It’s hard to believe, but The Long Take Review podcast has made it to 100 episodes! To commemorate this milestone, P.T., Greg, Antonio, and I take a break from our Oscar season coverage to ask each other some probing questions, both about the films we have covered during the first 100 episodes and more generally about our filmgoing lives. What has been our most memorable theatrical experience? What unpopular film would we defend? What film have we covered that we most associate with the other co-hosts? And if we were casting the pod, who would be in the ensemble? Find out our answers to these and so much more. This was very fun to record and confirmed for us how joyful and meaningful it has been making this show every week.

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Is it too early to talk about next year’s Oscars when this year’s hasn’t even happened yet? The Sundance Film Festival says no. In fact, a handful of films that premiere there go on to compete in the awards race the following year. And unlike most other film festivals, Sundance offers online screenings for us civilians, which means we can actually review some films! P.T., Antonio, and I share our thoughts on the films that we saw, and then we break down reactions to the titles we weren’t able to see, notable acquisitions, and all the early Oscar buzz. Which film was so sad it made Jen angry? Which film’s weirdness delighted P.T. to no end? And which film tricked Antonio into thinking it would be a thriller? Listen to find out.

This entire episode is SPOILER FREE. Enjoy!

Image Credit: (clockwise from top left) Sundance, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline

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Find someone who looks at you the way everyone in A Complete Unknown looks at Timothee Chalamet playing Bob Dylan.

For James Mangold’s film, covering Dylan’s four-year journey from first arriving in New York City through “going electric” in 1965, one debate amongst critics centers on the representation of Bob Dylan’s genius: does the film fall into the stereotypical biopic trap of putting its subject on a pedestal, unabashedly touting his generational talent and nothing more? Or does Mangold offer a more nuanced, complicated story, subverting the tropes that he arguably codified in Walk The Line (2005), his film about country music star Johnny Cash?

In this episode of The Long Take Review, we start with this question, discussing how the film does and does not adhere to its genre conventions. The conversation, however, sprawls many other topics, including the infighting between Dylan and more traditional folk artists, the historical accuracy of events portrayed in the film, what the film might be saying about Dylan’s artistry and legacy, how many Oscars it could win, and more.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 21:04 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to go on tour with us, you can listen safely until then.

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Everyone over at The Long Take Review got up bright and early Thursday morning to watch the live announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations. We share our thoughts on the broadcast, as well as the nominees. How many did Jen correctly predict? How many has Greg already seen? What is P.T.’s mastermind theory about which films have a path to winning Best Picture? And why did we spend so much time talking about monkeys? Listen to find out!

Image Credit: New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, Mubi, and Slate

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Director Brady Corbet gave not one but two acceptance speeches at The Golden Globes, as he won for Best Director and his film, The Brutalist, won Best Motion Picture Drama. Star Adrien Brody also won Best Actor Motion Picture Drama. There were two predominant themes amongst those three speeches: that immigrant stories matter, and that film studios should take more chances on filmmakers’ artistic visions (especially when their ideas don’t seem as commercially viable). Those who have seen the two-part period drama know that these themes also manifest in the epic story of fictional architect, László Tóth.

In a year with no clear Best Picture frontrunner, however, it remains to be seen how much The Brutalist’s success will repeat at the Oscars. Antonio, Greg, P.T., and I do debate how well the film famously shot in VistaVision on an astoundingly small $10 million budget will fare on Hollywood’s biggest night. But before we do, we carefully unpack all of the film’s complicated themes and narrative choices.

Oscar Nom Wishes 3:25-25:24

Spoiler Free Takes: 25:25-44:04

SPOILER MODE: 44:05-1:45:52

Oscar Watch: 1:45:53 - the end

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Before we describe this episode of The Long Take Review, we would like to acknowledge and express our support for the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. Here are some ways to help:

The Entertainment Community Fund provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals, including those impacted by the wildfires.

This GoFundMe supports a colleague of ours displaced by the Eaton Canyon fire in Altadena.

The Red Cross works with local partners to provide shelter, food, emotional support and health services for victims.

According to another colleague who regularly fosters dogs, the Pasadena Humane Center and the Agoura Animal Care Center are overburdened with animals affected by the fires.

This LA Times article lists many more organizations that are providing aid.

In this episode of The Long Take Review, we host, for the second time, our own awards ceremony, The LTRs or “Letters.” While we don’t have any delusions about our influence in the awards race, we tried to think of performances, screenplays, filmmakers, and films that we want to spotlight before Oscar voting closes on January 17th. (Those who campaign during awards season call this an FYC or “For Your Consideration” event.) We begin with our individual lists of nominees, form a shared list of nominees through consensus picks (nominees that appeared on more than one of our lists) and non-consensus shout-outs (nominees that appeared on only one list but we decide should be nominated anyway). After we have a set of shared nominees, we engage in a spirited yet collaborative debate to decide on a winner and honorable mention, live during the show.

Get ready to take some notes and make some Letterboxd watchlists! In a later post on The Long Take Substack, Jen will share each of our full lists of nominees for reference.

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After years of scandal, attempts to change, and a host who bombed last year, it seems like the Golden Globes has finally found its footing. Comedian Nikki Glaser, best known for her roast of Tom Brady, has received ubiquitous praise for her appropriately pitched jokes. And after expanding and diversifying their voting body last year, critics seems to be much less judgmental about the Golden Globes Foundation’s nominations.

And yet, pundits were uncertain going into last night’s ceremony. Would a frontrunner finally emerge? Would the Globes fall back onto their celebrity-pandering ways? Will they serve as more of an Oscar bellwether than ever before? Recording minutes after the broadcast ended, Antonio, P.T., and I try our best to answer these questions as we wade through the often surprising winners and glaring misses.

Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

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Happy Holidays from the crew at The Long Take Review! In the spirit of the season, we spent this week’s episode celerating our holiday favorites. We each share two classics and (at least) one movie from any genre to watch over the holidays with your loved ones. Do television specials count as movies? Which actor played Scrooge the best? Which one of us will make the most hipster picks? Join us to find out.

And if you have films that you love to watch during this time of you, please share in the comments!

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We’re far enough away from “Glicked” weekend that we can declare a box office victor, and it wasn’t Gladiator II, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited follow-up to Best Picture-winning Gladiator (2000). Despite that, will the sword and sandals epic still get a thumbs up from the Academy? On this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, and I deliberate this question (and celebrate Denzel Washington) after unpacking our diverse reactions to the film. Who had the best time? Who knows about the previous pitches that never got green-lit? And who is the biggest (OG) Gladiator super fan? Lend us your ears to find out.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 22:50 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to enter the Colosseum for a second time, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: IndieWire

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year…and here at The Long Take Review, we mean awards season when we make that declaration. We took this entire episode to check in on the Oscar race in the wake of the first big slew of precursor awards and nominations. From New York to LA, regional critics groups have been chiming in with their picks in the hope that they can have some sway or create the right conditions for a film or actor’s campaign to gain momentum. Bigger groups like The American Film Institute (AFI) and the National Board of Review (NBR) put out their top ten lists, which have some but not 100% crossover with the Best Picture lineup at the Oscars. And, most recently, the Golden Globes announced their nominations the day we recorded, this past Monday December 9th. Who’s feeling good after all that, and whose campaigns might be ending? What surprised and delighted us? We talk about all that and more on this special movies news episode.

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