The Iron Giant (1999) - Bird's heavily themed family animation debut

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A stylish and retro-cool poster for Brad Bird's The Iron Giant

1950s Maine, the United States: Boy Hogarth is mad about sci-fi magazines during the atomic scare period, when a giant robot from space lands in the forest near his home ...

 

The Iron Giant is written by Tim McCanlies (North Shore (1987)), Brent Forrester (Love (2016-18)) and great Montanan filmmaker, debuting co-writer/director Brad Bird (Ratatouille (2007)), loosely adapted from Ted Hughes' (The Hawk in the Rain (1957)) The Iron Man (1968).

Wonderful, inspired and deeply colorful and vivid animation, which is endowed with a keen comical eye and excellent voice performances from Eli Marienthal (American Pie (1999)), Jennifer Aniston (We're the Millers (2013)), Harry Connick Jr. (New in Town (2009)), and others.

The story's political angle, - weapon are evil and the state and authorities are deceitful, ignorant and hungry for wars, - is a bit too pregnant for a family film. The Iron Giant is nevertheless still a very special and delightful picture.

 

Related posts:

Brad Bird: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - Cruise and Bird's phenomenal action spectacle 
The Incredibles (2004) - Unwanted animation action slam-dunk

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 50 mil. $

Box office: 31.7 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.63 times its cost)

[The Iron Giant premiered 31 July (USA) and runs 87 minutes. Bird was inspired by the murder of his sister, shot dead by her estranged husband, because Hughes' novel was a comforting tale for his children following their mother, poet Sylvia Plath's suicide. Production took place in Los Angeles, California. The film opened #9 to a 5.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, steadily declining from there to end with a 23.1 mil. $ (72.9 % of the total gross) gross. The flop was attributed to Warner Bros. lacking marketing campaign, apparently stemming from lack of faith in the film due to their failure with the preceding year's big animation Quest for Camelot (1998). The film won a BAFTA, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. IMDb's users have rated it in at the site's Top 250 at #239, sitting between Network (1976) and The Handmaiden (2016). Bird returned with The Incredibles (2004). Marienthal returned in 3 TV credits prior to his theatrical return in American Pie 2 (2001). The Iron Giant is certified fresh at 96 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Iron Giant?

Inherent Vice (2014) - Anderson turns in his career's first dud

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A psychedelic reproduction of star Joaquin Phoenix with a characteristic stoner look in rainbow colors make up most of this poster for Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice

A hairy, uncool private investigator in 1970s Los Angeles gets a new, bewildering case, when his ex-girlfriend appears and sets his attention on the story of a disappeared real estate broker.

 

Inherent Vice is written, co-produced and directed by Californian master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight (1996)), whose 7th feature it is. It is an adaptation of the same-titled 2009 novel by Thomas Pynchon (V. (1963)).

The driving narrative of the missing realtor never hooks us, and Inherent Vice looks and feels like an auteur who is verliebt in a time and a place, (1970s LA, where Anderson also set his Boogie Nights (1997)), but the result is never as fun, dramatic nor anything approaching exciting as it was supposed to be. Technically the film is beautiful, with a cool back alley cat attitude, which clashes with Joaquin Phoenix (Her (2013)) booby performance in the lead role, providing moments of measured mirth. This while a parade of stars come and go before the master's camera. Anderson with Inherent Vice is beating on an empty drum in an overlong running time to boot. It is a deadly bore.

