Thin Ice – A Film Review
F I L M R E V I E W F R I D A Y
If you’re a movie goer like me, it’s pretty dismal out there right now. The following is an offering that’s a notch above the rest – which isn’t saying much.
THIN ICE
Once you know that Thin Ice is a scam movie, it’s pretty easy to figure out the con. This is a low budget film starring Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup and Lea Thompson. That’s right, I said Lea Thompson. She was popular in the 80’s for a split second (Back to the Future) and then faded away. The fact that she’s in this, illustrates just how low budget it is. The trailer makes it look like this is a Fargo sort of story, which it is, if by “like Fargo” you mean they both take place in a cold climate? Greg Kinnear basically carries the whole movie on his shoulders. He’s a consistently good actor, I’ll give him that. He’s talented enough to have us believe that he’s the struggling, mid-western insurance salesman, Mickey Prohaska. (I can report that both the character and actor seem to be losing a bit of their charm and good looks, though.) Billy Crudup is also very good but may not be crazy enough to frighten the audience. The story keeps your attention even though it’s a bit transparent. This film deserved to have a bigger budget. It might have made it feel more substantial and less flimsy.
SEE IT if you’d feel smart after unravelling a pretty obvious scam, OR if you can’t get enough of the cold and snow this winter and would enjoy a trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin. DON’T SEE IT if watching Lea Thompson will make you feel old OR if you’ve been shopping around for some home insurance. Grade B-
Thanks for the review. I’ll be avoiding this.
In other notes,
– glad to see you Kinear fatigue is growing
– Lea Thompson also had a decent run on tv in a sitcom (she was a cartoonist I think)
– Ray Liotta in Something Wild (w/ Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith) is the epitome of movie crazy, and the standard to which all others should aspire.
Thanks for the warning….does it really take place in kenosha? I lived half an hour from there, its a snore of a town with a downtown that has been a ghost town for decades. Thats Hollywood for ya…..
Thanks for reading my review, MJ! Yes, unfortunately it does take place in Kenosha. I’m not too far from there either. About 40 minutes. Sometimes I go in the summer to the lake in Kenosha. I think in the winter it must be deadly.
GUAPOLA!
Ray Liotta does crazy like, well, like he’s crazy?! I love him.
I remember that TV show that Lea Thomson was in. That seems like it was so long ago, doesn’t it? She just never caught fire, did she. A very mediocre actress.
Greg Kinnear, I think, just rounded that inevitable corner where he’s on his way down, just a bit. It must be hard to be playing opposite Jack Nicholson one day, thinking you’ve arrived, and then opposite Lea Thompson, the next?
Actors have such a short life span – the ones who have that X-factor stay in the public eye for their entire career. The others just claw their way to stay relevant.
Hi,
Good review. I agree there isn’t much worth watching at the movies at the moment, lets hope this changes very soon.
Thanks for enjoying my lightweight review. I figure if I can spare some people the time and money then I’ve done a service : )
I really look forward to a good movie at the end of each. (If I were honest I’d say the popcorn is somewhere in that equation. haha!) But lately it’s been slim pickins.
Thanks for the head’s up. Wasting 2 hours and $30 really chaps my butt!
It’s the popcorn that lures me in… But yeah, why not tell it like it is. Movies are so expensive now that unless it’s majorly entertaining, I feel ripped off. We’re in agreement.
I’ve honestly never even heard of this movie. I must really be out of the loop! Good blog though. I don’t really like Greg Kinnear all that much. And I don’t really know the rest of the cast that well. I’ll probably pass this one up!
Yeah, I was desperate. Today the Lorax came out. That should tell you all you need to know. This was okay, but definitely not one that needs to be seen in the theater. Wait to see it on DVD.
Lea Thompson did have an awesome pair of boobs in that film All the Right Moves. Probably not so much anymore…
hahaha! You would notice that! Well now she looks like she’s 25 YEARS older! I can’t say I noticed her boobs. Thanks for reducing my film review down to it’s vital parts! haha!
I have a feeling it’s called Thin Ice because someone is in some trouble thus “walking on thin ice.” The sequel should be called Eggshells because after getting through this mess they’ll have to—you figure out the rest.
Usually a few good movies come out around March or April. January and February are always the bad ones though. January should be retitled French Stewartary (he’s not even in films but seemed like an easy target)
Lol! Yeah, January and February are the months that all the studios wait for to release the ones they know are gonna bomb.
Well, I don’t want to give too much away in this “thriller” but someone needs to hack up a body and get rid of it in the middle of a frozen lake – Pretty gross stuff. Then the ice starts melting and yeah, they’re on thin ice and so is the movie! haha!
Hack up a body? That’s how you know this was a lower budget film than Fargo. They could afford a woodchipper.
That’s exactly right.
Completely off topic here and you posted the one about bad song lyrics more than 2 weeks ago but I thought of another.
Blink 182-Adam’s Song
“Remember the time I spilt the cup……of apple juice on the floor”
I think it’s more how it’s sung that annoys me. They pause between cup and of. It came on the radio yesterday and immediately thought that I had to inform you of this. I’m sure you heard it at least once during a sad phase of one of your children.
Lily likes Blink 182. I like some of their songs. I’ll have to make sure I know, Adam’s Song. Just reading the lyric it seems stupid enough. How difficult is it to come up with decent lyrics? Thanks for informing me, immediately — I’m on it.