Send Help Review

 

Send Help tells the story of unappreciated and survivor-obsessed worker bee Linda Liddle (played by Rachel McAdams) and her new arrogant CEO Bradley (played by Dylan O’Brien), who must fight to survive when they’re stranded on a desert island after a plane crash, but not against the elements, but against each other.

The biggest standout in this movie for me is Rachel McAdams's performance. The way she’s able to play this very shy and dowdy secretary and then transform into this super confident survivalist who gets pretty sadistic and intense but never loses that friendly coworker attitude is really fun to watch, and McAdams is able to flow between the two in a very natural and really fun way to watch as she gets more confident throughout the film. At some point, you’re rooting for her, and at other points, you’re mad at her. Definitely one of my new favorite performances from her.

Dylan O’Brien is also very good at playing a very full, almost frat bro-like CEO. I do wish his character was a little bit more fleshed out like Adam’s, but there are several moments throughout where you see different sides of Bradley and have different emotions throughout. I just thought for me there could have been a little more of them, but again, O’Brien is very entertaining at playing this cocky idiot who you enjoy seeing taken down a peg every once in a while.

Ironically, for a movie that for 85% of its runtime takes place in one location, this movie is very stunning. Obviously, they filmed on actual beaches, and all the different tropical locations look very peaceful and stunning and are a good contrast to the characters' emotional journey of becoming more erratic and stir crazy.

The film, for the most part, has a very dark sense of humor, which I’m always down for, but there are a couple of scenes, particularly one between the two characters during a campfire, that I thought really added an interesting character, a wrinkle to both characters, and both actors really get to shine and give strong and enjoyable performances.

The directing is fantastic; Sam Raimi gets to go full Sam Raimi, and I’m always down for that. He does a lot of wild, intense camera movement and a lot of interesting, creative shots, while dripping just a little bit of horror in there. Not to mention some pretty creative, spectacular gore scenes, like there’s one scene during the plane crash that is both disturbing and hilarious at the same time lol.

The CGI, for the most part, is pretty good, like some things do look a little cartoonish, but the design and situation they’re in kind of make it work within the scene as a creative style decision.

I think gore hounds will be satisfied with the effects in this movie; again, there are some CGI parts that I know are not everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s enough blood and bonkers action to keep any horror fan happy.

I also like to have the film overall unfold the story, like certain bits of information aren’t shown and then saved for later to reveal other stuff, and I thought that was pretty creative.

I do have a recommendation if you do plan on seeing this movie. You have to see it in the theater with a pretty big and lively crowd; that’s the best way to enjoy it, like I did. People were laughing and cheering throughout, and there was one scene where you could just feel everyone’s sphincter just tighten with suspense… Good times, lol.

Danny Elfman did the music and did a solid job throughout.

Ironically, for a film where the characters wear pretty much the same outfit throughout, I was impressed with how the costume department was able to change up the outfit with different layers and styles throughout; it was a nice subtle detail.

There are a couple of twists here and there throughout the story that I thought were pretty well integrated and had some nice payoffs.

I wasn’t satisfied with the very end; like, it was OK, but I was hoping for a stronger ending, but it kind of felt like they filmed multiple endings, and this one tested best with audiences. Again, it’s not bad, but I was just hoping for more.

For you Sam Raimi fans out there, yes, there is a Bruce Campbell and Sam’s old station wagon cameo in the film, and I spotted them both; they were very nice.

I also got to see the movie with my pals, which always adds to a movie's enjoyment.

Send Help is a very enjoyable, straightforward dark comedy thriller, with incredible and entertaining performances by the main cast and a beautiful location that really adds something special to this film. I give it somewhere between three stars and a low four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It isn’t anything mind-blowing, but it is a really fun time at the movies.

The Housemaid Review

 

Sydney Sweeney plays Millie, a girl with a troubled past who gets a job as a live-in housemate for a wealthy family, and then things get weird and dark…

Sydney Sweeney is very good as Millie; she feels very down-to-earth and relatable, but there is some interesting mystery and twist with her character.

I think the biggest reason to see this is for Amanda Seyfried’s performance (who plays the rich wife, Nina), because she is able to switch from, like, very over-the-top and silly to very intimidating and unhinged in, like, a second. It’s really impressive and very entertaining to watch.

Brandon Sklenar plays the husband, Andrew, who at first seems a little too charming and perfect, but he and Millie have some cute and sweet scenes that really warm you to his character.

The movie does a fun job at building tension and unfolding the mystery while also infusing it with a good amount of dark humor, which is not an easy thing to do, but they do a really impressive job; it feels like Alfred Hitchcock meets Mean Girls.

Paul Feig does a solid job directing and comes up with some pretty cool camera shots, not to mention, for an over two-hour movie, it has a pretty good pacing, like the movie will fly by.

There is a gaggle of rich housewife characters that are a little over the top at points, but they get some good laughs in.

There is a groundskeeper character played by Michele Morrone, who gives a good performance, but I wish they had explored his character more; there just seemed to be more going on with him than they only really scratched the surface of.

There are a couple points in the film where my suspension of disbelief gets stretched a little too much; there are definitely a couple points where I’m like, “Millie, why are you still there? There are more warning signs than a railroad crossing lol.

I quite enjoyed this cinematography; everything looked very idyllic and soft, which fit the fancy house, and it was used very effectively in an almost subversive way towards the end of the film.

So going into this movie, I heard this had a crazy twist, and we’re a good chunk into the film, and I’m sitting there thinking, “OK, this movie is enjoyable, but what is this twist they’re talking about?” Like, I’m trying to predict what it might be, and I have a couple guesses here and there, and for a second I thought, “OK, maybe it’s not going to be that big a twist,” and just when I thought that, that’s when the twist kicked in, and I have to say… I did not see that coming lol.

I will say, I did find the final climax to be a little predictable, not in, like, a bad way, but the rest of the movie had been more intriguing and surprising, and I was hoping the film would end on a bigger plateau, but where it ends up didn’t feel quite as strong and more run-of-the-mill, but still solid.

Also, as well done as that first big twist was, it’s one of those twists that the more you think about, the more certain things feel contrived in certain areas. But honestly, it doesn’t take away from the movie too much, and the movies are entertaining enough that you’re not really distracted by it.

Also, there was one final twist that I thought was OK—that’s way too convenient. Like, you have a better chance of winning the lottery than having that workout. Like it’s not enough to ruin the movie, but man, those odds are thinner than the side of a piece of paper lol.

I also got to see with my sister who explained the differences between the movie and the book afterwards, so that was nice 

Overall, The Housemaid takes a premise that has been explored in many films and adds an interesting new dimension to it, combining both humor and thrills to a point that they’re almost interchangeable, with great performances and direction throughout, and a twist/climax that definitely cranks things up to 11 that most audiences will really be entertained by. I give the film four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Sometimes the movie doesn’t have to be the smartest; it just has to be fun, and this certainly was.