The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time.

With Mark recording the show from the air-conditioned cool of a film festival in Croatia while the UK swelters, Simon bravely holds the fort back in showbiz north London as he chats to Minions creator Pierre Coffin about the new film, Minions and Monsters.

For this week’s reviews, Mark dons his safety helmet and grabs a sick bucket for Jackass: Best & Last, the latest big-screen goodbye to Johnny Knoxville and the Jackass crew, packed with stunts, injuries and end-of-an-era nostalgia. It’s not for everyone (Simon) but will Mark indeed find it “best and last”, or a stunt too far?

Back on safer ground 500 Miles comes under the spotlight. It’s a YA-novel adaptation in which two brothers run away from home and travel across land and sea to reach their grandfather in rural Ireland, encountering music, mishaps and buried family history along the way.

Finally, A Private Life is a French-language mystery-thriller from Rebecca Zlotowski starring the always excellent Jodie Foster as a psychiatrist drawn into a patient’s death and a spiral of suspicion.

And as ever, there’s box office chat (predictably dominated by Toy Story 5 this week), our always thought-provoking listener correspondence, and yes…hahahhahaha…. the Laughter Lift.

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo.

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected]

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction

00:11:06 500 Miles review

00:16:59 Box Office top 10

00:31:16 Pierre Coffin interview

00:48:19 A Private Life review

00:56:14 Laughter Lift

01:02:31 Jackass: best and last review

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo   

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time. 

The box office big beast this week is Toy Story 5, and we’re bringing you Mark’s verdict on this fifth instalment of the beloved Pixar franchise. It’s been a Take favourite since it first hit screens in the 90s and has never let us down so far, but can it really live up to the hype for the fifth film in a row?  

Plus we’ve got two more reviews from this weekend’s cinema slate. First up, Welsh language drama Effi o Blaenau, which recasts a Greek tragedy plot in working-class Cardiff. And from gritty modern drama to glossy period drama, there’s Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day - an ‘unromantic comedy’ based on a comic novel by modernist literature’s most famous feminist.  

It also brings us to our guest this week…  

It’s Timothy Spall, who will be chatting to Simon about playing the film’s crusty old patriarch, Mr. Hilbery. One of our most respected and versatile British actors, Spall has played everyone from Winston Churchill to Wormtail, and has made several celebrated films with Mike Leigh (famously, the friendliest of all directors). This one is a meaty chat not to be missed.  

Mark will be playing Mr Punchline in this week’s Laughter Lift - unfortunately unlikely to make it any funnier. Lots and lots of correspondence from you lot too, including a thorough Disclosure Day debrief. Don’t miss it!  

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo. 

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! 

A Sony Music Entertainment production.     

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts   

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected] 

Timecodes: 

00:07:09 Effi O Blaenau review 

00:14:50 Box Office Top Ten 

00:24:56 Timothy Spall interview 

00:39:57 Virginia Woolf's Night and Day review 

00:47:33 Laughter Lift 

00:54:36 Toy Story 5 review 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time.

It’s Disclosure Day week! Yes, film buffs, that means it’s time for a new Steven Spielberg film—and not just a new Spielberg, but a new Spielberg sci-fi. We can’t wait to see the iconic director return to the genre he defined, and to hear Mark’s verdict. Should we believe the hype that it’s his best film in decades?

As well as Mark’s review, we’ll hear Simon’s interview with two of its stars, Emily Blunt and Colman Domingo. They talk Spielbergian on-set insights, space aliens, and, erm… Percy Pigs. Plus, yet more speculation as to whether Jaws is or is not about a shark.

On top of that we’ve got two more reviews of two new movies who dared to release alongside this box office whopper. First up, quirky Scottish tragicomedy The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford, about a man desperate to keep his small town’s true history alive when a Game-of-Thrones-style production circus arrives and threatens to redefine it. And it’s reissue time for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, scrubbed up in glorious 4K, and back on the big screen to celebrate. How does this groovy and grimy modern classic stand up after nearly 30 years? Let’s see what the Good Doctors say.

All that plus the usual hilarity/hardship of the Laughter Lift, and of course your erudite and insightful correspondence to boot. Don’t sleep on another top Take!

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo.

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected]

Timecodes:

00:10:27 The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford review

00:20:03 Box Office Top 10

00:35:23 Colman Domingo and Emily Blunt interview

00:46:23 Disclosure Day review

01:12:10 Boogie Nights review

01:22:57 What's On?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time.

The one and only Richard E. Grant joins us on this week’s Take for a chat with both Mark and Simon about Savage House. He stars as the flamboyant and grotesque Lord Chauncey Savage in this unhinged satirical period drama, alongside Claire Foy. Expect wigs, leeches, the pox and quite a lot of poo.

