Suggestible - Black Widow!!

Episode Date: July 15, 2021

Suggestible things to watch, read and listen to. Hosted by James Clement @mrsundaymovies and Claire Tonti @clairetonti.Check out Claire’s new podcast Tonts!Sign up to Claire’s weekly bonus newsletters here – tontsnewsletterThis week’s Suggestibles:Black Widow (spoilers 01:21 - 32:27)MisrepresentedJames' Red Guardian VideoSend your recommendations to [e-mail], we’d love to hear them.You can also follow the show on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @suggestiblepod and join our ‘Planet Broadcasting Great Mates OFFICIAL’ Facebook Group. So many things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, this is Katnett Unfiltered. If you know us, then you know that we do almost everything together, so accommodating seven kids and seven adults on vacation can be challenging. So, we Airbnb it. And if you have a spare room in your house, you can Airbnb it. It's that simple. You can even Airbnb your whole house while you are away. You could be sitting on an Airbnb and not even know it.

Whether you could use extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.ca slash host. Bing-a-dee-bong, bing-a-bing-bing-bong. It's time for Black Widow Talk. It is. Now, we already did an episode on my most successful podcast, the Weekly Planet podcast. I don't know why I'm naming it because you've definitely heard of it. Hey, P.S., just before you jump in over there, Sonny Bob, you've forgotten to say who we are.

This is a suggestible podcast. We are married. My name is Claire. James is here also, and we recommend you stuff to watch, read, and listen to. And this week I did a thing for James. You did? I took a bullet. I watched Black Widow for him. I thought that may, look, either I thought you'll like it or you'll have some

interesting thoughts about it, which I want to know about. And what thought would be complete without speaking it into a podcast? Correct. Exactly. Everything is content. That's right. Everything is content. What did you think? You literally just finished it. I literally just, you put the kids to bed so I could watch it. I did. And I appreciated that. And I'll never do it again. That was a one-off.

I know, and we need more Avengers movies to come out so I can get and have an excuse. That's true. Look, I bloody loved it. Whoa, that was loud. Oh, sorry, was it? Yes, it was very loud. Look, I really enjoyed it. Whoa, that was loud. Oh, sorry, was it? Yes, it was very loud. Look, I really enjoyed it.

I will say that I do get a bit bored in fight scenes. Yeah, it gets a bit explosion-y at certain points. Yes, correct. Yeah, I just and. We'll just do full spoilers. It's been out for a while. Yeah, correct. Collings will put time codes below if you do want to jump ahead.

All right, exactly. Yeah, so I get bored in fight scenes and I know that you're like, ooh, that was a good fight scene. But generally I'm like, eh. I'm with you. Like unless it's, you know, an interesting character or it's something we haven't really seen before, then, yeah, it's not super interesting.

So I guess when everything was kind of exploding and falling down at the end. Yeah. I mean, that was kind of cool. No, that was cool. I really loved that bit. I thought that whole sequence was really cool. I thought about it. Actually, I really liked that bit the end. Yeah. I mean that was kind of cool. I liked that bit. No, that was cool. I really loved that bit. I thought that whole sequence was really cool. I thought about it. I went, actually, I really liked that bit, yeah.

Yeah. No, it was just a genuinely really great action movie. But I also loved the humour. Yeah, right. I felt like the script was handled so beautifully and all the characters. So Florence Pugh, her little sister. Yeah. And Scarlett Johansson obviously is Black Widow, their chemistry was great.

Yeah. Like I feel like their chemistry just sort of carried that film. There were so many great one-liners from the two of them and you really did believe that they grew up together and they had this kind of family, dysfunctional family dynamic, which was great. It's David Harbour. David Harbour.

I just love him. Yeah, he's great. And in this he just plays this kind of almost campy, kind of like hilarious Russian dude and I, you know, obviously the Red Baron. Yeah, the Red Baron. Okay, good. I'm just talking.

No, the Red Guardian. I know, it doesn't sound right. Red Baron, the plane guy. Baron. Okay, good. I'm just tumble-jigging. No, the Red Guardian. I know, it doesn't sound right. The plane guy. That's right, exactly. And I just really loved that whole thing. I saw an interview with him recently where he was like, I've just always wanted to be 40. He's like, and now I am.

It's true because, like, as soon as he hit, like, 40, he was suddenly really famous. Well, maybe just a bit before, but yeah. He does really suit being that kind of like 40-er kind of guy. Yeah, totally. I love how in every other movie whenever anyone gets to be a superhero, they like get super ripped. Yeah.

