Nancy Odle What makes a great movie? To me, that question is answered on many levels. The first, most crucial, to me, is does the movie uplift and motivate me to examine parts of my life that may need improvement. Movies and movie roles are captivating if the character has strengths that the audience can examine through one's own personal lens. This movie meets that criteria. It is very touching. I personally loved the cinematography, especially the views of the Iowa landscape and the figure skating. Beautiful makeup and costumes on the star for competition (I was reminded of The Black Swan.) No villains in this story and a very appropriate relationship between the two young sweethearts for a young audience (applause, applause), with the added feature of "something to aspire to," in terms of personal growth and challenge. No inappropriate sexuality. All around a fine movie to enjoy with a young daughter on a weekend.

dolcegabbana91 its terrible. no wonder it went straight to video. its a really bad. just don't. acting BAD, settings BAD, cinematography BAD. i rented it thinking it would be like the original 1978 but i was wrong in so many levels. i don't know why people cant do things right. they should have watched the first one first before making this one. the acting, awful. that girl playing Lexie, terrible. the boyfriend, terrible. those snotty girls in the competitions, terrible. don't wast your time. i sat down to watch this movie in hopes that it was good. i was wrong. i loved the original, i have it on DVD. i was hoping someone would come up with an updated version, maybe played by Scarlett Johanssen, but i was wrong.

ichocolat Ice Castle is a remake of a film with the same title. And no point for guessing, the storyline is the same, too.And the thing about trying to remake film is that, it will always be overshadowed with the original film.And this film was indeed overshadowed by the original. Same storyline, down to bits of the dialogues! The film started slow, it dragged, and only three quarter through the film did something happened to the lead actress. And you did not have the time to sympathize with her, because the film quickly ended when we were shown that the girl has gained her confidence, albeit her injuries, to be crowned the champ in ice skating ! Not a film after all, but since this film followed the original to the bits, with no diversion of the original, this film is destined to fail in the cinemas.

torrentstorm There have been a couple or more of similar movies and themes in the past, haven't there? When was it I saw a similar version, 1978, 1988? The figure-skating heroine trains for the sectional figure-skating competitions, suffers a fall that somehow blinds her, but with the encouragement of her loving father, and particularly the help and coaching of her by then estranged boyfriend, decides to make a comeback, and without revealing her impediment to anyone, decides to continue her competition until the national championship.Some decent acting here, particularly from the girl Taylor Firth as Lexi, with some nice moves in the skating rink. Nothing we haven't seen before, of course. The rest of the acting/actors varied between lame - boring. I actually was dozing off in a couple of places. Had to get up and get one of the ice-cream sandwiches I had in the fridge to keep from falling asleep.I'm not saying the movie was bad. No. I mean, if you're looking for one of those family movies, old Walt Disney style, nothing spectacular, just hum-drum, OK, then here's your ticket. But we critics know that one of the main strengths of any movie is the story, and not just 'the story', but the way it is played out, the drama, if you will.In this respect, I cannot say Ice Castles delivers. It was over an hour past into the movie, and we're still waiting for something to happen. Then the girl falls, not very convincingly either, and that leaves the remaining 25 minutes of the movie to play out her depression, stage her comeback with her boyfriend's help, practice and prepare for the finals, and perform her skating competition.Not much drama here, no heart-rending moments, no real emotion ....I mean, after all, the girl is almost blind and decides to compete against all odds? I would imagine quite a challenge, right? Didn't see much of anything here.However, if you're a fan of ice skating movies, well then you might love this one. Nice for one of those rainy afternoons when there is nothing else to do.