Michael Shannon Movies Blog

  Death By Lightning at the IMDb   More up to date Shannon now, albeit one set in the past. This is a 4 part mini series that you can find on Netflix and I would recommend that you do. Shannon plays James Garfield, a lesser-known American president who was shot by an assassin three months into his presidency and who died of complications from the wound a few months later. His story is not well known, at least to myself, but it was an engaging and entertaining historical drama which was sumptuously staged and well-acted, by a stellar cast. The first episode opens in a contemporary warehouse as an old box splits open and out rolls a jar containing a human brain. This is labelled ‘Charles Guiteau: Brain’ and the series then dissolves into the past to see how we ended up at the brain storage facility. We meet Shannon’s Garfield as a young senator working his farm. He has the familiar trait of being a poor woodworker – we know his talents lie elsewhere! He has a long-suff...

  I always disliked the punny title of this film – oh it’s a current war and also about electric currents! Maybe raisins are involved too? I’m sure a better title would have helped, but I did enjoy this film despite some eccentric direction and some miscasting.   The film opens on some figures surrounded by mist. It’s not clear what’s happening but we soon dissolve into 1880 where electricity is starting to be developed. In the lead is Thomas Edison whose direct current is the market leader. It does however require a lot of wire and substations, but he is fixated on making it work. He’s assisted by Tom Holland who looks about 14 with a stick-on moustache. The pair later team up to greater effect as Dr Strange and Spider-Man in the MCU.   Edison’s rival is George Westinghouse , played by our Mr Shannon with a slightly more believable moustache, and he’s all about alternating current. He made his fortune in train brakes and sees electricity as the way to light up th...

  I have vague memories of the 1993 Waco siege and had it down as some religious nutters killing themselves when the government lost patience with them following a long stand-off. This six part TV series covered a lot of ground and looked at both sides of the confrontation. The result was that the government forces came out of it looking worse, but the cultists could have been smarter too. The series opens with Michael Shannon’s character Gary trying to end another hostage incident. This one doesn’t end well and hopefully lessons will be learnt. They aren’t! Meanwhile in Waco Texas, David Koresh is living the high life of a cult leader. Someone does correct us in the show saying that no one in a cult thinks they are in a cult but it all looks a bit cultish to me. Koresh and his right hand man Steve, the ever reliable Paul Sparks, are running a large compound full of families who believe David to be the next coming of Christ. We see him recruit one of the Culkin clan and he...