And in this he just like gets the opposite. Yeah, he blew out. Yeah. He lost that weight but, yeah. Yeah, which I thought was really fun and interesting. And Rachel Weisz is just like incredible in this. I loved how smart she is and how quick-witted all of the women are, but I also love the way that they showed her almost as someone

who was without emotion. Yeah. Even though she is, she obviously has heart, but she's been raised. And it's just so interesting how the juxtaposition of those three women and how, I mean, if you haven't seen it, obviously, we should probably go through what it's actually about. It's the origin story of Black Widow. Sort of.

Sort of-ish. Where does it sit? I was trying to figure out where it sits in the universe. Canonically she's dead. I don't know if you saw the post-credits as well. Yes, okay. This is going to make me sound terrible. I cannot remember how she dies or why she dies.

It doesn't matter. Don't feel bad. Nobody remembers anything in these movies. There's so many of them. No, but does she die in that giant big battle with the big blue guy? No, no, no. So they go to retrieve an infinity stone from the planet Vormir and to get the stone you have to make a great sacrifice.

Oh, that's right. She has to jump off the cliff. So she really is dead. She's dead, yeah. I was hoping she was going to walk back in. But also there's other timelines and clones and possibilities. Okay, so she is dead but she possibly could be in more movies. I would be shocked if we never saw her in anything ever again.

All right. But I think for the moment she is done, yes. Okay. Yeah. Correct. All right. Well, and what I also she is done, yes. Okay. Yeah. Correct. All right. Well, and what I also really liked, so obviously this is kind of, so where does this story sit then?

So it's set after Civil War where all the Avengers fought each other at an airport. That's right. I remember that. And then they go their separate ways and she betrays Tony Stark and she goes on the run. So it's set in between that and Infinity War where all the aliens come to attack everybody.

Right. Okay. That's good. Okay. I had the vague idea and notion that obviously that was in between. I don't think it really matters. No, it doesn't really. Because for me, like going in, I'm like I know she's dead.

I know that this story is kind of mostly inconsequential to like the greater thing. And I really wasn't expecting much for it and I ended up really enjoying it. Yeah. Why did you enjoy it so much? The characters. That's what I, I mean because there's little things like why would they all speak in Russian accents in English when they're sitting around like talking

to each other at a, like yeah, why would they? Like it's nonsense. Like there's things like that but it didn't, none of that stuff kind of sticks to me if I'm kind of going along with it. You know what I mean? If you start and people did have a criticism of that which I can't deny. That is true. But if I don't notice these things like as I'm watching it,

it means I don't really. Yeah, I sort of feel like it adds to the characters a bit. I don't know. I thought it was what I've really enjoyed other than the fact that I thought the editing was great, like really tight. Yeah. I just loved the build-up of the characters and I felt like the first sequence when they're little kids.

That's amazing. It was really amazing. Yeah. And also heartbreaking and I felt like they did a really good job in a really short amount of time of building who these characters were, what their life was like living in Ohio, is this like, you know, fake domestic family. Yeah, they're even doing the accents like when nobody's around.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And the six-year-old girl, like the little sister, I was calling her Hanson, is a six- old, this sort of beautiful six year old innocent girl. He sort of doesn't seem to understand what's going on. And I loved too because I went in knowing absolutely nothing about the storyline. When they're going, they're all kind of sitting around a dinner table and then suddenly it's go time and they suddenly have to go

on this adventure. I had absolutely no idea whether they were all going to be killed. I had no idea what they were even talking about. I had no idea that he was the Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz was like a scientist for the Russians or whatever. I had zero clue. And so that to me unfolded in this really interesting way. And when he flipped the trailer were you like?

Yeah, and I was like, oh, he's got superpowers. Oh, he's got to be someone important. You know, I just had zero. And he we were like. Yeah, and I was like, oh, he's got superpowers. Oh, he's got to be someone important. You know, I just had to. And he sort of is. Yeah, exactly. But I just, and I initially thought they were a real family. Yeah. Like I had no idea.

Did you know they weren't a real family? Yeah, no, I knew that like going in. I mean, I didn't know the specifics of this like dynamic, but knowing that who she is and like the comic backstory, I knew that this all wasn't. What was fascinating to me about that was seeing where it was going to turn away from that family life because I knew like it was going to happen but I just didn't know the context of it.

And how it was going to work. I think the reason why that scene works well and a lot of the interplay is because the director is Kate Shortland who is Australian director and she's done a bunch of like indies and stuff like that prior to this and I think she brings a lot of that kind of humanity to this movie. Like a complaint of this movie I would make is that it's kind of, it's like five years late. It should have come out, you know, they should have made it five years ago,

like before she died, like, you know, after Civil War, that movie. Yeah, to kind of build it as a main movie rather than as like a side note. Is that what you mean? And like the pandemic obviously that cannot be helped in terms of the release of this because it was February last year it was supposed to come out. It was done. It was finished.

