Rating: Summary: It's gonna be a cold night!! Review: Ang Lee is a genius when it comes to movies. This is a tale of one night when the events that occur change 2 families forever. The choice of charcters is great - we have Sigourney Weaver as the seductive wife who has an affair with with Kevin Kline, who's also married and has children too. We have the sexually charged daughter Christina Ricci who manages to seduce both the boys from the other family causing havoc. It doesn't stop there - Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood, Joan Allen and Adam Hann Bryd all contribute to the crazy events within the movie. Each charcater is unique and thats what makes the movie so touching and believable. The story is also very unique - a true masterpiece with elements of comedy and tragedy. A killer cast and a beautifully crafted story - well worth buying!!
Rating: Summary: Works Better On The Small Screen Review: Some films work better on the small screen & when you see them for a second time. This is one of them for me. The film has a slightly claustraphobic feel...too much was shot inside...it felt like an adapted stage play.So much more could have been drawn to create a sense of the period, the music for one, which is lacking.But there was much I liked about this film. The atmosphere of the suburbs in winter. Signorey's great & looks great. There were some good laughs & some sad moments. Like I said, a good film to watch at home on the small screen.The fact that it is a mature film in an era of infantilism in Hollywood is why it got so many people excited.
Rating: Summary: Without a doubt, the worst film of it's year. Review: If anyone says this movie is good, and for some reason, people ARE saying it on here, they should be locked up. This is a film with a storyline so friggin' boring I'd rather watch grass grow. Kevin Kline and Sigourney are fine performers, but there's nothing to this film that makes you walk away with anything but, "What the hell was the point of that film?" Do yourself a favor. Skip this film. Buy anything else these actors have done.
Rating: Summary: Love it Review: Big fan of Elijah Wood, so I love this movie!!!
Rating: Summary: You should not miss this movie! Review: If you wish to see a movie that is subtle, exploring, intriguing, and heart-felt, you should not miss this one. There are a few people comparing it with American Beauty. I also like American Beauty. However, they seem very different to me. American Beauty is like a modern woman that is beautiful, intelligent, engaging and passionate. And the Ice Storm has something that is beyond all that. Its scent lingers around while the owner's long gone. American Beauty shocks you. The Ice Storm breaks your heart. I think both of them are good. However, the Ice Storm is definitely a masterpiece that has been neglected in our current past but will be honored and remembered in the future.
Rating: Summary: Great music, but yes, more score! Review: As I was watching this fabulous movie, the score was playing throughout. As you watched the naked trees swaying back and forth beneath a gray, cold sky, the music gave you a feeling. For me it gave a feeling of warmth, a feeling of familiarity. Actually, the music sounded a lot like the music in "American Beauty" which in some ways was like "The Ice Storm." The story was backed up with fabulous music, and while I love the music on this soundtrack, more score is needed. Probably the best song on the soundtrack, in my opinion, is "I Can't Read" by David Bowie. It's a powerful song, especially when it is played at the end of the movie, which is pretty emotional and thoughtful. It's wonderful.
Rating: Summary: Another Ang Lee masterpiece Review: If you loved Crouching Tiger, not just for the beautiful dance/fight scenes, but for the insight into love and relationships, then you'll love Ice Storm. I must warn you, it'll rip your heart out. So don't watch if you are looking for a happy, light film.
Rating: Summary: One of Ang Lees' best ! Review: The Ice Storm is those which makes you think it over and over after you've seen it. All the actors are wonderful in it, Ang Lee is truely one of the best directors of our time especially think of how a non American can tell such an 'American story'! A must see!!!
Rating: Summary: growing up IS hard to do... Review: You can tell just from the first shot in The Ice Storm that it will completely envelop you. The crackling sound as the train comes to a stop on a cold Connecticut night, the beautifully poetic score by Michael Danna, the twinkling trees and landscape revealing a calm after the storm. You have a feeling that the beauty is masking a lot of desperation and vulnerability. It is a really bold piece of New American Cinema. Tackling the same old issues, but in a way that is startlingly fresh and revealing. Kevin Cline is great as a fumbling, bored NY businessman who finds a tragic way to rock the family suburban lifestyle. And Joan Allen is amazingly sparse in her portrayal of an early 1970's housewife who finally confronts her husband's infedelity. Tobey Mcguire (who also narrates the film) and Cristina Ricci, as their children, give equally delicate and involved performances. Sigourney Weaver is given her best role here, as the swinging wife of Jamey Sheridan, who is supposedly the genious that helps develop silicon from sand. Rounding out the cast is Elijah Wood as their troubled son, and Adam Hann-Byrd as his younger and more eloquent brother. Overall, It's an beautifully interwoven story of the miscommunications between two neighboring families. And it really confronts the overtone of the early 1970's era, by setting up parallels between the harsh political climate (a la Watergate) with what is hapenning between the two families. But I think the most meaningful and touching aspect is how we see love (or at least a sexual awakening mistaken as love) blooming between 2 teenagers in a way that is heartbreakingly real. I really appreciated how they made the experiences between these young characters appear genuine, loving, and meaningful. It isnt often that a film captures what love feels like for someone so new at it. I think one of the delicate ironies of the film is that, despite their youth and inexperience, these people's children probably have a better understanding about what love is really about than they do. I think the film is also about a loss of innocence, but not necessarily a loss of sexual innocence. It shows how sometimes children are thrust into adulthood because of traumatic events in their lives, and they often times loose a part of themselves in the process. The ending is truly devastating, but so poetically rendered and realistically fleshed-out. It really makes you feel an incomprehensible sadness that is never really resolved before the film ends, which is infinately refreshing. As we all know, there isn't always a fitting way to console the heartbroken. So maybe its best to just leave it at that. It probes deep into the intricate concepts of love, family, betrayal, and loss. It is as delicate a film as they come. Surely the best film Ang Lee has ever done. And i think greatly overlooked as possibly one of the best films in the past decade.
Rating: Summary: A real gem finally on DVD Review: Rare to find a movie that touches you on so many levels as this one does. And now it's on DVD. I don't know what all the extras are but, for me, the movie is enough by itself. This is a work of genius. Crouching Tiger..., gained Ang Lee some much needed recognition. Hopefully this film will attract the audience it deserves to have, but hasn't had for the last 4 years of it's existence. Sense and Sensibility is well worth the time also. I think Ang Lee will produce an outstanding body of work and this film stands as testament of things to come.
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