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 The Frozen Ground 

What grade would you give this film?
A 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
B 100%  100%  [ 3 ]
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Total votes : 3

 The Frozen Ground 
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Let's Call It A Bromance
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Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:22 pm
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Post The Frozen Ground
The Frozen Ground

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The Frozen Ground is a 2013 American thriller film written and directed by Scott Walker, based on the real-life 1980s Alaskan hunt for serial killer Robert Hansen. Hansen stalked and murdered between 17 and 21 young women, kidnapping them and taking them out to the Alaskan wilderness where he shot and buried them. The film stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens, Katherine LaNasa, Radha Mitchell and 50 Cent. The film is set to be released in theaters and on demand on August 23, 2013.


Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:20 pm
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Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am
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Post Re: The Frozen Ground
This is the best Nicolas Cage vehicle in around half a decade, which I know is not high praise, but he delivers a committed and heartfelt performance which recalls the quality of his turns in 8MM, Bringing Out the Dead, and Lord of War, when he reigned as the most idiosyncratic American actor on the A list. He plays an Anchorage based state trooper investigating a series of vanished women, several of them prostitutes, inspiring a degree of ambivalence among the largely male police force, played by recognizable character actors such as Kevin Dunn and Breaking Bad's Dean Norris. The film, based on a true story, does not hide the fact the culprit is one Robert Hansen, a restaurant owner portrayed with tightly wound subtlety and a hint of perverted rage by John Cusack, but instead embraces a dual structure: the audience observes the step by step evolution of the investigation and the life of the murderer as he tries to maintain the precarious house of cards which is his deceitful suburban existence. Vanessa Hudgens co-stars as the one girl to escape from Hansen, a drug abusing runaway unsure if she wishes to cooperate with law enforcement or simply run. This is easily her best and most mature performance to date; it is a demanding role, and she meets each challenge with vigor. This is well traveled ground in both film and television, to be sure, but there is always satisfaction in a story of crime and punishment told well, and the snow swept, often rural locales infuse the storyline with an extra atmosphere of menace and isolation. A few elements don't connect--the film seems bored with itself each time it trots out an underutilized Radha Mitchell as the wife of Cage's character, gazing from afar with tender concern as he burns the midnight oil and becomes more and more involved in the case--but, in general, this is a solid, suspenseful entertainment for adults. If the Cage brand were as strong as it once was, this would be a hit playing nationwide.

B+

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Mon Aug 26, 2013 5:52 pm
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Post Re: The Frozen Ground
I thought it was just ok. Average serial-killer movie. Without the fact that this all did happen, the movie would feel even more like a TV production. Still, it's always great to see Cage, and he is damn good here. Cusack and especially Hudgens were solid too. The ending felt a bit rushed. My biggest complaint is probably that, given the background, the movie is not nearly as intense as I had hoped for.


Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:38 pm
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Post 
The Frozen Ground

This is a really good film, and with an impressive ensemble. Not only the big names like Nicolas Cage and John Cusack (who perfectly plays sinister control freak, Bob Hanson) but a whole host of others. Cage is decent here, but with not a lot to do I preferred the performances of Cusack and Vanessa Hudgens more, and it's always fun to see producer 50 Cent carve out a small role for himself. I was surprised to see so many other faces too. You've got Radha Mitchell, Kurt Fuller, Kevin Dunn, and even Breaking Bad's Hank Schrader. The film reminded me of a few other similarly-set murder films, such as Wind River, Horsemen, The Snowman, and the forgotten, often-underappreciated Jack Nicholson thriller, The Pledge. But The Frozen Ground is based on a true story and so gives the viewer (this one, at least) a satisfying sense of justice over those films because all of these previously unsolved cases were given closure. Well-made film, with good performances. Would recommend.

B+


Sat Apr 07, 2018 3:58 am
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