Mark will also be reviewing Savage House, alongside two more of the week’s biggest releases. Masters of the Universe sees an all-star ensemble cast led by Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes and Idris Elba (erm, and Jared Leto) bring the He-Man franchise to the big screen—but is it superpowered, or another revival nobody asked for? Plus, Scary Movie, the latest instalment in Mark’s (least) favourite horror spoof franchise.

All that plus the usual excess witterings, and plenty of your excellent correspondence—including many more Muppet Game entries. We may have started something we can’t finish with this one….

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo.

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code [Take] at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/Take ⛵

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected]

Timecodes:

00:00 Intro

11:54 Masters of the Universe review

21:45 Box Office Top Ten

34:12 Richard E. Grant interview

48:23 Savage House review

56:58 Laughter Lift

01:00:49 Scary Movie review

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time.

Our guest this week is James Graham, one of Britain’s most prolific and successful writers, including of the brand new BBC series Dear England. Adapted from a play which Graham also wrote, it charts the journey of Gareth Southgate’s England men’s team from the disappointment of the ‘golden generation’ to the success we all cheered on in recent years—except for Mark, of course. No chance of him following the football. James talks to Simon about the highs and lows, moving from stage tp screen, and why Gareth Southgate has a redemption narrative straight outta Shakespeare.

Mark reviews it too, plus three more of the week’s big releases—a packed show again. We’ve got Power Ballad, a dark musical comedy of unfulfilled potential and stolen success starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, Backrooms a new A24 horror that started life as a viral YouTube video, and Tuner, the crime thriller starring Dustin Hoffman and last week’s Take guest Leo Woodall.

All that plus the usual lovely nonsense. Enjoy!

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction

10:04 Power Ballad review

16:38 Box Office 10

30:29 James Graham interview

47:00 Dear England review

53:33 Laughter Lift

01:00:31 Backrooms Review

01:08:22 Tuner review

The fundraising page for Dave Mitchell, director of Alien On Stage can be found here:

https://www.goodhub.com/go/helpdave

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo.

🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code [Take] at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/Take ⛵

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time.

Our guest this week is Leo Woodhall, who stars in upcoming thriller Tuner as Nikki, a new York piano tuner who discovers a talent for cracking safes, thanks to his hypersensitive hearing. He chats to Simon about the process behind his performance, going to piano-tuning-school, and working with Hollywood legend Dustin Hoffman. Keep an ear out for Mark’s review of Tuner, coming up in next week’s podcast.

On this week’s review slate we’ve got three more of the biggest movies hitting the big screen. First up, it’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, the latest Star Wars franchise adventure starring Pedro Pascal as the helmeted bounty hunter, alongside a super cute/slightly unnerving puppet [delete as applicable]. Will Mark jump onboard, or is this one Star Wars spin off too many? Plus we’ve got the Good Doctors’ verdicts on Manchester-set romcom Finding Emily, and road trip horror Passenger.

All that plus the usual bountiful witterings from Mark and Simon and excellent emergency mails from you listeners. We might read yours out, but you’ll also have to endure The Laughter Lift – so it’s swings and roundabouts. Another top Take nonetheless!

The fundraising page for Dave Mitchell, director of Alien On Stage can be found here:

https://www.goodhub.com/go/helpdave

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo.

🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code [Take] at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/Take ⛵

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected]

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction

00:09:39 Finding Emily review

00:16:22 Box Office 10

00:29:43 Leo Woodall interview

00:44:13 Passenger review

00:52:51 Laughter Lift

01:00:47 Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu review

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some exciting news—The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo   

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time. 

Another week, another national treasure. This week Simon Mayo talks to Olivia Colman, joined by Sophie Hyde, director of the new film Jimpa, in which Olivia stars. The film explores queerness, intergenerational family, and gender fluidity, and places kindness firmly at its heart - but will that be enough for Mark? You’ll have to listen to his verdict in this week’s Take Two to find out. 

In this week’s reviews: The Christophers stars last week’s guest Sir Ian McKellen as a once‑great artist whose awful children plan to forge his unfinished paintings for their own financial gain. Obsession is a creepy love‑horror that’s far too much for Simon, but which Mark is more than happy to peer into. And finally, Normal drops Bob Odenkirk and Henry Winkler into a Fargo‑esque Minnesota small town packed with axe‑throwing, car‑blowing‑up oddballs. Sounds fun - but will Mark enjoy it? 

Oh. And there’s the Laughter Lift. Sorry. 

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo 

🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code [Take] at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/Take ⛵ 

A Sony Music Entertainment production.     

