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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Saturday Night (2024)

True greatness often comes about after things skate perilously close to absolute disaster, and that certainly seems to have been the case for the launch of Saturday Night Live. While it may not be what it once was, and while some may argue that it was never actually the giant cultural totem that others view it as, Saturday Night Live is a hell of a thing to be proud of. It's now been going for 50 years, it has given us a great wealth of comedic talent, on both sides of the camera, and it's undeniably part of any conversation about American TV.

What you get here is a look at the frantic and tense 90 minutes leading up to the very first episode of Saturday Night Live. The man trying to herd a lot of cats is Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle). The stars include Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O'Brien), and John Belushi (Matt Wood). And those thinking it could succeed are largely outnumbered by those thinking it will fail. Spectacularly.

Co-written by Gil Kenan and director Jason Reitman, Saturday Night is an enjoyable bit of sustained tension, especially impressive considering that we all know how things turned out in the end. There are a couple of main touchstones that keep being used as people rush around, ensuring they are ready for a show that is being rehearsed and timed right up until the last possible moment, and certain characters are introduced at key points to really crystallise the friction between the old guard and the new.

It's no easy task for actors to emulate some comedy icons, but I was pleased to see that the performances here seem to focus on the essence and nature of each main character, as opposed to everyone trying to do a perfect impression of who they're meant to be. The only real exception to this is Nicholas Braun, who excels in two roles, playing both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson. Smith is all of the ego and self-doubt that you'd expect from Chase, O'Brien is a jovial Aykroyd, and Wood exudes the kid of erratic energy that always seemed to be part of Belushi. LaBelle is excellent as Michaels, a graceful swan who sometimes goes through water so clear that we can see the feet speedily paddling away beneath. Rachel Sennott, Ella Hunt, Emily Fairn, and Kim Matula are rather sorely sidelined as, respectively, Rosie Shuster, Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, and Jane Curtin, but that is sadly in line with a lot of the women who have been part and parcel of SNL over the years. Nicholas Podany is a decent young Billy Crystal, and the only one to disappoint me was Matthew Rhys in the role of George Carlin. Willem Dafoe has a couple of good moments as Dave Tebet (aka one of "the suits"), and J. K. Simmons almost steals the entire movie as the legendarily-endowed Milton Berle.

I was hoping to enjoy this, despite what I saw as my perceived distance from the cultural impact of the show, and I did. It hints at just some of the troubles that would come along in the few years afterward, but it's largely focused on celebrating the fact that everyone somehow managed to get the bloody thing done, and done in a way, albeit a tweaked and streamlined way, that would then be repeated week in and week out for decades. Do people still watch the full show, or do they simply check out the highlights shared to YouTube and other social media sites? I don't know, but I suspect the latter. I'm not sure it matters though. The fact remains that almost every American is aware of SNL, almost every American has their favourite seasons, or favourite skits, and anyone with an interest in comedy and/or films should be happy that a lot of talent became famous worldwide after surviving their time working for Michaels. We also got Rob Schneider, but you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.*

*said while having to pretend that I did not at one point own both The Animal and The Hot Chick on VHS.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Outfit (2022)

There are some films that suffer from the fact that they feel like stage plays, a showcase for actors without any real cinematic scale or flourishes. That isn't to say that those films are necessarily bad films. They just don't quite feel like full films. The Outfit often feels like a stage play, but it's not a bad film. In fact, it very much plays up to the idea of putting the quality of the screenplay and cast ahead of any unnecessary bells and whistles.

Mark Rylance plays Leonard, a tailor (actually no . . . he's a cutter, and there's a subtle difference between the two, as explained in the film) who has the misfortune of his shop being used by a group of mobsters. Trying to go about his business with the least amount of trouble, and giving due respect to those who view him as being beneath them, Leonard finds himself in real bother when Francis (Johnny Flynn) and Richie (Dylan O'Brien) make use of his store during a particularly eventful evening. Richie has been shot, and Richie is the son of the big boss, Roy (Simon Russell Beale). Everything will be fixed soon, however, as the two young men are about to uncover the identity of someone who has been informing on them. There's a rat, and everyone is a suspect, even Leonard's young shop helper, Mable (Zoey Deutch).

The feature debut from director Graham Moore, who also co-wrote the film with Johnathan McClain, this is a smart and sharp movie that impresses with the care taken at every turn, from the cast to the look of the whole thing, from the dialogue to the nicely-crafted plotting. There aren't any surprises here for people who have seen any of the many other films that wander through similar territory, but at no point to Moore and McClain feel as if they are trying to pull any kind of "gotcha" on viewers. They have faith in their tale, and faith in the people they have chosen to help tell it.

O'Brien and Flynn are a bit over the top in their roles, but it works well. They are the hot-headed youths who are used to having everything go their way, any problems being solved with threats or gunfire. I think both do a great job here, and they are nicely balanced out by the calm of Rylance, who is giving one his best turns in the lead role (and that is really saying something, considering how many great performances he has given us throughout his acting career). Beale is also much calmer, perfectly embodying the kind of person who knows that he doesn't have to shout or show off to get things done. He has held on to power for a long time, and everyone interacting with him knows the score. Deutch, the lone female for a large portion of the film, is enjoyably spirited and defiant, putting on a front while she (incorrectly?) assumes that she's not significant enough for any of the dangerous men to be bother about.

