Submarine Suspense

Black Sea thriller dives into deep-seated fears, suspicion and greed

Setting a movie aboard a submarine naturally lends itself to intensity. There’s the inherent claustrophobia, with characters only able to navigate tight quarters. And then there’s the constant specter of death, whether from enemies, the crush of water or underwater rock formations.

All of this is and more comes to pass in the surprisingly thrilling Black Sea. Instead of the usual wartime setting, the submariners in play this time are those experienced in salvage work. Robinson (Jude Law) has just been let go by his cost-cutting company when an old co-worker approaches him with a scheme to loot a long-sunk Russian submarine filled with gold.

Director Kevin Macdonald does an excellent job ramping up the tension without delving into clichés.

With the help of Daniels (Scoot McNairy) and a mysterious benefactor, Robinson gathers together a half English/half Russian crew to go into the depths of the Black Sea. But the prospect of millions of dollars worth of gold, combined with the difficulty of communication between the two groups, soon leads to paranoia and anger — never a good mix when you’re far underwater.

Director Kevin Macdonald, working from a script by Dennis Kelly, does an excellent job ramping up the tension without delving into clichés. The gradual deterioration of the multicultural crew and their situation never plays out exactly like you think it will, with characters making surprising decisions on multiple occasions.

This unpredictability is key to the film’s success, as is the uneasy interaction between the two factions of the crew. One can imagine that the stress of undertaking such a mission is high, something that’s only exacerbated by the fact that the Englishmen and the Russians never get over their mutual distrust. It’s a volatile condition that only gets more so as the story unfolds.

Just as he did in 2014’s Dom Hemingway, Law uses an unfamiliar accent — in this case, a Scottish brogue — to help bring out the most in his character. The voice, combined with a bulked-up physical presence, lends an air of authority to Robinson, something he uses to good effect throughout.

What really keeps the film humming, though, are the supporting turns by some of the Russian actors. Grigoriy Dobrygin, Konstantin Khabenskiy and others deliver understated performances that stand in stark contrast to the more bombastic roles of their English peers.

Black Sea is a film that works not only as a thriller, but also as one that examines deep-seated fears, suspicion and greed. It’s an early-year gem that could bode well for what the rest of the 2015 movie year will look like.

The disagreements between the English and Russians are what lends much of Black Sea its tension.

Daniel Ryan and Ben Mendelsohn in Black Sea

Photo by Alex Bailey Focus Features

The disagreements between the English and Russians are what lends much of Black Sea its tension.

Lights over Texas

Showstopping Ennis holiday display to compete on famed TV 'Light Fight'

Mach Christmas Display, Ennis, Great Christmas Light Fight

Photo courtesy of ABC

The Mach Christmas display in Ennis is open to the public through the holidays.

Patrick Mach harbored a Texas-sized dream to compete on ABC’s The Great Christmas Light Fight. When he finally got the call, he built Texas. The Mach Christmas Display - a massive, Texas-themed walk-through attraction in Ennis - will compete on the hit reality competition on Thursday, December 19.

They’ll battle against three other families around the country for $50,000, a trophy, and serious bragging rights.

“It’s a bucket-list item to be on the show,” Mach says. “I’ve always wanted to be on since season one.” (The show is now in season 12.)

The Mach family - Patrick and wife Natasha and their four kids, Natalie (17), Ethan (16), Noelle (12), and Brandon (11) - all pitched in to create the display and will appear on the show.

The family lives on a “mini-ranch” in the Ennis-Alma area, about 40 minutes south of Dallas. Three-and-a-half acres of the 10-acre property are taken over by their Christmas lights extravaganza each holiday season. It even has its own electrical meter.

“Texas” uses half-a-million lights, 200 inflatables, and custom-built pieces to depict 40 cities and towns across the Lone Star State (though not actually in the shape of Texas). Each is marked with a green city-limits sign and has a vignette that represents the city.

Great Christmas Light Fight, Mach Christmas Display The Houston section has rockets and Buzz Lightyear.Photo courtesy of Patrick Mach

Dallas has a custom wireframe outline of the skyline, plus Dallas Cowboys inflatables and a whole section devoted to the State Fair.

Fort Worth gets longhorns and a Texas Motor Speedway-inspired racetrack, complete with “Lightning McQueen” and “Tow Mater” Disney/Pixar characters.

