I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Thanks for the memories!

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

As Good As It Gets

The distribution team and the creative team behind The Iceman must have had different views on what the film was. The distributors must have seen a more prestige picture, hence the Venice and Toronto festival screenings along with a limited theatrical release. The creators, on the other hand, saw this as a mid-level gangster-thriller that was more for general audiences than festival crowds. This difference probably led to the film following into obscurity quickly. A silver lining to that previous statement is that this film could now be considered a hidden gem for fans of straight-forward entertaining gangster films. The film tells the violent middle life of Richard Kuklinski aka "The Iceman"(Michael Shannon), a hitman for the mob who is estimated to have killed between 100-250 people in New York from the 60s to 80s. Richard is a devoted family man, especially to his loyal wife Deborah (Winona Ryder). He never lets his family know what he really does, hiding the truth behind lies about working for banks and dubbing Disney films. Richard is good at what he does, which initially leads him to work for mob boss Roy Demeo (Ray Liotta). After years of working for Demeo, Richard is forced out and teams up with fellow hitman "Mr. Freezy" (Chris Evans). Together they make a great pair as Richard does the hits and Freezy dumps the bodies. Eventually, Richard's job takes hold of his life, turning everything he loves upside down and against him.The Iceman never presents itself as a prestige gangster film like Goodfellas. The director and crew know they are making an ordinary film that is purely for entertainment. However, just because this is for entertainment doesn't mean it's is perfect. The overall plot is handled rather poorly as some characters don't get enough time to make themselves unique. Ray Liotta's storyline is never completed and is left on a bad note. James Franco pops up for about three minutes in a subplot that feels too forced into revealing Richard's motivations. The Iceman is also strife with historical inaccuracies. Liberties must be taken when adapting real life, but this film takes it a step too far. Richard's true past and violent relationship with his wife are scrubbed for a version that is more cinematically useable. Anybody familiar with the real story of Kuklinski will most likely not enjoy this film.The camera work by Bobby Bukowski gives the film a documentary look. Even though this is a biopic, we never get that feeling. Darkness is always on the edge of the frame as we watch every moment with constant fear. Tension is always present as each character is always in danger of being killed.Michael Shannon is brilliant again as one of America's most infamous killers. Shannon uses his natural psychotic looks to blend in perfectly. He also uses his rage and stone cold face to create a feeling of fear and mystery around Richard. Winona Ryder gives one of her better performances as the oblivious wife that cares too much. She's in over her head, but she doesn't realize it until it's too late. Chris Evans is almost unrecognizable behind long hair and facial hair. He does an acceptable job as a killer that gets almost too much pleasure from his work.Finally, Ray Liotta keeps his streak of supporting roles going. He just does an alright job as he plays the stereotypical mob boss. He doesn't add anything new and mostly spouts the same lines we've heard in every other gangster film.If you're coming into this film expecting a high-grade gangster film, you're going to be disappointed. This film is for the audience that enjoys linear action and straightforward storytelling. Boasting one of Michael Shannon's best performances, The Iceman is an acceptable and entertaining film that doesn't take itself, or history, too seriously.

Although this film has been out for a few years, I have only just seen it - and it is impressive.Michael Shannon's portrail of real-life hit man Richard Kuklinski is absolutely superb. You really feel drawn into his world at various stages of his 'career', including the conflicts between his chosen profession while trying to maintain some kind of normal family life.There are plenty of moments in this film that will take you by surprise on your journey with the character.This film is well worth setting aside time to watch so you become fully engrossed in the story.

I had heard about this film many times a year or so after its release, specifically how good it was meant to be, and I later found out it was based on real events, so I was looking forward to sitting down and watching it. Basically set in the 1960s, Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) dates and marries Deborah Pellicotti (Winona Ryder), they have two daughters, but everything is not ordinary, Richard is very secretive to his family. Deborah thinks that Richard dubs Disney cartoons, in fact he works as a lab technician for porn films, supplied to a mob operated syndicate, he later changes career when his bosses, including the powerful Roy Demeo (Ray Liotta) persuade him to become a contract killer. Richard, who had been the victim of beatings from his immigrant Polish father as a child, is emotionally disturbed and intensely violent, he easily passes his test to kill an unknown homeless man and proving his lack of feeling whilst killing. Over the years Richard spends as a contract killer he gains a reputation for his cold-blooded professionalism, while his family is kept in the dark about his true career, but mob politics force him to go independent, working secretly with psychopathic Robert "Mr. Freezy" Pronge (Chris Evans). Richard earns the nickname "Iceman", for his method of freezing a victim to mask the time of death, but he finds it very difficult to separate his professional and family lives, circumstances and his own weaknesses threaten them to collide and there follow consequences. In the end, Richard Kuklinski is arrested in the year 1986, following an undercover sting operation, neither his wife Deborah nor his daughters ever suspected he was a cold-blooded killer, he admitted to over 100 vicious murders in his 22-year career, he never saw his family again after being sentenced to two life terms, he died under suspicious circumstances in prison in 2006. Also starring James Franco as Marty Freeman, David Schwimmer as Josh Rosenthal, Robert Davi as Leonard Merks, Stephen Dorff as Joey Kuklinski and Erin Cummings as Ellen. This film ultimately belongs to Shannon, who gives a compelling as the psychopathic monster posing as an average family man, the murderer behind the human, there is good support from Ryder, Liotta, Evans and the others, it is almost a traditional mob movie premise, with strong moments of violence, it may slightly slow in places, but there are flourishes of style, and overall it is a good biographical crime thriller. Worth watching!

I found this film good-paced and grabbing. It is Michael Shannon's performance that glues all the scenes together solidly, especially for some scenes not so self-solidifying. The main problem here is the script. It seems like the writer has problems extracting and summarizing. The story is with a good outer frame, and yet strangely hollow on the inside. It must be at the pick-and-choose process. Another probable reason is that the basis of this film came from two different books. The evidence of doubling, and even intersecting, information is quite apparent. Conflicting personalities and emotions can help build up a film's tone. But screenwriters can't be conflictual themselves, or the entire film feels like a swinging pendulum. I think "The Iceman" is a good enough film. Certainly entertaining. But it could have been a lot better, possibly along the line of "Goodfellas" and even "The Godfather". If we can walk back, there are certain points that the filmmakers should have exploited. The contrasting life of a businessman and a ruthless contract killer is what should have been dug deeper and expressed profusely. Some extra scenes should have been added to show us the man's great, great anguish. The Winona Rider's character is incredibly underused. As someone so close, it is she who can observe or even spot the contradictions. Whatever she feels about her husband, or the resolution she may have had over the years, it should have shown much more dramatic at the arrest scene. Surprises and anger are not enough. There must be some elements of life shattering or a state of deep shock. All in all, it comes back to the script, as acting and directing are indeed satisfactory.