 

Related posts:

Paul Thomas Anderson: 2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Phantom Thread (2017) - Anderson's exquisite drama of an English dressmaker and his Alma 

The Master (2012) - Anderson's stunning post-war reflection 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - Sandler breaks out of his routine in Anderson's delightful romcom

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Boogie Nights (1997) - Anderson's irresistible porn 'Casino'

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Hard Eight (1996) - Anderson debuts with downbeat crime drama

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 20 mil. $

Box office: 14.8 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.74 times its cost)

[Inherent Vice premiered 4 October (New York Film Festival) and runs 149 minutes. Shooting took place from May - August 2013 in California, including in Los Angeles, and in Las Vegas, Nevada. The film opened #20 to a 328k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #11 and in 653 theaters (different weeks), grossing 8.1 mil. $ (54.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 1.1 mil. $ (7.4 %) and Italy with 707k $ (4.8 %). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay, lost to Graham Moore for The Imitation Game, and Costume Design, lost to The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe, won an Independent Spirit award and 2 National Board of Review awards, among many others. Anderson returned with 8 music videos and a documentary prior to his theatrical return with Phantom Thread (2017). Phoenix returned in Irrational Man (2015). Inherent Vice is fresh at 74 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Inherent Vice? 

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) - Jenkins follows up smash with a delectable period love story

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An intimate couple in love make up this neat poster for Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk

Tish and Fonny are just about to start a family, when he gets arrested for a rape that another man is really guilty of at a time in America (the 1970s) when having black skin was suspicious in itself.

 

If Beale Street Could Talk is written, co-produced and directed by great Floridian filmmaker Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy (2008)), adapting the same-titled 1974 novel by James Baldwin (Another Country (1962)).

Jenkins follows up his triumphant breakthrough Moonlight (2016) with a more down-toned, good film, which especially lives on its vivid photography (by James Laxton (Mufasa: The Lion King (2024))) and an exceptional score (by Nicholas Britell (Cruella (2021))), which adds sensual and poetic force to the narrative.

KiKi Layne (Coming 2 America (2021)) is excellent, while Stephan James (Babes (2024)) is slightly mannered and insecure in his acting, but the two look fabulous on each other and are enormously sexy. Regina King (Pariah (2015, TV movie)) is terrific as Tish's movingly caring, warm mother.

Although If Beale Street Could Talk ends up feeling slighter than one had hoped, it pulses with love and affection for its material.

 

Related posts:

 

Barry Jenkins: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

Top 10: Best gay-themed titles

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

The day after ... the Oscars 2017 

Moonlight (2016) - Jenkins and McCraney's powerful and personal coming-of-age romance drama 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 12 mil. $

Box office: 20.5 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.70 times its cost)

[If Beale Street Could Talk premiered 9 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 117 minutes. Shooting took place around October 2017 in New York and the Dominican Republic. The film opened #23 to a 224k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #12 and in 1,018 theaters, grossing 14.9 mil. $ (72.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 2 mil. $ (9.8 %) and France with 815k $ (4 %). The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning Best Supporting Actress (King). It lost Best Adapted Screenplay to Charlie Wachtel, Spike Lee, Kevin Willmott and David Rabinowitz for BlacKkKlansman and Score to Ludwig Göransson for Black Panther. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs, won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, 3 Independent Spirit awards, 3 National Board of Review awards and an AFI award, among dozens of other honors. Jenkins returned with The Gaze (2021, video), The Underground Railroad (2021, miniseries) and theatrically with Mufasa: The Lion King (2024). Layne returned in Native Son (2019); James in 21 Bridges (2019). If Beale Street Could Talk is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of If Beale Street Could Talk? 

In This Our Life (1942) or, Sisterhood Be Damned!

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Serene and lovely, a classical poster for John Huston and Raoul Walsh's In This Our Life

With outspoken and devil-may-care attitude Virginian Stanley ruins her sister's coming marriage by eloping with her man to be. But that life doesn't last.

In This Our Life is written by Howard Koch (The 13th Letter (1951)), adapting the same-titled 1941 novel by Ellen Glasgow (Virginia (1913)), and directed by Missourian master filmmaker John Huston (The Maltese Falcon (1941)), whose 2nd film it was, with uncredited co-direction from great New-Yorker filmmaker Raoul Walsh (The Regeneration (1915)).