But, you know, but other than that I think if you were going to watch these in any order you'd kind of plonk this. Further back somewhere. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And then I think the note at the end because obviously she has died and so there's that after scene credits because, you know, I know about that now. You stuck around.

You stuck around for the credits. I fast forwarded them because I watched it on Disney+. Did you love to see Julie Louis- Oh, she was brilliant. I loved that whole sequence as well. I thought that was just so funny and clever. But also really touching when you suddenly understand the context of her sister grieving her.

Yeah. And also, which I kind of really loved, the complaint that I've had and a lot of women have had is that Black Widow got zero funeral and zero anything and Tony Stark got a bloody, like, festival. You know, everyone's there being like, Tony's gone. And no one bloody said anything about Black Widow when she's such a pivotal character. There's a meme that's like everybody gets a funeral and like including

Captain America. And Hulk throws a bench. Hulk throws a bench. And look, I also from a storytelling perspective, she's not like the one in the public eye who's beloved and like doing press conferences and all these kinds of things. But even then you could have done something like privately. Yeah. Which they don't.

Exactly. Which they don't do. Anyway, so that to me is her having a headstone and actually seeing that people really cared and missed her was for some reason really moving and important to me. What I also liked about Florence Pugh's character, so I'm just going to say some stuff that I didn't say in my other review that I forgot, was that first of all that scene where she talks

about the vest that she got and it's got all the pockets in it and how she likes all the different pockets. Yes, correct. So she spent her whole life having people like dress her or she's mind controlled so she's, you know, she can't choose her own clothing. And then when she serves up at the funeral at the end, she's got like, you know, this like crazy kind of coat on and like a ring

on every finger and all this, you know what I mean, all this jewellery as this kind of like expression of somebody who hadn't been able to do that. Whereas Black Widow doesn't do that because she didn't have that. Like they had similar experiences but they went very separate ways. In different art directions. I thought that was like a little kind of thing that was a nice inclusion that sets them apart.

But it isn't like explicit. It isn't like, look at me, I'm an individual now, you know. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, and one thing I also really enjoyed about her character, obviously I bloody like, you popped it in your, like, pockets. Eh? When the scene came out. And obviously, yes, every bloody piece of clothing should have pockets

like all men's clothing. Okay, side note. Sure. Men's clothing tends to be way cheaper, made much better and much more practical with lots of pockets. Yeah. What the actual F? It's so unfair.

I don't know what to tell you. It's so annoying. I even saw, and just on another side note, Ms Represented, which I'll talk about on another podcast, is Annabelle Crabb's new show where she looks at six different Australian women who are really pivotal in our political landscape. And one of the little grabs I saw, because I haven't actually watched

the show yet, was just about how annoying it is that for female politicians their clothing is seen as a reflection of their character, but then they just show footage of literally every man in politics ever who has two outfits, the suit and then the casual shirt, and that's it. Sometimes a cowboy hat if they're in the country. Yeah, exactly, but generally they can get away with having an entire political career where they've barely had to think about what they wear and no one comments on it because they all

wear the same thing. Yep. And so anyway, that's just a side note rant for another day. But that whole thing about clothing being functional and having pockets and also looking great, I loved. I loved that scene. I loved that she shared the vest with her sister. I loved that they were like both so capable and obviously like equals.

Did you like how she was like, what do you do that thing where you pose when you flick your hair back? Yeah, I really enjoyed that. I enjoyed all of it. I thought the jokes all really landed. I even enjoyed when Red Guardian is just in jail with like gold teeth and he's just there grumbling around and then he does the, he's like telling this fictional story about him in Captain America

and then he does the. Or is it fictional, Claire? Or is it fictional? Who knows? I did a video on it. I don't think it is fictional. Oh, I see. I mean, I don't think there's multiple branching timelines and whatever,

so I think he fought somebody who was Captain America but not the Captain America at that point in time. Anyway, sorry. All right. Well, that is not a very interesting fact to me. I didn't think it would be. I wanted to ask you something else that actually upset a bunch of people in a moment that probably won't upset you.

But sorry, yeah, go on. All right, okay. And I just really like the arm wrestle and how he just crushed that guy's hand, which is awful and terrible and I hated seeing the hand being crushed, but I just really enjoyed that character and how he's like supposed to be this big superhero but he can't really get out up the tower. That whole scene I thought was really cool when he escapes from the jail i thought that was really awesome hello everyone it's me james i'm here just

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Expressvpn.com slash suggestible, and you can get an extra three months free. ExpressVPN.com slash suggestible. Let's finish this show. Let's finish it together. And Claire can also be there for it. That's what I think. Let's do it. A billion years, it said. That's a long time.

