The Ice Harvest [Blu-ray]

Humorous! Great casting . Fun movie. Not your everyday Christmas movie. Have watched this multiple times. Great movie for a hot day. I love to watch cold environment movies on a hot day.

If you're sick of schmaltzy XMas movies like Hallmark movies, It's A Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Story then this is a good alternative. Kind of a noirish black comedy about making off with a bunch of stolen mob money on Christmas Eve during an ice storm.

This is an interesting one, always liked it and in a different vain then most of Harold Ramis movies little darker, mabey too dark in parts. Surprised they released it on bluray and its an upgrade but only u can decide if this is worth 25 dollars when it should be 9.00. Its a slow melancholy burn that's suited for a spin at the wee hours of the morning for sure. Its not an overly long movie at around an 1.5 hrs but its pacing is slow and if your attention span wanders and you yearn for action or tons of comedy subtract two stars or more. Oliver Pratt is funny in a part many people will miss the meaning on and feel its just filler but he is another disillusioned lost soul. John Cusack is great as Charlie in a subdued manner. Bill Bob and John have great chemistry when on screen together Connie Nielson is understated as Renata and many will feel the chemistry is off between her and John though I believe that may have been the intention as nothing works out as planned in any of the characters actions in the film. The last act is dark and is the only part that feels excessively violent as I felt the cops graphic death was unneeded and didn't advance the films narrative at all. Its a gloomy Christmas tale set in a frostbitten witchita filled with unhappy people chasing things that don't make them happier and create a lot of suffering for those around them intended or not. I wouldn't call it a comedy nor a thriller but has elements of both and if the last act had just toned the violence down by about 15 percent I really would have enjoyed it for the setting and miserable memorable characters that much more. If you like gloom, a great setting sad broken characters with great performances give it 3-4 stars if not 2 stars is accurate. Don't expect another GroundHog day (A great Ramis Film by the way) going in and you may enjoy this hidden Gem.

Just Ok

When I saw the Ice Harvest DVD, I was intrigued enough to read the book, since the book is almost always better than the movie, right? In this case, however, its almost a toss up. While the movie follows the book pretty closely, the screenplay includes some nice improvements. Perhaps the best was the relationship between Pete and Charlie. In the book, they are merely inlaws, but the fact that Pete married Charlie's ex-wife (who they both now despise) is a twist that really adds flavor to the story. So does the crooked cop who, unwittingly, saves Charlie's bacon. In addition, the "As Witchita Falls, so Falls Witchita Falls" schtick enhances the existential aura of the movie (though it may only make sense if you watch the alternative ending). All in all, the movie has better dialog and sharper edges than the book.That being said, the book STILL works better than the movie. Its hard to pinpoint why, but I blame the dark mood of the story. Dark plots are par-for-the-course in books, but tricky on the big screen (especially during the Holidays--which is probably why it bombed). The Ice Harvest is no different in this respect. The Hollywood ending cheers things up a bit, but seems forced and (without spoiling it) a little hard to believe. The book ending is much more consistent with the rest of the story. If you look at the alternative endings on DVD, you'll see that something close to the book ending was actually filmed. No doubt it wasn't used because it would have made the movie more of a downer than it already was.

I am a fan of black comedy and an even bigger fan of John Cusack, generally. In this film you get both, perhaps not at their very best, but pretty good. Actually, I think Cusack is the gem in this story--his Charlie, the mob lawyer, is very funny in a deadpan way (think Grosse Point Blank) and his portrayal of the weary, cynical, yet sadly hopeful purloiner of 2 million of his boss's money is classic Cusack. Billy Bob Thornton, as his untrustworthy sidekick, is in a familiar mold, too, though not such a funny one. And Oliver Platt, usually one of my favorites, provided a big dollop of broad comedy with a drunken performance that was dangerously close to the edge. According to the interviews in the bonus additions to the DVD, Platt was apparently given his head in how he played his character (Charlie's best friend now married, unhappily, to Charlie's ex-wife) and I would say he overdid it a bit. Be that as it may, the only really weak spot in the casting was Connie Nielsen, who didn't generate any very believable heat or jazz up the proceedings much. Overall, I rate this 4 stars primarily because of Cusack's performance and because of the comical juxtaposition of the harebrained scheme to steal the money against the background of Christmas carols and platitudes (I am reminded of "The Ref", another very funny black comedy set at Christmas).This movie is definitely worth seeing if you like irreverence, the noir genre, and John Cusack.

Borders on the verge of don't like-just like. Really only the anticipation of Connie Nielson kept me watching. An implausible story, a plot with holes in and not particularly funny. A dark comedy? Lighting was too dark at times which made some scenes difficult to follow; not much comedy. Don't find different ways of shooting/killing people much fun.

Strange film, but then again John Cusack's film are never straight forward. A lot of swearing but that's to be expected with this type of film. Not much action though which is a pity and quite funny in places.

a good man should not get involved with bad peopleclever scriptfeels basic but brilliant at timescontains the funniest moment in film for me - involves the word "tummy"

This was a real surprise to me as I love John Cusack movies and I hadn't heard of this one. I don't think it got much press in Europe. Good plot and an excellent cast. Billy Bob Thornton is always very watchable - this movie was a good "surprise" find.

A very good plot, if somewhat predictable. However, as I like both of the actors, I still enjoyed the plot lines.