Tag Archives: Scarlett Johansson

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #185 – “Black Widow” (dir. Cate Shortland)

Posted on by

This week, Glenn and Daniel check out ScarJo‘s MCU swansong, and perhaps the start of an action blockbuster career for director Cate Shortland (40:17).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating: 7 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [01:30] Review: Black Widow
  • [25:33] Spoilers: Black Widow

Listen above, or download: Black Widow (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #148 – “Avengers: Endgame” (dir. Anthony Russo and Joe Russo)

Posted on by

On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel face the epic conclusion of the current run of Avengers – and finally agree on a Marvel film (01:14:07).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating: 8 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [00:32] Review: Avengers: Endgame
  • [13:52] Spoilers: Avengers: Endgame
  • Music for this episode is…about heroes.
  • CORRECTION: We incorrectly identified Thor’s mother (Rene Russo)’s character name as Freyja – this is incorrect. She is actually Frigga (originally Frigg). Although Wikipedia tells us there is some scholarly debate about whether they stem from the same Germanic goddess, there’s really no excuse for us getting this wrong, since Glenn has seen every episode of The Almighty Johnsons more than once.

Listen above, or download: Avengers: Endgame (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #72 – “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (dir. Joss Whedon)

Posted on by

This week on the podcast, Glenn and Daniel return to the Avengers saga – Glenn with his prior 8/10 review, and Daniel with his persistent refusal to get sucked into Marvel’s comic web. Can our heroes ever come to an understanding about the true appeal of comic book films, and more importantly, will Marvel ever learn how to handle a girl-superhero? Stay tuned. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. Or whatever Marvel’s equivalent may be (55:46).

Sorry Cap, this show will contain NSFW language.
Additionally, it will contain spoilers for all of Marvel’s previous films, including (specifically) Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

FilmWonk rating: 8/10 (Glenn), 5/10 (Daniel)

Show notes:

Listen above, or download: Avengers: Age of Ultron (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #54 – “Lucy”, “I Origins”

Posted on by

Poster for "Lucy"

This week on the podcast, Glenn and Daniel use roughly 20% of their cerebral capacity to review the new action thriller from Luc Besson, Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson – then have a severe disagreement on the latest from Another Earth-director Mike Cahill, I Origins (58:06).

Editor’s note: Check out Glenn’s written review of I Origins here.

May contain NSFW language.

Still from "I Origins"

FilmWonk rating (Lucy): 7 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (I Origins): 6/10 (Daniel), 8.5/10 (Glenn)

Show notes:

  • (01:41): Lucy
  • (12:24): Spoilers for Lucy
  • (19:56): I Origins
  • (33:39): Spoilers for I Origins
  • Music for tonight’s episode is the track “Rebirth“, by Joseph Bauer/Hi-Finesse, from the theatrical trailer for Lucy, as well as the track “Dust It Off” by The Dø, from the I Origins soundtrack.
  • Trailer spoiler warning: Do yourself a favor and don’t watch the trailer for I Origins. Not only does it reveal major events in the film; it also presents an interpretation of the film that is at odds with at least one of our opinions.
  • Here’s a good roundup of the 10% brain myth from Dr. Steven Novella at the Neurologica Blog. Also, check out a history of the 10% brain myth from Andrew Tarantola at Gizmodo.
  • The hominid fossil Lucy was indeed an Australopithecus afarensis, but we had its location wrong – it was discovered in the Awash Valley in Ethiopia. It’s possible we were thinking of Chauvet Cave in France, where some of the oldest Paleolithic cave paintings in the world were found.
  • According to a December 2013 Harris Interactive poll, 74% of US adults believe in God, and 64% believe in an afterlife.
  • Daniel was correct about India’s biometric database – there are 600 million Indians enrolled as of May 2014.
  • A brief (albeit slightly out-of-date) rundown of Higgs Boson experimentation on Wikipedia, as some increasing confidence levels in 2014: NBCNews (23 June 2014), IFLScience (17 July 2014).
  • Glenn mentioned that Michael Pitt in I Origins looks a bit like Johnny Depp in Secret Window, an obscure and poorly received Stephen King adaptation from 2004 – have a look and decide for yourself!

Listen above, or download: Lucy, I Origins (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)