Movies I saw in January: Send Help, Anora, Blink Twice

I didn’t see many movies in January, but those I did watch packed a surprisingly satisfying punch; all three featured women defying the control of others to carve new paths for their lives, with most carving those paths straight through their captors with very sharp knives. 

That was cool.

And while my favorite movie of the trio features a woman realizing that the VIP club she desperately wants to join is just a gilded cage, my favorite character was a woman suddenly released from her cage of conformity and quickly realizing her true talents lie in plotting revenge, not playing nice.

January’s movies:

1. Anora (On DVD rented from library, 1/10/2026) Grade: A

Last year I was disappointed that Demi Moore didn’t win an Oscar for her work in “The Substance,” but after finally seeing “Anora,” I full embrace the Best Actress win by Mikey Madison. Not only did I believe every moment of her portrayal, I would have given her the statue just for the screaming fit she throws to keep two men from containing her, as their response to her full-bodied revolt created one of the funniest scenes I have ever watched.

And that comedy came at just the right time, for I was about to give up on this movie that lifts bits of plot and dialog from “Pretty Woman,” but little else from that fairytale. Because while the 1990 movie was essentially a rom-com/Cinderella story with just a side of sex work ordered from the kids menu, “Anora” has our main character’s body being rented by a man with far more realistic demands than Richard Gere’s too-driven-to-date businessman.

The resulting debauchery and disrespect inflicted on our heroine in this movie almost had me turning it off, but I am very glad I stuck with this slow-burning love story, which I not only found more realistic, but far more satisfying, than the nearly squeaky clean “Pretty Woman.”

2. Blink Twice (On DVD rented from the library, 1/17/2026) Grade: B+

I’ll admit it, I picked “Blink Twice” off the shelves because Channing Tatum was on the DVD cover. And knowing really nothing else about this movie, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it despite Tatum playing almost a bit part.

To avoid giving away too much of the plot, I’ll just describe “Blink Twice” as a nice mix of Fantasy Island and Get Out (and did I detect a dash of that creepy movie in which director Zoe Kravitz’s mom starred called Angel Heart?) that delivered an impressively edited feast of sounds, music and visuals that kept my attention far more competently than “Him,” which failed to create even a fraction of the “what the heck is happening?!” ambiance this movie deftly maintains throughout.

3. Send Help (In the theater, 1/31/2026) Grade: C

The best thing about this movie was Rachel McAdams, which was another surprise because I’d never quite warmed to her before. But here she exudes the perfect mix of cheerful-yet-creepy as a ridiculed outcast who suddenly gains power and popularity when civilization collapses around her. The only actress I’ve seen doing that role better these days is Christina Ricci in “Yellowjackets.”

But overall, the movie felt like a mediocre mix of the two great movies “Cast Away” and “Misery,” since it pales in comparison to both. My favorite parts of “Cast Away” are watching Tom Hanks opening packages, learning to fish and build a fire, but this movie decides not to show us much of how Linda adapts to the island she is dropped on, preferring instead to linger on her punishing her former boss. 

Yet unlike “Misery,” when it came time for any actual torture, “Send Help” shies away from Linda physically maiming her boss unlike Kathy Bates’ Annie does to her captive, instead deciding to linger far too long on our two main characters squabbling with decidedly uninteresting chemistry, and mysteriously having the most violent scene not even featuring a human victim. 

As someone who can definitely identify with Linda's inability to adapt to “polite society,” I wanted this movie to get far more detailed and depraved that it dared, and wish a director like David Fincher had been hired to relish in showing us exactly how Linda realizes her full potential.

Movies I saw in December: Anaconda, Song Sung Blue.

Finally, here are the movies my grandmother saw in January of 1996:

Thursday, Jan. 4

Up 6:30, tea, breakfast McDonald’s.

Debbie and I to show, “The City of Lost Children.” French, very weird!

