Send Help

My View: Send Help  (2026) R  Send Help follows Linda (Rachel McAdams), who has the boss from hell in Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), who tells her she has one last chance to impress him on an upcoming trip, or she will be fired. When their plane crashes and the two find themselves stranded on a deserted island, things have changed. Linda is now in charge, and Bradley is in danger of being fired or killed. Director Sam Raimi (Spiderman trilogy, The Evil Dead series, Drag Me to Hell) must have had a blast directing this film, which is off-the-wall fun, with lots of blood and two characters who play a game of who can, quoting Linda’s favorite TV show Survivor, “outwit, outplay, and outlast’ the other. Rachel McAdams is a delight as the put-upon office worker who is now stranded with the one person she hates, her boss, Bradley. This is a horror film with a sense of humor, plenty of scares and thrills, and a plot that will keep you guessing. I loved this film, and McAdams and O’Brien are a blast to watch as they match wits, with Linda having the skills and Bradley the overconfidence of a man who has always gotten his way. This is a bloody, sometimes look the other way, physical romp where two people try not only to survive on an island but also to survive each other. Send Help is a tale that you think might become one of those Hallmark rom-coms where two people who can’t get along realize that they are in love with each other, but instead is as if they are on Survivor, but with swords and lots of blood flowing.  My Rating: Full Price  Send Help Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Shelter  (2026)  R   In Shelter, Mason (Jason Statham) is living a solitary life in a remote area by the sea when he rescues a young girl, Jesse (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), from drowning. This act set off a chain reaction that soon brings violence his way, something Mason had hoped he had put behind him. Jason Statham is one of my favorite action stars. Like Keanu Reeves, he seems to know what works in his wheelhouse and then delivers exactly what you want and are expecting. That’s what you get in Shelter, a delightful tale of a man whose past has caught up with him, and he is going to do everything he can to ensure that the young girl he rescued will survive whatever the bad guys throw at them. What makes this such a fun ride is the chemistry between Statham, playing a man of few words, and Bodhi Rae Breathnach, who plays the headstrong young girl who has lost her last family member and now is all alone, unless she can convince Mason to take her along on his adventures. Breathnach is having a moment in cinema, in this role and in her role in the Academy Award-nominated Hamnet. She makes this film work because we understand how quickly Mason can develop feelings for Jessie through her performance. The action sequences are fun to watch, and Jason beats the crap out of a lot of bad guys. Adding to the fun, as the mastermind bad guy is the always enjoyable Bill Nighy, playing a man who is convinced he is the puppet master, but Mason has other ideas. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Shelter Website   Now playing in theaters

My View:  The Wrecking Crew  (2026)  R  The Wrecking Crew centers around two half-brothers, Jonny (Jason Momoa) and James (Dave Bautista), who have to work together to discover the reason for their father's murder in Hawaii. Long-buried secrets will be uncovered, which threaten to tear their family apart. I had a hard time with this film at the start, as we are thrown into the storyline without much backstory. However, because of the fun that Momoa and Bautista are having playing off each other as two brothers who can’t get along, the film is enjoyable to watch. There is even a very funny and thrilling chase sequence where even Morena Baccarin makes an appearance to have some fun. The film is a little too complicated for its own good, but watching Momoa play the brother who is always doing the wrong thing and Bautista, who is constantly judging Jonny, it’s an action film that works only because of the two leads.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Wrecking Crew Website  Now playing on Amazon Prime.

