Thin Ice 2012

A.O. Scott, New York Times: It would like to remind you of "Fargo" - what with all the snow, the grubbiness and greed, the exaggerated accents and off-kilter rhythms - and it kind of does, but in a dispiriting way. Read more

John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: It is Mr. Kinnear's slippery charm that keeps "Thin Ice" from sinking into the frosty Wisconsin slush toward which it seems to be heading from the start. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Jill Sprecher's "Thin Ice" is a small, likable movie about a small, not particularly likable man. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: It charts how a man who spends his life playing the angles can miss the hard brick wall he's about to smash into. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Some may think of it as jayvee Coen brothers or Hitchcock -- the influences are obvious -- but Sprecher brings her own style to the movie. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The movie never fully clicks. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: At one point you're looking at the screen going, "This makes no sense!" Then after a long conclusionary explanation, you shake your head and say, "I'm still not sure that made much sense." Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Enjoyably fuses cleverness and sheer desperation. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: There is some sinister fun to be had in watching Kinnear skating toward disaster on ice that is very thin indeed. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The movie is familiar and generic, a pastiche that often reminds you of other, better films. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: If only the film were as good as Kinnear. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: In the end, it's a little too much like its own main character. It wants the big results. But it's not willing to put in the hard work to really earn them. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: With a wink, a nudge and a heaping portion of Midwestern charm, "Thin Ice" reels us in. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Kinnear and director Jill Sprecher make you feel Mickey's squirming desperation, even if the ending feels like a cop-out. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Thin Ice is deeper than it first appears. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: 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. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: With a handful of blackly humorous jolts and some game performances by a good cast, "Thin Ice" is a watchable, if not terribly original, piece of Midwestern noir. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: This is an icy cocktail of greed, betrayal and murder to be savored. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: As a caustic comedy, "Thin Ice" resides just slightly south of "Fargo." Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: When a movie is this predicated on aping the Coen brothers (effectively, it should be added, in fits and starts), surprise won't be its strong suit. Read more

Mark Holcomb, Village Voice: A surprisingly entertaining and nonderivative February time-passer, its wretched mid-winter Wisconsin setting notwithstanding. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's just a little slow getting started. Read more