Sunday, Jan. 7

Thought to have haircut, he not there. Home, watered houseplants.

To “Toy Story.” Good.

Tuesday, Jan. 9

Breakfast Carl’s Jr., walked mall, Lilly passed test at DMV.

To show, “Waiting to Exhale.” Stupid, I thought.

Thursday, Jan. 11

Longs, Xerox gone. Wrote Mina, to Kinkos to copy Stimson's letter.

To deli, got sandwich. To show, “12 Monkeys.” Brad Pitt is paranoid, good acting.

Saturday, Jan. 13

Played La Boheme, some TV.

Watched “All the Mornings of the World.” French. Lovely color!

Monday, Jan. 15

To show, “Tom and Huck.” Better than I thought.

Ate Wendy’s, brought home salad.

Friday, Jan. 19

To show, “Sense and Sensibility.”

Post office, mailed pictures to Justine. 

Home to find letter from Justine, no email luck. She taking International Communications.

Saturday, Jan. 20, 1996

To mall, post office, library, returned two books + records. Read Newsweek.

To show, “From Dusk til Dawn.” Special effects!

Monday, Jan. 22, 1996

To show, “Dead Man Walking.” Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon. Good.

Mail: letter from Mina, $103.88 from Colonial Penn.

Friday, Jan. 26, 1996

To show, “12 Monkeys,” second time. Understood better, not completely.

Kmart Scotts Valley, got more chicken.

The woman in the river: How I met my new role models for life after 50

How to stay forever young? Swim in the wild!

One of my favorite places to visit is the beach at Big River in Mendocino County. Not just because its beautiful and full of wildlife, but because I always seem to find something a bit magical every time I walk its sandy shore.

Like one foggy morning when horses were trotting on the sand. Or another morning when I met the person I want to be in old age: A woman well into her 80s who swims in that water every chance she gets.

“You do this every day?” I asked her as she treaded water in that beautiful spot, made even more beautiful by the ripples of light in the waves she was creating.

She paused, likely deciding whether or not to even respond to this stranger interrupting her meditative exercise, then finally answered me with a simple: “Try to.”

That was cool.

Because I’ve thought about her ever since, this woman fully embracing life, not content to waste her last years letting her body decay in a recliner while watching television like another woman I knew on the edge of 80.

So the next time I was at Big River, I was drawn back down to the shore, hoping she might be there again. And though she wasn’t swimming in the river that day because it was wintertime and the water too cold, while searching for her again I found something even cooler: A whole group of women who swim there every day!

A member of the Big River Swim Team poses near the team's decal.

Members of the Big River Swim Team, they are a group of friends in their 50, 60s and 70s, who don wetsuits to brave the cold beauty of Big River for their daily swim.

“Why do you do this?” I asked them, though of course I knew why: exercise, companionship, accomplishment, and nature. All things that make you feel better, all things included in one  daily swim at Big River.

And of course those cool women knew the first swimmer I met, but told me she didn’t swim in the river past November.

“I want to be her,” I told Eileen, 64, who was drying off after swimming nearly two miles in the river.

“You can!” she said immediately.

That was super cool.

See more of Big River and its swimmers here:

Movies I saw in December: Anaconda, Fatman, Song Sung Blue

Why go to the theater anymore? Because it's fun!

My favorite movie I saw in December was also my favorite Christmas present this year, since it gifted me 90-plus minutes of hanging out with three of my favorite people: Jack Black, Paul Rudd, and a beloved family member.

Yes, the first two were technically only present on the movie screen, and yes, my companion and I didn't have to go to the theater to watch those actors together, but we did need a break from our menfolk. 

So I respectfully disagree with a recent column by Mick LaSalle, a film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, in which he couldn't come up with a reason for anyone to see a movie at just a standard multiplex playing new releases anymore. Because we had two very good reasons to go to the movies that day: First, to escape our spouses and enjoy some belly laughs together, and second, to hear those laughs magnified by all the people around us. That was very cool.

