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...

  Hot off the press Shannon now as his latest offering comes to the fore. To be honest, it’s a glorified cameo and he’s in a single scene only, but he gets a credit as ‘Himself’, so let’s have a look. Sebastian Stan a.k.a. ‘The Winter Soldier’ stars as Edward, a man who has severe facial disfigurement. The cause is not mentioned but a childhood photo shows him without the affliction, so it’s safe to assume it’s a disease or genetic problem that’s caused the issue. We watch him struggle through his life with people gasping at his appearance. Things look up however when a new neighbour moves in and they soon hit it off. Edward is however too self-conscious to act on his feelings for Ingrid who is an aspiring playwright. Edward takes part in a new treatment trial and, as you’d probably guess it’s a roaring success, with his face being transformed overnight into that of heartthrob Stan. This helps Edward get on in life and he renames himself as ‘Guy’ and takes on a real estate job....

  I saved my rewatch of this film to the end of my quest as it was my favourite Michael Shannon project going in. Having now watched 90 other Shannon productions it still retains the crown. It’s just such a wonderful, mesmerising and immersive experience. The film opens with some narration and a description of “a monster who wanted to destroy it all” – and you know they aren’t talking about the guy with the gills! Sally Hawkins excels as Elisa, a mute cleaner who lives a lonely and routine life. We see her daily rituals of getting up, having a good time in her bath before making lunch for herself and her gay artist neighbour, Giles.   Elisa cleans at a secret marine research facility which is run by Michael Stuhlbarg but overseen by security chief Strickland, in a never bettered showing by Mr Shannon. Elisa and her co-worker Octavia Spencer encounter Strickland as he has a piss and he explains to them his handwashing regimen. Shortly thereafter they see him in a corridor...

  Shannon gets joint top billing in this 6 parts miniseries along with Alexander Skarsgard, but I think that’s down to those actors’ higher profile as this is really the Florence Pugh show.   She is the titular ‘little drummer girl’ a vague titled explained in passing by Charles Dance who laments about not being able to break a fanatical little drummer boy in a previous conflict, so what chance did he have with the elite terrorists?   The show is set in the late 70’s and opens with a pretty girl dropping off a bag of ‘music records’ at a diplomat’s house. She doesn’t attract suspicion, but we soon learn that the bag was a bomb when the diplomat’s house explodes.   Shannon runs an anti-terror Israeli unit and is charged with bringing down the Palestinian cell who caused the outrage. Short of a good plan of his own he decides to copy the terrorists and recruits a pretty young woman to infiltrate the cell. He picks Frances Pugh who is an actress touring with...

  Time for a dysfunctional relationship now as the titular couple fall in and out of love on a regular basis. The film opens with a sex scene with the couple teasing each other as to whether they should save themselves for later. Michael keeps his pants on but Imogen Poots is more devoted to her art. We get various out of sequence snapshots of the couple’s relationship including an awkward meeting with Lola’s mother. Frank (Shannon) is a talented chef but is a bit jealous and overbearing towards the younger Lola. He gets upset when Justin Long chats her up in a bar as he looks on, and more so when he offers her a fashion design job. He’s nothing but nice, and a bit miscast, and even helps Frank to get a leg up by suggesting him to head a new Las Vegas restaurant. The relationship hits the rocks when Lola gets caught out having slept with another man. Frank leaves her but later reconciles with her when she reveals that she was raped by a man who was wooing her mother. S...

  I’ve cobbled this review from my earlier definite article blog review as there’s no point in rewriting my plot summary when it’s still the same 4 years later. New Shannon notes added for this re-watch! It’s a brave choice to have a convicted paedophile as your protagonist especially when it’s a self confessed one like Walter, who still has the urge. Walter has zero degrees of Kevin Bacon and we meet him as he’s discharged from prison from a 12 year stretch for child molestation. He picks up his old job at a woodworking factory with his former boss’s son letting him know he needs to keep it zipped up. Walter also checks in with his therapist, our favourite Michael Shannon, and gets visited by slow talking cop Mos Def, who doesn’t believe that Walter, or indeed any kiddie fiddler, is capable of being reformed. The woodworking shop seems a great place to work, as the creepy Walter quickly gets two ladies coming onto him. He rebuffs the first’s offer of a chi...

  Jack and Rose off ‘Titanic’ are reunited in 1950’s America and spend a lot of time yelling at each other in this somewhat dull slice of domestic life. The film opens with Leonardo DiCaprio eyeing up Kate Winslet at a party. The pair hit it off and start a relationship. Leo is somewhat rudderless and doesn’t know what he wants to do with himself and ends up selling business machines at the same firm that employed his father. Winslet has aspirations to be an actress but a local production shows that she doesn’t have the talent required. Kate gets pregnant and the two buy a home on the titular road from relator Kathy Bates. The house would probably be worth millions today but Leo can afford it with his office job. Different times I guess! The pair soon have two kids and have stayed friendly with Bates and with other neighbours who include David Harbour off ‘Stranger Things’. Domestic bliss doesn’t come easily for the couple and soon Leo is boffing a secretary at his wor...

  This season ended up, as most have so far, with some stories resolved and others just hatching. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the three previous seasons and I got the impression that the writers had painted themselves into a corner somewhat. Nucky keeps doing his deals and looking somewhat constipated, whilst once again his brother Eli plots against him. I think they are going for a Kane and Abel dynamic here but it doesn’t make sense that a savvy business man like Nucky would allow himself to be betrayed once again. To be fair Eli was motivated by helping his son who was being threatened with the jail, quite correctly, by FBI man Knox. Nucky seems a bit asleep at the wheel having been enchanted by the busty Patricia Arquette who is now running his Florida interests. Nucky is keen to get out but keeps getting drawn back in due to his many commitments and previous actions. The main thread throughout the season concerns Chalky and Narcisse. Chalky now runs the main nightclu...

