Michael Shannon Movies Blog

  Nuremberg at the IMDb Up to date Shannon once again and I have to confess that I gave up the chance to see this in the cinema in favour of ‘The Running Man’. My choice wasn’t great, but it wasn’t 148 minutes either! Three hours including trailers is too much and I think this film was better served over three sittings on streaming. The film is a historical drama which closely follows the events in Nuremberg following the war when a group of Nazis were tried for war crimes. This was a new idea with the victors previously just killing all of the vanquished on the quiet. This time the Allies plan to send a message that war crimes will be tried and punished in all conflicts going forward. Whether that has done any good is up for debate, and some of the shady dealings on show suggest that the victors weren’t that virtuous in any event. Shannon has one of the three main roles in the film and shines as Justice Robert H Jackson. He has the job of prosecuting the Nazis alongside his Br...

  I thought I’d seen this one before but having sat through it I don’t think I have, but I’m not sure. There was something similar to this that I watched on Netflix but there is so little to distinguish this film from many others in the genre that I can’t be sure. It was decent enough though, although I doubt I’ll remember it when it next appears on my watchlist.   The film opens with a montage of various terrorist atrocities committed against the USA by Bin Laden, culminating in the 9/11 attacks. The military has had quite enough and decides to send troops to Afghanistan. Rather than use current soldiers they get recent retirees Chris Hemsworth and our friend, Michael Shannon to head a team being sent to support the Northern Alliance. The Alliance is ostensibly the good guys and the Americans need to assist them in stopping the Taliban and Al Qaeda taking over the country before the Americans can gain a foothold.   They get to base and boss William Fichtner, who ...

  I had always avoided Pearl Harbor as it looked like a bloated three hour piece of banality and Hollywood’s attempt at history, akin to the Comic’s Strip’s ‘Strike’. Still it’s on the list, so let’s have a look. Well, you know what they say about making assumptions? Yes, they are often correct. This was a terrible film that I had to watch in three sittings as the slo-mo, dialogue and patriotism keep me reaching for the ‘off’ button. The main event is of course a pivotal event in history and more than deserving of a large scale movie examination. Of course the director Michael Bay isn’t known for his documentaries so instead he goes for a convoluted love triangle to document the events of the ‘Date that lives in infamy’. The film opens with two boys playing at a farm and then taking a crop duster plane for a joyride. These two scamps soon evolve in to Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett and they have enlisted into the air force. The Americans are not yet in World War 2 so Be...

  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...