Jeff Shannon

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The Seattle Times
For 99 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 72% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 24% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 3.7 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Jeff Shannon's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 62
Highest review score: 100 Dave
Lowest review score: 25 Car 54, Where Are You?
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 99
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 99
  3. Negative: 14 out of 99
99 movie reviews
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    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Mistress
    The light approach almost derails the movie; without being cheap or misleading, Mistress is a feel-good movie that could've had a sharper sting. It's less satirical and probably more realistic than The Player, but it's also more predictably diagrammed. [28 Aug 1992, p.26]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Honeymoon in Vegas
    The pleasure of Bergman's style comes from the extremes that his characters must endure to arrive at that predictable point, and the new tricks that Bergman can teach to an old-dog story line. The airborne climax of "Honeymoon in Vegas" - involving those Flying Elvises (Utah Chapter!) that you've probably heard about by now - turns the ending of countless other movies into something new under the setting desert sun. [28 Aug 1992, p.3]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    The River Wild
    Filmed in Oregon and Montana by a first-rate crew, The River Wild puts you in the hot seat of its white-water climax, and through a combination of deft camera work, snappy editing and genuine derring-do, the stellar cast is right there with you. Even when you know it's filmmaking trickery, you'll wish you'd brought a wet suit. [30 Sep 1994, p.H3]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 62 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    Something to Talk About
    Somewhere around the middle of Something to Talk About, I stopped believing or caring about the people on the screen. Almost imperceptibly, the movie's engaging characters and sharp dialogue slipped into artificiality, betraying themselves as puppets of a movie forcing them toward a predetermined outcome that doesn't quite mesh with their established reality. Up to that point, the movie had been a lot of fun. [4 Aug 1995, p.C1]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Romper Stomper
    A wildly controversial film that is both achingly unpleasant and gripping in its denouncement of the blindly ignorant racist and fascist mentality. [02 July 1993, p.D22]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Jeff Shannon
    Candyman
    Rose resorts too easily to the easy jolt, the gratuitous release of anxiety and, finally, the reliance on graphic bloodletting and pointless shocks (such as the ominously unsettling Todd kissing Madsen with a mouthful of bees), sacrificing whatever substance the story started out with. [17 Oct 1992, p.C5]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Hero
    For a film that reaches an impressive level of moral complexity, the bottom line - that all of us are potential heroes, and that all heroes have flaws - is simple, sweet and absolutely refreshing. [02 Oct 1992, p.24]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Jeff Shannon
    Faraway, So Close!
    Trimmed from 164 to 140 minutes after playing the international festival circuit, "Faraway, So Close!" is not without its enticing qualities, and if nothing else it will provoke some interesting coffehouse discussion. But when held to the light of its predecessor, one can't help but think it's pointlessly redundant. [23 Dec 1993, p.E5]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 60 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    Wayne's World 2
    If you can find a handful of funny, original gags and TV-inspired in-jokes in this second compendium of now overly familiar Wayne-speak witticisms, consider your 100 minutes time well spent. [10 Dec 1993, p.G3]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Untamed Heart
    First-time writer Tom Sierchio occasionally lapses into Love Story-style sentiment, and surprisingly Bill is willing to go along, but Untamed Heart (wisely retitled from its original Baboon Heart) is strong enough to hold up against its cornier inclinations. [12 Feb 1993, p.23]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Army of Darkness
    Along with outrageous infusions of dimwit humor, Army of Darkness is a tribute to the unbridled spirit - without the unbridled expense - of pure cinematic invention. [19 Feb 1993, p.10]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Junior
    By the time he's hiding at a pregnancy retreat disguised as a former female Olympic athlete, Junior has pretty much hit the bullseye. [23 Nov 1994, p.D3]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 59 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    The Lover
    It's interesting to note that one of the most sensuous scenes in "The Lover" - which nearly received an NC-17 rating for its abundance of explicit lovemaking - takes place between two fully clothed people who very cautiously hold hands while riding in the back of a luxurious limousine. There is an electricity to that moment that is almost completely missing from the actual love scenes, which, like the entire film, are artfully photographed and subtly erotic, but which ultimately add little to a character study that could have used a little more (pardon the pun) fleshing out. [13 Nov 1992, p.3]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    The Ref
    Between Leary, Davis, Spacey and Johns, director Ted Demme (nephew of Jonathan, and director of Leary's MTV spots) has captured lightning in a bottle, and The Ref has enough subtle and not-so-subtle interplay to make a repeat viewing worthwhile.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Little Buddha