  Season 4 of Boardwalk Empire has a more cinematic feel and it’s environs expand south to Florida, where Nucky looks to seal a land deal which will enable him to import his booze with impunity. With Margaret out of the picture, apart from a fleeting appearance in Episode 6, a new love interest in the shape of backwater bar manager Patricia Arquette comes into Nucky’s life. With a few main characters departing from last season, they are replaced with Ron Livingston’s hapless businessman who falls into the orbit of the manipulative Gillian, and Jeffrey Wright’s enigmatic preacher Narcisse who is a foil for Chalky. There is also a storyline for one of Eli’s kids who clearly has inherited the family’s traits for recklessness and misfortune, when he needs Nucky’s help after poisoning a room-mate when his prank goes wrong. Most of the plot thread are somewhat light with Nucky’s especially being somewhat derivative. He is again batting politicians and making shady deals. I guess...

  Off to war now, or at least the training for it. It is the great year of 1971 and a group of recruits are undergoing their 8 week training in preparation for their deployment to Vietnam. After the 8 weeks are up the group spends a week in Tigerland, the army’s Vietnam recreation which prepares them for war with harsh conditions and live ammunition. The soldiers are a mix of enlisted and conscripted men but most are keen for a way to escape the already unpopular war. Chief amongst them is Colin Farrell’s Bozz, who has come to the camp fresh from the stockade. He’s a liberal who knows his rights and isn’t shy to stir up insurrection amongst the men. At first the military seems like no bad thing as an early trip to town sees Bozz and a colleague engage in some sweaty sex with some local girls. The two contemplate jumping off a roof to gain a discharge injury but are too scared to go through with it. Back in camp we are introduced to the usual array of misfit soldiers and s...

  The second half of season 3 really ratchets up the action with a lot of long running storylines reaching a satisfying conclusion. Shannon however is reduced to a virtual bit part with his George Mueller trying to make an honest living but failing miserably. His job at the steam iron company ended when the practical jokes at his expense caused him to use the company’s product on a colleague’s face. He finds work with gangster O’Bannion but he finds the practical jokes with him even worse. His Norwegian wife Sigrid is clearly a social climber expecting Mueller to build her a house that will be furnished on tick. To pay off some gangsters they are provided with a still and a demand that they produce 24 bottles a week. Sigrid sees the chance to plug a gap in the market with her Norwegian Aqua-vita but inevitably, Mueller’s attempts to peddle her wares only leads to more trouble. The Gyp Rossetti storyline gathers apace when he blows up Nucky’s nightclub and his girlfrien...

  Season 3 of Boardwalk Empire starts 18 months after Season 2 ended. All the characters have moved on as you’d expect, with Nucky still without his land that the ever problematic Margaret has gifted to the church. He has other problems too in the shape of Bobby Carnivale’s terrifying Gyp Rosetti who we meet as he rewards a helpful motorist who foolishly offers the incendiary Italian some of his oil. Soon Gyp has control of the road between New Jersey and New York and there are plenty of violent scenes as he maintains control and beats off all comers. Shannon’s Van Arlen is now set up as George Mueller and has married his Scandinavian nanny and has had a child by her. Thankfully she is as nutty as he is and when they aren’t having hot naked sex they are clubbing to death house guests. Takes all sorts, I guess. Mueller has a job selling steam irons door to door and is giving it his best. His corrupt boss and asshole co-workers make it difficult for him to make a living, and...

  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...

  The second half of this season is better than the first and it clears the board (walk) for new characters and events in the next batch of episodes. Shannon’s Van Arlen is sinking deeper into the mire as his wife files for divorce, somewhat understandably, and Nucky starts to get his claws into the hapless prohibition agent. The noose is tightening on Nucky as his rivals move in, so Van Arlen is soon blackmailed into spying on his new boss. A lady federal prosecutor has set up shop in Van Arlen’s office and she’s keen to take Nucky down. Van Arlen’s dossier on her target is a great help but unbeknownst to her our man is on the take. He is still walking the thin line between good and bad and he turns down a lucrative sting offer from Mickey, but it’s not clear if he’s still on the right side of the law or that he has a good eye for an unreliable partner. On the home front he is living a meagre existence with his baby daughter Abigail and his sing-song voiced Scandinavian n...

  Season two kicks off with episode recaps at the start of each outing, which can be helpful given the number of characters has ballooned. This season the main new character is Daredevil himself Charlie Cox, who at first is a bodyguard of an IRA fundraiser and who then hangs around as a kind of houseman for Nucky, who gets to sleep with Katy the maid. Mrs Schroeder has an eye for his diddle-de-dee charms too, but if memory serves that doesn’t end well. A few months have passed for Shannon’s agent Van Arlen who now runs a double life as a married prohibition officer and as ‘George Mueller’ who rents a run down apartment with his pregnant girlfriend. He wrestles with his religion and the hesitation we saw last season is quickly lost as he starts pinching impounded cash to keep paying the mother of his soon to be born child, who also happens to be Nucky’s ex-girlfriend. The series itself rumbles on well but there is a bit of repetition as the various gangster factions vie for...