My View: Arco  (2025)  PG  Arco is a ten-year-old boy who lives in the year 2932. Arco’s parents time-travel without him, and he decides to go out on his own. Arco travels back to 2075, but on the way, his time-travel device breaks, leaving him with no way to get back to his family. This is a beautiful and thrilling story about a boy who wanted to be included in his family's adventures and goes out on his own, only to realize that he may never see them again. What he finds in this new world is friendship and hope for a world that is quickly devouring itself. The animation is almost magical in its look and feel, and the storyline will captivate both young and old, making Arco worthy of its Academy Award nomination.  My Rating: Full Price  Arco Website  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest: Iron Lung  (2026)  R   The Iron Lung takes place in the near future, where an event known as ‘The Quiet Rapture’ causes all known planets and stars in the universe to disappear. A convict has been sent on a suicide mission using a small submarine to explore a moon that has an ocean of blood. One of the most anticipated movies of January is based on a video game and features filmmaker Mark Fischbach, who has an incredible number of social media followers. Fischbach wrote (with the help of the video game creator David Szymanski), directed, and stars in the film. The film has garnered over 7 million dollars in presales. I wish the over 2-hour movie was worth all that attention, but it’s not. The movie and game revolve around a person alone in a submersible with no windows, guided by a map and pictures taken by a camera every few moments. If that sounds like fun to you, then go right ahead. I was bored out of my mind and kept looking at my watch (always a bad sign) to see when this film would end. Half the time, you have no idea what is going on, why he is down there, and if what we are seeing is real or a figment of his imagination, something that you will not get an answer to, even by the end of the film. This is a mess of a film and wouldn’t even be a fun watch at a midnight film festival platform. Man, I hope the video game is more fun than this film. I have no intention of finding out.  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again Iron Lung Website  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  A Private Life  (2025) R  A Private Life follows a renowned psychiatrist, Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster), as she investigates the death of a patient of hers. While others believe Lilian did nothing to prevent the suicide, Lilian believes that her patient might have been murdered. A Private Life only works because of Jodie Foster, who commands the screen with her presence and blends in perfectly with her command of the French language to make a mystery better than it should be. The plot is shaky as it is more about Lilian discovering more about herself and her faults than it is about solving a possible murder. We learn more about Lilian and her relationships than we do about her patient’s life in Lilian’s quest to find out if her patient committed suicide. I loved the back-and-forth between Lilian and her ex-husband, as we see there is still an attraction and draw between them, no matter what happened in the past. By the end of the film, I was sorry the mystery was solved and wouldn’t mind if Lilian went on to solve more mysteries.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  A Private Life Website  Now playing in select theaters 

Indiefest: Mr. Nobody Against Putin (2025)   Pavel “Pasha” is a teacher and event organizer who always has a video camera in hand to record his students' activities. Pasha lives in a small Russian town that was once famous as the world's most polluted city (tourists from all over used to visit). Pasha is well-liked by teachers and students and cares about his students. He recognizes he is a little strange, and sometimes his frankness gets him into trouble, but his office at school is a gathering place for students who also feel like they don’t belong. Then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine begins, and Pasha sees his school turn almost overnight from a fun, happy place to one where the students are force-fed government propaganda. A place where school has become a place not to learn about the world, but only about how great Putin is and how the rest of the world is inferior to the Russian way of life. So, our strange little teacher documents everything that is going on at the school, recording hundreds of hours of footage while doing some subversive things on his own, including playing Lady Gaga singing the American national anthem over the school’s loudspeakers. I loved this film, and you too will fall in love with Pasha. At one point, he decides to resign because he can’t stand what his school has become, but then rescinds his resignation so he can create a documentary to show the world what has become of his beloved school. This is a shocking look at how quickly the propaganda forces work and how some teachers quickly take advantage of the situation for their own greed and power. Throughout the film, you worry about Pasha getting caught, and through his own narration, he realizes that his time is quickly running out. The film, with Pasha as our guide, is funny, thoughtful, courageous, and shows how powerful a documentary can be in revealing to the world how wrong a government can be. Mr. Nobody Against Putin is worthy of its Academy Award nomination and is a must-see for documentary lovers. If there were more Mr. Nobodies in the world, it would be a better place. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Mr. Nobody Agains Putin Website   Now playing in select theaters and available to stream on the Kino Film Collection

Forgotten Film: The Anderson Tapes (1971) GP  Duke Anderson (Sean Connery) is a master thief and has just been released from jail after 10 years. His first stop is to see his girlfriend, Ingrid (Dyan Cannon), who lives in a posh apartment building courtesy of a sugar daddy. Duke realizes that Ingrid’s building is a gold mine full of rich people with lots of things to steal, so he contacts gangster Tommy(Alan King) to help plan the heist, and then puts together a crew to pull off the job, including an art expert (Martin Balsam) and a young safecracker (Christopher Walken). Connery is good in this post-007 role, but the fun of this film is the film debut of Christopher Walken, and it’s a blast to watch him perform on screen. Five-time Oscar-nominated Sidney Lumet directs the film, and you can see his steady hand throughout. The film falls apart a bit when the twist is revealed, but watching Walken on the screen makes up for it. My Rating: Bargain Matinee The Anderson Tapes Info Now available to rent on Amazon and Apple TV+.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Shelter: Chess Advisor

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Bride  (2026) R  This is a retelling of the story of the Bride of Frankenstein. In the 1930s, Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) had traveled to Chicago to seek the aid of Dr. Eupronius (Annette Bening) in creating a companion. Together, they revive a murdered woman, creating The Bride (Jessie Buckley), who is far more than expected. This sparks a romance, police attention, and more. Maggie Gyllenhaal wrote and directed the film, and the cast includes Penelope Cruz, Julianne Hough, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Peter Sarsgaard.  The Bride Website  In theaters on Friday, March 6, 2026.

Until Next Time!