Introducing Uber Teen Accounts, an Uber account for your teen with always-on enhanced safety features. Your teen can request a ride when you can't take them. Thank you. driver. You'll get peace of mind. Uber teen accounts. Invite your teen to join your Uber account today. Available in select locations. See app for details. Okay. Ask me the thing. I was going to say also his character in Stranger Things at the moment is also in a Russian prison. Like there was a post-graders in the last season. Yeah. Coincidence. But so there's a couple of things. There's a moment where they talk about how they're all sterilized

and they've all had their womb removed and everything else. Yeah. So that's actually, that was a complaint a few years ago because in Age of Ultron there's a scene, and I didn't even think of it at the time. I was just like, yeah, it didn't bother me or whatever, but it's pretty fucked up in hindsight where basically they go, oh, I'm a monster, I can't have children.

It's kind of that kind of scene which is like not explicitly but just like they took away my ability to have children or whatever and then in this they kind of address that like in a really gruesome and like flippant way intentionally. So that was the idea behind that. To what heart back to the fact that she said she talked about it in a really awful way. Yeah, and it's just a thing that happens to all the black widows

in the universe and it's like why did you even include this in this movie? This is such a weird addition. And just to be like, oh, the worst thing in the world, can you imagine? Not even, not even. I mean, obviously it's terrible, but do you know what I mean? But like if it actually happened to you, but just be like, oh, that's the worst thing that could happen.

You know what? It's so interesting. Imagine not having children. Yeah. You know what? It's so interesting to me though, because I wasn't bothered by it. I thought it was interesting. It made me think something interesting and I, this might be a bit controversial. I don't know. The, the ability for women to have kids, right, and have a uterus and fallopian tubes and all that stuff means that we are constantly on a hormonal cycle, right? Sure, yeah. So our hormones fluctuate, our body type fluctuates,

our body fluctuates during the month depending on how much level of hormones we have on board. Water retention. Yeah, but just also even our ligaments and things like that are slightly different and the way we feel about things is also slightly different. I'm not saying that women can't do everything at any time of the month. That's not what I'm saying at all. But just that like periods can be really painful and they are really annoying.

Yeah. And I kind of thought the idea of just having my womb removed was kind of great. I think that's also coming from somebody who's had two kids. But see, I've had babies. And it's very much like no more kids. But this is exactly right. So I'm not looking, I wasn't looking at it even though obviously, yeah, because I've had two babies.

I think we're recording on three microphones. Oh, are we? Yeah. Oh, no. That's going to come out weirdly. All right. I'll just unplug one of them. All right.

Should be all right. Is that all right? Is that all right? Yeah. Oh, no. That's going to come out weirdly. All right. I just like one of them. All right. Should be all right. Is that all right? Is that all right? Yeah, it should be fine. So, yes, from someone who has had two kids and so I'm looking at it from that perspective and so I know I'm incredibly lucky because it's not a flippant topic to talk about fertility and people, you know, and all of those things. And there are amazing benefits to having these kind of hormonal cycles too

and the insights they give you. And, you know, I'm not saying that I want to have my womb removed. However, there was a part of me that was like, yeah, if I'm going to be a super soldier, it would be really useful to just never have my period and never have to think about it ever again. You can do so many flips. You can wear so many white jeans. Yeah, I know. While they're wearing like wide body suits. You could wear so many white jeans. Yeah, I know.

Were they wearing like white bodysuits? Were they wearing a white bodysuit? I don't know. What did you think of the white bodysuit? Yeah, I loved the white bodysuit. That was super cool because the other part of it that I loved was that obviously both those women, I mean, and Rachel Weisz as well, they're all incredibly beautiful looking women, right?

But they weren't tiny, stick, skinny, like waifs. They looked like women who could fight. I think especially Florence Pugh, they were grounded and had like muscle and actually looked physically sort of strong and taking up space in that way, like women who do CrossFit, you know, rather than kind of that waif-like slender kind of woman who looks like a supermodel but just happens to also be very fit, you know. I don't know.

I really enjoyed that. I felt like there was something in that and in the other women who were fighting as well, even though they're all incredibly beautiful, but they're diverse and their body types were diverse and they didn't all look like. I feel like 20 years ago, 10 years ago even, this movie would have had just a whole lot of supermodels. Well, 10 years ago when she showed up in Iron Man 2,

when she was introduced, yeah, it's weird. It's a real weird inclusion. Yeah. Like the scenes are very much like, oh, bloody, have a look at this, boys. Check it out. There's even like lines like that in the actual movie. Wow.

