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 screenplays of all time, it is a stone-cold classic and is consistently ranked as one of the best films ever made, including being in the top three of both versions of the American Film Institute’s “100 Years…100 Movies” list of the best American movies.

We couldn’t have been happier when our friend, fellow podcaster, and Associate Director of Marketing, CCOM at Butler University, Ross Hollebon suggested that we discuss Casablanca with him on our next LTR Guest List episode. We share our favorite performances and, of course, iconic quotes, as well as unpack the themes and politics behind this timeless story.

SPOILER WARNING: Unlike our regular reviews, LTR Guest List episodes will be in Spoiler Mode from the beginning so that our guests can feel as unencumbered as possible. So if you have not yet seen Casablanca and do not want it spoiled, return to us after you’ve seen it.

Casablanca is currently available to stream on HBO Max.

The LTR Guest List is a special series in which we ask our friends to pick a movie – any movie – to discuss with us on air. If you’re a friend of the show and you have a movie you’d like to pitch, you can email us at [email protected].

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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 listen safely until then.

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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 that?

On this episode of The Long Take Review, we each share the extent to which we felt One Battle After Another lived up to the extreme hype, unpack why the film feels both timely and timeless, give shoutouts to the MVPs of the cast (spoiler: there are several), dissect characters’ motivations, and speculate whether or not the film has what it takes to go all the way at the Oscars. It’s a wild ride; hop in.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 21:34 minute mark. If you can’t remember the password for spoilers, you can listen safely until then.

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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 get ready for some serious book club time!

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 21:43 minute mark. If you are not ready to sing spoilers with us, you can listen safely until then.

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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 bargain bin and take a chance on what could be a sleeper hit? P.T. and I offer our best advice, assess Antonio and Greg’s rosters, and provide detailed instructions about how to join in the fun.

When you register for Vulture’s Movie Fantasy League, type ltrpod under “League Name (optional).”

(See screen shot below.)

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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 hype draft weathered the storm? And what will the Oscar race look like going forward? Which film’s buzz prompted P.T. to buy tickets to not one but two screenings? Listen and learn.

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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 athletic” and “cutest couple.” For some, we needed to reopen previous discussions, and, for others, we shined a spotlight on some underrated finds.

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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 to say something vs. what it’s actually saying to us, as well as why the film is structured in the way it is and how scary it actually is.

Please note that we recorded this episode more than a week before the tragic events at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis. There is indeed a broader discussion of school shootings in the episode, but we do not reference this recent school shooting because at the time of recording it had not yet occurred. If our conversation helps you process this devastating news in some way, please reach out to us or share your thoughts in the comments.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 21:28 minute mark. If you are not ready to investigate, you can listen safely until then.

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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 in sales. Currently, it ranks ninth in the worldwide box office for this year. That’s just before the other two MCU movies this year, Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, both of which have been deemed financial disappointments.

But that doesn’t mean we at The Long Take Review were personally disappointed in the slickly styled summer blockbuster! In this episode, we share a range of reactions to the film, and then proceed to debate what works and what doesn’t work. Did we favor Reed Richards/Pedro Pascal, Sue Storm/Vanessa Kirby, Johnny Storm/Joseph Quinn, or Ben Grimm/Ebon Moss-Bacharach? How did we feel about the ethical dilemmas the film proposes? And what do we think this film indicates about the future of the MCU? We talk everything from stingers to the Silver Surfer!

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 28:25 minute mark. If you are not ready to launch into outer spoiler space, you can listen safely until then. (We WILL protect you.)

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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 own list? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below or by emailing us at [email protected].

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