director, producer and editor, explores the show’s complicated legacy and forces us to re-examine how we feel about it over and over again. His film evolves in ways that can be uncomfortable but are always insightful. “Predators” will begin streaming Dec. 8 on Paramount+.

That’ll do it for me for this week. But I’m so thankful that you’ve chosen to share some of your time with me, especially as things get crazy heading into the holidays. If you’ve enjoyed my newsletter, I’d be honored if you’d pass it along to a friend. And if someone has passed it along to you, I’d be honored if you’d subscribe. Saturday Matinee will always be free. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.