Stay ConnectedLongtime film critics Christy Lemire and Alonso Duralde nourish your ears with movie reviews and news every Tuesday and Friday. We’re the most important meal of the day, all day long. We used to be What the Flick?!
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Melvin Robert has lived many lives for a man in his mid-30s: educator, musical theater performer and now television anchor for Spectrum News 1 here in Southern California. That's how Christy knows him — he also hosts "The SoCal Scene" on the channel, a show for which she's a correspondent. But it was so much fun to sit down with him outside the studio for this wide-ranging Breakfast All Day A La Carte interview. Mel talks about growing up as a gay black man in Inglewood, how he endured bullying and struggled to find his identity and inner confidence and how hard he worked to land his current role. He also discusses his time with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, which he says was life-changing (and you'll get to hear his beautiful singing voice). Mel is funny, authentic and inspiring. Hope you enjoy.
Can you feel the love tonight? We're not exactly feeling it in our early review of "The Lion King." Matt is back from vacation in Hawaii so he's joined Christy and Alonso for the latest episode of Breakfast All Day. Besides the latest Disney live-action re-do, we also have reviews of Lulu Wang's excellent family drama "The Farewell" and the idiotic mismatched-buddy comedy "Stuber," which wastes the talents of Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista. And over at our Patreon, we recap the entire third season of "Stranger Things" — spoilers ahoy! — as well as the past couple weeks of "Big Little Lies" and "The Handmaid's Tale." Come get nostalgic for your childhood with us.
There's 104 days of summer vacation — give or take — and Christy got to spend one of them with "Phineas and Ferb" star Vincent Martella. She's been a fan of his voice work as Phineas Flynn on the animated Disney series for years, thanks to her son introducing her to it, so she was thrilled when he agreed to be her guest on Breakfast All Day A La Carte. Vince and Christy talk about how he got his start as an actor growing up in Florida, his career-making roles on "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Phineas and Ferb" (which he did simultaneously for a couple years), how he found Phineas' voice and his inspired routine to get psyched up before stepping into the recording booth. (They realized as he was leaving that she forgot to ask him about the "P&F" movie — it's been in the works for a while and is due out next year.) They also discuss making the transition from child actor to adult actor, his life in New York and why there are so many wild Florida Man stories. Christy feels so lucky that he took the time to visit while he was in town for a couple weeks — he's her first interview guest in her new home! — and he couldn't have been nicer to her son, who is indeed on summer vacation. So sit back with a cool drink and enjoy.
LaToya Morgan is a longtime TV writer and producer whose work includes "Shameless," "Parenthood" and "Into the Badlands." She's also a cool, smart, funny woman in general, so Christy is thrilled that she took the time to chat with her for this A La Carte episode. LaToya talks about growing up in a diverse section of South Los Angeles, a part of town that's changing through gentrification; her childhood influences, which include "The Twilight Zone," Stephen King and "The X-Files"; and her early work with AmeriCorps and the Children's Defense Fund before going to film school at the American Film Institute. She also shares how she brings various elements of her identity as a black, queer woman to the characters she creates and whether television is getting more diverse both in front of and behind the cameras. LaToya has lots of great stories and insights, so listen and enjoy!
Summer is heating up and so is Breakfast All Day, with early reviews of two hotly anticipated movies: the sequel "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and "Midsommar," Ari Aster's follow-up to "Hereditary." Alonso, Matt and Christy also review the Beatles musical comedy "Yesterday" and "Annabelle Comes Home," the latest creepy doll flick from the "Conjure"-verse. And over at our Patreon, we discuss this week's episodes of "Big Little Lies" and "The Handmaid's Tale," plus we have some Trailer Talk: "Charlie's Angels," "The Good Liar," "Queen and Slim" and "The Lodge." We're taking next week off, so let us be your beach companions over the holiday, and enjoy.
Jeffrey McHale's "Showgirls" documentary, the brilliantly titled "You Don't Nomi," will make you reassess how you feel about the so-bad-it's-good classic. You may decide that it's legitimately good, if not great. McHale spoke with Christy and Alonso about his upbringing in Troy, Michigan, studying film at Chicago's Columbia College, meeting his husband and moving to Los Angeles to begin a career in TV and film. And of course, we talk at length about "Showgirls," and how the tide has turned in terms of its critical perception. (Since we recorded, "You Don't Nomi" has indeed found a distributor; it's also playing at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco this weekend and at Outfest in Los Angeles next month.) It doesn't suck, so take a listen.
A couple different talking-toy movies are opening this weekend, so make sure you choose wisely when you're with your family at the multiplex. We did an early review of "Toy Story 4" on last week's Breakfast All Day. This week, Alonso, Matt and Christy review the latest incarnation of Chucky in "Child's Play." We also discuss the documentary "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am," about the Nobel laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and we catch up with Jim Jarmusch's all-star zombie comedy "The Dead Don't Die." And over at our Patreon, we recap the latest episodes of "Big Little Lies" and "The Handmaid's Tale," and we have some movie news including the announcement of a "Hunger Games" prequel book and a new director for the "Red Sonja" reboot. We also like to aim for the head, in our own way. Listen and enjoy.
Ashly Stohl and Christy have known each other since the sixth grade, but they've had the pleasure of becoming even better friends as adults — and watching their kids become friends, too. And her kids happen to be her muses, providing the inspiration for the brilliant photographer she's become. (You can see an example of her work, which is featured in her new book "The Days & Years," above.) Ashly and Christy talk about growing up in Los Angeles in the '80s, being a studious chemistry major at party-school UC Santa Barbara and how becoming a mom inspired her to cultivate her inner artist. She's also a publisher as the co-founder of Peanut Press Books. Ashly is one of the coolest, most authentic women Christy knows, and she's so pleased to share their conversation with you. Enjoy.
"Toy Story 4" doesn't come out until next week, but we all liked it so much that we wanted to share an early review with you on the latest Breakfast All Day. Alonso, Matt and Christy also review a couple of other sequels: the empty and dull "Men in Black International" and yet another "Shaft," starring three generations of the iconic blaxploitation character in one of the year's worst films. And over at our Patreon, we discuss the debut of season two of "Big Little Lies," as well as episode four of "The Handmaid's Tale" season three. And much to Alonso's dismay, we continue with trailer talk: "Doctor Sleep," a follow-up to "The Shining," and "Frozen II." 'Cause when it comes to sequels, we just can't let it go. Thanks for listening, and enjoy.
Brian Aubert, lead singer and guitarist for the Silversun Pickups, is a hugely talented guy. He's also a sweetheart and a smart-ass and blast to hang out with. And Christy feels lucky that they had a chance to do just that on the latest A La Carte episode, since he and the band have been super busy with their new album, "Widow's Weeds." They discuss growing up in the same part of the San Fernando Valley in the 1980s, the movies and bands that shaped him, how he got his start playing music and how this hobby turned into a career. They also spend a good amount of time talking about sobriety, since they both stopped drinking last year. This one gets a little heavy but it's mostly a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy.
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