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts   

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected] 

Timecodes: 

00:00:00 Audio start 

00:06:30 Obsession review 

00:15:14 Ad break 

00:15:20 Box Office 10 

00:30:50 Olivia Colman & Sophie Hyde interview 

00:56:17 Laughter Lift 

00:58:26 Ad break 

01:01:53 Normal review 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some exciting news—The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time.

This week’s very special guest is a living legend and bona fide National Treasure: Sir Ian McKellen. He chats to Simon from the comfort of his very own East London pub The Grapes about his new film ‘The Christophers’. This Steven Soderbergh directed drama of art, family feuds and friendship is a late-career gem from McKellen, who plays cantankerous celebrity artist Julian Sklar in an unlikely and uneasy friendship with Michaela Coel’s Laurie, his new assistant. Sir Ian and Simon prop up the bar and talk grumpy old men, unfinished business… and what it’s like to be Gandalf.

Mark will review The Christophers next week, but for now we’ve got three more fresh film releases to dissect. Three fresh reviews this week too: first up, the new Hugh Jackman-starring family adventure that’s like “Babe meets Knives Out”: ‘The Sheep Detectives’. A star-studded affair with roles played by Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, and Molly Gordon with sheep voiced from the likes of Chris O’Dowd, Patrick Stewart and Bryan Cranston, the ‘cozy-crime’ tale sees the sheep turn sleuths. Plus, a full review of Legends, the new Netflix series form last week’s Take guest Steve Coogan, where ordinary customs workers go undercover to fight Britain’s heroin crisis. And finally a look at the fourth time made, second era’d Mortal Kombat II.

And as always we’ve got top correspondence from you lovely listeners, extended and unadulterated wittering from Mark and Simon—and Laughter Lift jokes guaranteed to induce the most exasperated groans. It’s what The Redactor lives for.

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code [Take] at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/Take ⛵

Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected]

Timecodes:

00:00:00 audio start

00:09:59 The Sheep Detectives

00:19:18 Box office 10

00:30:08 Sir Ian McKellen interview

00:46:11 Legends review

00:54:56 Laughter Lift

01:00:27 Mortal Kombat review

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some exciting news—The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time.

On this week’s Take, Mark and Simon return with more of the week’s freshest film reviews – and the Redactor is back from his holibobs (boo hiss).

First on the review slate we’ll revisit the world of fashion, ambition, and withering put-downs in The Devil Wears Prada 2, the much-anticipated sequel to the beloved original. Has the magic survived the runway return, or should some classics be left untouched? Then it’s Surviving Earth, a tender new family drama centred on a refugee harmonica player trying to hold his fractured family together. And finally, Hokum, a chilling Irish-set horror about a haunted hotel and a family secret, starring Adam Scott.

Plus, Steve Coogan stops by to talk about his new Netflix series Legends, based on the true story of ordinary customs workers going deep undercover to tackle Britain’s heroin crisis in the 90s. One of Britain’s most renowned character actors, Coogan chats to Mark and Simon about playing real people, life beyond Partridge, and how he gets deep into his roles. For the football fans, there’s some Saipan chat too.

And as ever, there’s correspondence from the faithful, a few unexpected cinematic tangents, and the familiar blend of conviction, camaraderie, and gentle sparring that keeps the Take motoring along. Oh, and the Laughter Lift—as if we hadn’t all suffered enough.

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

Please take our survey and help shape the future of our show: https://www.kermodeandmayo.com/survey

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!

Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected]

Timecodes:

00:11:50 The Devil Wears Prada 2 review

00:22:43 Box Office Top 10

00:26:20 Lee Cronin's The Mummy review

00:38:03 Steve Coogan interview

00:51:56 Hokum review

01:07:04 Surviving Earth

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some exciting news—The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo

Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time.

On this week’s Take, Mark and Simon return with another trio of fresh reviews spanning the big and small screen.

First up, they dive into the BBC’s Half Man, a hard-hitting new series from Baby Reindeer creator and star Richard Gadd, who is also our very special guest on the show. It’s already prompting plenty of discussion—but does it live up to the hype, or crumble under the weight of expectation? Then it’s The Rose of Nevada, Mark Jenkin’s new seafaring feature that could see him launch into the mainstream. And finally, Michael—the Michael Jackson biopic that’s already divided the critics. Find out what Mark makes of it.

And as ever, there’s correspondence from the faithful, a handful of cinematic detours, and the usual mix of passion, persuasion, and playful disagreement that keeps the Take ticking along nicely. Oh, and the Laughter Lift.

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

Please take our survey and help shape the future of our show: https://www.kermodeandmayo.com/survey

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!

Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

To advertise on this show contact: [email protected]

Timecodes:

00:13:34 Rose of Nevada review

00:23:19 Box Office Top Ten

00:40:20 Richard Gadd interview

00:55:13 Half Man review

01:02:13 Laughter Lift

01:11:16 Michael review

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices