The Ice Harvest (2005)

Why so much hype?

Just so...so bad

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is my Christmas movie. I did not like Cusac for years because he is not a leading man looking dude. However, after seeing him hold the screen in Grifters, Gross Point Blank, and this, one of my top ten, I now consider him the modern Bogey. Billy Bob is just Billy Bob. Nobody else that I know of could deliver the lines " He was depending on a level of affection and concern that just wasn't there" and "If you think you're getting out of that trunk, you are one optimistic motherf--er" with the savoire- fare that Willy Rob can. As another clued in individual stated in their great review, "It's a Wonder Boys, It's a Big Lebowski, It's a Nobody's Fool" If you've seen and appreciate these gems 'nuff said.

When two low level mafia members are frustrated with their roles, they come up with a plan to steal two million dollars from their boss. Everything goes off without a hitch, and now, they just have to wait one night before they can get out of town and move on to a new life, but things are never that simple. The Ice Harvest was an interesting film, with a great cast, and had they been able to pull off what they were attempting to do, it would have been a classic. Producers decided to make this film a modern day, 1930's type noir film, but at the same time, they wanted to mock how cheesy and over the top these films could be. It was a great idea, but it didn't work because the mocking wasn't subtle. In fact, the film takes it so far, that it becomes exactly what they were trying to make fun of in the first place. John Cusack stars and he can make any film better. This guy can play anyone and is always amazing, I just can't understand why he doesn't take on bigger roles. Here he's paired with Billy Bob Thornton, who under the right circumstances, can be hilarious. While he was pretty funny, he has almost no chemistry with Cusack and that hurt the film. These guys were partners, but on completely opposite pages and it just doesn't work. The Ice Harvest was an interesting story and I wish they had been able to pull off what they were attempting to do, but very quickly the film becomes a farce of itself, brutally predictable, and simply a waste of time.

seriously, if you don't appreciate the near hopeless desperation of john cusak's character's desire to connect with anyone (anyone at all in his seamy menagerie of 'acquaintances') and oliver platt's character's hopeless middle-age angst poorly salved by whiskey, then buddy, i don't wanna know ya ...this is an excellent movie and i'm not sure why it doesn't connect with so many people ... perhaps people really convince themselves that life is more than just the same routine, mind-numbing in repetition and ultimately pointless when it's all said and done but i haven't seen much evidence to the contrary ... perhaps you've never had a Christmas or holiday alcohol misjudgment, when the booze grabs the leash from your hands and yanks you in an unexpected direction and before you can bite your tongue, an ugly holiday memory is forever seared in the brains of 'loved ones' and you are thought of for all time as a 'poor excuse for a man' or husband or son or ... whatever .... if you haven't then bully for you ...for the rest of us, well, we understand this movie and the only hope we have is to perhaps stumble forward into heaven at the end where pancakes and more finally await us, hot and fresh ...

It is wrong to label The Ice Harvest as a Comedy, maybe that is what the studio wanted it to be. It has its funny bits, but The Ice Harvest is more of a neo-noir. Either way, it's watchable but not that enriching.There is nothing original or clever about this story, except for the paradox of the setting. The Ice Harvest is a cold, dark tale set during the most bright and jolly of times. Of course I am talking about Christmas. It is sort of difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes The Ice Harvest watchable when considering that the whole thing is pretty dull. Perhaps it is the fact that just occasionally the story does something random and amusing, but it never amounts to much.There is a certain dose of Fargo to the movie. When it begins in Witchita, Kansas on Chrismas Eve, locally renowned lawyer Charlie Arglist and his partner have stolen two and a half million dollars. Now it is just a matter of being patient for a few hours as they figure out how to blow town. In the middle of this is the archetypal 'femme fatale' played by Connie Neilson as the owner of a strip club who wants something from Charlie. I think The Ice Harvest acknowledges that it is derivative, which is why it tries to be amusing every now and then, but It is not half as funny as it should be. If you want a good crime movie with a better sense of humour, try Bandits.