Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Blueghost If you want to know how to shoot a masterpiece, then watch this film. Not only is it well shot, but it's also has a lot of integrity for the material being shot.As other reviews have mentioned this is a film about bringing a species of man from our past, into the present day world. How much animal is in us, as homo sapien sapiens, and how much humanity is in our distant cousins the Neanderthals. And if you watch this film, and watch the interests of each party, you will truly begin to wonder who has more humanity within themselves.The film making style takes some liberties with presentation, and we get a sense that the editing glosses over some of the obvious clues that one of the main characters should pick up on in terms of his circumstances. But, if you can over look that, and accept the fact that the subject of the film is perhaps a bit dim witted in addition to being from a more primitive era in Earth's history, then you should be able to appreciate the "plausibility" of the film's premise.There were arguable two great eras in film making. The 30s and 40s as one era, and the 80s, with spikes of greatness sprinkled in the 60s and 70s. And "Iceman" comes from that era in the 1980s when Hollywood was rediscovering itself after Lucas and Spielberg had reminded the dream factory of what films were supposed to be about. "Iceman" is a creation of that re-genesis, and in terms of a style and presentation of story, it truly shines.If I had a complaint, and I'm not sure that I do, it's that I'm curious why the story necessitated a predominantly interior motif, as opposed to letting the story take place on location in a non-arctic environment. The film is rich as it is, but letting it take place elsewhere might have added a dimension to the film by allowing story possibilities. One wonders about these things.The cast is perfect along with their performances, the location has a kind of stark magnificence (as a lot of sculptured ice and snow fields tend to have), and the lensing and lighting are both without flaw. My only regret is for the ending of the story itself. It is a tear-jerker.The subject may not interest a lot of people, so buyer beware, but if you like excellent films, then do give Iceman a chance. At the time of this writing it is only currently available on regular 4:3 DVD format. Hopefully it'll see a bluray release someday.

Woodyanders A team of Artic researchers discover a caveman (beautifully played with touching depth, grace, and humanity by John Lone) who has been frozen in a glacier for 40,000 years and manage to revive him. Anthropologist Stanley Shepherd (an excellent and engaging performance by Timothy Hutton) befriends the caveman so he can learn all about his past while Dr. Diane Brady (a superb portrayal by Lindsay Crouse) and her surgical group want to figure out precisely how the caveman managed to survive for so long frozen in the ice. Director Fred Schepisi and screenwriters Chip Poser and John Drimmer treat the fascinating premise with refreshing and commendable restraint, compassion, and intelligence: This film thankfully eschews cheap thrills and fancy special effects to instead place a welcome and provocative emphasis on heartfelt and thoughtful drama as it explores the caveman's impossible predicament and desire to finish a spiritual quest he started thousands of years ago. Moreover, the characters of the researchers are especially well drawn as smart and capable professionals saddled with a daunting and unusual situation that they have no formal training on how to properly handle. But it's Lone's exceptionally expressive and convincing work as Charlie the caveman that makes this picture so special and captivating; Lone effortlessly pulls off the amazing feat of portraying this primitive man as a deeply sympathetic figure and even gives the Neanderthal a winning sense of gentle humor, as evidenced in the marvelously warm scene in which Charlie grunts along to Shepherd's a capella rendition of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold." Most importantly, Charlie is presented as a pitiable human being rather than a savage brute, which in turn gives this movie extra poignancy and resonance. The across the board fine acting by the top-rate cast helps a whole lot, with especially stand-out supporting contributions from Josef Sommer, David Straithairn, Danny Glover, and James Tolkan. Kudos are also in order for Ian Baker's gorgeous widescreen cinematography, Bruce Seaton's haunting score, and Michael Westmore's subtle make-up. Great touching ending, too. Highly recommended.

bob-790-196018 What makes this picture very enjoyable indeed is the expert direction of Fred Schepisi and a really fascinating performance by John Lone as a Neanderthal man marooned in the 20th Century.If you believe the high-tech medical mumbo-jumbo in which which Lone is "revived," I have a bridge I can sell you, but in spite of this nonsense the sequence works wonderfully through skillful direction and editing. Very suspenseful and full of wonder. You completely forget to ask what a fully equipped trauma team, on the order of what you might find at Mass General Hospital's ER, is doing in the middle of the Arctic.Or, for that matter, what an isolated Arctic outpost is doing with an elaborate vivarium replicating a forest environment.Nevertheless, the encounters in that simulated environment between Timothy Hutton and Lindsay Crouse, on the one hand, and John Lone are fascinating and completely credible. I fully believe that if a Neanderthaler could be revived, he could be like this. The exploration of his language and concepts was intelligent and fun to watch.There is one more bravura sequence worth mentioning--when John Lone escapes from the vivarium and finds himself in the totally artificial 20th Century world of the Arctic station. Wonderfully acted and edited. It forces us to see our world from an alien viewpoint.Far less convincing is the anthropological speculation that serves as a rationale for the Neanderthaler's wandering off into the Arctic snows. We are told that he is going on his "dreamwalk," but all I could see was that he was headed for certain death by exposure and should be stopped.Early on in the movie, the medical team's immediate response to the revival of the Neanderthaler was preposterous--they wanted to cut him up and study him. Bad Scientists! Good Cave Man! No responsible scientists or medical people would have acted this way. Faced with a living Neanderthal man, the obvious response would be to take him to an environment where he could feel unthreatened and reasonably at home while modern people learned about him, his language, his culture, and, yes, his physiology. All in all, the movie is so well made that you overlook the silliness of the "science" until afterward, when you've had a chance to think about it.

drmality-1 What you think of "Iceman" depends on your general nature. If you are sentimental and deeply moved by stories of great emotion, you'll love it. If you are hard-edged, cynical and opposed to the least bit of softening in life, you'll think it crass. I know what side of the fence I'm on. I loved the movie and was moved to tears the first time I saw it. It still moves me all these years later.In the high arctic, the remains of a Neanderthal hunter are found perfectly preserved in ice. To the astonishment of the scientists who handle the remains, the capacity for life still lingers in the body. They return the frozen primitive to life in the 20th century...at least 20,000 years after his "death". The revival of "Charlie" sparks a multitude of moral dilemmas for the scientists. Earnest young anthropologist Shepherd wants to know Charlie as a man and bonds with the primitive. Other scientists want to use the special properties of Charlie's blood to preserve human life...a good goal, but they look at him as a specimen.When Charlie escapes from the special environment prepared for him, havoc ensues, leading to a powerful ending where he tries to complete the quest he started tens of thousands of years ago.The tale is simple and heartfelt. John Lone gives an astonishing performance as Charlie. His physical movements and primitive vocalizations completely bring to life a man from the dawn of time. Yet we also sense moments of sadness, anger, humor and family pride from him. Thanks to the Academy's snubbing of fantasy/SF films, which would not be erased until the massive success of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy years later, Lone's Oscar-worthy performance was ignored. You will be amazed by the humanity he brings to the role. Timothy Hutton is earnest and sincere as the moral but naive scientist who tries his best to help his Neanderthal friend.The movie is not perfect...some of the scientific jargon is overdone and I was incredibly annoyed by James Tolkan's constant gum-chewing...but it succeeds in matters of the heart. The ending is sad yet triumphant. If you think about the situation, it was the best possible ending for Charlie given the circumstances.Anyone with a heart and a sense of wonder should enjoy "Iceman".