So I haven't re-watched those in a long time. You don't need to re-watch it. I haven't had to. Yeah, but that's the thing because I even felt like Scarlett Johansson in this. Don't get me wrong. They still look incredibly beautiful. Oh, yeah.

I mean, they're all movie stars. Yeah, exactly. But more in a way that their bodies and what they're wearing looked much more like something you would actually wear when you were fighting and in that scenario. Yeah. Rather than something that was put there as like a glamour edition for like the boys to watch in their action movie.

Oh, look at this. You know? I just, even the shoes she was wearing, I don't know if you noticed that. I didn't notice the shoes, no. They were in boots. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Like boots and shoes that felt heavy and that would get you places. It kicked someone right in the head.

Seriously. Yeah, I also really enjoyed that whole plot twist and how that unfolded. With the taskmaster. Yeah. The villain who was the little girl that she exploded. Yes, yes, correct. So this is a point of controversy for some comic book fans. I don't care because I don't care about the Taskmaster.

But the Taskmaster is normally, for one, a man and, two, has some sort of backstory. It doesn't matter. He's not like a major villain. So people are like, oh, they can't believe they ruined Taskmaster or whatever. But really it's like who cares? But what do you think of that reveal of as soon as they were like

and she killed her daughter in an explosion and Ray Winston was there, I'm like, oh, that's who the Taskmaster is. I didn't really care about her, to be honest. Yeah. I didn't find that story really interesting. What I liked was like. So what the reveal wasn't like, oh, my God. Oh, I just didn't really care that much.

I don't know why I didn't care. I mean, it was a little bit disturbing. I don't know what I, you know why I didn't care? Because the characters were so well developed that all I really wanted to do was spend more time with Rachel Weisz and David Harbour. Harbour? Harbour. What about when David Harbour has to fight her and he's like, ah.

Yeah, I really enjoyed that bit. What I mean by the reveal, I didn't really, I don't know, Taskmaster, Smarshmaster. I don't know. I'm sure there's a big backstory. Arsefarter. Yeah, Arsefarter.arter. Yeah, Asfarter. Oh, God, that's awful.

No, what I enjoyed about that was that it was a little bit like one of those heist kind of movies where that section of the film I felt was really kind of fun and the plot, the twist where they reveal that they're each other's characters and then it slowly reveals itself that they pre-planned that. I just really loved that. She broke her nose, Claire. Yeah, and I love that idea that she was like,

think about the science of it. And I just, I love the idea that those two women. I mean, she could have put cotton buds in her nose, as I said, but yes. Yes, correct. But, you know, not everyone has cotton buds on their head. No, what I loved about that was that those two women with their particular history, so like her sort of pretend mother, I guess, of like three years and Black Widow,

and in that moment when Rachel Weisz has called in the cavalry, you know, called in what's-his-face, the Russian villain, I just really loved that in that moment they decided to plot and plan and that Rachel Weisz's character kind of had this whole elaborate story that she did so deadpan and so calmly. And I loved how like through that whole sequence she was this really like she just had everything in hand. She was like, all right, I've decided to explode one of the engines and just that's what we're doing.

The plan has changed. We're going to keep going. You know, I just, I really, I don't know, I've decided to explode one of the engines and just that's what we're doing. The plan has changed. We're going to keep going. You know, I just, I really, I don't know, I really enjoyed that. That's like Ocean's Eleven. Yeah, no, totally. And that's something I also agree with because often I think in these TV shows and movies and that, especially when they're set in a time when there are the Avengers around, you'd be like,

why didn't they just call Iron Man or whatever? But I didn't feel like in this movie that they needed to. There was never a point where it's like she's well in over her head here. Yes. It was kind of like, I mean, obviously there's stakes. Like I didn't feel like the stakes were low at the same time. No. It felt like, oh, no, they've got this.

That's okay. Yeah, exactly, which I also really enjoyed because I think often in these movies, you're right, Black Widow might be in a scene or any of the female characters will be in a scene. I think it goes for any of them. Yeah, but any of them. And then the stakes sort of then lower because you're like, oh, okay, here comes Iron Man, explodey, explodey, bang, bang, bang,

fight, fight, fight, and it's done. And I guess that was a little bit like what this was, but I felt like the plot was a bit more intricate than that. And at the end of the day I sort of felt like it was fun. Like they'd done this to avenge, you know, their childhoods and also to stop the world being taken over by Russian superwomen. But also it was just they'd also done it for an adventure and I got that sense.

