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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Phil Johnston is the Academy Award-nominated co-director and writer of "Ralph Breaks the Internet." He also co-wrote the original "Wreck-It Ralph" and the Oscar-winning "Zootopia." But we can say we knew him way back when — all the way back when he was a student at Columbia University film school and Christy and her husband were neighbors with him and his wife, Jill, in a loft building in Brooklyn. He and Christy talk about all of it in her latest A La Carte interview: his early love of movies growing up in small-town Wisconsin, his first career as a TV news reporter in the Midwest and the leap of faith he took to pursue his dream of being a filmmaker. He's been so busy for the past several years, it was just nice to sit down and have a conversation with him. We hope you guys enjoy, too. (Also: The movie title Christy is groping for during the Ethan Hawke portion of our discussion is "Juliet, Naked," which she quite liked.)
"Shazam!" is such a blast that we wanted to review it a week early. It's one of the many films that Alonso, Matt and Christy discuss on the latest episode of Breakfast All Day. We also review Tim Burton's disappointing live-action "Dumbo," catch up with the teen weepy "Five Feet Apart," rave about the beautifully acted indie drama "Diane" and wallow in the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll of the Motley Crue biopic "The Dirt." But first, we start out with some sad news and some happy news: the death of French New Wave legend Agnes Varda at age 90 and an exciting new gig for our great friend Grae Drake as Ms. Moviefone. If you know the name of the podcast you'd like to hear, press one. And enjoy.
This badass right here is Christy's latest A La Carte interview guest: Kearran Giovanni, co-star of the CW series "Black Lightning." In reality, she couldn't be sweeter or more generous. That's called acting! Kearran and Christy have been friends for about seven years, since their kids went to pre-school together. We talk about her beginnings in suburban Houston (and the racism she endured there), her years singing and dancing on Broadway alongside the likes of Hugh Jackman, her co-starring role on TNT's "Major Crimes," which brought her from New York to Los Angeles, and everything in between. Christy also marvels at Kearran's ability to juggle work and home life with a husband and two daughters while still looking as fabulous as she consistently does -- and remaining genuinely grounded. We hope you enjoy.
Is it really Christy and Matt talking about movies this week on Breakfast All Day? Or is it our evil doppelgangers? You'll have to listen for yourselves and try to figure it out. On our latest episode, we review Jordan Peele's follow-up to "Get Out," the deeply creepy horror film "Us," as well as Alex Gibney's "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley," the HBO documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. We also have some movie news involving the Disney/20th Century Fox merger and the departure of Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, as well as Emilia Clarke's first-person piece about the aneurysms she suffered just as "Game of Thrones" was becoming a phenomenon. Grab your scissors, cozy up in your favorite red coveralls and come join us.
These babies you see before you scarfing down cheesecake are Christy and one of her oldest and dearest friends, Tracy Tofte. You may know her better as Tracy Wells from when she played teenage daughter Heather Owens on "Mr. Belvedere" during the sitcom's six-year run in the '80s. Tracy and Christy have known each other since the seventh grade, having grown up together in Woodland Hills, Calif. But Christy had the pleasure of rediscovering her all over again during this Breakfast All Day A La Carte interview. We covered a ton of ground, including what it was like spending her formative years on television; the Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial she danced in; famous co-stars including Ricky Schroder, Kirk Cameron and Alfonso Ribeiro; her on-screen makeout with a pre-Hulk Mark Ruffalo; and making the tough transition from child stardom to adulthood. We also had to discuss the documentary "Leaving Neverland," since she was so obsessed with Jackson when we were kids. And we trade plenty of embarrassing stories about each other. Here's evidence we both turned out just fine. We hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it.
It's a sampler platter of movies this week on Breakfast All Day, from indies to foreign films, great stuff to middling stuff. A very stuffy Alonso overcomes his allergies to join Christy in reviews of the all-star Netflix action thriller "Triple Frontier," the subtly powerful Chinese drama "Ash Is Purest White" (with a tour de force performance from Zhao Tao, above), the dull and safe post-World War II romance "The Aftermath" and the French film "Sorry Angel," about two men who fall in love in the midst of the AIDS epidemic. We also have a bit of movie news: the fallout from the college admissions scandal and how it's hurt Lori Loughlin's career (because any excuse to discuss Hallmark Channel movies is good for Alonso) and the announcement that James Gunn will once again direct the third "Guardians of the Galaxy."
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This week, we're launching a little side podcast we've wanted to do for a while now. It's called Breakfast All Day: A La Carte. We'll be interviewing people who work in film or entertainment in some way -- sometimes just Christy, sometimes with the other Breakfast All Day guys joining us at the table.
We're so excited to begin this series with Josh Agle, better known as the artist Shag. He's a lovely and immensely creative guy who draws from his deep love of movies, television and mid-century modern design to create chic and colorful paintings with a clever, humorous twist. Christy and Matt are both big fans of his work, so we were thrilled that he wanted to join us to talk about his influences and career. Hope you enjoy, and we can't wait to bring you more of these.
We're all searching for our inner superheroes this week on Breakfast All Day. Alonso, Matt and Christy review "Captain Marvel," the first film to focus on a female character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and "Gloria Bell," in which Julianne Moore discovers her own powers as a Los Angeles divorcee. We also review the time-twisting German drama "Transit" and "I'm Not Here" starring J.K. Simmons, which plays with time in ways that are far less profound. And we made ourselves endure the grueling, four-hour HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland," about the sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson. Listen here or subscribe at iTunes, Stitcher or wherever fine podcasts are served.
It's an all-night dance party all morning long here at Breakfast All Day. This is an extremely random week post-Oscars as Matt, Alonso and Christy review Gaspar Noe's thrilling and transfixing "Climax," the deliriously bonkers stalker thriller "Greta," starring Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Grace Moretz, and the gripping documentary "Apollo 11," which features never-before-seen footage of the moon landing. As the parents of boys, Matt and Christy made themselves endure the disturbing Irish horror film "The Hole in the Ground." Also, because we're Tyler Perry completists around here, Alonso and Christy paid actual money to see and discuss "A Madea Family Funeral." And we discuss the powerful finale of "True Detective" season three, which answers all the questions we (and you) have been asking all along. Have another sip of sangria and join in the celebration.
Is awards season over yet? It seems to just keep going and going, but the end is in sight with this weekend's Academy Awards ceremony. Alonso, Matt, Ben and Christy run through who will win and should win the Oscar in various categories, with "Roma" and Alfonso Cuaron among the favorites (as well as "The Favourite"). Of course, we also review the big, new release of the week, the beautifully animated sequel "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World." And we recap the extremely eventful seventh episode of "True Detective." It's an honor just to be nominated, as they say, and we're honored that you chose to join us. Enjoy.
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