Nathan Fillion Archives | Deep Focus Review

Superman

Brian Eggert — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 00:25:30 +0000

Listen to the audio version of this review. Punk rock may seem loud and nihilistic to some, but when it emerged in the 1970s, its performers aimed their angry sound at tyrannical mainstream ideologies. In particular, Iggy Pop, the Sex Pistols, Patti Smith, The Clash, and others sought independence from the traditionalism, religious dogma, and social norms reinforced by popular culture. Their aggressive sound and lyrics condemned authoritarian politics, questioning the systems of power that keep people under control. They sang about the oppressed rising up against—or at least flipping off—their oppressors. By now, you’re probably wondering why I’m writing about punk music in this review of Superman, writer-director James Gunn’s new feature about Krypton’s last son. Gunn’s highly entertaining summer release, which might just be my favorite Superman movie yet, looks at our world and considers where a morally upright hero like Superman would fit. Would humanity embrace him as a beacon of hope? Would his presence become politicized? In the end, Gunn acknowledges that, sadly, believing in the value of all life, regardless of politics or personal motivation, as Superman does, represents a rather punkish, outsider point of view, and he weaves that concept into his film. Along […]

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Skincare

Brian Eggert — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 13:13:09 +0000

Skincare belongs to a subgenre of films about people who will do anything to become rich and famous. These films usually involve an ingénue or outsider trying to break into Hollywood, such as All About Eve and Sunset Blvd. in 1950, or more recently, Mulholland Drive (2001), Maps to the Stars (2014), and Babylon (2022). But there’s a seedier contingent where the fame sought proves lower level, which amplifies the stakes and makes the situation even more desperate and pathetic, yet also more human. Films such as Boogie Nights (1997) and The Bling Ring (2013) show their characters going to ridiculous lengths for a modicum of attention. Among this category of films about personal compromises and fragile egos, Skincare most closely resembles To Die For (1995), featuring Nicole Kidman as a suburban woman whose dream of becoming a news anchor leads to manipulation and murder. However, she justifies her behavior and choices with a twisted internal logic that she finds perfectly reasonable. Here, Elizabeth Banks plays a similar role—a self-proclaimed victim whose behavior suggests some seriously warped rationalizations. A “fictional story inspired by true events,” the film draws from the sordid tale of Dawn DaLuise, who ran a small but […]

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Cars 3

Brian Eggert — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 20:47:40 +0000

Pixar’s Cars franchise, including the 2006 original and the 2011 sequel, may not be critical favorites or the studio’s most sophisticated films, but the toys, videogames, and cross-promotional opportunities with NASCAR have earned them billions. Unlike the universal appeal of other Pixar efforts such as Finding Nemo or WALL•E, the Cars films have a comparatively limited audience in that, rather than appealing to everyone, they appeal to mainstream sensibilities steeped in Americana, motorhead fanaticism, and lowbrow humor. Pixar’s Cars productions were the passion projects of John Lasseter, the animation studio’s head and co-founder, and director of the first two. For Cars 3, Lasseter steps aside for the directorial debut of Brian Fee, a longtime storyboard artist and animator. And while the film’s visual treatment is another breathtaking sample of Pixar’s animation wizardry, the narrative plays like a tired and unfocused retread of sports movie clichés. After the disappointing Cars 2 proved a strange, albeit entertaining addition to the Pixar oeuvre—first by focusing on Larry the Cable Guy’s hillbilly tow truck Mater, second by applying a spy-thriller scenario to anthropomorphized vehicles—Cars 3 gets back to basics. The script, handled by three talents on the story side and another three on the writing side, delivers something between Rocky 4 and Moneyball. Once again, the story centers around Lightning McQueen, the cocky race car […]

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Much Ado About Nothing

Brian Eggert — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:00:49 +0000

Joss Whedon’s characters love to talk, and in their talk, they love to engage in battles of wit. From the verbal duels between superheroes in The Avengers to the playful banter between lovable rogues in his canceled-too-soon space cowboy TV series Firefly, Whedon’s characters are most fascinating when engaged in a playful sparring match of dialogue, and less so when pure action takes over. It’s only natural, then, that Whedon would set aside his jokey vampire hunters, intergalactic rejects, and the Marvel Universe to embrace the work of William Shakespeare. Like the Bard, Whedon’s predilection for snappy banter and a search for self-understanding has driven his work. With Much Ado About Nothing, Whedon strips down to the bare structure of what he’s been writing about for years, without the benefit of the fanboy pretense, to explore characters who love each other, especially those whose love connection is uneasy either because forces have aligned against them or they don’t yet realize how they feel. The film, shot in 2011 during Whedon’s vacation after completing principal photography on The Avengers and released on the festival circuit in 2012, is beautifully informed by a text about the film from Titan Books, titled simply […]

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Monsters University

Brian Eggert — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 00:00:24 +0000

