BLACK WIDOW | CAT PEOPLE
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 09/07/2021
Happy Friday everyone! Not many interesting releases this week. So much so that I almost didn’t write the newsletter this week. But then I decided that even though BLACK WIDOW was not as good as the TV shows Marvel is doing right now, I still had some thoughts I wanted to share about the flick. I also really enjoyed the Netflix Docuseries CAT PEOPLE. I love cats and this series has really spoken to me. You’ll also find a playlist of five songs I enjoyed this week.
BLACK WIDOW
BLACK WIDOW is the first solo adventure for Natasha Romanova (Scarlett Johansson). This flick has been in the works for a long time. And it comes with a lot of build-up of anticipation. Marvel fans have wanted to see Johansson in a solo movie for years now.
The plot revolves around Natasha's reunion with her Russian family, introduced by the characters played by Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, and David Harbour, and her mission to stop Dreykov (Ray Winstone) from brainwashing a young girl into being a contract killer. Natasha found a family in the Avengers, which is a contrast to her dysfunctional, planted childhood with Russian spies’ real family. Along with Johansson, Florence Pugh really shows her skills in the movie. After her breakout roles in the disturbing horror film MIDSOMMAR and the poignant wrestling comedy FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY, it's nice to see her back on the big screen as Natasha's younger sister.
BLACK WIDOW takes the superhero template into the action-packed spy thriller territory, for an adventure in the style of Bourne and Bond. But luckily not on the same level as the ridiculous over-the-top FAST AND FURIOUS 9. It's nice to have Johansson in the lead of such a slickly entertaining female-centric action film. And it's not every big-budget blockbuster that tackles the use of compulsion to limit women's reproductive rights.
But although BLACK WIDOW isn't a bad movie, after having experienced WANDAVISION and LOKI, It is hard to go back to a smooth but straight action flick. I may have been spoiled by those two amazingly bizarre TV shows from Disney+.
Black Widow fills a gap in the MCU narrative and it is even fun at times. But it's nothing special and maybe too little, too late.
CAT PEOPLE
Dogs are often credited with being humanity's best friends, but many people believe that cats are equally as faithful companions, even though cats would deny it if asked.
This six-part documentary introduces us to some of the more unusual cats as well as their owners. Each episode captures a fresh story of another cat lover, each from a different corner of the world, and each of their stories fascinated me. I found myself smiling, sobbing, and thinking about getting myself a cat.
CAT PEOPLE has really brought home how these animals provide emotional support to us, humans, all over the world. The series defies the negative stereotypes of what it means to be a cat person while revealing the fundamental truths of what it means to have deep bonds with these fiercely independent, mysterious creatures.
Top 5 songs
These were the 5 songs on my heavy rotation this week. You can listen to them on Spotify and YouTube.
1 - jxdn feat. Machine Gun Kelly - WANNA BE
2 - We Are Scientists - Contact High
3 - Descendents - Like The Way I Know
4 - LiL Lotus - Think Of Me Tonight
5 - girlhouse - pretty girl in la