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PODCAST

The Long Take Review

Jen Sopchockchai Bankard

Four college professors talk film — providing insight, not assigning homework. thelongtake.substack.com

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

120:06

Casablanca with Ross Hollebon on the LTR Guest List

The Long Take Review ·

2025/10/17

Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, was filmed and premiered in 1942, then saw wide release in early 1943. This makes it easily the oldest movie we have covered on this show by more than three decades! The World War II set and filmed movie tells the story of a jaded American expat (Humphrey Bogart) wrestling with whether to help his former lover (Ingrid Bergman) and her Resistance-leader husband flee from the Nazis and get out of the titular North African city. With one of the most quoted

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87:39

The Smashing Machine Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/10/09

The Venice Film Festival went wild for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, based on the life and struggles of MMA/UFC Fighter Mark Kerr. When the film opened in theaters last weekend, however, the box office was a huge disappointment. What is the decision of The Long Take Review crew? Host Jen Sopchockchai is joined by Greg Cass and Antonio Elefano to discuss the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson showcase. We go into SPOILER MODE at the 19:25 minute mark. If you don’t want to go another round, you can

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123:14

One Battle After Another Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/10/02

The superlatives that have already been bestowed upon the new PTA (Paul Thomas Anderson) movie that just hit theaters last weekend are, quite honestly, hard to believe: to many, it’s PTA’s best film, Leonardo DiCaprio’s career best performance, the best film of the year, and even the best film of the decade. How could the film, which chronicles an ex-freedom fighter’s frenzied chase away from a wing of the U.S. military and towards wherever his missing daughter might be, possibly live up to all

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102:25

The History of Sound Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/09/25

With the major film festivals completed, we launch into award season with the kind of prestige drama that was designed for the fall: an adaptation of Ben Shattuck’s The History of Sound. Host Jen Sopchockchai is joined by Greg Cass and Antonio Elefano to talk about the decades-spanning drama about a singer, played by Paul Mescal, and a musicologist, played by Josh O’Connor, who meet by chance and forever change one another’s lives. This time, everyone on the episode has read the source material, so

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61:05

The Vulture Movies Fantasy League Recruitment Episode

The Long Take Review ·

2025/09/17

If you’ve ever argued back while listening to us prognosticate, now is your chance to show us up! We’re competing in Vulture’s Movies Fantasy League, and we want you to join our mini-league, “ltrpod,” so that we can all follow this year’s Oscar season together. The task is deceptively simple: use 100 fake dollars to buy eight movies that will earn you the most points for awards, box office, and critical reception. Should you spend big on films with a lot of hype? Or should you rifle through the

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74:54

2025 Fall Film Festival Winners and Losers

The Long Take Review ·

2025/09/10

When our favorite critics and journalists travel across the globe — from Venice to Colorado and Toronto — to watch and review new movies, Oscar addicts like us sit up and pay attention. Films from high profile, beloved directors can flop. New films from unknowns can break out onto the scene. It’s never what anyone expects. On this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T. and I pass the mic back and forth to share our winners, losers, and head-scratchers coming out of recent festival premieres. Whose

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120:51

Summer Superlatives

The Long Take Review ·

2025/09/04

The air is turning crisp and the coffees are getting pumpkin spiced, but before we head into Fall Festival (and Oscar!) season, we want to do a quick recap on Summer Blockbuster season. On this episode of The Long Take Review, host Jen Sopchockchai is joined by P.T. McNiff, Antonio Elefano, and Greg Cass to debrief the season that was, reliving the highs (biplanes!), the lows (mutant dinosaurs!), and the forgotten (What is an Elio?). Listen along as we reveal our superlatives, such as “most

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107:40

Weapons Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/08/28

Is an author allowed to deny any interpretations of his film? That’s exactly what Director Zach Cregger (Barbarian 2022) has done on his press tour for Weapons, which is playing in theaters now. Most of his interviews emphasize a personal tragedy of his that inspired the movie, rather than the various political valences one might place upon a story about 17 kids who mysteriously disappear in the middle of the same night. On this episode of The Long Take Review, we debate how much the film is trying

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108:22

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/08/20

In more ways than one, The Fantastic Four: First Steps did not perform as expected. In spite of superhero fatigue, Matt Shakman’s retro futuristic adaptation of Marvel’s first family was well-received by many critics. Brandon Yu of the New York Times, for example, called it a “refreshingly new direction” and Amy Nicholson of the LA Times said she felt comforted by the film’s evocation of “classic sci-fi.” The box office, however, took a turn for the worst after opening weekend, with a 66% drop-off

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78:25

The Best Films of the 21st Century (Part Two)

The Long Take Review ·

2025/08/15

Assuming you were all on the edges of your respective seats, waiting with bated breath to hear the rest of our Top 10 Best Films of the 21st Century lists, here is the long-awaited second half of our response to The New York Times’ list of “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century.” Starting with our number six spots, we each take turns revealing our #1-6 picks of the best films made from 2000 to 2025. How did we do overall? Whose personal list do you like the best? What would you have put on your

