Send Help (2026)

It's always good to see Sam Raimi having fun with his directorial work, and if there's one way to describe Send Help it's fun. It's not great, nor is it in the top 5 (maybe even top 10) of Raimi films, but it's definitely fun.

Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle, a put-upon employee who has to once again swallow her disappointment when passed over for promotion by her new boss, Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien). That promotion had been promised to her by Bradley's father, but he's more interested in helping his buddy, Donovan (Xavier Samuel), progress his career. And as long as they can still get Linda to do the actual maths and the work then it should be a win-win situation for them. Which is how Linda ends up on a flight with them en route to Bangkok. The flight doesn't get there though. It crashes, and Linda and Bradley end up on a deserted island. Luckily, Linda is a huge fan of Survivor, and knows how to make the best of their bad situation. Unluckily (for Bradley), this seriously inverts the balance of power between the two of them.

Written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, a duo who have delivered a couple of very enjoyable horror movies, and then the not-so-enjoyable Baywatch movie, Send Help works best when it's focused on the conversations between the two leads. Both of them often have an agenda, whether it's proving a point or trying to push an escape plan, and watching them tip-toe around their words as they strive to maintain the fragile co-dependency that might be essential for them is delightful. Surprisingly, and despite the moments that run far too close to similar moments in Triangle Of Sadness, those interactions are more delightful than any of the expected Raimi-isms.

Raimi doesn't care if things are a bit rough around the edges, considering he's done some of his best work with creativity and energy far outweighing budget, but viewers may not feel the same. From the plane crash to an angry wild boar, from scenes that have people in peril on a crumbling high path to a particular bit of pain delivered in the finale, the varying quality of the CGI is a bit too distracting, even when it's being used to get things more in line with some familiar Raimi beats. One dream sequence feels particularly unnecessary, pretty much just an excuse to have a sequence that would be better off in another Tales From The Crypt movie, and even a bit of propulsive camerawork fails to amuse because of it feeling awkwardly shoe-horned in. It's almost as if Raimi had to mark off a checklist of his own trademark touches, but his heart wasn't in it.

McAdams and O'Brien ensure that they do more than enough to make you appreciate when the focus is back on them, however, and both are in fine form. McAdams enjoys transforming from timid pushover to strong survival queen, and makes herself believable at both ends of that spectrum. O'Brien doesn't have the same kind of arc, but he is consistently amusing as the kind of inconsiderate asshole boss that you would never want to be working for. Samuel is equally inconsiderate, and equally amusing, Dennis Haysbert is sadly only here for a cameo turn, and Edyll Ismail gets a fantastic feature acting debut, playing the persistent fiancée of Bradley who, for unfathomable reasons, really wants to find him alive and safe.

I enjoyed many different parts of this. The performances, the Danny Elfman score, the too-infrequent moments that felt like Raimi being gleefully sadistic. It's just a shame that it never really came together into something completely satisfying though. Having said that, it's hard not to stay chuckling and think back on it fondly enough when you're treated to a cheeky and ridiculous final shot that acknowledges how silly it's all been. Sometimes silly is just fine. Sometimes it's what you need to distract you from the less silly events that can fill up your day.

6/10

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Netflix And Chill: Champagne Problems (2025)

Minka Kelly plays Sydney Price, a young exec who heads to France just before Christmas in order to hopefully finalise a deal that will allow her firm to gain control of a family-owned champagne brand. The owner is rightfully wary, and he would ideally like to find a solution that leaves management in the hands of his son, Henri (Tom Wozniczka). And who is the stranger that Sydney met and had one magical night with when she first arrived in France? Oh yes, it's Henri.

Champagne Problems is a Christmassy romance that feels neither Christmassy enough nor romantic, despite being set in some beautiful French environments. It's not that it's a terrible film, and I think undemanding viewers after a bit of fluff will enjoy it well enough, but it's just disappointingly flat. There's not even a real spark between the leads, making the finale feel more like something engineered purely by someone who knows from the start where the film has to end up.

Writer-director Mark Steven Johnson is a capable enough talent, and he's even been at the helm of a couple of Marvel movies (although he had the misfortune to be with them before the globe-dominating MCU phase of their life cycle), but he doesn't inject any energy into this. I was going to label it as a rom-com, but there's not enough comedy to justify that, and I didn't want to criticise it for not being something that it maybe isn't aiming to be. There is, however, some fun whenever Sean Amsing's character, Roberto, speaks to everyone in his outgoing and entertaining manner. And there's one unexpected fart. Not really a fart gag. Just a fart. How can you sneak that into the plot and not make it funnier? Good on Kelly for portraying a woman who can suffer from wind though.

Kelly tries her best with the material, in fact, and is a big plus. It's just a shame that nothing can be done to lift up something so relatively dull. How can a Christmas romance in France/Paris feel so unspectacular? Wozniczka is handsome and French, as he needs to be, and also tries his best, although he's given even less to work with than Kelly. Amsing is fun, and the supporting turns from Thibault de Montalembert, Flula Borg, Astrid Whettnall, and Xavier Samuel are what you'd expect them to be, nothing more and nothing less. France should be another major character, but it's not showcased as it should be, especially once we've moved beyond the first 10-15 minutes.

