Highly Overrated But Still Good

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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).The movie setting is winter in Wisconsin and although we see some ice and snow from time to time, we wished there were more wintry scenes. You see, they kind of help cool us when we are watching this in the summer heat wave we have now. Bummer. Returning to our story, we see that Mickey is in debt and is willing to steal Gorvy's violin as Gorvy isn't aware of the true value. Enter Randy and the cover-up begins, but both are surprised by a neighbor who feels something isn't right and threatens to call the police. What to do? What to do?That is as far as I will go because the rest is complicated. We like Mickey and hope he can find a way to make things right. However, because most of this happens in the beginning, we see that there is a lot more story (read movie) to go and things get even more complicated and go progressively worse for Mickey. Okay, okay, I went a little further but, we see there is enough time for Mickey to make things right. That is our hope. There are many twists and turns in here and you need to keep up. We keep rooting for Mickey, but things go further and further south for him. Greg Kinnear plays Mickey to perfection. We feel his pain even though he did something wrong. The acting performances of the rest of the cast are perfect, but it is Mickey we care about and he needs to find a way out of the mess he helped create. We can only hopeWe see Randy as a normal person, but when he gets surprised by something that doesn't go right, he loses it big time for a while and then he reverts back to being quiet and normal again. This happens 2-times in the movie. I guess this is the comic relief within. Pretty good though. Kind of reminds us of William H. Macy in FARGO when he beats the hell out of his vehicle when his plans are upset. These temper tantrums are great scenes. Kudos. The key to the whole movie is Arkin's Gorvy, who is naïve and agreeable to insurance suggestions by Mickey's new agent hire, Bob (David Harbour). Alan Arkin is becoming a real acting treasure in his later years and we like his screen presence. Okay, okay, the real key to the movie is Mickey and his greed. You will see why. Okay? Tough room.Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.

It takes some time to get going, granted, but when it does it's good, real good. Greg Kinnear is fantastic as is Billy Crudup and Alan Arkin. It pulls you into it's eerie intensity and takes you on a bit of a ride, sometimes comical. This is listed as a comedy??? Somewhat, but more a crime drama with some comedy. I actually felt real uncomfortable with the tension created in this film and how it develops is really cool. btw -I know it was edited from the original version of "The Convincer" and people who seem close to, or fans of, the Sprecher's, knock it pretty bad. Understandably, I guess in a way , but for most of us seeing it in the newer edit, like I said it's a good movie. Jus' sayin'.

"Thin Ice", much like Fargo, is a murder-story set in a snowy-midwestern town. The lead character is an immoral salesmen who's life is literally falling apart around him.The good news is that "Thin Ice" provides the audience with an even-more-twisty-tale. The performances are steady across the board. Now, I'm not saying this is as good or better than Fargo, IT'S NOT! But, it's a good movie.The twists in the last 30 minutes are hefty and hard to scrutinize. There are a few aspects of the plot that were a little predictable, but for the most part the twists in the end were well-concealed and somewhat believable.The film moves fairly slow, but never came off to me as boring. It doesn't really have any style to speak of, and the other director elements are nothing special. Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, and Billy Crudip do a fine job with an average script that is completely void of comedic moments(style and comedy were two of Fargo's strengths).The plot twists in the last third of the film DO set this one apart, and while the film DOES lack style and comedy, the acting helps keep it afloat.I'd say this deserves a bit higher ranking than it's current 6.1 here, but it also isn't something that you should feel the need to move up to the top of your list.A Coen Brothers story without some of the Coen Bro's trademarks.I'm stuck between 6 and 7 here at 65/100, but rounding up and taking into consideration the low 6.1 score.You might like this if you liked: American Gun(not as good), Fargo(better), Burn After Reading(about even), and Millions(not as good).

"I said no cops, why doesn't anybody listen." Mickey Prohaska (Kinnear) is a down on his luck insurance salesman stuck in Wisconsin. After finding out that a new client of his has a rare violin worth over $25,000 he thinks his problems are solved. When he finally finds a way to get it and sell it an unstable locksmith (Crudup) shows up and changes everything. This is a good movie but really could have been better. This is kind of a mix between "Ice Harvest" and "Fargo" but not quite as good as those. I have thought that Greg Kinnear is one of the most underrated actors and this is another fine performance. The only problem is that the entire movie seemed a little flat and was really lacking excitement. I'm not saying that this not a good movie, it is worth watching and I enjoyed it but it was missing something. The thing that really helped the movie was the end. I really liked the twist and that made the movie better then it could have been. Overall, a flat movie with good acting that is saved by the ending. I give it a B.