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Here is my million-money idea that will never come to fruition: have libraries take a section they're not using, or that doesn't get much foot traffic, take all their movies and transform that area into a retro video store. It can still be free, but they can set up shelves, put up posters, and sort the movies by category. You can even sell movie theater microwave popcorn and candy. I would be an avid library guest if they did something like that. Streaming services are great, but with the constant ad breaks (why the hell am I, an Ohioan, getting campaign ads for the Texas Senate race?!), and streaming's lack of good selections, I think the time is perfect for video stores to make a return where people can rent movies like...
Send Help (2026)
When there's a movie that gets a lot of buzz, I do my best to avoid it completely until I get a chance to see it. That means I don't read any synopses, watch any trailers and try to avoid any conversations about it. In this case, I wish I hadn't gone in fresh. I'll get into that later, but first, let's talk about the movie.
Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle—a socially awkward corporate strategist who is in line for a big promotion. The problem is, her boss, the company's founder, recently died, and his young son is taking over. Despite being promised a promotion to VP and the strong backing of her superior, the new CEO is a bit repulsed by her because when she tries reintroducing herself to him, not only is she super awkward, but she has the remnants of a tuna fish sandwich sitting on her cheek. She then learns the next day that her douche bag coworker is getting the job because he and the CEO were in the same fraternity together.
When she confronts him, he does make a good point that the VP needs to be able to close deals and be personable with clients. While Linda is a wizard with numbers, the movie takes pains to show you she's super awkward and cringey when interacting with, literally, every person she speaks to. Due to the insistence of her superior, President David Palmer- I mean, Dennis Haysbert, the new CEO- Bradley invites her to tag along to Thailand to close a potentially lucrative but tricky deal. While on the plane, we get more of the frat culture between Bradley and his inner circle, where one of them discovers Linda's "Survivor" audition. He shows it to the group, and the bros proceed to mock and laugh at her. It really makes you hate these guys and feel bad for Linda. There's not much time to dwell on it, because the engine explodes, followed by multiple brutal deaths. Linda survives a little worse for wear, while Bradley eventually washes ashore with a bad leg.
The movie then follows their struggle for survival, where Linda is absolutely in her element. After assessing her situation, she immediately gets to work and shows that while she's not built for the corporate world, she is thriving here, and it's really clever how the many already showed you that she's ready for this. It's never outright said, but you realize she's so good at this because she's a Survivor superfan. It's a neat way to show and not tell. As the movie goes on, she gains the confidence she lacked as Bradley adjusts to not having the power he once had. As their time on the island continues, Linda starts asserting more control as the trust between the two of them slowly erodes.
The movie is made by Sam Raimi, who is my favorite director, and it was billed as his return to horror since the wonderful Drag Me to Hell (2009). I came into the movie expecting horror, and outside of maybe a scene or two, there's nothing really horrifying about it. It's more of a thriller, and I have to say, I was a bit disappointed because I came in expecting something scary and kept waiting for the spooky stuff to start, but it just didn't happen. It got teased once but it only made me sad because, while the scene is really good, it's the last scary moment you get because the movie isn't going to switch gears in the last 20 minutes.
Still, it's a really good movie, and I can't say enough about how good Rachel McAdams is in this. She's delightfully cringy when we first meet her, but it's fun to see her grow as a character, gaining confidence and later, finally letting out the bit of crazy that's hiding just beneath the surface.
There are some of Raimi's trademarks: you have the Delta, the POV tracking shot and some gross-out, slapstick humor that he's a master of. There's a scene where she pulls Bradley from the water, and he's hallucinating his fiancée, Zuri, floating in the water, while Linda repeatedly vomits on his face. It's so funny because Zuri looks so angelic, but she keeps periodically vomiting, and every time it lands flush on his face. It happens multiple times, and somehow it gets funnier every time it happens. I'm not the biggest fan of seeing people puking, but it is such a hilarious juxtaposition of the angelic Zuri throwing up all over his face.
The only real complaint I have about it, outside of me wishing it were a true horror, was that I didn't like the ending. As the movie goes on, you realize that Linda has a bit of a dark side and can be actually terrifying. It's cool, but I had trouble figuring out who I'm supposed to be cheering for. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the final confrontation for a few reasons, but the big one is that it committed one of my most disliked and common tropes. It's a fight scene where one of them is on top of the other person, looking down on them while the person on the ground is desperately reaching for a weapon, and the attacker is completely oblivious until there's a rock making contact with their skull. I know why it's done, because it looks dramatic, but it bugs me because it happens so much and it takes me out of the movie. Plus, the movie uses that exact scenario in like, a two-minute span.
The ending aside, it's a really good movie and Rachel McAdams is absolutely fantastic in it. I guess I was hoping for horror instead of a thriller.
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