A gloriously directed melodrama with pristine images (remastered to crisp perfection, cinematography by Ernest Haller (The 3rd Voice (1960))), and Bette Davis (All About Eve (1950)) in a performance of unbridled recklessness, which still today stands as utterly relevant as a portrayal of that type of person who only take themselves into consideration and always disregard those who might get in their way.

Olivia de Havilland (Gone with the Wind (1939)) is fine as the 'good sister', and so are the male actors, and the film is also esteemed by a race angle to its story, since Stanley is also willing to destroy her black help's life in order to be free.

 

Related posts:

John Huston: Chinatown (1974) - Roman Polanski's masterpiece (actor)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or, The Final Ape! (actor)
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (co-director)

The African Queen (1951) - Classic romance bravura de Huston/Bogart/Hepburn 

Top 10: Best heist movies 
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) - The twentyfour carat noir caper thriller
Top 10: The best adventure movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

High Sierra (1941) - Bogart steals the silver screen (writer)

Raoul Walsh: Top 10: Best heist movies 

High Sierra (1941) - Bogart steals the silver screen

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 713k $

Box office: 2.7 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 3.78 times its cost)

[In This Our Life premiered 7 May (New York) and runs 97 minutes. Warner Bros. paid 40k $ for the film rights to Glasgow's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and Koch toned down the risqué topical material (incest and racism) to suit the censorship. Shooting took place from October - December 1941 in California. Davis fought costume, hair, make-up and other involved departments during production and disliked the script, later declaring herself "disgusted" by the outcome, which she deemed  "phony film". De Havilland reportedly carried on an affair with Huston during shooting. It is the 3rd of 6 that the female co-stars appeared in together. America's entrance in WWII, due to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7 1941, pulled Huston away from filming at the behest of the US Department of War, and Walsh was put in charge of direction at the late stage, seemingly finishing the film for his 20 years younger colleague. The Office of Censorship 'disapproved' the film for foreign distribution due to its truthful depiction of racial discrimination (the black character's legal testimony is deemed ineffectual simply due to his race), but the film was somehow released abroad nevertheless: It grossed 1.6 mil. $ (59.3 % of the total gross) in North America. It won 3 National Board of Review awards. Huston returned with Winning Your Wings (1942, short) and theatrically with Across the Pacific (1942); Walsh with Desperate Journey (1942). Davis returned in Now, Voyager (1942); and De Havilland in Thank You Lucky Stars (1943). 5.4k+ IMDb users have given In This Our Life a 7.3/10 average rating.]

What do you think of In This Our Life?

The Innocent/L'Innocente (1976) - A cinematic farewell from a true master

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An impeccably dressed couple by a fireplace are elegantly inserted into this classy poster for Luchino Visconti's The Innocent

 

In the Italian aristocracy of the 1890s, Tullio admits to his wife that he now loves his mistress more than he has ever loved anyone else in his life, - but where does this confession leave their marriage?

 

The Innocent is written by Suso Cecchi D'Amico (Panni Sporchi (1999)), Enrico Medioli (Tosca e Altre Due (2003)) and co-writer/director, Italian master filmmaker Luchino Visconti (Ossessione (1943)). It is an adaptation of the same-titled 1892 novel by Gabriele D'Annunzio (The Child of Pleasure/Il Piacere (1889)). The title is a literal translation of the original Italian one.

Delectable and uniquely Viscontian, The Innocent is a film you need a restored version of if you are a lover of cinema; because it is a visionary near masterpiece. 

Giancarlo Giannini (Buon Lavoro (2018)) and Laura Antonelli (Rimini Rimini (1987)) are magnificent in the lead roles, and the film also spoils us with strikingly beautiful costumes and sets, along with subtly cinematic photography (cinematographer Pasqualino De Santis (Rigoletto (1987))), SPOILER which culminates in dramatic close-ups following the film's shocking conclusion: Giannini's shamelessly self-obsessed atheist finally reveals himself as a true monster.

The nature of love, infidelity and the creation of life, - but also the power games in a marriage, - these are central themes in this sensual, fantastic, fabulously scored (by Franco Mannino (The Ghost/Lo Spettro (1963))) farewell from the master.

