Waco - TV Review

Starring Michael Shannon, Taylor Kitsch, Andrea Riseborough, Paul Sparks, Rory Culkin, Shea Whigham, Melissa Benoist, John Leguizamo, Julia Garner, Camryn Manheim, Glenn Fleshler and Eric Lange.
Created by Drew & John Erick Dowdle.

The Branch Davidian tragedy is one of the biggest black stains on the resume of the ATF and FBI. It's been ripe for a limited-series retelling, and I'm glad Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV) took it on.

For the most part they do a good job. It's an incredibly talented cast, and it's treated with the same prestige as American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson. Kitsch in particular has to play the balancing act of a believably charismatic leader for his followers while showing the meglomaniacal side that led him to believe he was another Messiah.

This six-episode series dedicates the first two episodes to before the siege. We see top negotiator Gary Noesner (Michael Shannon) trying to clean up the mess of the Ruby Ridge standoff that led to the ATF killing an unarmed mother and child. He butts head with FBI man "Mitch Decker" (Shea Whigham). He's based on someone else, but he's such a cartoon villain for most of this miniseries, I can understand them changing the name so they wouldn't get sued.

We also see David Koresh being a loving leader, albeit with polygamy and underage brides snuck in. They're telling this from the perspective of the Branch Davidian survivors, making it plausible why so many people would follow him.

I think the miniseries would have been stronger if the creators hadn't pressed their thumbs so heavily on the scale. The one-two punch of incompetence by the federal government leading to the deaths of innocent people didn't need the extra melodrama. In that respect, it reminded me of classic movies like Bonnie & Clyde and Dog Day Afternoon, where no matter what the criminals did, law enforcement was eeevil.

And yet, it's still highly effective in pushing those buttons. The tension builds and builds to the final showdown, where we see how tragedy could have been averted if Koresh and the FBI bosses had just been a little bit less stubborn.

The Shape of Water - Movie Review

Starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones, Nick Searcy and David Hewlett.
Written by Guillermo Del Toro & Vanessa Taylor.
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro.

★★★

This 1950's period fairy tale is of course what Guillermo Del Toro would come up with. What if the Creature from the Black Lagoon fell in love, and that love was requited?

Sally Hawkins gives Frances McDormand and Saoirse Ronan a run for their award-nomination money as Elisa, a mute cleaning lady at an important government facility. One night a sadistic Fed (Michael Shannon) brings in a strange water creature he found in the Amazon (which is freshwater but the movie claims it's saltwater). He wants to study it by torturing it and eventually dissecting it, but Elisa sees into its soul - his soul - and sees an intelligent being.

It takes place during the Cold War, so there's that red paranoia at play. When Soviets do show up, it reminded me of Hail Caesar more than anything.

Solid support comes from Octavia Spencer as Elisa's co-worker, Richard Jenkins as Elisa's closeted artist roommate, and Michael Stuhlbarg as a sympathetic scientist.

Nocturnal Animals - Movie Review

Starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Ellie Bamber, Armie Hammer, Karl Glusman, Laura Linney, Michael Sheen and Jena Malone.
Written & Directed by Tom Ford.

★★★½

When we get the opening credits, these grotesquely obese women are dancing naked, in slow-motion, in front of a red curtain. After the actors were listed, I closed my eyes for most of the rest. Once the opening credits are over, the movie backs away, and the jarring opening does make sense in the overall story being told here.

Amy Adams plays Susan Morrow, an art gallery owner. She's wealthy but in a second marriage on its last legs. One day she receives in the mail a manuscript from his first husband, Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal). The book is called "Nocturnal Animals" and he has dedicated it to her.

Susan reads the book, and we get the story-within-the-story about Tony (also Gyllenhaal), his wife Laura (Isla Fisher, who looks a lot like Adams), and their teenage daughter India. They get run off the road by some ne'er-do-wells led by Ray (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and the dreadful suspense builds and builds.

As Susan gets more involved in the story, we see flashbacks of her own life. We see her and Edward when they first started dating, and when they were married, and what led to their split.

The impact of the story as a whole is one I keep thinking more and more about. This is the type of movie where you want to talk with other people about it. The acting's great. Adams and Gyllenhaal are solid. Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla), who isn't one I always enjoy, is seriously creepy here. And Michael Shannon, who shows up as a cop in the book, is just one of my favorite working actors. I'd watch him in anything.

Elvis & Nixon - Movie Review

Starring Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, Evan Peters and Tate Donovan.
Written by Cary Elwes, Joey Sagal & Hanala Sagal.
Directed by Liza Johnson.

★★½

This little stage-play of a movie has its own enjoyments. Maybe not enough to fully recommend it. Actually it's worth it to watch the second half.

This is all about how the famous picture came to be of Elvis Presley shaking Richard Nixon's hand. Michael Shannon plays Elvis here, and while he doesn't look or sound like Elvis, he captures his essence. Kevin Spacey's Nixon is better.

There's no consequence to the proceedings here. It's fun to watch Elvis and Nixon interact in the second half. In fact, I don't think you'd miss much by just starting it at the 45-minute mark.

The Iceman - DVD Review

Starring Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer, James Franco, Robert Davi, John Ventimiglia and Stephen Dorff. Directed by Ariel Vroman.

★★½

Michael Shannon is a terrific presence, and he needs it here in this undercooked biopic about one of America's most notorious killers - Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski.  It starts out interesting enough, almost a Donnie Brasco vibe to the proceedings, as low-man on the totem pole works his way up because he's so good at killing.  Ray Liotta plays Ray DeMeo, the boss that gave him a chance for higher profile hits for the Gambino family.

