blanche-2 I have to say I really enjoyed "Thin Ice" even though it had a few problems. It certainly didn't have any cast problems: Greg Kinnear, who somehow always surprises me; Billy Crudup, whom I adore; and Alan Arkin, an absolute treasure. Also on hand were Lea Thompson, David Harbour, and Jennifer Edwards Hughes.The movie is compared to Fargo because it takes place in Wisconsin in the winter and the major theme is a guy doing something dishonest and getting in way over his head.The comparisons really stop there. This is a good movie on its own. It's not perfect but it is entertaining.Insurance agent Mickey (Greg Kinnear) is blackmailed by Locksmith Randy (Billy Crudup) over the theft of a valuable violin owned by Gorvy Hauer (Alan Arkin).Mickey (Kinnear) is an insurance man, and when we first see him, he's giving a lecture at an insurance convention. While he's there his wallet is stolen and of course, it contained credit cards. But he gets the wallet back with the cash gone and the cards intact.While he's at the convention, he meets a man, Bob Egan (Harbour) who hasn't taken his insurance exam yet. He has been offered a job with an unfavorable split; Mickey betters it and hires him. Bob is good at his job and introduces Mickey to a potential client, Gorvy (Arkin) who lives on a farm. He has tons of stuff, a lot of which is from his ill sister, and Bob wants him to have insurance. While he's there, Mickey sees an appraisal for a violin of Gorvy's. The appraisal is $25,000. Mickey decides to steal it.What follows is one complication after another, which involves Mickey with an ex-con (Crudup) and some other unpleasantness.Apparently this film was taken from the director and edited without his input. The film has imperfections, but the script by the Sprechers is good, possibly inspired by Fargo and a couple of other films.The acting was wonderful on all accounts, but I have to say Crudup was amazing. It was a showier role than Kinnear's, and though Arkin was excellent, I had seen him do that kind of thing before. Crudup as a bad-tempered sleaze was outstanding.Highly recommended. You can pick a film like this apart but it's so entertaining, why bother.

MLDinTN This is one of those movies were what you see is not what is really happening. Everything that happens is to mislead you to the surprise ending. Mickey is an insurance salesman whom finds a new client with the help of a new employee. The new client, Gorvy, is an elderly man that is buying insurance for his house, but Mickey soon learns he also possesses a valuable violin. Mickey is in a lot of debt and so decides to swindle the old man.What he learns days later, is that he was the only one whom was swindled. And everybody he thought he new was really someone else. I thought it was clever.FINAL VERDICT: check it out, it's a great con.

www.ramascreen.com www.Ramascreen.com --Great performances, average movie, that's basically what you can take away from THIN ICE, which wants to be taken seriously as a Midwestern con flick with a bit of Coens' Fargo feel to it but the way it reveals itself at the end is so abrupt and hasty, it jams itself down the audience's throat and it doesn't care whether or not the audience is fully prepared for it just yet. Interesting concept, a con film through the eyes of the marked man, but interesting at best is what this film would have to settle for… Greg Kinnear is a fantastic actor, I think I find myself saying that about all of his previous performances. There are certain occupations out there that are not liked by general public, lawyers and insurance agents are examples, and Kinnear plays an agent who's also a compulsive liar and he sees a golden opportunity that could be used to his advantage. The story is basically told through his perspective, his character, Mickey, is not necessarily a protagonist but then again, the story doesn't actually have a protagonist to root for, because even the ones that get away with the prize don't grant themselves something likable, and because Micky finds himself digging deeper and deeper into problems with every unwise choice he makes, part of you would feel a bit sorry for the fella. As I said earlier, THIN ICE sorta takes style from Coen Bros' crime drama/thriller/comedy, even Mickey reminds me of Michael Stuhlbarg's character in A Serious Man, situations for them just worsen, no matter what they do, there'd be times when they think they've got it all figured out but they actually don't.One credit I'd give THIN ICE is that unless somebody tells you that it's a con film, you probably wouldn't have guessed it from the get-go but halfway trough the film, you can kinda start sensing something's off and start piecing it together. I'm a tropical boy, so I can only imagine how uncomfortable it must've been for Arkin, Kinnear, and Crudup to be out there in dead winter, I'd freeze my ass off and wouldn't be able to say my lines correctly. I think the film was poorly edited and it could've used a more chilling score. Crudup is a treat to watch here because his character is unpredictable, unstable, psycho scary and because of that he also comes off funny, I've never seen Crudup this way on screen and so to see him do it so well, is refreshing, definitely not an actor you'd underestimate. Perhaps if the writers, the Sprechers, where to give Mickey more depth, thus allowing Kinnear to showcase more. That would certainly compensate for everything else that's lackluster about THIN ICE.-- www.Ramascreen.com --

alex-frecon I was a bit intrigued to see how the new, re-cut "The Convincer" would stack up to its predecessor. To be honest, I was a bit bias from the start, particularly given the title change to "Thin Ice" Either way, this film lacks structure. I feel like that, in an attempt to make it to the 90 minute marker, it has sacrificed much of its plot. Scenes jump too quickly, and the characters are not allowed to develop as well as they were in "The Convincer". The most important thing to remember when making a suspenseful film is to allow the suspense to develop. Am I crazy to think this? Did the producers simply decide that this had to be a certain length, and then adjust the plot as such? That's how I felt while watching this film. There is some true potential amidst all of this though - the chemistry between Alan Arkin and Greg Kinnear is only magnified by the addition of Billy Crudup, whose edgy character brings an "anything can happen" dynamic to the plot.Unfortunately I still can't get past the jumpy editing and floundering sound track. I'm not well adversed on the business side of film, but this newer version left me disappointed. I'm going to go ahead and point my finger at Werc Werk Works. But that's just me.