The Saturday Before Surgery

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Happy Saturday, all. I’m taking it easy this weekend as I head into my lumpectomy on Monday. After the past few months of biopsies and MRIs and waiting and wondering, I’m glad this day is finally here. Before we dive into movie stuff, I wanted to take a moment to thank the many people in my life who’ve made this period more bearable. I’m so lucky.

Thank you to Cindy, Jenn, Lori, Mara, Tammy, Kim S. AND Kim S. for sharing your own breast cancer experiences with me and offering your advice so generously.

Thank you to Starr for setting up a meal train for my family, and all the wonderful PV moms who’ve signed up to feed us over the next few weeks. The I-can-do-it, only-child Virgo in me never wants to ask for help, but I really appreciate having it during this time.

Thank you to Kathy for the sweet care package, Lauren for the cozy hoodie and Danelle for the chocolate-covered strawberries that were bigger than my fist.

Thank you to Alexis, Amy, Carol, Christine, Lael, Melody, Robyn, Sondra and Suzy for the coffee and the gloomy morning beach walks.

Thank you to Tracy for checking on me so consistently.

Thank you to my agents at CAA, who believed in me from the beginning, even when I didn’t believe in myself. Wait a minute … I didn’t win an Oscar!

Thank you to Alonso and the folks at FilmWeek, Press Play and RogerEbert.com for all the schedule juggling, patience and kindheartedness during this wacky time.

And of course, thank you to Chris and Nic for your support and love throughout. We laugh about things in our family — that’s how we get through tough times — so I’m more thankful than ever that my husband and son are quick-witted smart-asses.

I don’t know what the next month or so will look like for film reviews as I recover, but I promise to keep you posted here. And I’m grateful for all of you, as well, for reaching out and making me feel so supported.

On to the real reason you’re here. Summer movie season begins in earnest this weekend, and we covered a ton of territory on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast.

• THUNDERBOLTS*. The villains and anti-heroes from previous Marvel properties come together here to form a ragtag crew: Bucky, Yelena, Red Guardian and more. We were surprised by how much we enjoyed this: It’s the best MCU movie in a while. In theaters.

• ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR. Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick are back for more snark and scheming in this sequel to 2018’s “A Simple Favor,” which I loved. The sequel isn’t nearly as good, but the costume design remains spectacular. Streaming on Prime Video.

• RUST. We wanted to review this in honor of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died in an accidental shooting on set. Her beautiful work (and that of co-cinematographer Bianca Cline) are the most compelling parts of this Western, which has its moments but is overlong. In theaters and on VOD.

• HAVOC. Tom Hardy plays a detective who gets caught up in a drug war between a corrupt mayor and corrupt cops. It’s a B-movie with an A-list cast, from the director of “The Raid” movies. Streaming on Netflix.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! We wanted to make sure we saw our folks one more time before my surgery. Among the topics we discussed were Jeremy Renner, “Sgt. Rock,” John Mulaney’s talk show and more. We hope to get back to these Friday livestreams soon!

Over at Ebert, I reviewed “Bonjour Tristesse,” a new adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s 1954 coming-of-age novel. Otto Preminger famously made this film first in 1958, starring David Niven, Deborah Kerr and a pre-”Breathless” Jean Seberg. Writer-director Durga Chew-Bose’s version captures that same languid, summertime vibe, but isn’t nearly as gripping. The willowy Lily McInerny stars as a young woman on holiday with her widower father (a roguishly charming Claes Bang) and his latest girlfriend at a villa on the French Riviera. The arrival of her late mother’s best friend (Chloë Sevigny) throws everything into turmoil — or at least, it’s supposed to. Sevigny’s character is a Paris fashion designer, and the whole film is très chic. But she’s weirdly dour and miscast, and the film never achieves the tension it should heading into its tragic climax. “Bonjour Tristesste” is in theaters, but you really should watch the original instead if you’ve never seen it.

If you know me, you know of my longtime admiration for Roger Deakins, the legendary cinematographer. This week’s episode of his Team Deakins Podcast, which he hosts alongside his wife and longtime collaborator, James, is an especially great one. It’s a lengthy conversation with editor Tom Cross and cinematographer Ed Lachman about camera movement. If you’re a geek for process like I am, you will love this. Cross has worked for years with Damien Chazelle, and won an Academy Award for “Whiplash.” Lachman is a legend in his own right: a four-time Oscar nominee who’s worked extensively with directors including Todd Haynes and Pablo Larraín. They really get into the nuts and bolts here, citing specific shots and sequences and sharing their inspiration behind certain choices. You can listen to the episode here, but I highly recommend subscribing, because they talk with a wide array of people in the film industry every week. I always learn something.

That’ll do it for me this week. Again, thank you so much for being here. It means the world to me. If you’ve enjoyed my newsletter, I hope you’ll share it with the folks in your life who love movies, too. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.