Icebreaker (2000)

 

Icebreaker (2000)- *1\2

Directed by: David Giancola

Starring: Sean Astin, Bruce Campbell, Suzanne Turner, Mark Keppel, and Stacy Keach 

Carl Greig (Campbell) is a terrorist who leads his team of baddies to an unlikely place: Killington Ski Resort in Vermont. They're after some nuclear material found in a downed Russian aircraft. While they're in the midst of pilfering the nuke stuff, they take the time to take the resort and all its partying inhabitants hostage. Mostly this takes place in the dining room, where concerned dad Bill Foster (Keach) is admonishing his daughter Meg (Turner) not to marry the local "ski bum", a guy named Matt (Astin). Naturally, it's up to Matt and his "wacky" forest ranger buddy Beck (Keppel) to save the day. So now the pressure is on for Matt: not only must he stop the baddies using the only skills he knows - mainly snowboarding - but the lives of the hostages AND the approval of his potential father-in-law is on the line. He wants to start a dialogue with the hostage-takers...but what's his ultimate ICEBREAKER?


Icebreaker, let's just say, has some problems. While the above description might make it sound fun and entertaining, sadly, it is not. Yes, of course it's yet another one of those "DieHardInA" movies, but even the "Die Hard on the ski slopes" idea had been done at least twice before: in White Fury (1989) and Crackerjack (1994). While those aren't the greatest films in existence either, both are far superior to Icebreaker in just about every way. Crackerjack has much better production values (most movies have better production values than Icebreaker) and White Fury, while also a very low-budget outing, has that AIP charm to it. When White Fury is kicking your ass, you know you've got a serious problem.

Because Icebreaker has an almost-punishingly cheap and chintzy look to it, it seems likely that any budget it had went to its three principal actors: Keach, Campbell, and Astin. It's amazing that all three of these names actually agreed to be in Icebreaker, essentially a homemade production from the makers of Pressure Point (1997). Unfortunately, Don Mogavero is nowhere in sight. He would save us all.


Fan favorite Bruce Campbell here fills the shoes of the typical Eurotrash baddie. He's bald this time around, and even his typical energy seems tamped down, almost like he realized that no matter how much effort he put in, it would be all for naught. It would be like swimming against the tide of the flat, brain-cell depleting plainness that is Icebreaker. Nothing compelling or interesting ever happens. Yes, there is an exploding helicopter, likely sourced from somewhere else. It was appropriate that, of all possible ski resorts, they went with KILLINGton, but all of this is nothing but one big missed opportunity.

It's all very, very stupid and not in a good or entertaining way. We found Icebreaker to be something of a chore to sit through. While we appreciate that it's hard to make a movie and get it out there, and consequently we hate to be negative about things, we still have to tell the truth about what's going on here. All the more frustratingly, they had all the ingredients to make it good, worthwhile, and entertaining, but the filmmakers never bothered to capitalize on what they had. They played it agonizingly safe and took zero chances or risks with the material.


If you want to see an awesome movie that takes place on the ski slopes, just stick with Hot Dog: The Movie (1984) or Better Off Dead (1985). You know you're in dire straits when the combined talents of Bruce Campbell, Stacy Keach, and Sean Astin don't even make a dent in the monolithic wall of crud that is Icebreaker.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, DTVC!

Pressure Point (1997)

 

Pressure Point (1997)- * *

Directed by: David Giancola

Starring: Don Mogavero, Larry Linville, Linda Ljoka, Denise Gentile, Mark Keppel, Amanda Reilly, and Steve Railsback 

Sebastian Dellacourt (Mogavero) is a CIA agent that might be on the edge, but it’s kind of hard to tell. After accepting the time-honored “one last job” from his handler Neil Kennedy (Linville), he flies off to Chile to assassinate an ambassador or some such thing. After the job goes awry, Dellacourt, or “Della” as Kennedy refers to him as (maybe it’s not the most masculine nickname in the world, especially if there’s a subconscious comparison to Della Reese) is sent to prison. His terms for getting out: accept “one last job”. Again. Another one last job.

So Dellacourt travels from Wilmington, Delaware to the rural burg of Crittenden, Vermont, in the hopes of taking down a rogue militia masquerading behind a construction company. The head of said militia is the rather droll Arno Taylor (Railsback). While in Crittenden, Dellacourt runs afoul of the local good ole boys and local police officer Samantha Cole (Ljoka) comes to save his bacon. Naturally, sparks fly between them, especially when Sebastian Dellacourt gives his name as “Del Sebastian”. The clever Cole quickly finds him in the crime computers, but the two have to team up to stop Taylor from blowing up a congressional office building in Washington, D.C. Will they do it? Or have the baddies finally found Dellacourt’s PRESSURE POINT?




Pressure Point is from the same people that brought us Radical Jack (2000), and the main claim to fame of both films is that MST3K has mocked and ridiculed them. While Pressure Point may be low budget, and may be a mélange of both silly and face-slappingly stupid in the style that only a DTV movie of this sort can be, at least it got into video stores. There are some genuinely funny moments that were probably unintentional. The main problem, besides the obvious, is that it’s too long. This should not have been 98 minutes. The pacing is well and truly off, because for every “laff” moment, there’s a long stretch where things feel like a chore. The payoff is not exactly equal.

There are some classic clichés on display, such as Linville calling Mogavero “The Best”, and also his utterance of “No More Mistakes”. Movie highlights include the thrilling (?) prison escape and the infamous “dynamite in the microwave” scene. Railsback’s complete character development consists of the fact that he likes apples. His speech about America was pretty sweet, though.

Sebastian Dellacourt also has an inexplicably hot wife named Karen (Gentile), and a nine-year-old daughter named Emma (Reilly). Emma has a stuffed bear named Mr. Paws. Surprisingly, Mr. Paws plays a pretty integral role in the plot. In terms of importance, Mr. Paws’s billing should have been above Don Mogavero.

Mogavero is, let’s just say, an unlikely action star. Typically, they aren’t affectless middle-aged men with thinning hair. It was an interesting choice putting him front and center. There are other side characters worth mentioning, whether it be the annoying Walt (Keppel), or “The Prosecutor” (that’s all she’s billed as), played by Alex Datcher of Passenger 57 and Rage and Honor (both 1992) fame.

Pressure point is like a less-competent Malone (1987). There are also elements of Militia (2000) and Deadly Reckoning (1998) as well (the latter mainly because of the stuffed bear factor). Of course, the specter of Radical Jack is ever-present. Just like in real life.

So, if you’re ready for your brain cells to take a serious beating, enter the singular world of Don Mogavero and Pressure Point. But don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty