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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

134:36

The Thin Red Line with Anthony King on the LTR Guest...

The Long Take Review ·

2026/04/24

When Oscar nerds think back to the 71st Academy Awards, they remember Shakespeare in Love, which won seven Oscars, Saving Private Ryan, which won five, and maybe Life is Beautiful, which won 3. (I still remember actor/director Roberto Benigni climbing on the seats to get to the stage when his film won in what is now the International Feature category.) Too often, though, people forget that the same year Spielberg’s film about WWII Normandy hit big at the box office, another epic war drama with a

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101:46

The Drama Review

The Long Take Review ·

2026/04/15

For once, a trailer didn’t spoil the movie! The marketing materials for Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama, playing in theaters now, have kept one big reveal fundamental to the plot of the film a secret. And considering it made $14 million its opening weekend and is currently at over $46 million worldwide, it seems as though that decision has paid off. Was it purely the intrigue and mystery of the plot that drove people to theaters? Or were its megawatt stars, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, enough to draw

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102:13

Quick Takes Catching Up on 2026 Movies

The Long Take Review ·

2026/04/12

Now that Oscar season has ended, we finally have a chance to catch our breath and talk about new movies in 2026! Greg and P.T. give their SPOILER-FREE takes on eight movies that they’ve enjoyed. So if you’re in the market for recommendations, but you don’t want to go into a spoilery deep dive with them, this episode is for you. They also managed to mention nearly every other movie that has been released, giving us a comprehensive sense of the broader theatrical and streaming landscape. Countdown

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136:06

2026 Movie Hype Draft

The Long Take Review ·

2026/04/01

We might still be riding the high of Project Hail Mary’s massive success at the box office, but it really seems like 2026 might be a movie year defined by abundance. With multiple big, epic blockbusters from legendary directors and several actors putting out not one, but in some cases two or three movies in one year (Anne Hathaway has six!), it seems as though we will have nothing but choices.But what would we choose if we could only see five movies? That’s the premise of this episode of The Long

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111:44

Project Hail Mary Review

The Long Take Review ·

2026/03/27

With the Oscars just fading out of the rear view mirror, it’s a shock and a thrill to already have another hit in theaters. Within six days of its release, Project Hail Mary surpassed $100 million domestically, according to Deadline. That’s a box office performance second to only one other film that’s not a sequel and not part of a franchise: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which won best picture in 2024. Will this space odyssey (pun only sort of not intended) directed by the team publicly fired by

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116:18

Oscar Reactions 2026

The Long Take Review ·

2026/03/18

Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor! Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to ever win an Oscar for Cinematography! Cassandra Kulukundis defied all prognostication and won the first ever Best Casting Oscar! Kumail Nanjiani shepherded a packed Dolby Theater through a rare tie in Live Action Short! (And did so with amusing aplomb.) Even everybody’s favorite baby Yoda, Grogu, made an appearance! Suffice it to say this year’s Oscars was full of excitement, celebrating several films but especially

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160:30

Oscar Picks by the LTR Guest List

The Long Take Review ·

2026/03/15

Get hyped for the Oscars tomorrow! In celebration of our favorite day of the year, we invited our friends and fellow Oscar nerds to share their thoughts on this year’s nominees, picking one desired winner in one category of their choice. It was also Greg’s birthday when we recorded this episode, so keep an ear open for birthday wishes sprinkled throughout and a special segment involving a very special cake. We’d like to thank all of our guests: you all brought your A game and managed to get us even

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86:45

Final Oscar Predictions 2026 Part Two (Above the Line)

The Long Take Review ·

2026/03/09

The Oscars are just a week away now, and while we haven’t had any real clues about who will win since we posted Part One of our predictions, there have been some strange news stories about backlash indicting Best Actor nominee Timothée Chalamet as anti-ballet and opera, and Best Actress nominee Jessie Buckley as anti-cat. What few people spewing hot takes on the Internet realize, though, is that this backlash emerged just after Oscar voting closed on March 5th and therefore cannot have any impact on

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110:29

Final Oscar Predictions 2026 Part One (Below the Line)

The Long Take Review ·

2026/03/04

We’re in the end game now: the Oscars will air live on ABC and Hulu at 4PM pacific/7PM eastern on Sunday March 15th. As I type this, voting for the Oscars is about to close tomorrow March 5th, and we now have all the information we’re going to get in terms of precursors. So, of course, we at The Long Take Review spent many hours this week recording our final predictions for who we think WILL win as well as who we think SHOULD win in each category. In this episode, Greg, P.T., and I discuss all of

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93:06

Sentimental Value Review

The Long Take Review ·

2026/02/26

Stellan Skarsgård could win his very first Oscar this year. But after losing to Sean Penn at the BAFTAs last weekend, that seems less likely now. Skarsgård is long overdue for this level of recognition, as he has graced our screens for decades with mainstream blockbusters from huge franchises like Marvel (he plays Dr. Erik Selvig in five MCU films, most notably Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2012)) and Star Wars (Luthen Rael in Andor! *chef’s kiss*) and prestigious films like Good Will Hunting

