Friday, May 31, 2013

"The Iceman" delivers a cold and calculated classic



The Iceman
Rated R, 105 minutes


Years ago, I remember watching a news special (maybe it was 60 Minutes?) about the mob killer Richard Kuklinski, also known as the iceman for his ruthlessness and icy demeanor. The stories of his killings were shocking and his ability to switch from killer to family man unnoticed, was unsettling. Basically it was a story ripe for a movie and “The Iceman” totally delivers.
            Michael Shannon once again commands the screen as Kuklinski, a mild mannered family man, who also moonlights as a contract killer. Shannon is a force, using just a simple look to convey fear and he becomes the psychotic killer. He leads the film, but a very good supporting cast backs him up including Winona Ryder as Mrs Kuklinski, Ray Liotta as a mob boss, Chris Evans as a fellow contract killer with an ice cream truck side job and David Schwimmer as a coked-out, jump suit wearing mob solider. James Franco, Robert Davi and Stephen Dorff also pop up in cameos.


                                      Chris Evans as a ice cream man/contract killer 

The film unfolded a lot like another true tale of crime, the coke classic “Blow,” and I highly enjoyed it. It’s a smaller budgeted film and probably won’t be seen by many, but The Iceman deserves a much bigger audience. Hopefully, the millions of people who will see the upcoming blockbuster “Man of Steel,” will be so impressed with Shannon’s performance as ZOD, they‘ll seek out his other films and stumble across this gem. 


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