Ice Pawn

Ice Pawn was surprise to me. I had not seen it until recently and thought that it was wonderful. The story was unique and Paul Cross did a excellent job in the lead role. He made you feel emotions deep inside him. His performance was totally believable. The film is very inspiring to anyone who is going for a dream. It's a good lesson on 'doiing the right thing." I highly recommend this film for any young skater. I remember when this sort of scandal happened at the Olympics with the figure skating event. This film was way ahead of it's time. I find it surprising that more wasn't made of this film when it first came out. But I was happy to see that you can still buy it online which I did. I thought that the music was wonderful too. I wish that more films were made like Ice Pawn.

Grizzly Adams seemed burned out and uninspired and was not convincing as a coach. There was no coherence between the scenes and overall, this movie seemed quite disjointed. Honestly, I would have rated this movie 1 star if it wasn't for the character Joey, played by Curtis Socha. While his part was fleeting at best, he literally stole the show. Beyond his hilarious facial expressions, I was particularly struck by his impressive posturing - he struck me as an authentic figure skater, not some B-movie actor. His role should have been expanded to include some skating, I bet he would have been outstanding.

The movie as a whole was pretty terrible, but all I have to say is "Thank God for Joey!"

This film is about a figure skater named Alex Dalton (Paul Cross) who is getting too old to compete. His lifelong dream was to win the Olympics, and his die-hard ambition drives him to never give up.

Alex works as an airplane mechanic, which pays for his passion for skating. With his mother deceased, his father is the only relative he has close to him (played by Dan Haggerty), but does not support his skating.

Alex is approached by a rich investor one day who has taken notice to him and wants to sponsor him, but he makes Alex sign a contract that says Alex must pay him a large percent of what he would make if he wins the Olympics. To ensure Alex's victory, he then goes about fixing the competition so that Alex wins.

Alex finds out about the rigging of the competition and pretends that he's taking drugs to fool everyone into thinking that will be disqualified, which makes everyone else bet on other competitors to win. Then, in his moment of truth, Alex pulls off a Triple Axel and wins on his own merit. The character of Alex Dalton, superbly acted by Paul Cross is a great example of perseverance in the face of corruption, following the dreams in your heart, and winning when everyone thinks you're just an underdog. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to enjoy a real story about life and what happens when decisions are put in front of you when choices have to be made.

One of the best films I have seen about figure skating thanks to Curtis Socha. His obvious skill and talent left question as to why he wasn't cast as the lead in this role. He is the only reason I've watched this movie twice. Such natural talent is hard to find without being covered by Hollywood tricks. I will continue to watch this movie over and over again because of his true athletic abilities. The plot lacked interest but the skating is worth watching. To see Mr. Socha skate on ice is like watching the perfect sunset! What more could you ask for? I hope there is more to come from this talented individual. Where can I join a Joey Fan club?

Paul Cross plays an Olympic-caliber ice skater that runs afoul of the politics of the ice-skating establishment while getting involved in more than his share of intrigue. There are a few problems with this set-up right from the get-go. Mr. Cross is a barely competent skater and a less competent actor. And although his actions are heroic, his character comes across as such a smarty-pants that it is impossible to like him.

Now, it's time for some of this bargain-basement Gymkata's bad points. The disjointed stories move at paces ranging from molasses to snails. The lines are laughable. The direction is ponderous at best and incompetent at worst. Yes, that is burnt-out Dan Hagerty, also known as Grizzly Adams, as the Olympic Team coach. Chris Thomas supplies the only interesting moments in the film as the lead character's personal trainer -- a cross between Ian Holm from Chariots of Fire and Christopher Plummer from The Amateur -- both of which were MUCH better movies. Avoid this one as if it were the plague!