ARCHIVES

“Elvis and Nixon,” TRIBECA FESTIVAL

One of the best films this year
Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey
Directed by Liza Johnson

Michael Shannon doesn’t really look like Elvis Presley. For one thing, his face is shaped all wrong, his cheeks are too long and deeply creased. If it weren’t for the crazy haircut, the suits, and the sunglasses one would never think that Shannon was supposed to be The King. But then, neither does Kevin Spacey look like Present Richard Nixon. And yet through the sheer strength of their ... more >

Take Shelter

The indie that got everyone talking this year
Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain and Tova Stewart
Directed by Jeff Nichols

Why are art films becoming horror films? Perhaps art film directors are finding that the most effective way to relate to our frazzled age is to mask it in the aesthetics of terror. Last year’s apocalyptic ballet movie, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, heralded this new trend--that movie might as well have had zombie dancers. This year it’s Take Shelter, Jeff Nichols' story of mental illness, ... more >

Michael Shannon IS BACK

Auteur cinema is alive and well in America. Jeff Nichols has written and directed a Sony Pictures Classics release which is due for release in October. In it, disturbed by end-of-the-world visions a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself. Michael Shannon, who plays Curtis LaForche, is back playing an unstable character. Shannon, who ... more >