The Ice Harvest (2006)

For Charlie Arglist (John Cusack), a Mob lawyer who just embezzled $2 million from his boss, it's anything but a wonderful life. Director Harold Ramis' sharp noir comedy is decidedly bah-humbug: Everyone's out to get Charlie on Christmas Eve, and instead of a guardian angel, he's saddled with the sauced husband of his ex-wife, deliciously played by Oliver Platt. EXTRAS Billy Bob Thornton slips into his Sling Blade character in the only outtake, while co-writer Richard Russo (Empire Falls) shines in ''Cracking the Story,'' a chat with collaborator Robert Benton (Bonnie and Clyde) and novelist Scott Phillips. ''I've spent the better part of my career now trying to figure out what it means to be a man in America,'' Russo says. In The Ice Harvest, he's helped create the perfect Butch and Sundance for the emasculated male of the 21st century.