The Frozen Ground
The Frozen Ground: when an upstanding citizen is accused of kidnapping, torturing and raping a ‘lying’ prostitute the case is immediately dropped, but lands on the desk of a diligent detective. The first-time director coaxes solid performances from an impressive cast: Con Air’s Cage and Cusack are always welcome (and Cage looks like he actually wants to be here!), supported by the likes of Vanessa Hudgens, Dean Norris, Kurt Fuller, Brad Henke, and 50 Cent’s teeth. Unlike 99% of serial killer films, this is different because you know very quickly who the baddie is – it’s not a random character added in the last act – so we see the cop stalking the killer, while the he tries to evade detection, not unlike Insomnia (in setting / location too). In fact the only real mis-step is the clichéd ‘over-committed-detective-with-suffering-family’ trope, but it’s a minor part of the picture. As great as this is, it’s a tough one to recommend because it’s pretty grim viewing in parts, but I’d put this as being head and shoulders above your average movie in the burgeoning ‘true crime / serial killer’ genre.
Score: 8/10
50 Cent is the first thing I think of when I hear about this movie…he looked ridiculous :) The movie itself was pretty good, agree with that.
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He keeps popping up in films just now, and I’m not liking this trend!
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It’s grim, but definitely a good one, Paul.
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I’ve really been wanting to see this one. I’m so glad to hear it is good.
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It’s almost as if Cage has paid his debts off and really wants to try properly acting again. Impressive for a first time director.
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I liked this movie too. Like you say: it was different from other movies about serial killers and that’s what I liked about it. It was thrilling even though you knew who the killer was!
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