The Long Take Review

While Internet fires continue to rage after Barbie visionaries Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie did not get nominated for Best Director and Best Actress respectively, Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut, American Fiction, quietly over-performed with five Oscar nominations. Supporting Actor was a little unexpected, and Score was a total surprise, indicating broader strength and support for the film.

The relatively small dramedy, adapted from Percival Everett’s novel, Erasure, follows a professor and fiction writer named Thelonious “Monk” Ellison as he struggles to write a best seller because, according to his editor, his books aren’t “Black” enough. While attending a conference in his hometown of Boston (woot woot!), Monk realizes that he must take on more of a role in the family he has, up until then, kept at arm’s length. The critically acclaimed film won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it premiered, and it is currently playing in theaters everywhere. It will be available to buy at home on February 6. With Amazon MGM Studios as its distributor the film will presumably stream on Amazon Prime Video at a later date. 

During this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg and I discuss how the film engages with issues of race, identity, representation, inclusivity, authenticity, commercialism, classism, genre, and literary taste. We also realize that American Fiction has more in common with Barbie than one might think, as we reference attitudes towards Greta Gerwig’s elevated box office juggernaut on several occasions. Tune in to find out why.

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

Movie News Update Greg shares his takes on the Oscars and we tackle the post-nominations Barbie discourse. 4:37

The Short Take We each share our general impressions of American Fiction. A brief Jeffrey Wright lovefest ensues. 18:35

The Recommendation Algorithm Why is this an awards movie that cinephiles can recommend to more of their friends? 28:54

SPOILER MODE What is this film actually trying to say about racial stereotypes? About American fiction? And what was that ending all about? 35:28

The Rhetorical Situation What does the literary component of this story add to the discussion of race and cultural representation? How do the issues debated in the film apply to the teaching of academic writing? This one has a lot for the writing teachers out there! 1:17:12

Oscars Watch American Fiction has been nominated for five Academy Awards. Can it win any of them? 1:31:39

Image Credit: Vox

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Oscar nominations are finally here! On Tuesday January 23rd, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — the Oscars — announced their nominations in all 23 categories during a live broadcast on ABC. A full house of bleary-eyed Angelenos cheered when hosts Jack Quaid and Zazie Beetz named welcome surprises like America Ferrera. Current frontrunner Oppenheimer was the big winner of the day with 13 nominations. And two notable snubs for Barbie have sparked considerable discourse and, in some cases, outrage.  

In this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Antonio, and I share our reactions to this year’s nominations: surprises that made us happy, categories that made us sad, and favorites we were relieved to see. Our conversation is a proprietary blend of distanced punditry and personal takes. We end with why the Oscars matter to us, even when they let us down. 

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

Show Note: At one point Jen ascribed a random, exaggerated number to legendary composer John Williams’ Oscar nominations. She then edited in audio of the correct number, but it sounds very mismatched and weird. (She’s an amateur podcast editor at best!) Please do not be alarmed by this.

Image Credit: Reuters

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Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday morning, and in anticipation of that fast-approaching mile marker in awards season, most Oscars podcasts have been releasing episodes with their full set of predictions. We went in the opposite direction, and awarded our personal favorites for the year, before we become unduly influenced by the Academy’s lineup.

In this episode of The Long Take Review, we host our own awards ceremony, The Long Take Review Awards…or LTRs…or “Letters,” as we’re hoping to call them. We cover the four acting categories, director, and picture, with a quick dip into the screenplay categories at the very end. Tune in to hear our consensus nominees, some shout-outs to less recognized but very much deserving performances or films, and our very civil and collaborative debate as we decide on a winner live during the show.

In future posts on The Long Take Substack, Jen will share each of our full lists of nominees, as well as our picks in other categories we didn’t have time to discuss.

Categories in Order Discussed

Supporting Actor 5:41

Supporting Actress 17:37

Actor 32:01

Actress 50:12

Director 1:09:53

Picture 1:24:12

Show Note: To listen to the story about Lily Gladstone’s gift from Martin Scorsese, go to 53:12 in this episode of Vanity Fair’s Little Gold Men. Jen summarized the story poorly on our episode — it was a hand-painted model of a Sicilian horse cart that appeared in the background of Mean Streets (1973). The whole episode of Little Gold Men (live!) is worth a listen, but that story as told by Lily Gladstone is especially beautiful.

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

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The Golden Globes have long had the reputation of being Hollywood’s biggest party, but the recent exposure of corruption and scandal plaguing their voting body, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, shut that party down. Celebrities boycotted them. NBC dropped them. It looked as if the Golden Globes would be no more. Last June, however, the HFPA disbanded, Dick Clark Productions bought the show, and CBS agreed to broadcast the ceremony. Rising from the ashes, the 81st Golden Globe Awards aired on CBS and Paramount+ this past Sunday.

