Edi Gathegi 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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The Harder They Fall

Brian Eggert — Sat, 06 Nov 2021 18:35:37 +0000

A lone rider stands on the tracks, waiting for the fast-approaching locomotive. Seeing what lies ahead, the conductor pulls the brake lever, sending squeals and sparks into the air until the train stops at the last moment. Under a long coat and hat, Regina King steps off her horse and stands defiantly. Infuriated, the conductor approaches her and shouts, “The hell are you doing? That ain’t no way to board a train, you damn, stupid n—.” But she stops his slur with a bullet. In one of many wildly entertaining sequences in The Harder They Fall, King appears as Trudy Smith, who has come to free her gang’s leader, Rufus Buck, from a prison transport. Set in a revisionist version of the Wild West, the film follows an incredible roster of Black performers playing real-life outlaws, gunslingers, thieves, and lawmen overlooked by history. But rather than commenting on race in the Old West, the film secures a place in the Western genre for people of color. Historically, Westerns only marginally acknowledge Black people. Yet, The Harder They Fall crafts an escapist, bloody, and stylish film about a rivalry between the Nat Love Gang and the Rufus Buck Gang, who shoot […]

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Gone Baby Gone

Brian Eggert — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 05:00:11 +0000

If I could write a review saying simply “See this movie!” and nothing else, and trust that you would go and see it based on my three-word recommendation, I would. Alas, most moviegoers need more convincing before dropping $8.50 on a ticket. Occasionally, a motion picture is released that, as a critic, requires I restrict myself from divulging one detail too many from prospective viewers. Gone Baby Gone is such a movie. Walking into my screening, I knew little more about it than the cast, title, and director, and perhaps that other critics had given it positive ratings. And that’s the ideal way to see any movie—to take it in without expectation or preconceived notions. Helmed by first-time director Ben Affleck, the story is based on Dennis Lehane’s novel of the same name (except written Gone, Baby, Gone with commas). If you recall, Lehane’s novel Mystic River was adapted by Brian Helgeland for Clint Eastwood in 2003. The stories follow a similar path: both are set in Boston; both involve plot elements of kidnapping and sexual abuse; both contain staggering turns of character. These turns are not gimmicky plot elements we see coming from a mile down the road. They […]

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