Writer-director Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s first feature, “On the Ice,” is an effective, lean suspenser set 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Barrow, Alaska—his own hometown—with elements that might be more expected on mean streets rather than in icy climes. (Call it “ethno-noir.”) Based on his award-winning short, “Sikumi,” (2008) and steeped in his own Iñupiaq culture, “On the Ice” follows two seventeen-year-old boys who try to get away with murder after an accident during an early morning seal hunt. Among the other complications to their first simple lie is a tightly knit community, an overabundance of liquor and crystal meth and relentless daylight. Cinematographer Lol Crawley’s widescreen images are splendid; his earlier work includes Lance Hammer’s equally fierce “Ballast.” The Sundance Institute was among the film’s key supporters, and it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011. With Josiah Patkotak, Frank Qutuq Irelan, Teddy Kyle Smith, Adamina Kerr. 96m. (Ray Pride)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
Seeing The Elephant: A Review Of Babylon The boisterous, brawling yet melancholy "Babylon," is a variation on film history, but more drawing for drama. It's gaudy and mean, celebratory and sorrowful.
Heart: A Review of Soul The real world is soulful, too, in Pixar's bountiful life of the mind.
Uncanny Ally: A Review Of M3GAN "M3GAN" sells itself in its first handful of seconds in how it introduces the handiwork of roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams, "Get Out") and her present product, PurrPetual Petz from Funki.
Fine Line: A Review Of Shortcomings It's a season for the comeuppance of a curmudgeon in Randall Park's smart, biting "Shortcomings," adapted by Adrian Tomine from his graphic novel of the same name.
Spawn Sacrifice: A Review Of The Creator "The Creator" is richly detailed, punchy, pulpy, punkish entertainment that still has highly serious subjects in mind, without growing didactic and with substantial heart.
A Drag Getting Old: A Review Of Indiana Jones 5 In the protracted opening couple of reels, a very young, computer-crafted Harrison Ford plays a younger cultural marauder who first encounters the dull MacGuffin of the title.
RECOMMENDED