Did the Globes successfully reinvent themselves, though? To what extent did this year’s ceremony and winners reflect a different voting body? Was it new and improved? Was it the loose, fun time of days yore? In this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T. and I answer these questions, share our reactions to the show, and examine the winners as potential bellwethers for the Oscars. Which speeches gave the biggest awards season boosts? Which wins surprised us and/or warmed our hearts the most? And in what context does Jen use the phrase “Schrodinger’s Oscar?”

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

Image Credit: Vanity Fair

Lily Gladstone, above, won Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

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While everyone else bakes their gingerbread, spins their dreidels, and cozies up next to their fires, we’re debating which films and artists have gained and — in some cases — lost momentum in the Oscar race. Critics’ groups have begun handing out awards, and, most notably, the newly reconstituted Golden Globe Awards have announced their nominations. A lot is still in flux, but some clear frontrunners have emerged. Will Barbie and Oppenheimer continue to control the 2023 movie narrative? Which new films being released over the holidays could shake up the status quo?

If you’re wondering which awards season contenders you need to catch up on over the holiday break, we’ve got you covered as we analyze 8 of the biggest categories: the four acting categories, two screenplay categories, director, and picture. We agree, disagree, and throw around some wild possibilities. And the entire episode is SPOILER FREE!

We’d also like to wish all of our listeners Happy Holidays. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the genesis of The Long Take Review this year, and love sharing conversations with all of you. If you’d like us to gift us something this season, share an episode with a friend who loves movies!

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

Supporting Actor 3:47

Supporting Actress 12:22

Original Screenplay 19:29

Adapted Screenplay 31:14

Actor 43:17

Actress 57:41

Director 1:11:46

Best Picture 1:25:26

Image Credit: IndieWire, NPR, Hollywood Reporter, Vogue, NYT

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Legendary director Hayao Miyzaki was set to retire after The Wind Rises in 2013. He later decided that he had at least one more film in him: The Boy and the Heron, which is playing in theaters now. At a later date, it will presumably stream on Max, where most other Studio Ghibli films reside.

Is this Miyazaki’s last film, for real this time? There are already rumors from studio executives that he may already have an idea for yet another film. How might that uncertainty influence how we view The Boy and the Heron, which is one of Miyazaki’s most surreal and poignant works. It’s a staggeringly beautiful fusion of motifs that span his entire body of work. Moviegoers seem to agree, as the film opened in theaters with surprisingly strong box office numbers.

On this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, and I tease out some of the film’s subtext about war, grief, coming of age, succession, fantasy, and artistic creation. We also contemplate Miyzaki’s legacy and realize how little any of us know about birds.

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

Movie News Update Our takes on the recently announced Golden Globe nominations. 3:01

The Short Take We each share our prior relationship with Miyazaki’s prior films before our general impressions of his latest film. 30:30

The Recommendation Algorithm To what extent is this film made for Miyazaki fans vs. curious firs time viewers? 41:15

SPOILER MODE 52:16

The Rhetorical Situation What is this film saying about Miyazaki’s legacy? About his own thoughts and feelings as he concludes his career? How does our perception of the film change depending on whether or not we think this is his last one? 1:03:48

Oscars Watch Does this film have a chance to win Best Animated Feature? Can it reach beyond that category? 1:45:20

Image Credit: IndieWire

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We love going to the movies, but that doesn’t stop us from cozying up at home with Netflix too. In this episode of The Long Take Review, we discuss three films currently available on Netflix: Todd Haynes’ May December, David Fincher’s The Killer, and Nyad, the first narrative feature directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin.

To many critics’ surprise, May December has been warmly received by wider audiences and, less surprisingly, creating a stir on the Internet. Loosely based on the real-life story of Mary Kay Letourneau, Haynes’ funny yet chilling melodrama follows an actress (Natalie Portman) who has been cast to play a woman (Julianne Moore) who went to jail for having a sexual relationship with a seventh grader she later married (Charles Melton). In our review, we discuss what the film might be saying about acting, performance, and truth, as well as share which performance we liked best.

In contrast, David Fincher’s The Killer seems to have quietly come and gone. Starring Michael Fassbender as a professional assassin who tries to work and live by a disciplined mantra, Fincher’s contemplative and ironic thriller wraps high octane action sequences in a thought exercise as methodical and precise as its protagonist aspires to be. Through our discussion, we debate how how successful the titular killer really is, how elevated a genre film this might be, and how much we love Tilda Swinton (that last one was less of a debate).

For us, the most polarizing film among this trio was Nyad, the sports biopic about long distance swimmer Diana Nyad. Intercut with documentary footage and flashbacks to Nyad’s past, this film chronicles the athlete’s somewhat controversial attempts to swim uninterrupted and unaided from Cuba to the Florida Keys. The film stars Annette Benning as Diana Nyad and Jodie Foster as her best friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll. The three of us had very different takes on Annette Benning’s performance, and evaluated the film as both a biopic and an inspirational sports movie.