    With the kind of dignity rarely found in movies today, Bertolucci has tried - if only with mixed success - to address the things that really matter. [27 May 1994, p.D3]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Flesh and Bone
    Although his plot is subtly contrived, Kloves stays true to his characters by daring to evolve Flesh and Bone into a genuine tragedy (i.e. a downer) resembling the brooding early-1970s dramas that defied commercial convention. [05 Nov 1993, p.D3]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 57 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    Little Big League
    Making up in low-key charm for what it lacks in originality, Little Big League boosts its unlikely kids' fantasy with enough credibility to keep it involving and a positively infectious passion for the finer points of the national pastime. [29 Jun 1994, p.E5]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 56 Metascore
    • 25 Jeff Shannon
    Posse
    Despite claims to the contrary, Van Peebles has no apparent desire to accurately reflect history. Instead, he caters, with an ugly lack of integrity, to a twisted perception of "popular taste," spinning an ego-trip that steals a numbing variety of Western cliches while betraying them with contemporary flavoring. [14 May 1993, p.20]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 56 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    Iron Will
    Given the time-tested durability of a decent boy-and-his-dog adventure, Iron Will can't steer too far off course. [14 Jan 1994, p.D20]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 53 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    A Goofy Movie
    It's a passable weekend-matinee pacifier, offering some good laughs but remaining largely uninspired. [07 Apr 1995, p.H35]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Love Affair
    There are moments in Love Affair that take your breath away, sending you back to a time when class and discretion were the movie rule, and not the rarefied exception. [21 Oct 1994, p.H36]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 55 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    The Sandlot
    At times it's laugh-out-loud funny. In this ode to the passing of childhood, circa 1962, screenwriter David Mickey Evans has partly succeeded in mythologizing something that everyone treasures: the proverbial perfect summer of youth. [7 Apr 1993]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 54 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    So I Married an Axe Murderer
    If nothing else, this offbeat comedy delivers a handful of satisfying laughs and proves that four-year "Saturday Night Live" veteran Mike Myers can safely escape his "Wayne's World" alter ego. [30 July 1993, p.D12]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 53 Metascore
    • 50 Jeff Shannon
    Rookie of the Year
    Kids will certainly enjoy the basic idea, and pre-teens will clearly relate to Nicholas, whose awkward puberty - complete with vocal cords warbling from soprano to baritone - is just right for the role. But even he is ultimately annoying, leaving only Busey's laid-back, natural performance to hint of what this film could have been in more confident hands. [07 Jul 1993, p.E3]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 53 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    Another Stakeout
    Had the movie surrounding this easygoing trio been more memorable, the possibility of "Yet Another Stakeout" might actually be appealing.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 50 Jeff Shannon
    Point of No Return
    It's a ridiculous premise, and the film works best when Badham seems in on the joke. By the time Harvey Keitel appears as a ruthless operative assigned to clean up a botched job, the film has reached its own point of no return, tipping over the edge into rib-tickling parody. Keitel is one of the few actors alive who can make you chuckle while disposing of corpses in an acid bath. [19 March 1993, p.16]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 52 Metascore
    • 75 Jeff Shannon
    Malice
    It may not add up in the end, but it's fun while it lasts. [01 Oct 1993, p.D14]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 52 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    HouseSitter
    Luckily, the dull spots don't last long. The comedic snowball that is Housesitter melts a bit as it rolls, but occasionally it smacks the bull's-eye. [12 June 1992, p.24]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 51 Metascore
    • 50 Jeff Shannon
    The Program
    Only Omar Epps ("Juice") locates substance in his role as the freshman underachiever who must fight for his starting position, but even he's in service to the uninspired "Program." If someone wanted to make a good, exciting, serious film about the ups and downs of college football, why didn't they just make a documentary about the Huskies? [24 Sept 1983, p.D19]
    • The Seattle Times
    • 51 Metascore
    • 63 Jeff Shannon
    Indian Summer
    It's an easy-going respite for the audience, thanks to the familiar and instantly likeable cast - also including "Darkman" director Sam Raimi as the camp's slow-witted handyman - who slip into their roles with effortless charm. Writer-director Mike Binder is generous to each character, and the ensemble occasionally clicks with the casual comfort of enduring friendships...But the film is ultimately too sentimental, sluggishly paced and naggingly insubstantial, with cute, jokey dialogue that betrays Binder's background as a stand-up comedian, setting up scenes that exist only to arrive at a punchline. [24 Apr 1993, p.C8]
    • The Seattle Times
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