(film review) - Send Help

So I am going to admit this first before I get into it: I did not plan to watch this movie. I had seen the trailer, and I do not mind a Sam Raimi movie, but I can do without and wait, you know? Kind of like an M. Night movie. I am definitely not saying Sam is hit and miss like most will say (or argue) M. Night is, but I feel like I have to be in a Sam Raimi mood for his dark and quirky humour. Even though I was not aiming to watch this and I was not really geared up for this movie, I had a very good time with it because Sam brought that Drag Me to Hell energy to this, and it is some truly twisted fun. I’ll explain.

Linda (Rachel McAdams) has been working for the company for several years, CEO has passed away, and his son has stepped in to run the company. Repulsed by her but willing to give her a chance, he invites her on a trip to finalise a merger, but during the trip, their plane crashes en route and the pair are stranded on an island. Whilst on the island, they fight for survival.

When I watched Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there were elements in that movie that were horror-esque and I had mentioned this in my review. Sam loves squirting blood and using grotesque imagery that makes you squirm or cover your eyes but still peek through your fingers while laughing. Sam Raimi is like Tim Burton, only with added flourishes of comedy and horror. His films may not be for everybody, but they do have a uniqueness to them.

In typical Sam Raimi fashion, there were a few jump scares, but the puppetry and imagery have that cartoonish quality—borderline comic-book style but also horrific. A tiny example (and slight spoiler): there is a jump-scare moment and immediately after, a look to the camera. Absolutely cartoony, but if you know how Sam Raimi directs, it is bound to give you a laugh. Needless to say, the cinematography, imagery, and setting are excellent. At the beginning, there were some nonsensical close-ups, but accompanied by the music, everything simply gels together well.

The acting: I recognise the man from something, but I cannot quite pinpoint where just yet. Rachel McAdams, however, is astounding in this. I have seen her in other roles, but I felt she truly brought it here with a varied performance. The quiet moments, the crazy moments, the anger, and the tears—she brought it all to the screen and, for me, stood out and carried the entire movie on her back. The guy is somewhat one-dimensional: funny in moments, but his character is not necessarily someone you are supposed to like. Dylan O'Brien of Maze Runner fame is who he is.

All in all, this movie is great to watch by yourself or with your significant other. I can only assume that during the movie you may need to re-evaluate yourself or your place in the relationship, because I definitely wondered who I would be in a “stranded on a desert island” scenario. Enjoy.

(trailer review) - Spider-Noir

 

I’d certainly be lying if I didn’t say first and foremost that THIS LOOKS INCREDIBLE! Now, I know absolutely nothing about Spider-Noir other than that it is a “Noir” take on the Spider-Man character, which started out in the comics and was introduced to us in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Noir is a genre and style of storytelling that involves detectives and crime and is usually categorised by a specific time period between the 1940s and 1950s, also known as the “classic period.” Noir-style products are usually a little moody in tone. But this trailer gives us moodiness, the noir feel, along with absolutely crazy dynamics and scenes that will make this film stand head and shoulders above every single Spider-Man movie that has come before it — and so it should, because it is different. But this is different different and just looks incredible. Comic-booky, a little like Sin City (and I don’t mean because of the colour palette), but Nicolas Cage doing his best Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly (maybe just being Nicolas Cage) seems like it all fits together as a harmonised smoothie.

So, the trailer starts off with Ben Reilly walking and a lady saying, “Tell me why,” with him replying, “You already know how it ends.” He then proceeds to tell her about his behaviour and how he manages to suppress it most of the time. This leads to quick shots of someone walking down an alleyway, a shot of his detective office, and when another guy says, “What’s going on, Ben?” there are loads of rapid cuts until the moment we see him explain that he beat up some people and got plastered — showing a fight scene, a shot of him drinking, and someone falling from a skyscraper. There are lots of quick, wild and crazy scenes, and one of the best lines of the trailer: "What are you thinking about over there?”, "I am having an existential crisis, if I’m honest.” Then there are loads more scenes with people falling (I presume to their deaths), someone with electric hands, and one of the final shots shows him swinging through the city, which looks amazing. The 27th of May cannot come quickly enough.

(trailer review) - Michael

 

It has been a busy time for me, so trying to keep up with the trailers and my reviews has been a bit challenging. However, while the first trailer was not that long ago (November), and we are now in February, not only is this film coming out soon (April), this actual trailer shows us more of what the film is about, and this film is going to make millions. With the first trailer, I had to watch it a few times because the first time I watched it, the thought that came to my mind once it was all done was, "That's creepy," and this trailer is no different, if anything, it doublesdown on it because Jafaar looks, THAT GOOD. With that said, I have bought into the makeup, and the performance is impeccable. With what Antoine has done with the cinematography, this IS Michael Jackson, from the Jackson 5 to Michael in the '80s and in his prime.

The trailer starts off with a packed stadium and Michael Jackson pumping himself up to perform in front of his fans. We see flashes of Michael in the studio and Michael walking towards the stage whilst saying, "You're confident," "You're strong." Fans are fainting and being taken away from crowds at concerts by security. Hundreds of people are cheering and holding up signs, and just before we get the Universal logo, there is a shot of the Moonwalk and then Michael's "whoa." Michael's dad starts speaking to Michael and the rest of his siblings at dinner, telling the kids there are only winners and losers in this wolrd and if they want to work in a steel mill for the rest of their lives or do something about it and fight for it. With shots of Michael with one glove on and sequined jackets, Michael says, "You know what I'm after?," and Miles Teller says, "You want to be the biggest star in the world," whilst Joe Jackson states he wants to capitalize on Michael and that the Jackson family is the brand, like Coca-Cola, and he is planning an international tour. There is a moment where Michael says he needs to think, and Joe Jackson's response is, "I told you what to think." Michael says he loves his family but wants to do his own thing because he has all these ideas he wants to get out. And with a small moment of Michael's mum, played by Nia Long, saying she always thought Michael was special, we have lots of different shots from different moments: Michael dancing on stage, Michael dancing for the "Billie Jean" video whilst "Billie Jean" is playing, the famous black and silver striped sequin trousers, Michael being carried off on a stretcher from when he had an accident on set (I'm assuming), a shot of the "Thriller" video, and more shots of the Moonwalk, the Michael Jackson spin, and... this... is... Michael. This trailer is an excellent showcase of what this film is about, what it intends to cover, and it definitely captures who Michael was as a performer and how he was loved and how he wanted to change the world through music.

The only thing artistically and creatively I would have done in the trailer is to show a collection of Moonwalks from a set view and cut it with every stride so that while everything is changing around him—the various different stages and outfits—the Moonwalk is consistent. But other than that, for visuals, this trailer is amazing and kind of shows that there was, there is, and most likely, would never be anyone like Michael ever again.