Breakfast All Day movie reviews

We've never had a production designer on Breakfast All Day A La Carte, so it was a blast chatting with Jake Tremblay (not to be confused with the kid from "Room"). Jake has worked on several commercials and music videos and is now moving into feature films. He talks about growing up with a devoutly Roman Catholic family in small-town New Hampshire; being homeschooled by his mom until eighth grade, where he was constantly drawing, painting and building, skills he uses all the time now; getting into theater in high school and college at University of New Hampshire, where he also came out; and starting his career as an actor and model in New York before landing in Los Angeles. And of course, he discusses what goes into being a production designer — it's not just building sets and gathering props but also managing continuity, keeping track of budgeting and making sure the cast and crew are safe in the environments he creates. Christy loves learning about the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, so this was a truly fascinating conversation. Hope you enjoy, too.

Documentary filmmaker Janice Engel is the director and producer of "Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins." She's a really cool woman who made a movie about a really cool woman, and Christy was so happy to chat with her for the latest A La Carte. Janice talks about growing up in Massapequa on Long Island, New York, where her father fostered her early love of classic movies; how curiosity was a driving force from a young age; studying film at USC, then marrying her interests in journalism and filmmaking by directing and editing music documentaries; her fascination with subcultures, including the Miss America pageant and bodybuilders; and how humbling it is when people let her into their lives to tell their stories. She also discusses her work as a showrunner on the TV series "Addicted," and, of course, the Molly Ivins doc, which is available through streaming. Janice has had so many fascinating experiences and she shares great insights. Listen and enjoy.

We can feel you watching us — or at least listening to us — on Breakfast All Day. This week, Christy, Alonso and Matt review the surprisingly excellent "The Invisible Man" and we play a bunch of catch up with "Sonic the Hedgehog," "Call of the Wild," "Emma." and "Seberg." And for our Patreon subscribers, we recap this week's episodes of "The Outsider" and "McMillions" on HBO, plus we have our latest Off the Menu review of Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam," which our lovely subscribers chose for us. Join us … if you dare.

Indie film producer Jeff Culotta has had a truly singular path, which ranges from Lawrence Welk to Richard Kelly to Bobcat Goldthwait, and we get to all of it on this week's A La Carte. Jeff discusses growing up in Abilene, Texas, and rebelling against his Air Force colonel father; moving to Austin, where the South by Southwest festival became a huge influence on the path he'd follow; then moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music and hooking up with Kelly on "Southland Tales," which he describes as his film school. He talks about wearing many hats as a producer on movies including "World's Greatest Dad," "Bad Words" and the Jimi Hendrix biopic "Jimi: All Is By My Side," as well as the challenges and opportunities of streaming and whether we should take our kids to R-rated movies. (The answer: Maybe …?) I love talking movies with Jeff so this was a blast. Listen and enjoy.

It's a short but semi-sweet week on Breakfast All Day. Christy's out sick so it's just Alonso and Matt, slogging their way through a catch-up review of the terrible film version of "Fantasy Island." On the bright side, though, we also chat about the delightful sequel "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon," which you can enjoy right now on Netflix. And over at our Patreon, we discuss the latest episodes of "The Outsider" and "McMillions," both of which you can (and should) watch on HBO. Thanks for sticking with us and we'll be back with lots more next week.

Morgan Patterson is a longtime location manager who has worked on such varied films as "Top Gun: Maverick," "Ford v Ferrari," "Iron Man 3," "The Nice Guys" and "Death at a Funeral." He talks all about the juggling his job requires on the latest A La Carte conversation. Morgan discusses growing up in Westchester County north of New York City with parents who were immigrants from South Africa, beginning his career getting hands-on experience doing editing and post-production, starting as a location manager in the Catskills on the 2006 drama "Stephanie Daley" and beginning work in Los Angeles on "Drillbit Taylor." Morgan describes how he scouts based on what's in the script, what goes into modifying a location to make the space work for a shoot and then returning it to its original state, and coordinating with various departments on their needs. And of course I had to ask him about working with Tom Cruise on the upcoming "Top Gun" sequel. His best advice: Knowing how to talk to people is half the job. This was a really interesting one, especially if you're curious about the nuts and bolts of filmmaking. Enjoy.

Love is in the air this Valentine's Day weekend, and we're all swooning for the romantic drama "The Photograph" on Breakfast All Day. Christy, Alonso and Matt also review "Downhill," the English-language remake of "Force Majeure," which is a huge disappointment; "To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You," the sequel to the charming Netflix hit "To All the Boys I've Loved Before"; and "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," one of the best films of 2019 which is now getting a wider theatrical release. And over at our Patreon, we recap episode six of "The Outsider" and we discuss the first two episodes of the six-part docu-series "McMillions," about the fraud surrounding the McDonald's Monopoly game, which is just nuts. (Both are on HBO if you'd like to watch along with us.) This year, for being our valentines, we give you the gift of podcasting. Enjoy.

Spectrum News 1 host Alex Cohen has lived a crazy life, from radio to roller derby and everything in between, and she talks about all of it on the latest A La Carte conversation. Alex discusses growing up in the hills of Los Angeles in the '70s surrounded by parents who taught transcendental meditation, filmmakers and musicians; attending fine arts boarding school with plans to become an actress, followed by stops at Brown University, Portland and Japan; and eventually ending up at NPR, including here in LA at KPCC, as a producer, reporter and anchor. Now, she's a morning show anchor and the host of "Inside the Issues" on Spectrum News 1 as well as a podcast of her own, "SoCal in 17." Christy has known Alex longer than anyone who's been on this podcast, but she had a blast discovering her all over again during this lively and wide-ranging conversation. Hope you enjoy, too.

Get your mallets out and take a swing with us this week on Breakfast All Day. Christy, Matt and Alonso review "Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)," which is a complete blast; "The Lodge," which is moody but perhaps not as effectively creepy as "Goodnight Mommy"; the Netflix documentary "Taylor Swift: Miss Americana," which we all enjoyed way more than we'd expected; and we catch up with "Tyler Perry's A Fall From Grace," which is ... a Tyler Perry movie. Of course, because it's Oscar weekend, we have some wishes and predictions. And over at our Patreon, we discuss the latest episode of HBO's "The Outsider," which keeps getting better. It's an honor just to be nominated, so thanks for listening.

Cinematographer Benjamin Kasulke has had a prolific career, with films including "Safety Not Guaranteed," "Your Sister's Sister," "Laggies" and "The Off Hours." So we had a ton to talk about on the latest A La Carte conversation. Ben discusses growing up in Saranac Lake in far upstate New York, the video store and the boarding school that shaped his early tastes, studying film at Ithaca College, beginning his career as a negative cutter in Seattle and connecting with directors Lynn Shelton and Guy Maddin, with whom he'd go on to work frequently. He also talks about the best advice he ever got, the challenges and opportunities in shooting low-budget movies and what the collaborative process is like with a director. And now Ben has made his own feature directing debut, the hilarious and sweet "Banana Split," coming out this spring. Listen and enjoy!