Michael Shannon Movies Blog

  As I near the end of this worthy endeavour the films get harder to find. This one required a £3.49 rental on Amazon! Oh, the humanity! It was a good watch though and I’m just glad the majority of Shannon’s work is easily available. There are a few that still escape me on all platforms, so we’ll just have to keep our eyes open.   This is a strange kind of movie with dark and comedy elements sitting side by side. In some senses it’s a film noir but in others it is a straightforward mystery drama.   Shannon plays a stereotypical private eye, almost in the Bogart style, but in 2009. He lives in a rundown apartment next to the train track and he likes booze, smoking and voiceover narration. We meet him in bed, rudely awakened by a 5am phone call. The news is good however, as it’s a job, and clearly one that he needs. He is tasked with taking a train so that he can follow a man and a child. Amy Ryan from the new employers is soon at his door with tickets and a pile of...

  This one opens with several short scenes of Rachel Weisz carrying out various occupations such as a nurse and a magician’s assistant. You may be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled onto a new celebrity reality show, but there is more if you hang around.   Meanwhile Michael Shannon is preparing for his birthday party. He starts out with a strange accent, but this is quickly dropped. He has problems of his own however – the bakery has put the wrong name on his birthday cake. There are also fissures appearing in his relationship with his exotic wife who has the option of a two-year jewellery making course and she wants Shannon to come with her to California.   Weisz shows up at the party with a colleague of Shannon’s with whom she'd engineered a meeting. We know he has no chance really as he’s a bit fat and he is destined to be in the friendzone forever. Shannon has a long doubletake at Weisz whom he knows as ‘Jenny’ but who now goes as ‘Alice’. He gets her alone...

  Here’s another film that I had previously reviewed for my Definite Article Movie blog. I’d forgotten I’d seen it and even went so far as buying a DVD of the film from eBay as I couldn’t find it on any of my other resources. About 20 minutes in it dawned on me that I’d seen Pierce Brosnan’s terrible gurning before. I did watch it through again however, it was £1.49 after all, and my reaction to it was much the same the second time around.   This film opens with Kick-Ass getting it on with Carey Mulligan - enjoy this happy scene as it’s the last bit of joy you’ll get for another 90 minutes, as a dysfunctional family deals with the loss of their son. Kick-Ass you see may be ‘the greatest’ in bed but isn’t so hot on his driving. He stops in the middle of the road to profess his love and is killed by Michael Shannon’s truck for his trouble.   His mother Susan Sarandon is devastated, and his father Pierce Brosnan is a bit upset too. His brother is mostly stoned and th...

  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...

  Another TV miniseries now and probably one that I was putting off. I’m not a big fan of country music so this six-episode bio-pic of George Jones and Tammy Wynette didn’t really appeal. It was however really enjoyable and, although some of the music could have been trimmed a bit, the two leads were excellent.   I was familiar with Tammy, but hadn’t previously heard of George. It seems that he was quite the big deal though, and even today he has twice the Spotify plays as Tammy, despite them both now being dead.   The programme starts in 1968 but the timeline does jump about a bit. Tammy is an aspiring singer whilst George, played by our Mr Shannon is the big star. Tammy has a herd of kids and a husband, but George takes a shine to her and whisks her away after an eventful dinner at her house. ‘Which kids are yours?’ he asks as they run off with George having overturned the table – well he won’t be asked back.   There is a ‘Star is Born’ vibe going on as...

  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 ...

  We’re nearly up to date with this offering which came five years after the original Waco miniseries, which I have previously reviewed. This one is a bit leaner at five episodes compared to the predecessor’s six, and is less satisfying too.   The series takes up the story straight after the end of the Waco siege and we get various threads that show us the origins of the Branch Davidians as well as the fall out in the FBI and the consequences of their actions, which the series suggests gave rise to more Patriot style militias who were distrustful of the government.   There are three main threads with the origins of the cult getting the most attention initially with a courtroom drama then playing out along with Shannon’s character trying to work out what the promised ‘Payback’ will take the form of – spoiler – it’s the Oklahoma City bombing.   We see the cult in its early days in 1981, with Koresh joining under his original name of Vernon. The cult is led ...