Michael Shannon Movies Blog

  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...

  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...