The Long Take Review

It’s been a minute, but we are so happy to be back with our Oscar Fairy Flashback project, in which we reexamine a slate of Oscar nominees and winners to “correct” them, as if we had the power of an all-powerful Oscar fairy. This time, we’re looking at the 89th Academy Awards — the infamous Moonlight vs. La La Land year, in which a card mix-up wreaked havoc when La La Land was announced as the winner of Best Picture when Moonlight had in fact won the award. Which film should have won Best Picture? Which song from La La Land should have won original song? How much did we agree overall? Have we even seen the same movies from this year? Tune in to find out.

If you’ve never listened to an Oscar Fairy Flashback episode before, you should know that to spice up the discussion, P.T. designed a point spending system. Each co-host will receive 10 points for this round, and carry over any leftover points from the previous Oscar Fairy Flashback if we participated. To swap out a nominee in a below-the-line category (the technical and production crew categories as well as speciality film categories like International, Animated, Documentary), we have to spend 1 point; swapping out a nominee in an above-the-line category (screenplay, acting, or directing) requires 2 points; and swapping out a best picture nominee is 3 points. To change the winner within a given category costs double points: so 2 points to change the winner below-the-line, 4 points for above, and 6 points for best picture. How would you spend your points to change this year?

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The Russo brothers became household names for many Marvel fans after directing four of the biggest films in the MCU: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). It’s no wonder, then, that Netflix was willing to give them a $320 million budget to create a science fiction action-adventure starring pop franchise superstars Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown and featuring a slew of high profile supporting actors. With unilaterally negative reviews from critics and a decent but far from record-breaking streaming numbers, is Electric State proof that the Russo brothers no longer have a golden touch?

On this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg and I debate this very question, as we unpack why this film was not a hit. What worked and didn’t work for us? What other films does this one remind us of? And what do we think this film is trying to say about robots, our relationship with technology, or shaggy haircuts? It’s all here in the shortest episode we’ve ever recorded.

We go into SPOILER MODE around the 16:22 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to sneak into the Exclusion Zone with us, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: New York Times

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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It’s never a good sign when the McDonalds toys for your movie come out long before the movie actually does, and it’s an even worse sign that not all of the characters represented in those toys made it into the final cut of the film. After delays and reshoots, the latest cinematic entry in the MCU, Captain America: Brave New World, released in theaters this past Valentine’s Day to mixed to poor reviews and a decent box office, holding as the second highest grossing film in 2025, but 28th out of all 35 films to date.

On this episode of The Long Take Review, we have the added perspective of discussing what this film means in the context of the latest Avengers: Doomsday casting announcement, giving big clues about who will be involved in — and which films’ storylines will matter in — the upcoming phase of Marvel storytelling. Greg and I share what actually worked about us with this film, acknowledge its flaws, and speculate how it may or may not fit into the future of the MCU.

We go into SPOILER MODE around the 16:34 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to hulk out with us, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: IndieWire

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This time of year can be a little slow for awards junkies like us, but, every once in a while, a smaller film that has no chance at the Oscars surprises us. Clocking in at a crisp 1 hour 33 minutes, Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, a spy thriller mystery called Black Bag, is a smart and stylish genre exercise that was as fun to talk about as it was to watch. Acting titans Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender star as a couple whose marriage is tested by the agency for which they both work. We give shoutouts to our favorite cast members, share the suspicions we had at different points in the film, and try to pinpoint what makes the screenplay so clever.

As an added bonus, we begin the episode with our reaction to the latest Avengers: Doomsday casting announcement.

We go into SPOILER MODE around the 28 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to go on this top secret mission with us, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: Vulture

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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Parasite (2019) is arguably one of the best Best Picture winners of the last decade, and it certainly put its director, Bong Joon Ho, on the global cinema map in a way he had not been before. It’s no surprise, then, that a big studio like Warner Bros. would essentially offer him a blank check to make his next film, Mickey 17. The film’s release has been far from a success, however. Warner Bros. delayed the film’s release nearly a year, and then changed the 2025 release date three more times. With a $118 million production budget and only having made $92.2 million worldwide since its opening on March 7th, Warner Bros. is projected to lose between $75 and $80 million during the film’s theatrical run. Reviews from critics have been mixed, but is this financial flop the film’s fault?

On this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, our special guest Hasib (yayyy!), and I come to this film’s defense, leveling fair criticisms where we see fit but primarily celebrating what we loved. How would we compare Mickey 17 to the rest of Bong Joon Ho’s filmography? Did we think the political satire was too over-the-top, as others have? Do we think Robert Pattison did his own stunts? Can P.T. and Greg accurately imitate his voice? How do all the storylines and themes come together? Listen to find out!

