The Iceman

In the annals of mob lore, Richard Kuklinski is pretty noteworthy. A contract killer who did a lot of work for the Gambino family through the early 1980s, Kuklinski murdered at least 100 men, maybe twice that many. Starring the great Michael Shannon, The Iceman follows his double life as a hitman and family man. Somehow, his wife (Winona Ryder) is oblivious to it all, but perhaps because this guy never showed remorse for any of his murders, he didn’t have much on his mind. Unlike many mafia movies, this is really hard-boiled stuff, with very little of the sweet life attached. No, it’s not GoodFellas, although Ray Liotta does co-star as Kuklinski’s boss, the vicious Roy DeMeo. Also very good here is Chris Evans, better known as Captain America, playing a particularly sadistic hitman. Doesn’t go very deep, but The Iceman is still a gritty, effective time capsule.