 

Related posts:

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Top 10: Best epic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Top 10: Best dramas reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Top 10: Best 'box office success' movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

The Leopard/Il Gattopardo (1963) - The greatest film ever made? 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: In excess of 5.9 mil. $

= Uncertain but likely a box office success (projected return of 2.95 times its cost)

[The Innocent premiered 15 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 125 minutes. Visconti did not get the stars he wanted initially; among others Alain Delon passed, reportedly due to being uncomfortable that the master's state was diminished following a stroke. Shooting took place around September 1975 in Italy, including in Rome. The release has an incomplete list of grosses at Box Office Mojo, which indicates that the film was met with small crowds, including in Italy, and that most of its gross came from France (5.5 mil. $), - the film is an Italian-French co-production. With a projected cost of 2 mil. $, the film would rank as a box office success. It won a David di Donatello award. Visconti passed away from a stroke prior to its release. Giannini returned in A Night Full of Rain/La fine del Mondo nel nostro Solito Letto in una Notte Piena di Pioggia (1978); Antonelli in Wifemistress/Mogliamante (1977). The Innocent is fresh at 79 % with a 7.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Innocent?

I Married a Witch (1942) - Stars shine in Clair's bubbly screwball fantasy magic

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A sexually charged and very elegant poster for René Clair's I Married a Witch

A refined gentleman, who is poised to marry a fine woman, has his plans altered when he rescues a strange blond out of a burning hotel. This alluring female turns out to be a centuries old witch, who wants to change his life drastically!

 

I Married a Witch is written by Marc Connelly (Reunion in France (1942)) and Robert Pirosh (A Gathering of Eagles (1963)), with André Rigaud (Bright Eyes (1929)), Dalton Trumbo (Hawaii (1966)) and co-writer/producer/director, great French filmmaker René Clair (Paris Asleep/Paris qui Dort (1925)) contributing lines. It is an adaptation of The Passionate Witch (1941) by Thorne Smith (Rain in the Doorway (1933), finalized after his death by Norman H. Matson.

With a stunning visual energy (cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff (I Want a Divorce (1940))) and a splendid special effects tangent, I Married a Witch is an atypical screwball comedy that waltzes right into your heart and activates your laugh muscles. Fredric March (The Buccaneer (1938)) is a joy as usual, and he is wonderfully matched here with Veronica Lake (Isn't It Romantic (1948)), who is almost superhumanly lovely, - and a bit eerie, - as a cute housewife with allure and frighteningly huge power. A prime example of the 'monstrous female' on film.

Cecil Kellaway (Spinout (1966)) who plays Lake's father in the film is also delightful. Witty dialog, a rapidly flowing plot, and a beautifully carried out production, I Married a Witch is cheeky fun all the way. A bright favorite. 

 

Related post:

 

René Clair: Entr'acte (1924, short) - Clair's creative experiment in movement

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Approximately 2.75 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Uncertain but likely a huge hit (projected return of 6.5 times its cost)

[I Married a Witch was released 30 October (North America) and runs 77 minutes. Shooting took place from April - May 1942 in Los Angeles, California. Hostilities ran between March and Lake during the shoot. Variety reported that the film earned a 1.1 mil. $ rental figure in North America, coming to approximately 2.75 mil. $ in box office. The foreign release was impeded by WWII and went slow over the next several years, likely with similarly stunted results. A 3.25 mil. $ final gross projection takes this into account, while a projected cost of 500k $ belies March, - the film's leading star's salary level of 100k $ per picture at the time. This would make the film a huge hit. It was nominated for one Oscar, for Best Music, Drama/Comedy (Roy Webb (Top Secret Affair (1957))), lost to Max Steiner for Now, Voyager. Clair returned with a segment in Forever and a Day (1943) and with an entire feature with It Happened Tomorrow (1944). March returned in The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944); Lake in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942). I Married a Witch is fresh at 96 % with a 7.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of I Married a Witch?

