Crimson Tide (1995)

Hmm, my last submarine film viewing wasn't all that long ago. While this is certainly a time to be dwelling on spatial confinement, I really ought to space them a bit more. Nevertheless, these two are about as different as the subgenre allows.

During the Clinton Administration, just because the Cold War is over doesn't mean Russia poses no further military threat to the U.S., particularly when Chechnyan rebels get their hands on nuclear missiles. The crew of the USS Alabama is well aware of this when a Russian sub attacks them. They receive an outside order to preemptively launch ten missiles at the Russian nuclear installation, but a second message is cut short when a torpedo damages the communications equipment. Commanding Officer Ramsey (Gene Hackman) wants to ignore the incomplete transmission, but Executive Officer Hunter (Denzel Washington) insists on waiting as long as possible for clarity: It could be a retraction. Neither man is willing to compromise, and seeing as the wrong decision in either direction could lead to a nuclear holocaust, they vie desperately for control.

Green Book (2018)

Wow, the latest Best Picture didn't even make the upper half of my family's expectations. Sure, it ranks high on IMDb, but based on the sheer numbers of nominations, I had initially figured on The Favourite or Roma. My parents seemed to anticipate Black Panther or BlacKkKlansman in light of the Academy's newfound diversity kick. And after Bohemian Rhapsody netted quite a few awards, I hadn't ruled out a big slap in the face to the harsher critics. Only after GB's win did I feel a strong urge to check it out.

Future actor Frank Anthony Vallelonga, a.k.a. Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), is a nightclub bouncer in the Bronx in 1962. When the club closes for repairs, he hears of an opening for a driver for "a doctor," who turns out to be honorary doctor and star jazz pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali). Don seeks not just a chauffeur but an agent and bodyguard of sorts, because the Don Shirley Trio (the other two musicians being White) will be touring the Deep South in a racially inhospitable era. Despite pressures from family and friends not to associate closely with a Black man, Tony appears more concerned about spending eight weeks away from home and potentially missing Christmas Eve. He names a high wage, and Don matches it. You can guess the general shape of the story from there.

Carlito's Way (1993)

Ages ago, I made a curious discovery: I loved The Godfather but had trouble liking popular movies that resembled it -- even its Part II. When I read the summary of CW, I thought it sounded too close to Part III. Still, I'd had pretty good luck with Brian De Palma, so I gave it a try.

Those who have read the Edwin Torres book by the same title should note that this is actually based more on the literary sequel, After Hours. Here, in 1975, Carlito (Al Pacino) has just finished 5 years in prison but feels great, because he was set to serve another 25 until his friend and lawyer David (Sean Penn) showed that the prosecutor had used illegal evidence. He insists that his days as a Spanish Harlem drug lord are over; he aims to run a decent night club and earn enough money to move to the Caribbean, preferably with his on-and-off girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller). But while the scene has changed, it's never easy to stay out of trouble when nobody expects you to, and he doesn't feel ready to break away from some crooked friends....

The Road (2009)

As long-time readers of my blog may recall, I like to set October aside for movies that befit Halloween one way or another. Unfortunately, the first disc I received this month was unplayable, so I searched my streaming list and found it sparse on anything like horror. This looked like my best bet.

You'd guess from the bland title that it was a road trip feature, but it seems to me that no actual road gets much screen time. It's a post-apocalyptic drama, which can't help taking on facets of a thriller at times. Neither the movie nor the Cormac McCarthy book on which it's based specify the cause, but we see plenty of dead trees, few nonhuman animals, and no signs of future tech. The protagonists, an unnamed man (Viggo Mortensen) and his unnamed son (Kodi Smit-McPhee, who later starred in ParaNorman), make a trek southward to survive a winter without fuel. Along the way, they must beware other people, who are likely to rob them or do much, much worse....