Send Help (2026)

Sam Raimi finds new victims to torture in Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien. 

A mousy woman looked over for promotion by her douchebag boss discovers that the tables have turned after surviving a plane wreck on a desert island, where she puts her practical know-how to great use. It's a survival adventure thriller with Raimi's signature flourishes of dark humor, which I found to be an absolute delight, at least until it falls into the familiar trappings of genre.

3 Survivor skills out of 5

DOCTOR STRANGE [2016]

The 60's era Pink Floyd badge that director Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange wears is swimmingly earned through the mind-bending special effects alone.
The 2nd film in the MCU's Phase 3 (and 14th film all together) follows arrogant neurosurgeon Stephen Strange who discovers an ancient world of mystical arts after a car accident leaves him with irreparable damages to his hands.
Not since Robert Downey Jr's Tony Start has an actor embodied their character with perfection as Benedict Cumberbatch has so gracefully done.  However it's the rest of the actors who are left little to work with behind Strange and the mind-boggling visuals.  The special effects look like Inception, The Matrix & Dark City all dropped acid together and lost all sense of reality, which begs for the IMAX 3D treatment.  Doc Strange isn't the MCU reinvention Marvel seems to think it is but it's still a pretty fun trip to take.

3 interstellar overdrives out of 5

SPOTLIGHT [2015]

Tom McCarthy was well on his way to becoming one of my favorite film directors but then The Cobbler dropped out of his ass and all that blew to hell.
Fortunately he redeems himself with the biographical drama Spotlight.
Based on the 2001 true story of a group of Boston Globe investigative reporters who struggle to expose a massively buried series of child sex abuse scandals, spanning across decades, within the local Catholic priest community.
It's impressive ensemble cast are fully committed to allowing the story speak for itself making it all the more engrossing with unglamorous believability.  Quite often films like this seem to bury themselves in holier-than-thou self-gratification but Spotlight is just as interested in honest journalism as it is solid story-telling.  It's an engrossing testament to why we can't forget about the blood, sweat & tears put into disappearing newsprint journalism in the digital age of social media.

3½ missing documents out of 5

ABOUT TIME [2013]

Writer/director Richard Curtis has the habit of making irresistibly adorable movies, just as Rachel McAdams manages to find herself in more than her fair share of time travelling rom-coms.
Mash the two together and you get the harmlessly delightful pip-pip comedy About Time.
Sure it's riddled with plotholes (as most time-travel stories are) but it's the inspirational casting, wonderful soundtrack and soft-hearted laughs that make it worthwhile.  Most rom-coms are about whether or not the couple will get together in the end while this film is more about already living together and a moral message that isn't quite clear until the final frame.
It won't blow your mind or change your life but should give you the warm & fuzzies that won't insult your intelligence.

4 ping pong games out of 5

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS [2011]

Guy Ritchie reunites Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows for more eccentric fun.

Jared Harris and Stephen Fry make delightful additions to the cast while Noomi Rapace is sadly underused.  It's not as clever as the first and resorts to silly unnecessary CSI-esque slo-mo a bit too often but still keeps up the frantic and entertaining pace.  It might be a slight misfire, however if they maintain this quality I'd still be up for a third helping.

3 little horsey rides out of 5

SHERLOCK HOLMES [2009]

Director Guy Ritchie set out to give Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes character the Batman Begins makeover with Robert Downey Jr. channeling Jack Sparrow as the title character.

What could have been a silly mess turns out to be thoroughly entertaining.  Right off the bat it's made apparent this isn't the Jeremy Bratt pip-pip Holmes, by inserting choreographed fights scenes and slo-mo CGI.  Unfortunately, Mark Strong and Rachel McAdams are painfully boring compared to the bromantic chemistry between Downey and Jude Law's Dr. Watson. 

Bad points aside, it can't be ignored that this is just good fun.

3½ ravens of death out of 5

Midnight in Paris (2011)

A simply delightful fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. The less you know going into it, the better. I didn't think Owen Wilson could pull off the Woody Allen role, but he manages to slip into it rather effortlessly. Reminded me a lot of the fancifulness of Stardust Memories and Purple Rose of Cairo. About as good a recommendation as you're going to get from me.

4.5 whimsical strolls along the Seine out of 5