Breakfast All Day movie reviews

Summer is winding down and that means we're finally (hopefully) reaching the last of the big, dumb blockbusters here at Breakfast All Day. And "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" has got to be the biggest and dumbest of all, so naturally Matt, Alonso and Christy have some thoughts. We also talk about the excellent indie drama "Luce," the nap-inducing "The Mountain" starring Jeff Goldblum and "Honeyland," the documentary about Macedonian bee farmers you never knew you needed in your life. (It's one of the year's best films.) We've also recorded a spoiler talk for "Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood," since so many of you asked for it. And over at our Patreon, we discuss a bunch of new trailers, including "The Lighthouse" and "The Irishman." Come hang with us during the dog days.

Here's a special midweek nugget for you: a recap of the latest episode of "The Handmaid's Tale," which Alonso and Christy had the pleasure of discussing in front of a live audience at Outfest over the weekend. And was there ever a lot to discuss in Season 3 Episode 11, "Liars." This is the kind of extra-special content subscribers to our Patreon receive, but we wanted to share it with the world this time because it was such a cool event and we so enjoyed doing it. We hope you enjoy listening just as much -- and look for our regular film reviews, including "Hobbs & Shaw," on Friday. Praise be!

Daryl Evans is essentially the ambassador for the Los Angeles Kings. The former Kings legend and longtime radio color commentator for the team was gracious enough to sit down with me for this wide-ranging and very different Breakfast All Day A La Carte interview. Daryl talks about growing up in Toronto, how he got his start in hockey, playing in the NHL and the famous game-winning playoff goal he scored known as the "Miracle on Manchester." He also discusses the many lives he's lived since retiring from the game, which includes traveling the world as a coach, selling Cadillacs for nearly a decade, calling Kings games for the past 20-plus seasons and developing his signature style of shiny, flashy suits. We also talk about the hockey movie he says captures the sport most accurately. Daryl might be the nicest guy on the planet, and he's certainly one of the busiest, so Christy is honored that he found an hour to spend with her for this conversation. Listen and enjoy.

It's a hot August night in July with Quentin Tarantino's love letter to 1969 Los Angeles, "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood." Alonso, Matt and Christy naturally have lots of thoughts on the latest Breakfast All Day — Tarantino never inspires shrugs or middle-of-the road takes — and we suspect you will, too. We also review "Skin," starring Jamie Bell in the true story of a white supremacist trying to turn his life around, and the documentary "Mike Wallace Is Here," about the late, legendary TV newsman. And over at our Patreon, Alonso and Christy recap the season two finale of "Big Little Lies" and the latest episode of "The Handmaid's Tale," and all three of us discuss the cavalcade of trailers that debuted at Comic-Con including "Top Gun: Maverick" and the TV series "Westworld" and "Watchmen." Grab a seat at the Musso and Frank's bar and join us.

Sandy Cohen and Christy spent years together in the trenches covering entertainment for The Associated Press, and Christy feels so lucky that they're still friends years after they've both left. Sandy has lots of great stories to tell from her time interviewing celebrities — which began with Elizabeth Taylor her first day on the job — but she also discusses growing up in the Southern California city of Torrance, how she got her start in journalism and what she brings that sets her apart from other entertainment writers. One of the coolest assignments Sandy had was covering the Academy Awards for a dozen years from an incredible, intimate perch backstage — and yes, she has some insight on the infamous "Moonlight"/"La La Land" mixup. Plus, she's just a smart, upbeat, genuine woman in general. This was a fun one, so enjoy.

We couldn't let "Crawl" slink away from us without talking about it on Breakfast All Day. Alonso, Matt and Christy play catch-up this week with the supremely schlocky thriller, which weirdly wasn't screened for critics before opening day. We also review Lynn Shelton's largely improvised indie comedy "Sword of Trust," which features a great Marc Maron performance. As a little bonus, we give you a taste of the kind of content you can enjoy over at our Patreon with trailer talk about "It Chapter Two" and the featurette for "Cats." (The full trailer for the musical extravaganza came out after we recorded, but we'll be sure to discuss it next week.) And if you're looking for our discussion of the big movie of the week, Disney's live-action incarnation of "The Lion King," we did an early review of that on the previous episode. Thanks as always for joining us.

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!