Sunday, April 09, 2006

Nathan Fillion/Slither


So I'm just washing down a particularly brilliant breakfast of eggs, vegetarian sausages, and toast with a perfectly "chilled" Harpoon IPA (three cheers for Eve's broken refrigerator!!), and am finally putting in the first entry of Dear God, That's Nummy!. I'm going to discuss the music, films, actors, food, drink, people, and other things that make Western living in this day and age so ideal. Today's topic? Nathan Fillion, star of the late, extremely lamented Firefly, its motion picture sequel Serenity, and currently Slither.
Nathan Fillion was born in Canada, and did acting-type stuff here in America. He had small roles in Saving Private Ryan and Blast From The Past , and mostly did the strugging thing. He (unsuccessfully) auditioned for the role of Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer(!), and eventually found his way to his current "success". Why is Mister Fillion worthy of your attention? Because he's everything that a good movie star/actor should be. He's good-looking, charismatic, and funny. Girls love him, and guys look at him as the type of guy theyt wouldn't mind being. He doesn't jump on couchs (or go on Oprah), marry wispy singers from vastly overrated Brit-pop bands, or engage in other ridiculous tabloid activities. To sum, he's the next Harrison Ford.......or is it the next Bruce Campbell? Harrison Campbell? Bruce Ford?
But, on to Slither. When I saw the Dawn of the Dead remake a few years ago, I thought that James Gunn definitely had something going on. James Gunn was the writer of that, the Scooby-Doo movies, the hilarious The Specials, and writer/uncredited director of Tromeo and Juliet , my favorite adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, courtesy of Troma Studios. ("No, your grace, I did not know they were topless dancers. Well, they certainly helped raise a lot of money for the church.") Slither is Gunn's (major) directorial debut, and it doesn't disappoint. (Less alliteration in my next post, I promise.) Slither is the story of sleepy Wheelsy, South Carolina, and what happens when people stop being polite, and start being taken over by grody alien slug thingies. The trouble begins when local rich dude Grant Grant (Michael Rooker, playing his Variations on an Asshole, movement # 17.) gets stung by a suspect looking organism in the forest, and begins hoarding meat, pets, and the local hoochie-mama who harbors a crush on him. Grant spawns nasty little slugs that take over people by crawling in their mouths, wackiness ensues, and it's up to Sheriff Bill Pardy (Fillion), and Some Hot Chick That I Thought Was One Of The Girls From Seventh Heaven, But Really Wasn't (Tania Saulnier) to save the day. I found the film well-strcutured from a story point of view, funny, gross, creepy, slightly suspenseful, and irreverent. Special mention also goes to veteran "character" actor Gregg Henry (24, Payback, Gilmore Girls) as the foul-mouthed mayor of Wheelsy. I give Slither:

8
out of 10 beers.

It should also be said that Slither is not for the squeamish, but if I need to say that, you are in a very special class of idiot.

This installment was fueled by Thursday's Full Collapse.

Be here next time as I discuss Freaks and Geeks!

4 comments:

Adam said...

Is it wierd that I set up one of these things on the same day? I'll be eagerly awaiting your thoughts on Freaks and Geeks, quite possibly my favorite show ever.

Neal Paradise said...

i have to urge you with the most urgent urgency to abandon your "beers" scale, which is just a variation on the 1-10 scale, and embrace the gloriousness of the 22 scale! things are given a rating between -22 and 22, creating 45 possible ratings. that's a lot better that the paltry 10 ratings on the 1-10 scale. so, in light of your new-found enlightenment, what would youy give Slither on the 22 scale?

Wicked Little Critta said...

Well, it's about time. If there's ever been a friend of mine that should have a blog, it's you. This is bound to be interesting. I look forward to your often colorful and always enlightening opinions online! Look out, world!

Mike said...

I'd say Slither gets a 14 on the 22 scale. Solid, but stellar.