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77:21

Quick Takes on the Sundance Film Festival 2026

The Long Take Review ·

2026/02/10

Greg will be delighted to know that his brainchild, LTR Quick Takes, has actually caught on! It’s a thing now because we did it twice! For the second edition of these quicker, spoiler-free reviews, P.T. and Antonio discuss the new films they saw through the Sundance Film Festival’s virtual portal. After discussing each of the films (listed below), they conclude the episode with their speculation about which of the films could get Oscar traction during next year’s awards season. Nuisance Bear (P.T.):

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71:13

The 3rd Annual LTR Awards Winners

The Long Take Review ·

2026/02/04

The BAFTA nominations came out last week, and mostly told us that even if we had them before the Oscar nominations (as we usually do), we still would have been wrong about most of the categories that had surprises (i.e. Delroy Lindo! Elle Fanning! Avatar: Fire and Ash in costume?!). Since then, it’s been a pretty quiet week in the Oscar race. Most critics and podcasters have pivoted to covering the Sundance Film Festival, reviewing films that might be a part of next year’s awards season. (Our

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136:25

The 3rd Annual LTR Awards Nominations

The Long Take Review ·

2026/01/27

It’s another busy week in awards season land! Both the BAFTA (British Oscars) nominations and WGA (Writer’s Guild) nominations came out today. While there is probably a lot to parse there in terms of who’s ahead in the Oscars race, we at the Long Take Review wanted to take some time out of our busy coverage to hand out our own awards, the LTRs or “Letters.” And in true LTR fashion, we set out to make the episode shorter by breaking up our nominations and our winners into two different episodes. We

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100:18

The 83rd Golden Globes Reactions

The Long Take Review ·

2026/01/14

Some awards seasons are chaotic and uncertain going into the Golden Globes; last year at this time pundits were shrugging their shoulders, only to learn a few days later that it was Anora in the lead all along. This is not one of those years. Last weekend’s Globes ceremony cemented the dominance of this year’s top Oscar contender, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. The star-studded comedy action thriller won four prizes: Director, Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), Supporting

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134:14

Marty Supreme Review

The Long Take Review ·

2026/01/08

Many film critics say “Never bet against Big Jim” because each time James Cameron releases an Avatar film, everyone doubts its success in anticipation and then sheepishly reports that the film has made over a billion dollars. This year is no different, with Avatar: Fire and Ash having just crossed the billion dollar mark a few days ago. A close second to that Hollywood aphorism is never bet against Little Timmy in December. For the third time in a row now, Timothée Chalamet has starred in a hit film

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116:42

Hamnet Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/12/30

Everyone loves a good cry at the movies, right? [silence] Right?? Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, based on a beloved novel that dramatizes Shakespeare’s family life, quickly earned notoriety for being a tear-jerker after it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. Critics, however, were split in their response to needing tissues: while some viewed it as a triumph, others resented it, accusing the film of being emotionally manipulative.That critical reception and the precipitating awards prospects could mean a

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106:43

Wake Up Dead Man Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/12/23

Everyone’s favorite Southern drawl detective, Benoit Blanc, is back! That means we are here for a full investigation into the crime, the suspects, and the awards potential of Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man. Join all four regular hosts as we unpack this new whodunnit, discussing its spiritual themes, zippy jokes, and breezy style.We go into SPOILER MODE at the 27:10 minute mark. If you want to keep those knives IN, you may listen safely until then.Image Credit: LA TimesYou can listen to The Long

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97:17

Wicked: For Good Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/12/16

This time last year, part one of Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the famed Broadway musical, Wicked, had taken the world by storm. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande became legendary for their “holding space” press tour, licensed merchandise permeated every aspect of daily life, and, of course, the film received 10 Oscar nominations, ultimately winning both Costume Design and Production Design. Today, we are once again off to the see the wizard with Wicked: For Good, the second half, adapted from act two of

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83:58

83rd Golden Globes Nomination Reactions

The Long Take Review ·

2025/12/11

As effortlessly as Glinda tossing her hair (toss toss), the Golden Globes seem to have shaken off years of controversy and scandal, reemerging as a mainstay in awards season. Host Nikki Glaser garnered much praise last year, including from us at The Long Take Review. (Who can resist a good pope pun?) And this year, pundits, journalists, and podcasters seem extra aglow to read into the nominations to gauge which actors, creators, and films might be stronger contenders in the Oscar race. We didn’t

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103:58

Bugonia Review

The Long Take Review ·

2025/12/02

What flavor of Yorgos are you? The director’s black comedy has taken many forms, from the absurdist futurism of The Lobster to the spicy costume drama of The Favourite or the Gothic coming of age story of Poor Things. In this episode of The Long Take Review, we try to place the acclaimed filmmaker’s latest work, Bugonia, on that continuum. After striking out with the anthology film Kinds of Kindness last awards season, can Lanthimos get back in the Oscar conversation and finally win a gold statue

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160 results

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