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🥳 Joslin 1/26 - Favorite Movie: The Princess Diaries
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There is an interview out there in which Send Help star Dylan O’Brien is asked what his favorite movie his co-star Rachel McAdams has done, and he immediately laughs and puts his head down.
If you are thinking some go-to McAdam’s classics, you might be right. But it’s not Mean Girls, and it is not The Notebook.
If The Hot Chick was on your mind, you are correct! McAdam’s said that while on set, O’Brien would quote the movie to her, and she was completely lost, thinking, “What the hell are you saying?” because she had forgotten about The Hot Chick.
We just love that there is a moment in space and time when the director of Send Help yelled, “Cut!” And Dylan O’Brien would look into his co-star’s eyes and say, “It’s me…Jessica!… I’m in here.” And Rachel McAdam’s is completely dumbfounded.
Here’s what we have for you this week:
Concession Stand Scorecard: Send Help
Watchlist Worthy: Heads will roll
New Pod Drop: The Guys talk Stranger Things Season 5
This week’s movie - Send Help
Letterboxd Description:
Meet Linda Liddle… She’s from strategy and planning. She’s the boss now.
Two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.
Best Watched With
Your co-workers, your boss…hell, bring the whole office.
End Credit Thoughts
WELCOME BACK, SAM RAIMI!
After 17 years, the millennials’ favorite 2000’s Marvel director is back to directing horror! And comedy. At the same time. We can’t remember the last time our theater erupted in laughter as hard as they jump-scare-induced yelled (or maybe that was just Josh), and sometimes we were laughing in disbelief with our hands covering our faces from the atrocities that were taking place on screen (or maybe that was just Josh). Either way, this comedy-horror is well placed in the genre, which doesn’t always happen.
This two-hour movie felt like a tight 80-minute banger. A young asshole who ate catered breakfast with a silver spoon gets stuck on an island with the one colleague that he sees little to no value in. Power dynamics shift, survival is necessary, and somehow, blood is everywhere. A rom-com gone very wrong, but just as funny.
Whoever had the vision to cast Dylan O’Brien and Rachel McAdams in a movie with this plot needs to be hired as VP of Strategy and Planning ASAP as possible. O’Brien has the charm and the looks, but pulls off the frat house douchebag who inherited everything he owns. It shouldn’t be conflicting, but it is, and it makes it tough not to care for him in moments of vulnerability. McAdams is a goddess with unlimited range. Is there a role or genre she can’t do? Their chemistry is present when they hate each other and when they are getting along. We just know the entire crew had a blast making this one.
It sounds like a straightforward plot, but there are plenty of surprising twists and unforeseen turns on this involuntary beachside vacation. The storytelling is well executed, with Easter eggs dropped into scenes and dialogue, and it all ties into a double-ribbon bow in the end. From beginning to end, you are either hooked by the humor, furious by the frat brotherhood nonsense, tied down by the tension, or shocked by the batshit insane gore and violence. The audience audibly gasped, laughed, and gagged multiple times—one time even doing all three at once (that was definitely just Josh almost gag-vomiting his Honeycrisp he snuck in onto his lap).
This might be the most fun theater-watch January we have had in a while, and it is ending on a high note. O’Brien’s cackle and McAdam’s survival wisdom are burned into our brains, and we hope to at least not forget one of them anytime soon. Horror fans will rejoice at Raimi’s stellar comeback. Watch this one in Dolby Cinema or whatever fancy theater is near you, so you can have your seats rumble and stunning visuals. Just be prepared for the unhinged and unsettling horror stuff that makes most people squirm and queasy.
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Highlander by Chad Stahelski
Back in the 90s I actually watched the television series (the band Queen sang the intro - so random, so cool) before I ever saw the movies. It’s a bunch of dudes who are immortal unless you chop their heads off, so naturally they all walk around with swords. Chad Stahelski gave us some of the best gun and hand to hand action scenes in the John Wick series, so I can’t wait to see what he does with Henry Cavill and a bunch of blades.
-NMD
Letterboxd Description:
A comedy of catastrophic proportions.
The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s saviour before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything.
Movies Directed by Chad Stahelski:
John Wick (2014)
(All of the other John Wicks)
Stranger Things S5: Spoilers #69
🎧 Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube
Josh, Eric, and New Mexico Drew dive deep into the final season of Stranger Things. They discuss the highs, lows, and unexpected hair choices of the series finale. The crew breaks down character arcs, the impact of the Duffer Brothers’ direction, and whether the emotional payoffs landed or fell flat.
Tune in next week for | Still up for debate. Let us know if you have an opinion 2026 Releases
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Really sharp take on how O'Brien pulls off that conflicted privilege angle. Most actors either go full unlikable or too sympathetic, but theres something about playing a character who inherited everything yet still manages vulnreable moments that keeps audiences engaged. Reminds me of watching people in real corporate dynamics where the entitled ones ocasionally show genuine humanity.