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Plot:
Shotgun Stories tracks a feud that erupts between two sets of half brothers following the death of their father. Set against the cotton fields and back roads of Southeast Arkansas, these brothers disc...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:September 29, 2008I can see why people like it but for me it was really slow paced. A good movie to take a nap with. the actors were pretty good.
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MCT:September 21, 2008Big disapointment. Expecting this to be really good but the film is so boring. I had to turn it off after 40 mins.
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MCT:September 14, 2008
For being Jeff Nichols' first movie it is pretty good. I had a in depth conversation and this movie and other things with the director before watching it. It was well worth the watch. The story is great, acting great, and visually great.
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MCT:September 4, 2008
Some fine authentic moments of suspense and southern living, anchored by Shannon doing his minimalist routine. The use of Benny Mardones songs is genius.
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MCT:September 4, 2008
What a pussy of a revenge film! Look, I support idependent film as much as the next guy. Guy makes a movie for $500 on his cell phone, hoorah, go get 'em, I appreciate what you are doing. But from the looks of the cast (I don't get this Micheal Shannon fetish people have) and the cinematography, it looks like they had some money, so why the fuck couldn't they get some decent sound and at least one more guy who knew something about acting to fill in for the rest of the director's family members. The story started out as pretty interesting, but then falls flat. And everybody knows that the best basketball player to come out of Arkansas is Joe Johnson, you dipshits, not Corliss fucking Williamson.
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MCT:August 10, 2008
A solid indi drama about two sets of step-brothers undying hate for each other. Not exactly a film of many words but it is all the more beautiful for it. Well acted by the entire cast of mostly unknown actors.(B)
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MCT:July 28, 2008
Has some powerful scenes and just good straight-ahead storytelling.
But the cold emotions didn't feel cold, they just felt pawned off due to the lacking cast. Don't get me wrong I love me some Barlow Jacobs, but I couldn't figure out if Michael Shannon was a badass or doing a Michael Biehn impression. -
MCT:July 24, 2008"You raised us to hate those boys, and we do. And now it's come to this."
rejected by major film distributors, it was saved by the festival circuit. thank god for small favors. this film is a quiet, sympathetic, and subtle triumph about how we relate with one another. -
MCT:July 8, 2008This movie is constructed quite well although at the start you may be wondering where they are going with the movie. Once you bear with it, the film turns to an excellent story about a man's hatred and vengence. This movie shows how awful things can be when you don't keep your nose out of things. This movie is basically a movie acting out the classic quote 'If you're in a hole then you should probably stop digging'
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MCT:June 11, 2008Having been ignored and pushed aside by big studios and distributers, and overshadowed by big money makers, Jeff Nichols Shotgun Stories has gotten limited release. As much as I enjoy finding the hidden gems, it always makes me a little bit sad to see a film so great passed over. Filmed primarily in 2004, and released last year, Shotgun Stories has gotten a nice word of mouth and critical following. Roger Ebert announced it would play at his Overlooked Film Festival, and recently published a 4 star review.
The film centers on Son Hayes and his brothers, Boy and Kid. They were given their names by their alcoholic deadbeat father, who birthed them, left them as if they were never born, then reformed his ways, stopped drinking, became a born again Christian and fathered a new family. The boys were left, as Son says, to be "raised by a hateful woman," who taught them to hate their fathers new family, and they do. When their father dies, the brothers show up at his funeral, make an impromptu speech, which the new sons, with proper names, do not take kindly to.
Writer/director Nichols handles his film with the greatest of care. Not a word of dialogue is uttered that seems inplausible. Nothing is wasted on exposition. For instance, what we know about the Father, we learn only through the brief speech made by Son at the funeral. It feels real, it feels to the point, and best of all, in a few short words it never feels like exposition. Nichols takes his time, never rushing, but wasting nothing. The end result is a visceral experience.
The actors all deliever excellent performances, especially Michael Shannon, who seems to be off and on in alot of roles. Here he is definatly on.
This film gets under your skin, takes you into the world of these characters and never lets you go. There are deaths in the film, and when it happens midway through, a sense of loss, of sadness, and of rage is felt by the audience for the remainder.
It never boils down into a standard revenge film, but simply muddles in the mundane and sad lives of its characters. Although this film exudes a sense of sadness that few other films could aspire to, its not depressing. I would not dare reveal the films resolution, only to say that it comes sensibly, after a moment of great realization.
Nichols shows himself to be a serious filmaker to watch in the future. This is a profound and wise film. And a great one too. -
MCT:May 21, 2008
a great drama about two groups of half brothers fighting because of their father and to protect each's family. the ending was not what i expected it to be and i liked it that it caught me off guard. the director jeff nichols did a wonderful job with this movie making the subjects of several scenes very subtle and i'll be looking into his movies in the future. i should also mention michael shannon's performance, he is great, he is such a promising actor and i really hope that he gets a role soon that gets him an oscar because he is just amazing here and in other movies like bug so i think he has great potential to be a best actor winner someday if he finds the right movie to be apart of. i highly reccomend this movie!!!
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MCT:April 4, 2008
"Shotgun Stories" manages to stand out from the crowd. It's a good low-budget debut film that offers both a director, Jeff Nichols, and an actor, Michael Shannon, who are worth keeping an eye on.
This story of an Arkansas blood feud begins with the reported death of the patriarch of two cotton-country families. In his early, roustabout days, he fathered three boys, then abandoned them and their mother. He didn't bother to give these youngsters names. As adults, they are still known as Son (Shannon), Boy (Douglas Ligon) and Kid (Barlow Jacobs). They despise their father's memory. At his funeral, the three show up in T-shirts and jeans, and Son, the big-dog sibling, delivers a bitter insult to his dad's other family - a decent woman, and four more boys the old man fathered after he sobered up and found Jesus.
Director Nichols, who attended the North Carolina School of the Arts (along with the film's producer, David Gordon Green, and cinematographer, Adam Stone), knows the setting: He was born and raised in Little Rock and has a feel for rendering landscape as fate.
Shannon, who has a substantial filmography (including "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"), is a revelation here and seems destined for bigger things. He has a face made for Westerns - you can picture him in Peckinpah's movies - and when he's on-screen, the other actors might as well just grab a chair, sit and wait till he's finished.
Try to see this on a screen or its soon to land on DVD -
Vince
Vmedia, berkeley Ca.
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