One Day At A Time

Saturday, January 31, 2026

'Send Help' A Review

Send Help is a survival horror/thriller about Linda(Rachel McAdams) an awkward and timid(but extremely competent) corporate strategist and her new boss Bradley(Dylan O'Brien) a misogynist nepo baby who get stranded on a tropical island following a plane crash. Their dynamic shifts as Bradley is injured and Linda is a surprise survival enthusiast.

McAdams is one of our great movie stars, her presence, authenticity, and versatility just grows with age and that is very apparent here. She's having a ball and giving this character all different kinds of dimensions- menace, humor, pathos- the whole gambit. In one pretty incredible solo sequence on the island she discovers a waterfall and baths, notices her skin glowing and hair shiny, she's transformed from her beaten down office drudgery into the woman she's always wanted to be. McAdams just conveys this ocean of history and subtext with an effortlessness that's just stupendous to watch. And O'Brien is good too! Out of all the crowded Hollywood leading-men hopefuls O'Brien is actually one I can get behind. He's got talent and good lucks but also a grounded approachability and naturalism that for my money puts him head and shoulders above the Austin Butlers and the Chalamets. And the two have magnetic chemistry. The support cast is limited, it's basically a two-hander, and as such a real pleasure just to watch McAdams and O'Brien work off each other.

Visually the film is relatively simple yet evocative with a couple pretty spectacular gore set pieces and judicious use of CGI. The score is subtle and effective, overall the production design is focused, effective, if not particularly flashy(which given the budget, works perfect). The film somewhat stumbles in the third act but the journey is fun enough it doesn't particularly matter. A near perfect January release, a welcome piece of well-done dimensional entertainment to offset the long shadow of overly serious 2025 awards flicks still in theaters.

McAdams for the win.

Currently in theaters.

See It.

Friday, January 30, 2026

Nor Wish To Shut The Door On It

Odd

when the past

reminds you

of its presence

like a hot breath

on the neck,

that improv creep

I hadn't thought of

in over a decade

I see on IG

getting me-too'd,

my college ex

I see outside

a pizza place

smoking a cig

background actors

in the story

of my life

and me

a footnote

in theirs

Sunday, January 25, 2026

'28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' A Review

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a zombie movie, a direct continuation of last summer's 28 Years Later. At the end of the previous film Spike(Alfie Williams) had been rescued by the satanist Jimmy(Jack O'Connell) and his group of teenage cultists, now he must be initiated into the group and join them as they roam the countryside mindlessly torturing survivors. Concurrently Dr. Ian(Ralph Fiennes) befriends and attempts to treat Samson(Chi Lewis-Parry) an infected Alpha. Eventually the two must collide.

O'Connell is compelling here, particularly in the one normal scene he shares with Fiennes, but the whole Jimmy plot-line doesn't have much depth to it. The second time he goes into his, I'm communing with Satan spiel, and orders his little droogies to kill someone it becomes surprisingly rote. The film really comes alive when Fiennes is on screen, the camera loves him, and he's absolutely captivating. The humanist perspective he brings to his character and to the zombie-world of the series feels like the most logical and compelling evolution of the franchise and makes the violent parts of the film seem dated. The limited supporting cast are all good but no one really distinguishes themselves save for Erin Kellyman as one of the Jimmys.

Visually the film is just as rich as its predecessor but has a narrower focus, doesn't stray far from the titular Bone Temple, which works in it's favor. Director Nia DaCosta has style and she paints with a rich brush here but you get the sense she is constrained a bit by this being such a direct sequel. The soundtrack works, the costuming in make up are impeccable, it's just the story that falls a bit short. Like the first one, the focus is split when it should be narrow, Williams as Spike is a decent child actor but his storyline was never that interesting and his presence here feels almost perfunctory. Fiennes is clearly the star, the movie wants to be about him, anytime we cut away we want to return, and this is no where more apparent than in the climatic "meeting" of Dr. Ian and the Jimmys underscored to Iron Maiden. Even if the film meanders and doesn't meet its full potential it is unquestionably worth it based on that singular scene alone.

A sequel constrained by its predecessor, still interesting, with one truly transcendent scene.

Currently in theaters.

Rent It.

Friday, January 23, 2026

Polar Vortex

I find I am relieved
after several
mild winters waiting

the snow and the cold

the ice and the bite

return, unrelenting

and it is certainly

inconvenient

the layering

the preparation

the deliberate caution

but in a time

when so much

is uncertain

there is a comfort

in the bluntness

of a classic

Chicago January

Saturday, January 17, 2026

'The Rip' A Review

The Rip is an action thriller about the Miami-Dade Police Department's Tactical Narcotics Team(TNT) that investigates a tip that turns into something much bigger and dangerous than they expected.

Matt Damon as the leader of the team Lt. Dumars is good if not particularly surprising or doing anything much beyond what we've seen him do in the past, he is no doubt a movie star and he is no doubt servicable in the role. Ben Affleck as Sgt. Byrne is more electric, is having more fun, and it is genuinely great to see the two of them share scenes together again, their chemistry is undeniable. And if the movie itself is semi-standard cop-fair it is well made, the script is tight, the action is compelling, it works. The supporting cast is full of some solid talent- Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Kyle Chandler- who all round out the film and give it depth and texture. Is this Heat? No. But it's a world beyond Netflix's typical offerings in this genre like Havoc and Extraction.

Visually the film is dark and thick evoking the close humidity of southern Florida, the locations are limited, the action, when it comes, explosive and potent. The score subtle and suspenseful. It's a pro production. When the script veers into the obvious or the cliche the presence of the actors weathers those bumps relatively easily. In a feature landscape where regular action movies(without superheroes or magic or aliens) are in shorter and shorter supply this is kind of treat. The logic of not distributing it theatrical is increasingly silly given this is the kind of movie that would be a sleeper January hit, the kind of decent money maker Gerard Butler and Jason Statham have had a monopoly on the past several years.

A solid piece of popcorn entertainment.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

See It.