The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) - Oz and Mathison create profound family magic

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A pintsized Indian stands erect in a boy's hand palms on this imagination-teasing poster for Frank Oz's The Indian in the Cupboard

Omri is a boy who lives with his parents and two brothers in New York, and on his ninth birthday he receives a cupboard with magic properties: It turns a plastic Indian toy into a real, live, miniature Indian!

The Indian in the Cupboard is written by Melissa Mathison (The Black Stallion (1979)), adapting the same-titled 1980 children's novel by Lynne Reid Banks (Bad Cat, Good Cat (2011)), and directed by English-born American master filmmaker Frank Oz (The Dark Crystal (1982)), whose 7th feature it is.

An imaginative, fantastical story, perfectly adapted by glorious Mathison and directed impeccably by Oz in what is likely his best picture. The Indian in the Cupboard is irresistible.

The actors portraying the family and the child actors are natural, and Hal Scardino (Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)) as Omri is enormously good, especially his whispering intonations to his 'creations'. Litefoot (Adaptation. (2002)) as the Indian, David Keith's (Heritage Falls (2016)) cowboy and Steve Coogan (The Lost King (2022)) as a World War I medic are all outstanding. The film is well-acted all the way around, elegant and shot (by Russell Carpenter (Avatar: The Way of Water (2022))) and scored (by Randy Edelman (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008))) without ostentation. The narrative tickles our conventional expectations and instead gives us a deep tale (not unlike Harold Ramis' comedy masterpiece Groundhog Day (1993)) with themes of childhood, respect for life, racism and death. The Indian in the Cupboard is moving and unique.

 

Related posts:

Frank Oz:  Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) - Despite stale romance and Anakin, Episode II excites (voice actor)
1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Bowfinger (1999) or, Making Chubby Rain  

In & Out (1997) or, Come Out and Dance 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 45 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 35.6 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Uncertain but likely a big flop (projected return of 1.22 times its cost)

[The Indian in the Cupboard was released 14 July (North America) and runs 96 minutes. Shooting took place from July - October 1994 in California, including in Los Angeles, and in New York.The film opened #6 to a 7.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 35.6 mil. $. The foreign gross numbers are regrettably kept hidden away somewhere, but a likely projection would be a 55 mil. $ final gross, which would rank the film a big flop. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 4 notches under this one. Oz returned with In & Out (1997). Scardino returned in Marvin's Room (1996). The Indian in the Cupboard is fresh at 70 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Indian in the Cupboard?

In Her Shoes (2005) - Stars delight in Hanson's terrific romantic dramedy

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A girly shoe closet-set image of co-stars Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz as recognizably opposite sisters makes up this poster for Curtis Hanson's In Her Shoes

When two adult sisters for a short time live together again in the older sister's apartment, it leads to a painful rift between them, whereupon the destitute younger sister seeks out their alienated grandmother.

 

In Her Shoes is written by Susannah Grant (Pocahontas (1995)), adapting the same-titled 2002 novel by Jennifer Weiner (Best Friends Forever (2009)), and directed by great Nevadan filmmaker Curtis Hanson (Sweet Kill (1972)).

Many make harder judgments on In Her Shoes, which cling ungratefully to what the film really is, and I find that these detractors should re-watch it. Because, God, there is a lot to love in this film!

Cameron Diaz (Annie (2014)) and Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense (1999)) are both fantastic, moving and empathic. In fact, this may be Diaz's best dramatic performance. Shirley MacLaine (Irma la Douce (1963)) is also fine in the more downplayed part of the grandmother who has become wise with age. Hanson applies the perfect insightfully humanistic direction to the fine story about family break-up, sisterhood and forgiveness. He consequently goes for the drama here but still also manages to create funny situations regularly.

Also delightful in small parts are here Richard Burgi (Rush Hour (2016, TV-series)), Mark Feuerstein (Coyote (2021, TV-series)), Jerry Adler (The Good Fight (2017-18)), Honey Bun the dog and some old geezers. The age span between the characters may be a bit off, but In Her Shoes is a wonderful film.