I liked the bit where she had to fight all the black widows as well. I didn't mention that in my other review, but I thought that was a really good scene. Yeah, I guess that was cool. I don't know, really. I really like fighting. I think because she's supposed to be the best of all of them and when they all pile on top of her and she's doing all right,

then it's like, oh, this isn't going so well. Yeah, it just starts to wear her down. I mean, Thor would have done better, but whatever. But he was in space at this time. He was. As was Captain Marvel at this time. He was. As was Captain Marvel. Well, there you go. I also liked that whole pheromone thing.

Like I thought he was genuinely terrifying, that guy. I mean he can't do, he can't hold his cockney British accent at bay. But, yeah, I like Ray Winstead. Yeah, but I just kind of the idea, I really believed that idea that all of these women and these people he'd sort of mind controlled from the minute they were, you know, really tiny kids. And so I liked the script because it had that layer of complexity of childhood familiarity with people and that when you've grown

up with someone as a child, even if they're not a particularly great person, they're in your childhood, they're in your psyche and they have something over you in an interesting way. And I thought that was really, even how it was only three years that they were a nuclear family, but that was like the best three years of her life. That was so sad. And then when they're singing Bye Bye Miss American Pie in the bedroom, I just really believed that scene.

I thought, oh, parents have been there when their kids had like a massive meltdown and then you're kind of in there trying to say the right thing but you can't say the right thing but somehow you get through to them and there's a moment and then all of a sudden the Russians come and are going to kill you, you know. The Russians come, yeah. Very familiar. I think it is interesting as well when like you see some,

like Ray Winston, the bad guy, when you see someone from your childhood who was like terrifying and then you meet them as an adult and there's a bit of like ugh and then you're kind of like, oh, hang on. This is fine. You know, this is not a, you know what I mean? I think that did that scene really well where it seemed like she was on the back foot. But like you said, she kind of went in with a plan.

And I also liked how they explored a little bit about her real mother, how like she never stopped looking and was probably killed. And I also liked that she didn't get any closure from that. Like it was just something that was taken away from her. But, you know, she gained this other family but that's something she'll probably never. Yeah. I know.

I love that idea that her mother was just as kick-ass and energetic and a fighter like her. And even though, yeah, you don't actually find out who she was, the idea that that's where Scarlett Johansson or Black Widow's character gets her fire from, from this woman whose child was taken from her and who just never stopped fighting. And they ended up having to assassinate her because she was so. Tenacious.

Yeah, tenacious. I love that. Yeah, there was just lots and lots of elements to this film that made it really enjoyable to watch and it did that thing which I always love where it walks that line of being fun and funny but then kind of gets you in the feels. Yeah. And it's kind of in places really deeply touching and I think touches

on kind of themes and chords that are universal, like parenting and like childhood memories and, you know, growing up and sibling relationships. And regrets as parents, you know, things that you could have done better. Yeah, like when we regretted selling our kids off to a Russian agency and brainwashing them. I've really regretted that. I mean, I regretted it.

You didn't show that much regret. It's true, but they'll be super brilliant. True. True. Good. Anyway, look, I think maybe if I'd have gone in thinking that it was going to be great, I probably would have been disappointed. But I was really like, I can't be bothered with this.

Like I just want to get through this one to get to the next one, you know. And I really liked it. Yeah. A lot. Yeah. It meant a lot. It actually meant a lot to me, this film, because it's an example and I thought about it at the end.

It's an example that often they say things like, oh, well, female characters aren't just going to be as interesting. It's like the same with the tennis or whatever, you know? Well, there was a lot of like the guy who was in charge at Marvel was very much like put a lot of female characters in the background and didn't give them solo movies or action figures. So that's kind of one of many reasons, but that was one of the reasons why we didn't start to get these until like I think Wonder Woman

was successful and then it was like, oh, shit, we could. We could actually do this. Because Black Widow's in a bunch of these movies. She's just never had. She's a main character in The Winter Soldier. She's one of the main characters in that. But she just never had her own movie. Yeah.

And that's what I mean. It meant a lot to me for this reason because I think there's this thing that happens where a woman like has to, if a woman or a diverse character, like someone of a different culture. You should see some Little Mermaid comments online at the moment, Claire, when they showed some Little Mermaid pictures. Ah, I see. I don't know if I want to do that.

Well, they didn't cast a white person so that's not very interesting. No. What I wanted to say about this particular train of thought was that often what they do is they hang the whole fate of whether films should star someone from a different cultural background or a woman, for instance, in these action movies on the one movie. Yes. And if the one movie doesn't come off, well, then they go, see, it didn't work.

Absolutely. And there is literally millions of films and action films starring male superheroes and male action heroes. And some of them are terrible. and some of them are terrible. A lot of them are terrible. And most of them probably are mediocre, and then there are some that are brilliant. And what I loved about Black Widow is that it's a great film.

