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 the stage show. The reception, however, has been much more muted, both in terms of box office and critical reception. Can the film withstand these gale force winds and still amble down the yellow brick road to Oscar nominations?

On this episode of The Long Take Review, we debate this very question, and share our varied reactions to the conclusion of the untold tale of the witches of Oz. Which one of us has an angry meltdown about The Wizard of Oz during the episode? Which one of us bends over backwards to defend aspects of the film? Which one of us still doesn’t like musicals? Regular listeners can probably guess, but should join us just the same. Even if you didn’t care for the film, our conversation will change you for good.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 25:10 minute mark. If you don’t want to become disillusioned with the wizard, you may listen safely until then.

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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 even do a nominations reaction episode last year, and yet here we are now with one. That in of itself says a lot.

To what extent, though, have the Globes as a voting body changed since they’ve risen from the ashes? Some critics lamented the apparent legitimacy of the nominations, favoring more prestige films, international films, and indie films than in the past. We still maintain, however, that there are few places where the Globes kept on Globes-ing, with picks that seem to prioritize star power over artistic merit. Listen in to hear us debate this, along with what personally delighted or confused us on nomination morning.

This is a SPOILER FREE episode! We discuss the premise of specific movies but do not go into details about the plot.

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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? What is Bugonia trying to say about rhetoric and power? What does the word bugonia mean in Greek? Listen to get answers to these questions and more.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 16:57 minute mark. If you don’t want to confirm or deny your conspiracy theory, you may listen safely until then.

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Guillermo del Toro has waited his whole life to adapt Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. In many interviews to promote the 2 1/2 hour film, now on Netflix, the writer and director has said that he read Shelley’s novel at 11 years old and has been thinking about it ever since. It remains to be seen, however, if critics and audiences think the Gothic tale starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi was worth the wait, as the tide of public reception continually ebbs and flows throughout fall film festival season.

Could the current surge in the film’s popularity, both on Netflix and at regional film festivals, foreshadow Oscar nominations? As we discussed in our Oscar Fairy Flashback episode for the 90th Academy Awards, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is one of the weirdest Best Picture winners, as its protagonist falls in love with a fish man trapped in a government lab. Could telling the story of Western Literature’s most iconic misunderstood monster repeat that success? On this episode of The Long Take Review, we tackle this question and many more.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 26:58 minute mark. If you don’t want to flip that switch with no turning back, you can listen safely until then.

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Welcome to a new subseries on The Long Take Review feed: LTR Quick Takes!

In this inaugural episode, Co-host Greg flies solo to offer some SPOILER-FREE thoughts on the films he saw during the IFF Boston Fall Focus series. Join Greg for his Short Take, Recommendation Algorithm, and Oscars Watch on three highly anticipated films from this festival. First, Greg treads carefully reacting to Rian Johnson’s Wake up Dead Man, the third installment of the Knives Out franchise, featuring Daniel Craig as gentleman detective Benoit Blanc. Next, Greg stands up to share his thoughts on Is This Thing On?, the new comedy drama from perennially Oscar-hungry Bradley Cooper, starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern. Finally, Greg closes out the episode by bearing witness to The Testament of Ann Lee, a new historical drama from Mona Fastvold and starring Amanda Seyfried.

Is a solo pod a good idea? Does Greg have a meltdown and start crying half way through? Only one way to find out...

Wake Up Dead Man: 9:58

Is This Thing On?: 21:36

The Testament of Ann Lee: 35:42

Oscar nerds most remember Kathryn Bigelow as the winner of an infamous Best Picture showdown between her film, The Hurt Locker, and her ex-husband James Cameron’s film, Avatar in 2010. And while a rematch could theoretically emerge between Bigelow and Cameron this year, Bigelow’s newest film, A House of Dynamite, has gotten much more notoriety for the political implications of her nuclear attack thriller, often from real-life politicians and government officials. Sen. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts called the film a “wake-up call” for U.S. officials. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has criticized Bigelow for inaccuracies. Bigelow herself responded simply and directly: “I just state the truth.”

The provocation of valuable debate aside, how does A House of Dynamite hold up as a movie? We at The Long Take Review had our own healthy debate about this question, discussing to what extent the unconventional structure of the film worked, what the film might be trying to say about nuclear proliferation, and which members of the deep bench ensemble stood out or were woefully underused. Can you guess which one of us was the most disappointed and which one of us ardently defended the film and its aims?

A House of Dynamite is now available to stream on Netflix.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 13:40 minute mark. (That may be a record!) If you don’t want the missile codes, you can listen safely until then.

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Director Luca Guadagnino has had some success with the Academy, getting a Best Picture nomination for Call Me By Your Name (2017), but he has yet to have his big Oscar moment. That’s why many pundits predicted that his next film starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri, a seemingly more mainstream thriller about a college campus sexual assault case, could go all the way and mark his coronation by the Academy. Then people actually saw After the Hunt at the Venice Film Festival, and the response was polarizing to say the least. So what did we make of it at The Long Take Review? Hear our somewhat (but not completely) varied reactions as we try to unpack what is potentially the year’s most politically provocative yet narratively confusing film.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 19:36 minute mark. If you don’t want to go up for tenure, you can listen safely until then.

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We’re in the end game of fall film festival season now! AFI, the last big festival of the year, is just wrapping up and, meanwhile, smaller regional film festivals get to show many of the films we’ve just been hearing about for months. P.T., Antonio, and I were lucky enough to attend the Korean Spotlight screening of Park Chan-wook’s dark satirical comedy, No Other Choice, at the Newport Beach Film Festival this week. We liked the film so much we couldn’t wait until its wide release in December to talk about it. In this episode of The Long Take Review, we unpack the anti-capitalist social commentary, try to decode the innovative camerawork, and generally share what we thought was clever and funny about the film. Can Park score a nomination in the Best International Feature category at the Oscars this year? Can it even push past that into other categories? Stick around until the end to hear our thoughts.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 31:06 minute mark. If you don’t want to apply for this position, you can listen safely until then.

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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.

Image Credit: IndieWire

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

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