In “Against the Ice,” set in 1909, Danish Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and an inexperienced volunteer, young mechanic Iver Iverson (Joe Cole), set off across Greenland’s harsh permafrost to retrieve a map left by a previously doomed expedition. It will serve as ‘land dispute’ evidence that the territory of Greenland belongs to his native Denmark, not the United States.

The original expedition, led by Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, sought to confirm or contest the findings of American explorer Robert Peary, who claimed that a channel, named Peary Channel, separates northeast Greenland from the mainland and that part of the territory is closest to the North American continent.

Problem is: they have to trudge across thousands of miles of Arctic ice to get it, a grim journey described as the equivalent of “walking from Moscow to Rome.”

Once they locate the cairn in which the map is buried, confirming that Greenland is one solid island, they battle extreme hunger and fatigue trying to cross the vast landscape to return to their ship – only to discover it has been crushed and their crew has abandoned them. Hoping to be rescued, they then must strive to stay alive.

It’s difficult to make 865 days on the ice into a psychological thriller, but it does deliver dog sled horror, a ferocious polar bear attack and solid performances, including Charles Dance as the Danish government’s Prime Minister.

Inspired by Ejnar Mikkelsen’s memoir “Two Against the Ice,” it’s co-written by Joe Derrick (“The Second Home”) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister in “Game of Thrones”) and directed by Peter Flinth (“Eye of the Eagle”), who maintains authenticity and realism – chronicled by cinematographer Torben Forsberg in the Arctic’s white wasteland.

In the publicity notes, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau reveals that his wife is from Greenland so he’s been a visitor in that country for the last 25 years, noting: “It’s the most magical place.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Against the Ice” is a survival 7, streaming on Netflix.

Evoking memories of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” and Brian De Palma’s “Blow Out,” Steven Soderbergh’s low-budget techno-thriller “Kimi” revolves around a next-generation virtual assistant, like Siri and Alexa, but named Kimi.

Paranoid Angela Childs (Zoe Kravitz – with blue, blunt-cropped hair) is a tech analyst, working remotely from her sprawling Seattle loft/apartment for Amygdala Corporation, headed by Bradley Hasling (illusionist Derek DelGaudio).

Since she’s agoraphobic, she spends a great deal of time looking out of the window. So do her nosy neighbors. There’s Terry (Byron Bowers) from across the street who makes periodic booty calls and creepy Kevin (Devin Ratray), armed with binoculars 

Angela keeps in touch by telephone with her mother (Robin Givens) and telemedicine therapist (Emily Kuroda), both of whom urge her to try to leave her barricaded sanctuary, having endured two Covid-induced lockdowns – even if it’s only to visit the dentist.

One day, while routinely monitoring voice-activated data streams for possible glitches, Angela hears someone yelling in distress. Like John Travolta in “Blow Out,” she adjusts the audio element to eliminate the blaring music and identify a terrified woman (Erika Christensen) experiencing a sexual assault that leads to murder.

With the help of Darius (Alex Dobrenko), a tech problem-solver in Romania, Angela traces the suspicious data stream to its user. When she reports overhearing the violent crime to Amygdala’s ‘organic interpolations’ officer, Natalie Chowdhury (Rita Wilson) that alert triggers threatening reprisals from within the corporate hierarchy.

Scripted by David Koepp (“Panic Room”), it’s tautly directed by Steven Soderbergh (“Let Them All Talk,” ”No Sudden Move”), who doubles as his own cinematographer (using the pseudonym of Peter Andrews) and editor (using the pseudonym of Mary Ann Bernard). And Kimi is voiced by Betsy Brantley, Soderbergh’s ex-wife.

FYI: The amygdala is the part of our brain that processes fear.

Once again, we’re reminded that the communication technology in our ever-present devices has systematically usurped our right to privacy.

On the Granger Gauge, “Kimi” is a slyly slick, surveillance 6, streaming on HBO Max.

A fictional teenage film student may be this awards season’s best campaigner as the mediocre “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” dazzled the animation BAFTAs, Critics Choice and Oscars – and many wonder why.

17-year-old Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) is an avid film student, heading to college in Southern California, when her overbearing father Rick (Danny McBride) cancels her plane ticket and decides to take Katie, her dinosaur-obsessed younger brother Aaron (voiced by director Mike Rianda), and her mother Linda (voiced by Maya Rudolph) on a road trip in their ’93 stick-shift station-wagon.

For years, geeky Katie, who continually spews out movie references, has been churning out videos for her YouTube channel, including “Dog Cop,” featuring the family’s bug-eyed pug, Monchi.

As they’re driving cross-country, a Silicon Valley tech guru (voiced by Eric Andre) introduces a device ‘upgrade’ which leads to a nationwide robot uprising, not to mention demonic Furbys. That’s when the animated action-comedy turns into a cautionary fable about technology run amok, predictably leading to family bickering becoming family bonding.

“Who would have dreamed the tech companies wouldn’t have our best interests at heart?” murmurs perpetually upbeat Linda.

The evil computer PAL is referred to as “my Queen” by some of the robots, perhaps a reference to voice actor Olivia Colman, who played Queen Elizabeth II in “The Crown,” and the Mall of the Globe in Colorado is a dig at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. 

Katie’s catapult to fame is attributed to writer/director Mike Rianda, co-writer/director Jeff Rowe and producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller  (“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”) who have shamelessly plunged into massive marketing, sending decorated cupcakes and replicas the the wooden moose to voters and plastering billboards around Los Angeles, promoting Katie’s website.

FYI: Linda’s recipe for ‘face’ cupcakes is shown during the final credits.

On the Granger Gauge, “The Mitchells vs the Machines” is a frenetic, fast-paced 5, streaming on Netflix.