Michael Shannon Movies Blog

  Despite being a fan of the superhero genre I hadn’t seen this film before. I think Superman had been done so often that I had little interest in this reboot. Having watched the film I have to say that I enjoyed it, but it didn’t offer anything that was a lot different from that which had gone before. I think that’s because the Superman mythos is so well established and creators are loathed to get too far away from the core values. This effort came a few years after the Brandon Routh remake that featured Kevin Spacey and I remember that being rank rotten with an endless finale on an iceberg or something. I think that this one had a better reputation and I like director Zach Snyder’s take on ‘Watchmen’. Of course it also has our man Michael Shannon as the villain, so that’s me sold! That said, the two and a half hour run time was a but daunting and I ended up watching the film in two sittings. Anyway, we open on Krypton with the planet blowing up and being in the midst of ...

  If ever a film grabbed your attention from the first moment it has to be this one. Of course overweight and elderly naked majorettes may not be your thing but you can’t say it’s not different. The titles roll over these dancing ladies and we soon learn that we are in a gallery and witnessing an art installation. Gallery owner Amy Adams is unhappy with her husband’s non- appearance and with his barely disguised philandering. Things perk up however when she receives a manuscript from her first love and former husband Edward, who is played by Jake Gyllenhaal. She is flattered that the book is dedicated to her and looks forward to his proposed dinner date the following week. As she reads the book the film dissolves into the book’s narrative that sees Jake and Amy on a road trip with their daughter. The character names are changed, but as we experience the book from Amy’s viewpoint she clearly sees the characters as herself and her former beau. The book is as dark as pitc...