 

Related post:

 

Curtis Hanson: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) or, The Nanny Terror! 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 35 mil. $

Box office: 83.6 mil. $

= Minor flop (returned 2.38 times its cost)

[In Her Shoes premiered 14 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 130 minutes. Diaz was paid 15 mil. $ for her performance in the film. Shooting took place from May 2004 - ? in Florida, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and holdover hit Flightplan, to a 10 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5), grossing 32.8 mil. $ (39.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 7.7 mil. $ (9.2 %) and Germany with 7 mil. $ (8.4 %). The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Hanson returned with Lucky You (2007). Diaz returned in The Holiday (2006); Collette in Little Miss Sunshine (2006); and MacLaine in Rumor Has It... (2005). In Her Shoes is certified fresh at 74 % with a 6.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of In Her Shoes?

The Ice Harvest (2005) or, It's a Difficult Life

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Cut-outs of the three stars are obviously photo-shopped together on this poster for Harold Ramis' The Ice Harvest

A disillusioned lawyer and his cynical buddy steal 2 mil. $ in Wichita Falls, Kansas on a wet Christmas Eve, but after this feat they run into a series of problems.

 

The Ice Harvest is written by Robert Benton (Bonnie and Clyde (1967)) and Richard Russo (Twilight (1998)), adapting Scott Phillips' (The Devil Raises His Own (2024)) same-titled 2000 novel, and directed by Illinoisan master filmmaker Harold Ramis (Caddyshack (1980)), whose 10th feature it was.

It is a sardonic, dark Christmas movie with a fine, well-acting cast in a knotty plot with many funny, superbly delivered lines. John Cusack (Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)) is good as the protagonist, and Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa 2 (2016)) is ideal as the ornery prick he gets to play here. Oliver Platt (Modern Family (2015-17)) plays a character that's both funny and somewhat tragic. Connie Nielsen (FBI (2018, TV-series)) is beautiful and provides depth to boot; and Mike Starr (Clowning (2022)) is very funny in a part that goes mostly unseen.

The look of The Ice Harvest is sometimes film noir inspired, and quite successfully so. This is a dark, wet, cold, strip, liquor and curse-word filled dose of yo-ho-ho. The plot leaves some things for us to ponder about: SPOILER Worst among these instances must be that Cusack's character feels impelled to murder Nielsen's, - at least without me being fully clear about why this was necessary, - and then proceeding to be fairly unaffected by the action. But over-all The Ice Harvest is too funny for these holes to ruin the experience.

 

Related posts:

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Analyze This (1999) - Analyze what, Ramis? 

1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Top 10: Best fantasy movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Groundhog Day (1993) - Rubin, Ramis and Murray's irresistible comedy masterpiece 

Ghostbusters II (1989) - Reitman's unjustifiably maligned sequel (co-writer/co-star)

Ghostbusters (1984) - Reitman and Co. conjure up the gleeful pomp and circumstance of the 1980s (co-writer/co-star)

Caddyshack (1980) - And you thought golf was boring?

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 16 mil. $

Box office: 10.1 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.63 times its cost)

[The Ice Harvest premiered 3 September (Deauville Film Festival, France) and runs 89 minutes. Ramis approached his Ghostbusters co-star Bill Murray to star in the film, but Murray did not return his call. Monica Bellucci had to bow out due to her pregnancy. Shooting took place from April - June 2004 in Illinois. The film opened #10 to a 3.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, its peak there, grossing 9 mil. $ (89 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 599k $ (5.9 %) and France with 254k $ (2.5 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Ramis returned with Atlanta (2007, TV movie) and theatrically with Year One (2009). Cusack returned in The Contract (2006); Thornton in School for Scoundrels (2006); and Nielsen in The Situation (2006). The Ice Harvest is rotten at 47 % with a 5.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Ice Harvest?