Category: Series 26 – Focus On – Scarlett Johansson

“Looooothy!! What crazy hijinks you up to now, huh? Did you go and super-evolve your brain and develop god-like powers on the night I’m bringing Caesar Romero over for dinner?”
“Waaaaahhhh, Rickyyyyy! I went and perpetuated a false scientific theory that’s been disproved multiple times! Waaaahhhh!!!”

Now THAT would have been a film for the ages . . .  but sadly our final entry in “Focus On: Scarlett Johansson” does not follow my brilliant concept but does give us both Ms. Johansson AND Morgan Freeman and if you could bottle their combined voices and sell them, you’d have the world’s newest super-drug. Luc Besson, the man who gave us “Fifth Element,” “Taken,” and “The Professional” tackles the speculative fiction concept: given that we only use 10% of our brains, what would happen to someone whose brain suddenly began evolving to the point where she could use 100% of her mental potential? TL;DR – nothing, because that whole “we only use 10% of our brain” thing has been proven to be nonsense time and time again (with the exception of Bumpy who uses a percentage of his brain that is too small to be measured by any current scientific equipment). But if we can get past this rather large “I call no way!” aspect, is this movie fun to watch, given the cast and the director? Give a listen; you’ll barely have to use 2% of your brain to follow along.

Poll question: what’s an older movie that you enjoy that could just NOT get made today?

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ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/

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Southern Poverty Law Center: https://donate.splcenter.org/

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Welcome to our penultimate “Focus on: Scarlett Johansson” episode! This one’s a rough night! No, I’m fine, why do you ask? No, last night was fine . . . there’s no problem. What drinking? I meant the MOVIE is called . . . why are you all here sitting in a circle on folding chairs? What do you mean, “I have a problem”?! Maybe you’re the ones with the problem! You ever think of that?!

Ok, that took a darker turn than I had intended . . . just to make sure there are no misunderstandings, wacky, dark, or otherwise, we’re discussing the movie “Rough Night,” starring Scarlett Johansson and a remarkable cast who, quite frankly, deserved better. Oops! Spoiler! Quick, go listen before I give anything else away!

Poll question: who would you choose to play you in your own biopic? Any actor, living or dead, at any point in their career.

George Floyd Memorial Fund:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/

Black Lives Matter: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Southern Poverty Law Center: https://donate.splcenter.org/

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Another in our series “Focus on: Scarlett Johansson”! Ok, “Ghost World” may have been her breakout film but this week’s entry . . . is also seen as her breakout film. Because who says you only get one breakout film? Well, if you do, you should be ashamed of yourself! Here at Max, Mike; Movies we support everyone’s right to have as many breakout films as they want! And we will fight you about this! That is, Bumpy will fight you! Get ‘em, Bumpy! This one was nominated for multiple Oscars and confirmed the notion that Sofia Coppola belongs behind the camera, and maybe not so much in front of it (sorry, Ms. Coppola but we’re all thinking the same thing). In 2003’s “Lost in Translation,” we get to see a surprising amount of chemistry between Scarlett and . . . Bill Murray? Ok, before this movie came out, that is NOT a screen pairing I would have thought of. Does it work? Is it just creepy because Bill is almost three times Scarlett’s age at this point? Join us and find out! Hang on, what’s that, Mike? “More intense”? What the hell does that mean?

Poll question: what is a movie you feel like you “should” watch because of stuff ^tm and reasons ^tm but you’ve just never been able to get yourself to do it, and why?

George Floyd Memorial Fund:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/

Black Lives Matter: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Southern Poverty Law Center: https://donate.splcenter.org/

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Welcome, welcome to another brand new series (this one has no Bat-folk in it; we hope you’re not too disappointed): “Focus On: Scarlett Johansson.” Yes, we’re doing another short series focusing on the works of one particular performer, in this case the aforementioned Ms. Johansson. An acclaimed drama, comedy, and action star, the face of L’Oréal (because she’s worth it) and many other companies, Scarlett Johansson has played aliens, hyper-advanced human beings, bodiless AI’s, superheroes and animated porcupines. We’re starting off with one of her breakthrough non-child roles in Terry Zwigoff’s adaptation of Daniel Clowes award-winning graphic novel “Ghost World.” While Thora Birch plays the more featured character, Enid, Scarlett Johansson turns in a quietly subdued and internal performance as Rebecca.  How is the movie as a whole? Give a listen and find out!

Hey, once this series is done, we’re doing one more “Focus On” series and this one will focus on an actor chosen by you! Yes, you! No . . . not you . . . the one over to your  . . . look, could you move to your right a bit? Thanks! Yes, YOU! Who would you like to see us focus on? Suggest an actor! Suggest some of their movies! Ignore that weirdo who thought we were talking to them and let us know!

Poll question: what movie, that you’ve never seen, looks so disturbing that you never even want to give it a try?

George Floyd Memorial Fund:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/

Black Lives Matter: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Southern Poverty Law Center: https://donate.splcenter.org/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS