Covid Movie Reviews Part 2

What do you do when your family has Covid and your are stuck in the basement so you don’t get it? Watch more movies obviously.

Crimson Tide

Give me a ping, Vasili. One ping only, please.

A good, not great, submarine movie. Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman act the shit out this movie, but that can’t save a fundamentally flawed script. Hackman’s captain is written as too evil and too wrong: despite trying to make both side seem reasonable, Hackman is obviously in the wrong. Crimson Tide would be 100x better if Denzel wanted to release the missiles (he would be a by the book, follow orders and not undertanding the real world new officer) while Hackman understands the nuiances and ambiguities presented by the real world, old salt that he is.

Kursk

5/5

Also called The Command, this is a much better submarine movie. A great example of smart folks working to overcome obstacles imposed by their superiors.

K-19 The Widowmaker

4/5

Harrison Ford graduated from CIA analyst to Russia submarine captain, and Joss Ackland went from the Soviet Union’s American ambassador to Navy Admiral. After this and Kursk, I’m starting to get the feeling the Soviet/Russian government may not be the best run organization. Also, you have to love a movie that cold opens with an exercise/drill. Yeah they stole of from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but that doesn’t make it less awesome.

1917

4/5

The one shot style is obviously a gimmick, but it’s a gimmick that works well.

The Pod Generation

4/5

Absolutely zero submarines in this movie, yet somehow still enjoyable. Emilia Clarke’s eyebrows are a national treasure and deserve an Oscar. Also this moview has nine (NINE!) studio intros. Guess I missed the day they passed around the hat.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

5/5

Absolutely zero submarines in this movie, yet somehow still a submarine movie. A really, really good submarine movie. How we didn’t get a franchise out of this I’ll never understand, though maybe not having to sit though Master and Commander: Too French Too Furious makes it okay.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

5/5

Absolutely zero submarines in this movie, yet somehow the best submarine movie (sorry Red October). Also the best Moby Dick movie.

Hail, Caesar!

4/5

Not at all at I expected, but tons of fun.

Hollywoodland

2/5

Completing the Eddie Mannix duology with a much worse movie. Hollywoodland is suposed to be a period piece (two peroids actually) but always feels like it was filmed in the late 90s. It is slow and boring.

Margin Call

4/5

If you can get past the Kevin Spacey-ness, this is great movie. Covers the same ground as The Big Short but in a much less condescending manner.

Sunshine

1/5

Sunshine has so much going for it: great concept, great cast, good music. And then Danny Boyle fucks it all up by making it nearly impossible to watch. Stop being clever Danny: point the camera the actors and let them act. What a mess.