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THIN ICE (2012)Movie Reviews
Comedy about a small-time insurance agent who attempts to con a lonely farmer in an attempt to jump start his business and reunite with his estranged wife. Cast:Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, David HarbourDirector:Jill SprecherRelease Date:February 17, 2012DVD Release:June 12, 2012From:ATO PicturesRating:RLength:1 hr 54 min
JUNE 12, 2012
Thin Ice (2012), Good (Not Great) Reviews Key Cities
Thin Ice (2012) played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Owen Gleiberman wrote in Entertainment Weekly, "...a divertingly scuzzy little Midwest noir... enjoyably fuses cleverness and sheer desperation." • And Moira Macdonald wrote in the Seattle Times, "...a small, likable movie about a small, not particularly likable man.... unfolds efficiently as a colder-than-a-femme-fatale's-gaze noir." More Reviews Below...
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a divertingly scuzzy little Midwest noir, in the genre of 'Fargo' and 'A Simple Plan'... enjoyably fuses cleverness and sheer desperation."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 105 words, 02/17/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "There's nothing like the macabre to bring intrigue to an ordinary life, and nothing like the logistics of body disposal to challenge an insurance salesman."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 890 words, 02/24/12
Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: MODERATE(cg) "The third film by the Wisconsin-born Sprecher sisters -- director Jill and co-writer Karen... plays as mild, less-than-lethal noir."(See all of Kat Murphy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 763 words, 02/15/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...gnawingly familiar... feels as indecisive and panicky as its hero, unsure of the tone it wants to strike or the story it wants to tell."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 562 words, 02/17/12
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "If the final revelations seem like an unfair shuffling of the deck, there's certainly plenty of aces here to keep us on our toes."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 401 words, 02/17/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a gritty little comedy of the blackest... there is some sinister fun to be had in watching Kinnear skating toward disaster on ice that is very thin indeed."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 595 words, 02/17/12
Kyle Smith, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...makes good use of Greg Kinnear as an oily Wisconsin insurance salesman (shades of 'Cedar Rapids')... an ambitiously structured and clever scam movie..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 319 words, 01/26/11
Roger Moore, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...plays more clever than it is. But it's still an amusingly nerve-racking trek into the snow and out onto the ice with those funny folks in the land of 'you betcha.' "(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 507 words, 02/24/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "Kinnear strikes just the right notes of humor, horror and sympathy.... If only the film were as good... Its humor falls just shy of quirky, and its menace feels mild."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 355 words, 02/17/12
Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine: FAIR "...a vaguely comic pseudo-thriller... decidedly naturalistic.... tries to play everything straight... It wants to fool us, but it doesn't want to give us anything in return."(See all of Bilge Ebiri's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 503 words, 02/20/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "There's nothing like the macabre to bring intrigue to an ordinary life, and nothing like the logistics of body disposal to challenge an insurance salesman."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 890 words, 02/24/12
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...director Jill Sprecher gets impressively loose, funny but respectful performances from her cast and generally keeps the film moving along briskly."(See all of Mark Holcomb's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 283 words, 02/15/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...darkly comic... Crisply directed by Jill Sprecher with an effectively creepy (but funny) turn from Billy Crudup and a doddering (but funny) one from Alan Arkin..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 390 words, 02/17/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...leads us through ingenious plot twists, unexpected shifts of protagonist and antagonist, and scams that double back on themselves... to be savored."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 555 words, 02/17/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "...deceptively gritty... Kinnear is outstanding... a compelling film, a mystery worth solving even when you're not sure it's unfolding."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 572 words, 02/17/12
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "...the movie never fully clicks.... Tonal inconsistencies and escalating absurdities are baked right into the script."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 04/06/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...perfectly acted, and nicely shot... it gets the wintry smalltown landscapes exactly right. But in the end, it's a little too much like its own main character."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 487 words, 02/17/12
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a small, likable movie about a small, not particularly likable man.... unfolds efficiently as a colder-than-a-femme-fatale's-gaze noir."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 270 words, 02/17/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...made by director Jill Sprecher, who co-wrote with her sister Karen Sprecher, and any nods to the Coen brothers better be intended."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 299 words, 03/02/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...familiar and generic, a pastiche of film noirs that often reminds you of other pictures - there's a lot of Sam Raimi's 'A Simple Plan' here, too..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 569 words, 02/17/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...director Jill Sprecher gets impressively loose, funny but respectful performances from her cast and generally keeps the film moving along briskly."(See all of Mark Holcomb's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 283 words, 02/15/12
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Billy Crudup as a deranged locksmith tosses a monkey wrench of sorts into the works, but there's more slush than ice in this disappointing effort."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 169 words, 04/05/12
Noel Murray, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the movie takes some dark, violent turns once Billy Crudup enters the picture, and loses some of its initial soft, regional charm."(See all of Noel Murray's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 393 words, 02/16/12
Nick Schager, Slant: WEAK(cg) "Only Billy Crudup, exhibiting a violent spazziness that's completely out of line with the rest of the more subdued, wannabe-'Fargo' shenanigans, seems the least bit invested..."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 02/12/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "...there are moments when Mr. Kinnear does a pretty deft emotional juggling act, in a movie that otherwise has a lot in common with ice fishing."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 604 words, 02/17/12
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...gnawingly familiar... feels as indecisive and panicky as its hero, unsure of the tone it wants to strike or the story it wants to tell."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 562 words, 02/17/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a gritty little comedy of the blackest... there is some sinister fun to be had in watching Kinnear skating toward disaster on ice that is very thin indeed."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 595 words, 02/17/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Rob Nelson, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "The filmmakers' gambit here, and it's a risky one, is in waiting roughly 90 minutes to show off their true tricks, which fully re-string the narrative fiddle."(See all of Rob Nelson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 573 words, 01/26/11
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...it seems mostly silly, a kind of fake comic behavior divorced from real human behavior... the characters played by Kinnear and Crudup are goofballs..."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 01/26/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a gritty little comedy of the blackest... there is some sinister fun to be had in watching Kinnear skating toward disaster on ice that is very thin indeed."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 595 words, 02/17/12
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...gnawingly familiar... feels as indecisive and panicky as its hero, unsure of the tone it wants to strike or the story it wants to tell."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 562 words, 02/17/12
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "...there are moments when Mr. Kinnear does a pretty deft emotional juggling act, in a movie that otherwise has a lot in common with ice fishing."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 604 words, 02/17/12
16.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Thin Ice (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 16.3 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Thin Ice (2012) (29 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Thin Ice (2012)'s reviews cover 38.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 13,055 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 450 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 18 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Thin Ice (2012)'s reviews on average broke 18 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Thin Ice (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Thin Ice (2012) (29 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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