Scent of a Woman (1992)

Had I known that this story takes place on a Thanksgiving weekend, I would have waited a few more weeks. After all, I can't fill November with seasonally appropriate fare like I do October. As it is, I prioritized SoaW solely because it was one of the most esteemed '90s flicks I hadn't seen yet.

Prep schooler Charlie (Chris O'Donnell in his star-making role) is not in the same economic bracket as most of his peers, so he can't return to his Oregon home from New England for the holidays yet. For extra income, he agrees to look after completely blind, retired lieutenant colonel Frank (Al Pacino) for the weekend while Frank's niece, her husband, and their kids go on vacation. It soon becomes obvious why they're not taking him along and why nobody else applied for the job: Frank's a jerk. Immediately after the rest of the family leaves, he takes charge and flies off to New York City, with Charlie reluctantly in tow and unable to return when he wants. Frank's goals are to crash the Thanksgiving dinner of his brother's family, live it up like an alcoholic millionaire at the Waldorf-Astoria...and commit suicide.

Pirate Radio (2009)

This is one of the few movies I saw because of a poster. It's not an especially well-done image, but it did get me curious. Even when I'd learned little more than the very different original homeland title, The Boat That Rocked, I wanted to give it a try. The facts that I didn't notice anyone talking about it and that it fared poorly at the box office made little difference to me.

In the late '60s, BBC Radio won't meet the demand for rock music, so a broad swath of the public turns to unlicensed stations playing from ships at sea. (So that's how both titles work!) The story follows the people at one station in particular, uncreatively dubbed "Radio Rock." They have their various episodes, but the main conflict concerns ongoing government efforts to shut them down.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

As I predicted, I got around to seeing a second adaptation of the same Patricia Highsmith novel. I'm glad I waited, because I could no longer remember much of what happened before. Nevertheless, looking back over my review of Purple Noon, I noticed a number of differences, some of which reportedly hew closer to the source material.

In the '50s, a New York shipping magnate (James Rebhorn) mistakes master of fakery Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) for a former classmate of rebellious son Dickie (Jude Law) and hires him to fetch Dickie from a prodigal life in Italy. Tom becomes a friendly third wheel to Dickie and girlfriend Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow) but soon reveals his mission, which he utterly fails. This does not end Tom's welcome in Dickie's eyes, but when that does run out, the two have a physical fight and Tom kills him. Tom begins telling earlier acquaintances that Dickie is away somewhere and telling later acquaintances that he is Dickie. Offhand, I'd say it's his hardest con job yet. It could be funny if it weren't deadly serious.

25th Hour (2002)

Netflix uses the term "post-9/11" in its description of this movie, which may have played a subconscious part in my queue ordering. While the story does take place in New York City, the only sign of anything related to 9/11 comes when protagonist Monty (Edward Norton) cusses out Osama bin Laden. Along with various groups and individuals in NYC. And Jesus. And finally himself.

Monty's not much happier than that for the rest of the movie, in which the DEA has found drugs in his apartment and he has a day left to party and say his goodbyes before turning himself in. (Yes, the law can work that way, though the federal agents shouldn't have mentioned the Rockefeller drug laws.) From the title, I had expected an action-packed thriller, not a drama. In fact, it's less a story than a character study, with a fair amount of focus on the quiet troubles of his friends Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Frank (Barry Pepper) and his father (Brian Cox) as they prepare to see him off, not knowing whether he'll spend seven years in prison, run away forever, or commit suicide.