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

Movie News Check-In: Final SAG-AFTRA strike update. National Board of Review awards. Indie Spirit nominations. Godzilla and Wonka hype. 3:29

The Short Take: Our general impressions of May December, Nyad, and The Killer, in that order. (Spoiler-free.) 16:29

The Recommendation Algorithm: Which of these three films would we recommend, and to whom? (Spoiler-free.) 41:49

SPOILER MODE We do reference the other films, but our main discussions begin with May Decembr and then move on to Nyad and The Killer. 52:38

Oscars Watch: Which of these three films has the best chance at Oscar noms? Will Annette Benning ever win an Oscar? 1:54:40

Image Credit: Netflix and IndieWire

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Ridley Scott, the director who brought us game-changing blockbusters like Alien, Bladerunner, and Gladiator, takes on one of history’s most notorious figures in his new film, Napoleon. The 2-hour and 38-minute historical epic follows not only his military career but his relationship with his wife and empress, Josephine. The film stars Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix (Joker, The Master) as Napoleon and Academy Award nominee Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible — Fallout, The Crown) as Josephine. It’s playing in theaters now, but Sir Ridley himself has said that there will be a 4-hour director’s cut on AppleTV+ at a later date. 

On this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, and I discuss what worked and didn’t work about this film, what it’s trying to say about Napoleon, and how to place the film in the context of Scott’s staggering career.

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

Movie News Check-In: Gotham and NYFCC awards. Furiosa trailer 5:09

The Short Take: Our general impressions of Napoleon. (Spoiler-free.) 28:08

The Recommendation Algorithm: Who should see Napoleon? How history dad friendly is it? (Spoiler-free.) 40:37

SPOILER MODE What surprised us about the film? How does the film portray Napoleon and Josephine’s relationship? 51:43

The Rhetorical Situation: What is the thesis of this film? And what notes would we give it were it a student paper? 57:40

Oscars Watch: In which categories could Napoleon garner nominations? An extended conversation about visual effects. Will Ridley Scott ever get an Oscar? 1:30:00

Image Credit: Deadline

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A little more than a year after the release of Elvis, Baz Luhrmann’s bombastic and glitzy biopic, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla provides an alternative view by adapting Priscilla Presley’s memoir, Elvis and Me. In stark contrast to Elvis, Priscilla is a quiet, sobering look at the relationship between Elvis and Priscilla Presley, who was 14 when they met. Coppola’s film stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis, and is playing in theaters now. Since its distributor, A24, doesn’t have an exclusive contract with a streaming service, it’s unclear where the film will land for home viewing. (“Except Canopy!,” says Greg.)

On this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg and I discuss how we think Elvis fans will react to this film, what viewers actually want from their biopics, how Coppola’s film portrays Elvis, why the film divided the Presley family, and how different generations might approach fame and toxic relationships.

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

Movie News Check-In: Awards season is in full swing. The Scream franchise is in trouble. 5:07

The Short Take: Our general impressions of Priscilla. (Spoiler-free.) 18:19

The Recommendation Algorithm: Who should see Priscilla? Elvis fans? Sofia Coppola fans? (Spoiler-free.) 25:35

The Rhetorical Situation: How does the discourse surrounding Elvis’ legacy or Baz Luhrman’s film impact how we view Coppola’s Priscilla? How does Priscilla engage with or challenge the biopic genre? (Spoiler-free.) 38:17

SPOILER MODE How damaging is the portrayal of Elvis in this film? What is the film ultimately trying to say about the relationship between Elvis and Priscilla? 1:01:46

Oscars Watch: Does Priscilla have a chance of getting any Oscar nominations? If so, in which categories? Why has Sofia Coppola not received any nominations siince Lost in Translation? 1:30:27

Image Credit: NPR

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Whether you’re hosting or traveling for Thanksgiving, watching movies can be a great way to spend time with your loved ones. To help guide you through that tryptophan-assisted down time, P.T., Greg, and I put together a series of recommendations in four different categories: 1.) movies playing in theaters, 2.) family films to stream at home, 3.) films for grownups to stream at home, and 4.) movies just coming out in theaters that we’re excited to see.

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

Movie News Check-In (featuring a new voiceover by Greg!): Marvel casting news, pushback on the SAG-AFTRA strike deal, and the Golden Globes find a new broadcasting home 3:00

The Recommendation Algorithm: Thanksgiving Edition 13:16

In Theaters Recs What’s playing in theaters this week that we think you should see? 14:47

Family Streaming Recs What can you watch at home with the whole family, including kiddos? 29:18

Grownup Streaming Recs What should you watch at home if you’re with a group that can handle more mature content? 48:14

Coming Soon to Theaters Recs What movies are we most looking forward to seeing in theaters this week? 1:13:47

And if any of our picks pique your interest, you can listen to our reviews of some of them (ideally after you’ve seen them, to get a more in-depth analysis):

The Holdovers (in theaters)

The Marvels (in theaters)

Jen’s written review of The Marvels

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Netflix)

Jen’s written review of Across the Spider-Verse

Past Lives (to rent or buy on demand)

Theater Camp (Hulu)

Image Credit: Slate Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, IMDb

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