And is it Oscar winning? Probably not. But it's like a really great example of an action movie, and most of the characters are women. And that's awesome, but that's not the reason why they're doing it. They're doing it because. Or even the reason why it's good. And it's not the reason why it's good.

They're just good actors and a good script with a great director. And I think the more movies like this that we can get, some of them will be bad. Some of them will be good. Some of them will be mediocre. But that's what we need. We just need more stuff made by women. And you've definitely hit on something there because in the early 2000s

they made, they had a couple of attempts at female superheroes. They did Catwoman and Elektra, one with Halle Berry, one with Jennifer Garner, and they're terrible. They're terrible movies and they didn't do well. And I think there was that thing of like these don't do well, people don't like them. It's like, no, you made a bad movie. That's what's wrong with it.

And then people are also like, well, they're great, you know, female action heroes. There's Sarah Connor. There's Ripley from Aliens. Those movies are fucking 30 years old. You know, they're old. You can have more. And, you know, little kids aren't being like, I'm going to watch Aliens.

It's a fucking great movie. I love Aliens. But it's not for a 10-year-old kid. Yeah. And even if it was, you can still make more. Yeah. You know? That's what I mean.

That's exactly the point. And those two films that you've spoken about are iconic movies. Yes. Like they are the best of the creme de la creme. James Cameron. They are though. They've got like the creme de la creme of movies. Yeah.

And so in a way they're outliers. They're those like starring movies that will last forever. Yeah. What we almost need is a shitload of mediocre films with women starring in them. shitload of mediocre films with women starring in them. So we get more of the Sarah Connors in the universe because that's how you end up with those brilliant films and not just writing things off because, oh, well, it didn't work.

It happens all the time. It happens even in like leadership. It's called like the glass cliff. Okay. So in political leadership, women, for instance, like Theresa May. Yes. So they'll put a woman in when things are about to really slide off the cliff. And boy was it too.

And then when it does happen, everyone goes, well, see, women just can't hack it. I mean, and she wasn't great also, but yes. No, no, I'm not saying I'm a supporter of Theresa May. What I am saying is she inherited a terrible position to be like, you have to do Brexit. And as if she's any better than

Boris. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, I'm not a political expert. All I'm saying is that happens very often. Okay, cool. That's it. That's the episode. Do you have anything else to say? Not really.

I thought it was, okay, and I wanted to quickly ask about this. I did mention this on the show as well. I thought the reveal that she was like, she un-brainwashed Taskmaster and then she was like, I'm sorry I put you in the explosion and Taskmaster's like, that's cool, don't worry about it. But I think it would have been more interesting if she was like, I do not forgive you. You did this to me. But there was kind of like, oh, well, it's worry about it. But I think it would have been more interesting if she was like, I do not forgive you. You did this to me.

But there was kind of like, oh, well, it's forgiven or whatever. But, like, you killed a child essentially, you know. Yeah. So I thought that was a bit kind of like, ah, you're kind of washing your hands of that. Yeah. Because the whole thing about Black Widow in movies prior to this and also the comics is she's got a lot of red in her ledger,

which means she's basically killed a bunch of people. Yeah. Not all of which deserved it, probably. Yeah. She's not a good. Yeah, exactly. So they're not like a lot of the Avengers as well. Like they're not good people.

Like Tony Stark was an arms dealer, you know? Yeah. And I think just kind of the way they leaned away from that, I thought was a bit of a cop out. But all in all, pretty good, man. Pretty good. What's next, Claire, though? While you're bringing up the letter, do you want me to talk about review?

Yes, please. You can actually review in-app. You open up your app and you go, where do I – oh, it's so simple. I do it in-app, you say to yourself. It's from Kay Braids who says, fantastic pod, perfect podcast, simple idea, very informative, great suggestions with two fantastic hosts. That's us, Claire. That's us, great suggestions with two fantastic hosts. That's us, Claire.

That's us. I assume. Hosty hosts. That's right. That's us. That's us. What do you got in terms of letters? You told me you had a letter. Okay, so I've got a beautiful letter this week.

Is it an audio letter? It's an audio letter that you can send to suggestablepod at gmail.com. This one is from Nathan Bauer and I wanted to just say thank you. I've heard this name. Yeah, thank you so much, Nathan, for writing in. I'm not thanking you yet, Nathan, because I haven't heard it.gmail.com. This one is from Nathan Bauer and I wanted to just say thank you. I've heard this name. Yeah, thank you so much, Nathan, for writing in. I'm not thanking you yet, Nathan, because I haven't heard it. All right. So you can do this just by recording a voice memo into your phone

and emailing it to us just like Nathan did. This is a very personal one but I think really worth a listen. Let's do it. Hello, Claire. Hello, James. This is Nathan Bauer all the way from UK, with a very personal suggestible. Now, at first it might seem a little bit odd, but please stick with me. So, Season 5, Episode 10 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, entitled Game Night.