“Space City” Houston has rockets and Buzz Lightyear, and “Live Music Capital” Austin has a guitar with strings that “play.” (A custom Texas Capitol building will be constructed for next year’s display.) San Antonio has a giant, 8-foot-tall Alamo outlined in lights and a River Walk bridge crossing a blue river.

The smaller Texas town displays are just as creative: Glen Rose has dinosaurs, College Station has Texas A&M-inspired military drummers, New Braunfels has a polar bear floating the river, and Ennis, of course, has bluebonnets.

Mach Christmas Display, Ennis, Great Christmas Light Fight The Glen Rose section has dinosaurs.Photo courtesy of ABC

In a nod toThe Great Christmas Light Fight host Carter Oosterhouse, they added Carter, Texas - yes, an actual town in Parker County - just for the show. It included a mural of Oosterhouse riding a bull. The host, Mach says, was impressed.

Love of Christmas
The Machs’ drive to light up a Texas-sized spectacle comes from their deep love of Christmas. Patrick and Natasha met on a dating app when she “hearted” his Christmas-y photo. On one of their first dates, during the pandemic, they watched a Great Christmas Light Fight marathon. He proposed to her on his Christmas lights display at home. They married in a Christmas-themed wedding three years ago, and Santa even showed up.

Patrick Mach had grown up loving Christmas and putting up displays with his father, from whom he learned carpentry. His dad gifted him an old-fashioned blow-mold nativity scene in 2004; he then passed away on December 30, 2006.

“So since he passed so close to Christmas, every year I did a little more to keep mind off what happened … then it just became so big,” Mach says.

In fact, Mach had been nominated for the Light Fightevery year since 2019. He never thought he was ready.

“It took a few years to commit,” he says, “then 2023 came around and we said, ‘Let’s go.’”

The family found out they’d made the show in September 2023. Filming would take place around Thanksgiving. Each member of the family, plus an army of friends, worked from a “battle plan” to design and build the display, which would be greatly expanded for the show.

“From 2022 to 2023, we doubled the display,” he says. “It was all hands on deck. We were still working on it the day they showed up (to film).”

The shoot lasted a few days and was an “awesome experience,” Mach says. The crew became like family.

“Behind the scenes we were always cutting up, laughing, the kids made friends with the producers,” he says. “We still text message with the producers every so often, and one camera guy brought us a Christmas display item that he doesn’t use and wanted to go to a good family.”

Two things that surprised him behind the scenes: how strict they were about using copyrighted characters and images (no Grinches allowed) and how tiring the filming was.

“After we filmed, I slept the best I'd slept in months,” he jokes.

Mach Christmas Display, Ennis, Great Christmas Light Fight The Mach family with Great Christmas Light Fight host Carter Oosterhouse.Photo courtesy of Patrick Mach

He remains tight-lipped about the outcome of the show. But if the family does win, he’d like to put the $50,000 toward a well-deserved vacation. They're the third North Texas contenders on this season of Light Fight; so far, none has been victorious.

Gift to the community
Win or lose, the Mach Christmas Display will remain on for the public to walk through and enjoy on select nights through the holidays. (Watch their Facebook page for the schedule.) There’s no charge to see it, but they do collect donations for local charities such as Toys for Tots, Helping Hands of Ennis, and the SPCA.

It can be a little tricky to find, and GPS doesn’t always route to the right place, so they advise visitors to use the pin they’ve dropped on Google Maps.

Although the Machs have attracted visitors from several hours away, they remain focused on sharing their love of Christmas with their community.

“Ennis is a smaller town, and this is our way of giving back to the community,” Mach says, “of giving families something to do around the holidays because there’s nothing around here like this.”

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The Machs’ episode of The Great Christmas Light Fight will air at 7 pm Thursday, December 19 on WFAA/Channel 8 and will be available to stream on Hulu the next day. The Mach Christmas Display is open on select nights through the holiday season; follow their Facebook page for the schedule and more information. The address is 171 FM1183, Ennis, 75119. Follow the directions at the pin on Google Maps. For lists of Dallas' best Christmas lights, go here and here.

Mach Christmas Display, Ennis, Great Christmas Light Fight

Photo courtesy of ABC

The Mach Christmas display in Ennis is open to the public through the holidays.

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