As the story goes, it gets repetitive after a while. We see Kuklinski kill someone, and then we see him kill someone, and then we see him kill someone, and then we see him kill someone, and then we get a scene where he enjoys his wife and two daughters, oblivious to how he really earns his money, and then we see him kill someone...

I liked Winona Ryder and Chris Evans in their roles. No complaints as far as acting goes; I just wish the film had more purpose behind what story it's trying to tell.

Mud - DVD Review

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Jacob Lofland, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks and Joe Don Baker.
Directed by Jeff Nichols.

★★★★

Jeff Nichols is a rural poet, a director that just captures the middle and lower-class Bible Belt with an honesty and beauty like no one else.

Shotgun Stories was his debut, a modern Hatfield & McCoy about three older siblings feuding with their father's next generation of sons, the ones that he actually loved and raised.  Next he did Take Shelter, about a man who thinks he's seeing visions of coming disaster.  Both starred Michael Shannon, lately best known for Man of Steel or HBO's Boardwalk Empire.  Shannon's usually the bad guy or creepy guy, but in Nichols' world, he's allowed to play good three-dimensional characters.

He's a supporting part here.  "Mud" is the name of Matthew McConaughey's character.  Mud is a drifter hiding on an island, discovered by two friends, Ellis (Sheridan) and Neckbone (Lofland).  Ellis and Neck like to boat up and down the river by their town, exploring.  They find Mud living in a boat stuck in a tree, dropped there from some previous tornado.

People here are so poor I couldn't tell if this was a period movie or not.  The only radio song that we hear is from The Beach Boys, and Ellis and Neck would fit right in with the kids from Stand By Me.  It could be set in the 1980's, or present day.  Some of the residents would be just as comfortable moving in by Hushpuppy from Beasts from the Southern Wild.

I'm going to be bummed if this gets forgetten come award season.

Man of Steel - Movie Review

Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, Michael Kelly, Harry Lennix and Richard Schiff.
Directed by Zack Snyder.

★★½

This Christopher Nolan reboot adds some gravity to the Superman story. Maybe a little too much.  There's a lot of brooding, and it could have used some more fun.  Overall I liked it but it had its issues.

First, we'll start with Krypton. (Ever notice how all other planets have one government running the entire planet?  Earth has something like 180 countries, but how come other planets...?) Anyway, Krypton is about to be destroyed by a people too stupid to stop mining its core for energy.  Now to demonstrate how Krypton is run by the folks from Idiocracy, they have sent out scouting ships to other planets to test sustainability, but all of the projects were abandoned. Not really clear why.  But Jor-El (Russell Crowe) manages to sneak his baby boy on a capsule before the whole thing blows up.

Oh, but before that happens, General Zod (Michael Shannon) tries to overthrow the government and fails.  He and his followers are sentenced to 300 years in the Phantom Zone, a safe place that isn't about to blow up.  So Kal-El isn't the only surviving Kryptonian.  Those resourceful Phantom Zone dwellers survive as well.

Kal-El grows up to be Clark Kent, a drifter who goes from town to town trying to find himself, but as soon as he uses his powers to save lives, he moves on.  He just has to find the right time to go public.  Well, the right time is when Zod shows up and lets the whole world know an alien lives among them.

I just wish it hadn't been so brood-tastic.  This is Superman!  He's an alien!  We started out on another planet that looked like Dune meets Attack of the Clones.  I like that it actually digs into how alienating it must've been for Clark to just pretend he doesn't have powers.  Thing is, Clark's still trying to find himself at age 33.  C'mon, Clark.  Be a man already.

Zod is the villain, and Michael Shannon had no chance of outshining Terence Stamp's "Kneel Before Zod."  This Zod doesn't make the smartest decisions and he doesn't seem to understand anything about diplomacy or leadership, but he thinks he does.  He's like the Santa Anna of space generals.

The rest of the cast does the best they can with what they're given as well.  I liked Cavill; I think in the next movie he'll be allowed to have a little more fun.  Amy Adams wasn't right as Lois Lane, but this Lois wasn't anything like what Lois should be.  This Lois was a device to advance the plot.  She didn't really seem like a reporter.

Couple other points:
- Pa Kent's death was stupid. They should have left it as a heart attack.
- The final battle must have killed a lot of people.  You'd think Superman would have tried to get the fight into a more rural area.
- I did get a kick out of a couple Easter eggs in there.

Take Shelter - DVD Review

Starring Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Kathy Baker, Ray McKinnon and Lisa Gay Hamilton.  Directed by Jeff Nichols.

★★★


Michael Shannon has always been an interesting actor to me. His blocky features tend to get him cast as weird characters (Bug, Revolutionary Road) but he's been able to carve out some memorable, complex performances in films like Shotgun Stories, and then this one.

Here he plays Curtis, a man who keeps having apocalyptic nightmares, and with each one, he starts to wonder if they're prophetic visions, if he and his family and his town are truly in danger.

This plays against the backdrop of the working poor, where he already struggles to make ends meet, but against the wishes of his wife (Jessica Chastain) he builds a storm shelter. As the movie progresses, we realize we're not watching a supernatural thriller, but rather a drama about a man who's losing his grip with reality as he descends into mental illness.

Shannon's tremendous here, one of those movies where an Oscar nomination would have been well-earned.