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99:45

The Best Films of the 21st Century (Part One)

The Long Take Review ·

2025/08/06

When The New York Times released its full list of “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century,” we quickly realized that this cinephile’s feast deserved an entire episode. Then, once we recorded for a little over three hours, we realized that we needed to split up our conversation into two episodes. So in this episode you’ll find our general discussion of the NYT list, how we put our individual top 10 lists together, and the on-air reveal of picks #7-10. (Picks #1-6 will be revealed in next week’s

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110:22

KPop Demon Hunters Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/07/23

Who knew the most unexpectedly popular movie of the summer would be an animated feature about KPop stars who protect the world from demons with both their music and their deadly weapons? We at the Long Take Review (and most other critics, it seems), surely didn’t. The latest offering from Sony Pictures Animation (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) has not only topped Netflix’s charts but musical charts like Spotify and Billboard as well, besting many real-life KPop groups. On this episode, I bring

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119:26

Superman Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/07/16

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s…the biggest movie of the summer? Superman is certainly the central focus of Director James Gunn, who left Marvel Studios to become the Co-Chairman & CEO of the shop across the street, DC Studios, in 2022. So did he do it? Did he do this iconic comic book character justice? Did he successfully launch the new DCU? On this episode of The Long Take Review, we debate this question among others. Greg and P.T. let hot takes fly, Jen gets in a fight with Greg, and we all do our

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141:20

2018 Oscar Fairy Flashback

The Long Take Review ·

2025/07/08

Did you think The Shape of Water was romantic or just weird? In this Oscar Fairy Flashback episode, we look back at the 90th Academy Awards, which brought us one of the most polarizing Best Picture winners, Guillermo del Toro’s dark fantasy about a woman who falls in love with a fish man imprisoned in a government lab. Will we downsize some of its wins in favor of some other big nominees this year. Will anyone step forward to defend Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri

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102:04

F1: The Movie Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/07/01

Even if you yourself don’t follow Formula 1 racing, it’s hard to deny its global popularity, with an audience of 750 million, according to Nielsen Sports. But does that mean Director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) can lap other movies at the box office this weekend with F1: The Movie? So far, news outlets like the New York Times have declared that the underdog sports action drama is a hit, with Deadline reporting a $57 million domestic and $89.3 million international opening weekend. That’s

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86:28

The Materialists Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/06/27

If you were Dakota Johnson, would you choose Pedro Pascal or Chris Evans? (And no, both is not an option.) On the surface, The Materialists seems to pose this as a pleasurably difficult question, in glossy rom com fashion. That’s a considerable departure from Celine Song’s last film, the Oscar-nominated indie and LTR favorite, Past Lives. Is the marketing for the film creating a bait and switch situation, or is Song’s second film a genuinely more commercial play? Antonio, Greg, and I reveal our

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120:36

Jaws 50th Anniversary with Sarah Hastings on the LTR...

The Long Take Review ·

2025/06/20

Most film historians would say that when Steven Spielberg made Jaws in 1975, he changed Hollywood filmmaking forever. Not only would the shark tale launch his career into the stratosphere, making him a leading voice in American cinema, but it invented the summer blockbuster season and movie marketing that we easily take for granted now. This year (to the day, in fact!) marks Jaws’ 50th Anniversary, and we couldn’t be happier to celebrate it with our longtime friend and loyal listener, Sarah

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87:51

The Phoenician Scheme Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/06/14

Calling all girl dads! Wes Anderson has a new film for you. Starring Benicio del Toro as business tycoon Zsa Zsa Korda and Mia Threapleton as his estranged daughter Liesl, The Phoenician Scheme begins when Zsa Zsa calls upon Liesl to become the legal heir to his vast fortune as more and more of his rivals attempt to assassinate him. Hijinks ensue as the two face off against the customary starry ensemble. On this episode of The Long Take Review, we shoutout our favorite players from Anderson’s

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101:32

The Life of Chuck Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/06/05

Stephen King contains multitudes. He may be more well known for classic horror stories like Carrie and The Shining, but he’s also responsible for equally successful emotional dramas like The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me. Whatever the genre or tone, his works almost always beg an adaptation to the big screen. That’s where Director Mike Flanagan comes in. Best known for Doctor Sleep (2019), Flanagan has an affinity for adapting King’s work. This year he brings us the 2024 Toronto International

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102:32

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/05/29

The Oscars recently announced that their 100th ceremony in 2027 will feature a brand new Best Stunt Design category, and the timing for Tom Cruise and his infamously death-defying Mission: Impossible series could not be worse, as Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, the eighth and potentially final installment released in theaters this past weekend. The marketing for the film heavily implies that this is the end for Cruise’s iconic portrayal of IMF agent Ethan Hunt, but is this actually his

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135 results

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