The movies I saw in December were:

1. Anaconda (12/26/2025, in the theater) Grade: A

This movie was everything I wanted, an impressive feat given how excited I was after first seeing the trailer: Jack Black? Good! Paul Rudd? Good! Goofy reboot of Anaconda? Super good!

And unlike the disappointing sequel to The Accountant that also had me super excited after its trailer (more on The Accountant 2 here), this movie delivered, being both fun and relevant for people my age, with just enough silliness on top to entertain any kids (and grandkids!) we brought along.

2. Fatman (12/20/2025, Netflix) Grade: B

This movie was a slow burn, one best savored by super fans of Walton Goggins and Mel Gibson who are not expecting typical holiday fare, as this was a most a-typical Christmas movie with a most a-typical Santa.

And while I certainly appreciated every scene with Mr. Goggins, I could have enjoyed much more time with grumpy Gibson driving around in his Ford pick-up with a bottle of milk balancing on the dashboard and plate of cookies next to him on the seat, especially since an older Ford F-150 is just about my favorite vehicle to watch, either on screen or in real life.

3. Song Sung Blue (12/28/2025, in the theater) Grade: C-

It breaks my heart a little to give this movie a poor grade, because Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson were delightful as low-rent lounge singers who find success as a Neil Diamond tribute band, and I could have happily watched many more scenes of them learning to harmonize, arguing over which song to start their concerts with, and how much time and effort they were going to spend getting his hair just right.

But much like the recent Bruce Springsteen biopic (more on “Deliver me from Nowhere” here), this movie spent way too much time off-stage wallowing in the sad parts of the story instead of giving the audience what it really wants: to sing some fun songs with some fun, good-looking people who also happen to be pretty good singers.

And much like Jackman’s Lightning refusing to start concerts with the fan favorite “Sweet Caroline,” it felt like this movie just didn’t want to give the audience what it wanted. Proven by my theater’s response to the credits, which was crickets: How could you possibly have more than two hours of Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson and super-catchy Neil Diamond songs and not have people at least clapping afterward, let alone cheering?

I think most people, including me, would have enjoyed this movie much more if it left out many of the tragic twists and turns of the true story it was based on, letting its perfectly cast stars shine as the charismatic and talented real people they were portraying, while letting audiences seek out the rest of the story on the documentary that served as its source material.

I also wish Jackman had asked James Mangold, who directed him in "Logan," to take the helm, since Mangold proved twice, first in "Walk the Line" and next in "A Complete Unknown," that he can make meaningful-yet-enjoyable movies about imperfect musicians that neither skirt nor dwell on the bad bits.

Now, at last, the movies my grandmother saw in December of 1998:

Thursday, Dec. 3:

Ate KFC, pot pie.

To Show, “Bug’s Life.”

Home 4:30 p.m., worked on taxes.

Thursday, Dec. 10:

To McDonald’s for coffee.

Looked for pants at Penney’s, Gottschalks. Some Vanderbilts and Lees.

To show, “Home Fries.” Drew Barrymore, Luke Wilson? About “country” folks!

Friday, Dec. 18:

To post office, mailed 7 cards.

Longs, returned video.

To show, “Prince of Egypt.” Good.

Saturday, Dec. 19:

Coffee and donut on Ocean Avenue.

To show, “Gods and Monsters.” Ian McKellan, wonderful film.

Newspapers sold out in many places, found 3 left at Drug Emporium. 

Thursday, Dec. 24:

Justine here 3:30 p.m. Drove to see lights.

To show, “Gods and Monsters.” She had pizza.

Home 9:30. Some TV.

Tuesday, Dec. 29:

Wakened by quakes, 4:38. Back to sleep after moving lamps and gorilla.

To show after donut/coffee. “Shakespeare in Love.” Great.

Very cold. Vacuumed furnace. 

More of grandma's days in December of 1998 here.