Yes, things need to keep running like precise clockwork to get to the ending that we get, but it never feels implausible. The characters stay true to how they are presented throughout, the backstories teased out through a number of conversations are intriguing snapshots of lives that have happened to converge at this exact time and place, and the whole film is just as unassumingly impressive as the lead character trying to stay safe at the heart of it.

A real treat, especially if you're one of the many sensible people who appreciate the talents of Rylance (and, to a lesser degree, the excellent O'Brien). You might call it . . . a cut above the rest.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: Love And Monsters (2020)

No matter how often it happens, it can always be surprising to see the Netflix effect in action. Everyone and their dog, ironically, seemed to have watched Love And Monsters last week. It was a film on my radar for some time, but I didn't realise it had appeared online until I saw everyone giving their opinions on it. And the general census seemed to be that it was a good one.

Yeah, I don't disagree with the majority here.

Set a number of years after a chain reaction of events that led to our planet being overrun by mutated creatures, we follow Joel Dawson (Dylan O'Brien), a young man who has recently reconnected over the radio comms system with Aimee (Jessica Henwick), the potential love of his life. He decides to leave his own colony to travel the seven days over land and meet her again in person. The only problem is that Joel is not a fighter. He tends to freeze when faced with any nasty monster. Thankfully, he meets a very smart, and helpful, dog along the way, and also meets a couple of other survivors (Clyde, played by Michael Rooker, and young Minnow, played by Ariana Greenblatt) who have skills they can teach him. Growing more and more capable, Joel starts to rate his chances of getting to Aimee. But the threats keep getting progressively more dangerous.

Directed by Michael Matthews (who has a small filmography that doesn't indicate a sudden move in this direction), Love And Monsters is a fun post-apocalyptic creature feature that moves some very likeable characters around in a world chock full of influences, ranging from the obvious (A Boy And His Dog and a number of films featuring Ray Harryhausen effects) to the not-so-obvious (there seems to be a few nods to the famous journey made by Frodo Baggins).

The script, by Brian Duffield and Matthew Robinson, manages to be light and amusing while also maintaining a sense of threat. Our hero is woefully unprepared for so many steps of his journey, but improves on the way. His chances of survival, however, tend to remain the same, depending on what luck he might have on the way. And the comedic approach to the material means that you're not entirely sure that there won't be a way to kill the main character off (temporarily, or for good).

O'Brien is very good in the main role, believably naive and optimistic, and able to step up to some big challenges without suddenly seeming superhuman. It's a world in which brains are just as valuable as any other resource, and O'Brien convincingly plays his role wide-eyed, but not dumb. Rooker and Greenblatt are a great addition to the middle section, and provide some great set-ups that are later paid off. Henwick is also very good, although her character development is undermined by a complete lack of surprise. There are also good turns from Dan Ewing as a yacht captain offering to help a colony move and, best of all, a couple of very talented canines playing a dog named Boy, arguably one of the best scene-stealing animals I can think of from the past decade.

With a finale that even manages to make you think of the wonderful Clash Of The Titans, consistently impressive special effects throughout, a surprisingly positive approach to living in a post-apocalyptic world, and the potential for at least one solid sequel, Love And Monsters is well worth your time, if you like creature features. Although, as far as I'm aware, everyone else has seen it by now anyway.

8/10

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American Assassin (2017)

Based on the novel by Vince Flynn, with a script worked on by four people (including Edward Zwick), and starring quite a lot of people you couldn't exactly class as leading names in the movie business, American Assassin is a bit of a hard sell. I didn't even know if it was going to be a thriller or more of an action movie when I started watching it. It turns out to be an enjoyable blend of the two, and actually throws up one or two good surprises along the way.

Dylan O'Brien plays Mitch Rapp, a young man who has survived a traumatic incident and is now motivated to spend his time trying to infiltrate and destroy terrorist cells. Just when he thinks he is about to succeed, about to get his revenge, he is beaten to the punch by a U.S. Special Forces team. But every cloud has a silver lining. Mitch is delivered into the hands of Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), a man who will train him to become part of an elite team, ready to continue the war on terror with a new, interesting bag of tricks. And Mitch, as well as his fellow soldiers, will need to remember everything they have been taught as they are tasked with finding a bunch of nuclear material that may already have been assembled into a powerful weapon.

After a wild opening sequence, American Assassin immediately settles into something a bit more low-key and interesting than you might be expecting. It's a film that both delivers the action beats and also keeps prodding at the psyches of the main characters, heroes and villains (with it sometimes being hard to differentiate between the two).

Director Michael Cuesta does a decent job of things. Some of the action is a bit choppy in places, and there are moments that feel far too heavy-handed and obvious, but it's all done with good intentions and attempts to convey information without ever feeling too patronising. The script feels smart and sharp, even while working through scenes in snippets of movie-grade reality (if you know what I mean).

O'Brien is fine in the lead, and it's good to see another movie like this without a muscular ass-kicker in the main role, and decent support comes from Sanaa Lathan, Shiva Negar, Taylor Kitsch, and even Scott Adkins, but the main draw here is Keaton, who lends his weight to something that would otherwise never be seen outside the confines of a bargain bin selection.

I can see why some will watch this and be disappointed. It doesn't always go for the easy option, and some of the action beats will feel too brief and messy, while Cuesta and the writers (Stephen Schiff, Michael Finch, Marshall Herskovitz, and Zwick) do their best to show that fights can be won by brains as well as brawn, but the way it at least tries to do something a bit different is why I ended up enjoying it so much. I hope others end up in agreement with me.

7/10

Out this week in the UK, people can pick up the Bluray here.
USA people can pick it up here.