The Long Take Review

The Guardians of the Galaxy’s final ride with writer, director, and now co-CEO of DC James Gunn hit theaters this weekend, and to break it all down, P.T. and I recruit host of The Colbycast and MCU expert, Colby Mead. We discuss the impact the ongoing writer’s strike might have on future Marvel productions, what GotG Vol. 3 could mean for the future of Marvel and DC, and how we feel about all the feelings this new film made us feel.

Movie News Check-In: 3:01

The Short Take (Spoiler Free): 17:20

The Recommendation Algorithm (Spoiler Free): 28:53

Spoiler Mode: 40:52

Follow TheColbycast @thecolbycast on Instagram and Twitter, and listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: The New York Times

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

We are movie lovers and Oscar prognosticators, but we are also dedicated Star Wars fans. In honor of Star Wars Day (May 4th) 2023, P.T., Greg, and I share our memories of Return of the Jedi as well as our experiences seeing the 1983 film on the big screen during its recent 40th anniversary re-release. We then transition to a discussion of the Star Wars franchise as a whole, especially from a film perspective. Listen for our takes on The Mandalorian Season 3, the recently announced Dave Filoni “event film,” storytelling continuity, and the joy that a Galaxy Far, Far, Away brings.

SPOILER WARNING: While we don’t openly discuss any major spoilers, the second half of this conversation operates under the assumption that listeners have seen all Star Wars films and series to date, especially The Mandalorian.

Image Credit: StarWars.com

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Is this a sequel, Part Two, or, dare I say, a reboot of our Most Anticipated Movies of 2023 episode? CinemaCon, an industry event that previews upcoming films for the year, revealed new information about many films P.T. and I discussed last week, as well as ones that didn’t make our lists. Which ones are we even more excited for? Which ones have we cooled on? Which ones suddenly have our attention? P.T. and I react to new trailers and reports of exclusive footage.

Image Credit: CNN

Trailers for films we discuss:

The Flash

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

The Equalizer 3

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games prequel)

A Haunting in Venice

Next Goal Wins

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Is it too early to predict next year’s Oscars? Probably. Nonetheless, P.T. and I speculate about what upcoming films might become Oscar contenders later in the year. We then draft our top five most anticipated films of 2023. The results may surprise you; they certainly surprised us in a few instances!

Movie News Check-In 1:49

Potential Oscar Contenders 13:37

Movie Draft: Top 5 Most Anticipated 2023 1:08:08

Image Credit: Deadline

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are together again, this time to tell the story of how Nike signed Michael Jordan and revolutionized sports marketing and fashion with his own shoe line. Greg and I share our thoughts about some big Star Wars film news before we share our overall reactions to “Air,” highlight some of our favorite performances, and try to figure out if this film has enough of a point of view to swish into the Oscars conversation.

Movie News Check 1:47

The Spoiler-Free Short Take 14:40

The Recommendation Algorithm (also spoiler-free) 22:07

Spoiler Mode Breakdown 31:00

Oscars Watch 1:11:05

Notes: Here’s a link to the 2015 New York Times article Jen mentioned: “A Reformed ‘Sneaker Pimp’ Takes on the NCAA”

Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

The latest installment of the franchise based on everyone’s favorite dog lover, John Wick, is out now in theaters. In this episode, P.T. and I catch up on some movie news before we give our spoiler-free reactions to and recommendations for John Wick: Chapter 4. We finish with a more detailed, spoiler-filled breakdown of the film’s themes and highlights, as well as a discussion of its potential Oscar prospects.

Movie News Check 1:54

Spoiler-Free Reactions and Recommendations 12:32

Spoiler Mode Breakdown 34:47

Oscars Watch 1:30:02

Note: P.T. references a video game he thought of when seeing this film, but he meant to say SmashTV instead of Smash Brothers.

Image Credit: LA Times

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

The Oscars aired this past Sunday; it went as expected in some categories, with a few surprises in others. P.T. McNiff and Antonio Elefano join me to share their reactions to the winners, how their predictions panned out, and what the results might mean for the Oscars in the future.

Image Credit: CBS

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

The final countdown to Oscars Sunday has begun. To discuss all the “below the line” or crafts categories, I invited my colleague, friend, and fellow film history nerd, P.T. McNiff. He really brought his A-game with research, stats, and Oscars history. If you’ve ever wanted to know who songwriter Diane Warren is, he has a comprehensive and definitive answer for you! I also appreciated his supportive advice as I had minor meltdowns with a few categories.

Image Credit: New York Times

Forthcoming is another post with a textual representation of our takes on the craft categories. Depending on your preference, you can either listen to this episode or read through our takes in the next post.

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

We’re back with another Oscars breakdown. This time, I’m joined by my former grad school officemate, longtime friend, fellow movie nerd, and author ofEye On Canon, Greg Cass. He miraculously watches every single Oscar-nominated film (in all categories!) every year, so I really needed his help to parse these categories.

Image Credit: CNN

I will publish a couple posts to have a shorter text only version of our predictions shortly. You can opt for one or the other depending on how you’d like to consume our takes.

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Enjoy The Long Take’s first…audio edition? Proto-podcast?

Fellow Oscars enthusiast and writing professor Antonio Elefano joins me to debate who will win Oscars in the Academy’s eight biggest categories, as well as share who we think should win. (And, in some cases, who we think should have been nominated.)

Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

I plan to post our written thoughts as well, complete with a Short Take and Long Take for each category we discuss here. Some but not all points overlap between this recording and the text you’ll see soon. If you want something more structured and formal, check out our writing in subsequent posts. For a looser, more conversational version of our takes, pop this recording on while you commute or wash dishes. (That’s prime listening time for me!)

Intro and outro music is “Divers,” by Hara Noda, licensed through Epidemic Sound.