cinemajesty
Film Review: "The Iceman" (2012)Finding the essence of a real-life contract killer by restraining breath work and fixed eyeballs on any given scene opponent, actor Michael Shannon owns this picture, benefiting from an precise and strictly forwarding directions by Ariel Vromen, who hardly could improve this already streamlining picture with his mixed follow-up project "Criminal" (2016) before turning to an novel adaptation on the character of Egyptian Spy Ashraf Marwan (1944-2007) for his new project "The Angel" (2018)."The Iceman" could have been the classic for the time being. Actor Michael Shannon carries nearly every scene as the character of Richard Kuklinski in this picture, when encountering one-by-one the supporting cast, starting out from actress Winona Ryder as his wife Deborah in a charming introduction scene at a dinner, followed by meeting the employing character of Roy Demeo, performed in "GoodFellas" recalling mode by Ray Liotta, the one character, who's resolution gets dropped by the end, while every one else, including actor Chris Evans as welcoming beyond Captain America character of Mr. Freezy and a one scene appearance by actor James Franco of minor significance as struggling advantage-looking artist Marty Freeman, had been sent a bill by Michael Shannon's dominating acting appearance.Director Ariel Vromen made sure that the cinematography under Bobby Bukowski keeps afloat at all times, finding the most engaging angles with atmospheric lighting shifts in a film, which elegantly covers time periods from 1964 to 1986 within a compact running time of 100 Minutes (excluding the end crawler) makes "The Iceman" highly recommended to an audience appreciating power house acting, constant thrills and a 10 Million $ production budget well-spent under watchful surveillance of industry's producing specialist Avi Lerner, having giving space for a motion picture product, which does not need to shy away from a comparison of crime thriller genre-owning directors as Martin Scorsese.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)
Jackson Booth-Millard
I had heard about this film many times a year or so after its release, specifically how good it was meant to be, and I later found out it was based on real events, so I was looking forward to sitting down and watching it. Basically set in the 1960s, Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) dates and marries Deborah Pellicotti (Winona Ryder), they have two daughters, but everything is not ordinary, Richard is very secretive to his family. Deborah thinks that Richard dubs Disney cartoons, in fact he works as a lab technician for porn films, supplied to a mob operated syndicate, he later changes career when his bosses, including the powerful Roy Demeo (Ray Liotta) persuade him to become a contract killer. Richard, who had been the victim of beatings from his immigrant Polish father as a child, is emotionally disturbed and intensely violent, he easily passes his test to kill an unknown homeless man and proving his lack of feeling whilst killing. Over the years Richard spends as a contract killer he gains a reputation for his cold-blooded professionalism, while his family is kept in the dark about his true career, but mob politics force him to go independent, working secretly with psychopathic Robert "Mr. Freezy" Pronge (Chris Evans). Richard earns the nickname "Iceman", for his method of freezing a victim to mask the time of death, but he finds it very difficult to separate his professional and family lives, circumstances and his own weaknesses threaten them to collide and there follow consequences. In the end, Richard Kuklinski is arrested in the year 1986, following an undercover sting operation, neither his wife Deborah nor his daughters ever suspected he was a cold-blooded killer, he admitted to over 100 vicious murders in his 22-year career, he never saw his family again after being sentenced to two life terms, he died under suspicious circumstances in prison in 2006. Also starring James Franco as Marty Freeman, David Schwimmer as Josh Rosenthal, Robert Davi as Leonard Merks, Stephen Dorff as Joey Kuklinski and Erin Cummings as Ellen. This film ultimately belongs to Shannon, who gives a compelling as the psychopathic monster posing as an average family man, the murderer behind the human, there is good support from Ryder, Liotta, Evans and the others, it is almost a traditional mob movie premise, with strong moments of violence, it may slightly slow in places, but there are flourishes of style, and overall it is a good biographical crime thriller. Worth watching!
rusoviet
This was a good study on what makes the north east fascinating to the rest of America. The reality of New York City is far different than what is shown on new Year's Eve or a film shot on Park Avenue. It is surrounded by decay and poorly built residences. I mention that because what citizens of NYC and its environs tolerate as 'ok' places to eat i.e. diners are in most instances, 'dark, greasy, dusty and old.This is relevant because the scenes throughout the film are similar to "A Most Violent Year" - this film is a solid move away from the nostalgia of 'Goodfellas' or the first two Godfather films.The protagonist Kuklinski is also a result of these dead ends - of bad decisions etc. but also the culture that is 'there'. I totally enjoyed the film - it is well acted and a great performance by Michael Shannon.Non-New Yorkers enjoy the thrill of the: accents used, violence, ethnic culture etc. Finally regardless of 'stake in the game', NYC is slowly dying out while not aware of it. This film will not be the same a mere decade or two moving forward - the future is the demographics of LA.