It's actually the 100th episode overall of the show, and my personal favourite. Because it's the one where Rosa Diaz, played by Stephanie Beatrice, comes out as bisexual. Now, the episode itself is pretty standard Brooklyn Nine-Nine stuff, the usual hijinks and capers and all that sort of stuff, but the reason it always sticks out to me is because of a quote right at the very end of the episode where Captain Holt says the following. Every time someone steps up and a half years ago, they've struck a chord with me. It was because of that exact quote that last year I was finally able to pluck up the courage and come out to my mum, who was of course very accepting, which of

course I knew that she would be. However, when it comes to my dad, it's a little bit of a different story. Just to give you a bit of background, he's a very old-fashioned man. Absolutely not the most progressive of blokes. So I was pretty terrified of telling him, and that's just because I didn't want him to reject me, and I didn't want to lose the relationship that I already had with him. But at the same time, it was also putting quite a bad strain on my own mental health. Hiding who I really was was causing me a lot of stress, anxiety, sleepless nights. I was even seeing a counsellor for quite a long time because of it.

But today, whilst I was re-watching this episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and I heard those beautiful words from Andre Barauta, once again, I realised it was time to take the leap and to tell my dad who I really am. I plucked up the courage and thankfully he was very accepting and told me just how proud of me he was. I've included a screenshot of his full response in the email if you want to take a look at that for yourself.

It was such a huge weight off my shoulder and it was amazing how much better I felt so quickly. So I just want to say to any other suggestible listeners out there who might still be in the closet, I know exactly how terrifying it can be to take that step out and to tell the world exactly who you are. It's daunting and nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing, and terrifying. But just like Captain Holt said, every time someone has the courage to say who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place. And that's the world that I want to live in.

So thank you to everyone for being who you are. Thank you to everyone else for accepting us for who we are. And thank you to Claire and James for creating a community that encourages kindness and allows people to be exactly who they are. But not Mason. He's a dickhead. No, he's okay. Thanks, guys.

Love the show. Keep up the great work. That was amazing. I know. I was like a roller coaster, man. You know what I mean? Yeah, it really was. I know. I'm so glad it went well, and thank you rollercoaster, man. You know what I mean? Yeah, it really was. I know.

Thank you so much. I'm so glad it went well and thank you so much for sharing that. I know. Really appreciate it, Nathan. I think that might have helped some other people too. I hope so, yeah. Yeah. Well, that's, yeah, look, I can't even imagine just having that, you know,

holding that in and just the absolute relief of just being, and just being accepted, you know, that's so wonderful. It's so awesome. So look at you being all heartfelt. Shut up, Claire. No, I think it's great. I really do because, you know, it's just great. I don't know.

It's just a really – it's just a nice thing. You know what I mean? I know. And I think this world needs more nice things, right? We all need a bit of good news. Captain Holt also is a terrific character. He really is. Yeah, he's the best character in that show maybe.

Yeah, he super is. Yeah. Thank you so much, Nathan. And if you want to write in to suggestalpod.gmail.com, we would love to hear from you. Write us in. And thank you so much to Royal Callings, as always, for editing this episode.

How does he do it? I don't know. We only talked about one recommendation this week. Wow, that's the way it goes. But we don't, mate. I recommend it. Let's talk about a talked about one recommendation this week. Well, that's the way it goes. But we don't, mate. I recommend it. Let's talk about a different superhero female movie next week. Let's do Elektra.

All right. Let's talk about the movie Elektra. Sequel to the movie Daredevil. More spin-off. Goodness gracious. All right. Sounds good. Okay.

Till next week. Thanks, everybody. Bye. This podcast is part of the Planet Broadcasting Network. Visit planetbroadcasting.com for more podcasts from our great mates. I mean, if you want. It's up to you. Hi, I'm Jessie Cruikshank from the number one comedy podcast, Phone a Friend,

which I strongly advise you listen to. You know what else I suggest you look into? Becoming a host on Airbnb. Did you like that segue? Thank you. I recently started putting my guest house on Airbnb when I'm out of town, and I didn't realize how easy it would be until I did it. If you have a spare room, you could Airbnb it, or your whole place could be an Airbnb. It's a great way to make a little extra money by doing not a lot, which frankly is my mantra in 2024. To learn more, go to Airbnb.ca slash host.