In sitting down for Pixar Animation’s Monsters University, one might ask themselves if the premier animation house has passed its prime, if itsr age of animated masterpieces is over. Certainly, no other studio could surpass Pixar in terms of animation quality, but have their stories waned? This prequel to 2001’s Monsters, Inc. follows what have been a number of rocky years after the underperforming Cars 2 and the underappreciated Brave. Distributors at Walt Disney Pictures, long derided for their reliance on direct-to-video sequels to create a moneymaking franchise out of every new cartoon, have demonstrated their influence over Pixar’s otherwise progressive strategy. Instead of outstandingly original and unpredictable material like Ratatouille, WALL·E, or Up, Pixar has relied on familiar content as of late to ensure a safer place in the market, and, in an ironic turn, they’ve suffered for it. Monsters University continues that narrative trend but does so in such a lovingly detailed and endearing way that one can hardly fault the studio for returning us to these characters and their unique world. After a brief prologue that defines green cyclops Mike Wazowski as a childhood outcast, the film quickly forays into a college campus romp, borrowing more than […]

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Justice League: Doom

Brian Eggert — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:00:50 +0000

For devoted fans of Warner Premiere’s DC Universe animated films, Justice League: Doom instills a welcome feeling of nostalgia, albeit only for the brief twinkle that it appears onscreen. The original voice cast members from Warner’s assorted Batman and Superman and Justice League animated shows return to lend their talents for this epic storyline. Kevin Conroy’s iconic Batman, Tim Daly’s Superman, Susan Eisenberg’s Wonder Woman, Nathan Fillion’s role in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, and the rest can’t help but channel the best years of Justice League animation. In the last decade of Warner’s direct-to-video films (this makes their thirteenth release), the voices of these heroes have been altered here and there. Returning to the (majority of the) original cast was perhaps director Lauren Montgomery’s most genius stroke. But once again, the film’s greatest downfall is its brevity. It clocks in at a short 72 minutes when the story itself warrants a two-hour feature, to be sure. Based on the arc called “Tower of Babel” that ran in the comic JLA in 2000, this superhero yarn follows a nefarious villain named Vandal Savage whose hired super-villain lackeys break into the Batcomputer and steal the Dark Knight’s contingency plans to incapacitate the Justice […]

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Green Lantern: Emerald Knights

Brian Eggert — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:07 +0000

With a major motion picture adaptation of the DC Comic Green Lantern just around the corner, Warner Bros. set their animation division, overseen by executive producer Bruce Timm, on a commercial venture to exploit consumer audiences already deep into Green Lantern Mania. As if marketing tie-ins ranging from action figures to Ryan Reynolds’ face on countless junk food items weren’t enough, Warner extends their promotions into the home video market with the latest from their Warner Premiere offshoot. Green Lantern: Emerald Knights recalls the lackluster anthology Batman: Gotham Knight, which debuted weeks before Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight opened in 2008, but it may provide some comic book background for viewers not familiar with this hero. Directors Chris Berkeley, Lauren Montgomery, and Jay Oliva helm four origin-based stories told in flashback during another, over-arching storyline. Each tale focuses more on the “The Green Lantern Corps,” a band of intergalactic cops, than the human hero in the upcoming live-action film, Hal Jordan, here voiced rather plainly by Nathan Fillion. The whole serves the simple purpose of giving moviegoing viewers some idea of where these Guardians of the Universe come from, as the Hollywood adaptation will no doubt breeze over such detailed […]

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Slither

Brian Eggert — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:00:31 +0000

Trash becomes something more than low-budget exploitation with Slither, a goopy, gory horror-comedy from 2006 that pays homage to ‘80s genre classics. Writer-director James Gunn, who wrote 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, makes a particular kind of film for a particular type of audience. Those compelled by straight horror won’t be frightened, and those who enjoy their comedies without having to gag from disgust won’t be laughing. This movie is for those who can spot Gunn’s many visual and thematic references to the films that inspired him, who can grasp the irony of his characters, and who can appreciate his commitment to tangible makeup effects. Gunn’s well-drawn characters and their small-town setting add needed humanity to an otherwise familiar horror scenario. The story takes place in the southern town of Wheelsy, where the autumn highlight is the “Deer Cheer,” the town’s annual deer hunting festival. Here’s a hick town where the crusty mayor Jack MacReady (Gregg Henry) cusses about everything and everyone, where country cops pass the time by clocking birds on their radar, and where the most successful businessman in town has two first names. While flirting in the woods with Brenda (Brenda James), whom he met at the bar, […]

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Wonder Woman

Brian Eggert — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:00:45 +0000

The first scenes of Wonder Woman, the new feature from Warner Bros. Animation, contain enough thematic material to inspire frantic confirmation of the rating. After the bloody, decapitation-laden prologue, you’ll no doubt pause the disc to verify that, indeed, it’s PG-13. Geared toward comic book aficionados, the film seeks to tell an iconic story with appropriate scope, using its cartoon medium as a tool to unfasten the story from the constraints of a regular film. This means fleshing out believable characters, considering a classic superhero in a modern context, and formulating the narrative according to imagination, versus the budgetary constraints of a live-action Hollywood production. Given the commercial and critical successes of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, particularly the latter, Warner Bros. has sought to develop several projects based on DC Comics heroes, to which they own the rights: Superman Returns proved a failed relaunch, leaving audiences demanding a more actionized adaptation, as opposed to one desperately clinging to the Christopher Reeve films. Now the studio is accepting pitches on a potential revamp. Director George Miller attempted to get a Justice League film off the ground with a hip young cast, but fans recoiled at the thought of someone […]

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