Breakfast All Day movie reviews

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.

We're still trying to figure out what happens in "Dark Phoenix" — and that's without the confusion of the fire alarms that went off during our screening — on this week's episode of Breakfast All Day. Alonso and Christy review the messy new "X-Men" movie, as well as the Emma Thompson/Mindy Kaling comedy "Late Night" and the dreamy drama "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," which will definitely end up being one of the best movies of the year. And we have some tremendous goodies for you over at our Patreon, including discussions of Ava DuVernay's devastating mini-series "When They See Us" and the first three episodes of the new season of "The Handmaid's Tale." Praise be!

Alonso and Matt may stomp around and make a lot of noise, but they're majestic creatures with plenty of insight on this brief Breakfast All Day. With Christy busy moving, it's just the two guys this time talking "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." We also have a taste of our Patreon content for you with a discussion of several big trailers: "Onward," "Rambo: Last Blood," "The Kitchen," "The Goldfinch" and "In Fabric." And we break down what the whole Disney/Fox merger means and how it changes what you see, both in theaters and on TV. This is the kind of extra-awesome content you can expect when you become a member of our Breakfast All Day Patreon -- and we hope you will! Thanks for listening.

Christy has something very cool and different this week on Breakfast All Day A La Carte, which she's excited about sharing. Theresa Farrell is a longtime ballerina and the executive director of the American Contemporary Ballet here in Los Angeles. She's elegant and radiant but also genuine and sweet as can be, and Christy loved having the chance to chat with her for a while. We discuss growing up in Saratoga Springs, New York, where she started dancing at age 8; beginning her career in New York City and working with Lincoln Jones to create the American Contemporary Ballet; and bringing ACB to L.A, where they've taken an innovative approach to making ballet accessible in a beautiful, unexpected environment. (Their latest production, "Variations on Raymonda," opens this week.) We also talk about her favorite ballet movies. Because in theory, this is a movie podcast! Put on your dancing shoes, and enjoy.