The Ice Storm (1997) - Lee makes one of the year's great American films

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Elongated, eye-focused peaks at three of the film's stars make up most of this blue-toned poster for Ang Lee's The Ice Storm

The father in a nice-looking Connecticut family in the bold 1970s has an affair with the neighbor's wife, while their daughter fools around with two brothers from the same neighborhood, and their son goes to New York during an ice storm.

 

The Ice Storm is written by James Schamus (Indignation (2016)), adapting the same-titled 1994 novel by Rick Moody (Garden State (1992)), and directed by Taiwanese-American master filmmaker Ang Lee (Pushing Hands/Tui shou (1991)), whose 5th feature it is.

An intelligent, stealing meditation of family, sexual identity-making and the dangers in the modern world, The Ice Storm stands out as an excellent drama.

In the glorious cast, durable work is turned in by Kevin Kline (Ricki and the Flash (2015)), Joan Allen (Death Race (2008)), Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man 3 (2007)), Christina Ricci (Miranda (2002)), Sigourney Weaver (Madman (1978)) and Elijah Wood (The Good Son (1993)). The Ice Storm ends powerfully and is a beautiful drama.

 

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Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 18 mil. $

Box office: Reportedly 16 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.88 times its cost)

[The Ice Storm premiered 12 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place from April - June 1996 in New York and Connecticut. The film opened #17 to a 75k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it grossed 8 mil. $ (50 % of the total gross). The foreign gross numbers are not made public, but it is ascertained at The-Numbers.com that the film made almost as much internationally, which would rank it as a huge flop. It won 1/2 BAFTA nominations, an award in Cannes, losing the Palme d'Or to Taste of Cherry, and was nominated for a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Lee returned with Ride with the Devil (1999). Kline returned in In & Out (1997); Allen in Face/Off (1997); and Weaver in Alien: Resurrection (1997). The Ice Storm is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Ice Storm?

The Old Man & the Gun (2018) - Lowery's lackluster caper career cap for Redford

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Only an impeccably dressed star Robert Redford with his face covered appears on this minimalist poster for David Lowery's The Old Man & the Gun

Forrest Tucker is a veteran career criminal specialized in bank robbery, who in a situation of escape takes interest in a gracious older lady with engine failure, who turns out to become important for him. Almost as important as the bank robberies.

 

The Old Man & the Gun is written and directed by David Lowery (Deadroom (2005)), based on David Grann's (The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon (2009)) 2003 article The Old Man and the Gun from The New Yorker, which concerned the real-life story of Forrest Tucker.

Robert Redford's (War Hunt (1962)) star persona as a gentleman outlaw gets a classy ribbon tied around it in the shape of this quietly mulling true-crime picture, with an unimpressed working-man Casey Affleck (Committed (2000)) after him and Sissy Spacek (Badlands (1973)) as the sweet, unexpected new romantic partner.

It is all very sweet but also dull in its virtuous cinematic nature, ('a last show for the old champ' sort of thing), a film that drifts ahead nice and easy without much thematic ground to it. Well-produced but slow going.

 

Related post:

 

David Lowery: Pete's Dragon (2016) - Lowery plays Disney remake safe

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 15.8 mil. $

Box office: 17.8 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.12 times its cost)

[The Old Man & the Gun premiered 31 August (Telluride Film Festival) and runs 93 minutes. Shooting took place around April 2017 in Ohio, Michigan, Texas and Kentucky. The film opened #32 to a 142k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #10 and in 1,042 theaters (different weeks), grossing 11.2 mil. $ (62.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Italy with 1.4 mil. $ (7.9 %) and the UK with 791k $ (4.4 %). The film was nominated for a Golden Globe and won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Lowery returned with a TV-series, a segment and a short prior to his theatrical return The Green Knight (2021). Redford returned with a voice performance in Buttons, A New Musical Film (2018) and physically in Avengers: Endgame (2019); Affleck in Light of My Life (2019); and Spacek in 3 TV-series and a music video prior to her theatrical return in Sam & Kate (2022). The Old Man & the Gun is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Old Man & the Gun? 

One Hour Photo (2002) - Romanek, Williams and Co. capture a troubling thriller

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+ Best Psychological Thriller of the Year 

 

Star Robin Williams develops film wearing white gloves on this poster for Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo

The kind department store photo developer Sy does his job with care and a smile. But he is in fact a devastatingly lonely man, who over the course of several years have brought home with him the photos of one specific family. Now he loses his job, which is his only connection to reality.

 

One Hour Photo is written and directed by great Illinoisan filmmaker Mark Romanek (Static (1985)).

Robin Williams (Aladdin (1992)) once again shows new facets to his vast acting talent as Sy, the tormented protagonist that he makes us both feel sympathy and fear for here. Connie Nielsen (Gladiator (2000)) and the rest of the supporting cast are also fantastic.

One Hour Photo is almost mechanical in its visual competence, (Romanek is an accomplished music video director; Jeff Cronenweth (Hitchcock (2012)) did the cinematography here.) The film is tight and thrilling. One Hour Photo never sensationalizes its plot. It is a role-model of a psychological thriller.

 

Related post:

 

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Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 12 mil. $

Box office: 52.2 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.35 times its cost)

[One Hour Photo premiered 13 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 96 minutes. Shooting took place from October 2000 - January 2001 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #24 to a 321k $ first weekend in 7 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #3 and in 1,332 theaters (different weeks), grossing 31.5 mil. $ ( 60.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 3.3 mil. $ (6.3 %) and Australia with 2.2 mil. $ (5.2 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Romanek returned with scores of music video and theatrically with Never Let Me Go (2010). Williams returned in Death to Smoochy (2002). One Hour Photo is certified fresh at 81 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of One Hour Photo?