Mostly harmless, and I know some have enjoyed it more than I did, but I'm surprised by those who have spoken of it as an unexpectedly enjoyable seasonal offering from Netflix. There's nothing of any substance here. You'd get more satisfaction from eating half a macaron.

4/10

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Mubi Monday: Love And Friendship (2016)

Based on a novella by Jane Austen, Love & Friendship is a sharp and witty period film that provides a great lead role for Kate Beckinsale, being so enjoyable here that it's enough to make you wish she didn't spend so much of her film career as a leather-clad vampire caught in a war between vampires and lycan (and I never thought I would type that sentence).

Beckinsale is Lady Susan Vernon, a widow who is set to arrive at the home of some in-laws. She has a reputation as a renowned flirt, although some say that she is simply someone who creates fine and enjoyable company for those around her. Her main concerns are finding a suitable match for her daughter (Frederica, played by Morfydd Clark) and ensuring her own position in society remains as safe and secure as can be, which is no easy task.

Director Whit Stillman, who also adapted the source material into screenplay form, keeps everything as expected for a period film, with the language and look of the thing as prim and proper as can be, but is able to also make it feel quite fresh and modern thanks to the attitude of the woman at the heart of the main events. Lady Susan is quite the go-getter, and in a manner more overt than most characters we see in this kind of thing.

Beckinsale has a lot of fun in the main role, almost every scene that has her interacting with others has her performing in a way that manipulates them to assist her in whatever her aim is, be it short or long-term. Clark does fine as her daughter, although it's a role that maybe could have been kept offscreen for most of the movie, such is the long shadow of her mother and the seeming lack of personal motivation in the character. As for the main men onscreen, Xavier Samuel is typically handsome and courteous in the role of Reginald DeCourcy, a potential suitor, and Tom Bennett is very amusing as the well-meaning, but quite dim, Sir James Martin. There's also solid work from Chloë Sevigny, as a friend married to a man (Stephen Fry) who disapproves of the friendship, Emma Greenwell, Justin Edwards, and a number of other familiar faces.

Strangely enough, however, when you look beyond the more modern sensibilities that are surprisingly prevalent throughout the film, it's hard not to consider that this is something that still feels far too close to the other, better-known, classic works from this period. Whether it is the mother trying to ensure a good life for her daughter, with sacrifices made and compromises considered, the filtering of rumours and damaging observations through various social circles, or even just the interception of a letter that may cause damage to the parties involved, this is all very familiar fare in some enjoyably vibrant packaging.

It's still worth your time though, and the ending is a particularly amusing "punchline" after all that has been shown beforehand.

7/10

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Prime Time: Frankenstein (2015)

Another day, another film involving a talent that I have forgotten to check out more from. This time it's director Bernard Rose. He may still be best remembered for Candyman (a classic of the horror genre) but has, after a couple of standard period dramas (Immortal Beloved and Anna Karenina), gone on to carve out quite an impressive filmography, often reworking classic literary works (mainly by Leo Tolstoy) and making use of the great Danny Huston.

Bearing that in mind, Frankenstein is exactly what you think it might be. An updated version of the classic tale, starring Danny Huston and Carrie-Anne Moss. Huston is Victor, Moss is Elizabeth, and the two of them are first seen trying to help their creation, Adam (Xavier Samuel), through his confusing and painful "birth". Adam has, essentially, been created by 3-D printing technology. Things don't go too well, leading to the monster being unleashed on an unsuspecting public.

Despite the fact that it is set in the here and now, and the fact that it has occasional moments of squishy violence and bloodshed, Frankenstein is a surprisingly faithful interpretation of the source material. It takes a few liberties here and there, but a lot of the main story beats are in place. You get the monster being cast out, you get an encounter with a little girl who is playing by some water, you get a blind man (Tony Todd) who becomes a friend, you even get an angry mob of locals trying to beat down the creature.

Huston and Moss are both good in their roles, but it's Samuel carrying the film with his portrayal of the scarred outcast who is simply trying to find out where he fits in the world. Samuel may not be perfect, his physique belies the strength that he is supposed to possess, but he does well with a performance that retains the essence of the character without simply mimicking more iconic interpretations. Todd is enjoyable in a rare role that doesn't make him seem menacing or ominous, and Maya Erskine is absolutely wonderful in a small, but memorable, turn as a prostitute named Wanda who is persuaded by Todd to give the monster an experience he will never forget.

It's a shame that I can see this falling between two stools for many people. The revisionism may detract from the impressive way it follows a good number of the main plot points, and the relatively low-budget and unfussy style doesn't get in the way of the better gore gags, but it's up to patient viewers to, ironically, give it some time to find its feet.

7/10

The movie can be bought here.
Americans can buy it here.