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 21:00 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to sign the spoilerable agreement, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: Deadline

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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For many critics and fans (including us), one of the happiest upsets at this year’s Oscars was Flow winning Best Animated Feature, beating out acclaimed titans from much bigger animation studios like The Wild Robot and Inside Out 2. The film’s tiny team from Latvia, led by Director Gints Zilbalodis, went home national heroes, as their statuette now sits in the Latvian National Museum of Art, with people waiting in line for hours just to see it. It’s much easier for viewers at home to see the film itself, as it is now available to stream on Max.

In this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg, P.T., and I share what we think is so special about this one-of-a-kind film. We try to pinpoint what works about its storytelling style, debate a few different interpretations of key events, offer up our ideas about how the story could function as an allegory, and perform our fair share of animal imitations along the way. Please note that we recorded this episode BEFORE the Oscars, not realizing we wouldn’t be able to publish it until this week. Jen edited out as much Oscars Watch talk as she could so you just get our pure and timeless breakdown of the film, but if there are seemingly outdated references to life before this little kitty won big, please ignore them.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 18:53 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to go with our spoiler-flooded flow, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: Director Gints Zilbalodis’ Instagram Account, @gzilbalodis

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What a night, especially for Sean Baker, the director of Best Picture winner, Anora! The film won five of the six of its Oscar nominations, surprising even those who had predicted it to win Best Picture. What does the indisputable success of a small indie film made for $6 million dollars (for reference, Wicked cost $150 million) with a 40-person crew mean for the future of movies? On this episode of The Long Take Review, we try to answer this question as well as react to the winners and losers more generally. Which wins made us happiest? Which were disappointing? Who had the best or worst speech? How many categories did we correctly predict, and in retrospect how should we have strategized differently? Join us to learn the answer to these questions, as well as P.T.’s bond theme preferences, the movie Greg’s pouring one out for, and Jen’s predictions for Wicked: For Good next year.

Thank you to all our listeners, family, and friends who have followed along with us this awards season! Our coverage all the more joyful because you were here with us.

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

Image Credit: LA Times

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Easily, the biggest surprise of Oscar nomination morning was the Brazilian docudrama, I’m Still Here, making it into the Best Picture 10 in addition to being nominated for International Feature. We recently got a chance to catch up with Walter Salles’ film about a family targeted by a military dictatorship in 1971 and knew that we absolutely needed to squeeze a review in before the Oscars this Sunday. We try to explain why Best Actress nominee Fernanda Torres is so acclaimed, debate the film’s thesis, and have an extended conversation about a dog named Pimpão.

Note that we recorded this episode before we recorded our recently released Final Oscar Predictions episode and, therefore, before we knew who had won the SAG Awards. But if you want to hear our Oscar thoughts just on I’m Still Here, listen through to the end of this episode.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 17:35 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to still be here for spoilers, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: NPR

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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The Oscars are finally here! If you haven’t had time to watch all the films, but find yourself looking to predict some winners, we at The Long Take Review have got you covered. In an epic, record-breaking episode, we discuss who will win and who should win in every. single. category. So this is your one stop shop for help with your Oscar pool. We’ve tiered the episode so you can opt in depending on your level of mania: first, all four of us talk the major “above the line” categories, then three of us stick around to talk animation, docs, and Greg’s wisdom on the shorts, and, finally, P.T. and I, left unchecked, go off the rails with the technical, “below the line” categories. Below you’ll find time stamps to guide your listening.

Part One (0:00:00 - 1:32:46) Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Actor, Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay, International Feature, Director, Best Picture

Part Two (1:32:47 - 2:15:53) Original Score, Original Song, Documentary Feature, Animated Feature, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Documentary Short Film

Part Three (2:15:54 - 3:35:40) Makeup and Hairstyling, Costume Design, Production Design, Visual Effects, Sound, Film Editing, Cinematography, a discussion of broader narratives, and some wild unlikely to happen predictions.

The 97th Academy Awards will air on Sunday, March 2, 2025, starting at 4:00PM PT or 7:00PM ET. You can watch live on ABC or ABC.com or stream live on Hulu.

And if you need a ballot to keep track of your predictions (or hope-dictions), download our template below!

Image Credit: Deadline

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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Early speculation about films for 2024 frequently highlighted an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-prize-winning novel, The Nickel Boys, purely based on the source material’s notoriety. Few film critics, however, could have known then that Ramell Ross’ adaptation, Nickel Boys, would be so bold in its aesthetic choices. Ross reconfigures conventional film continuity to create what he calls a “sentient POV,” in which the camerawork reflects a sensory experience, as if the camera were a person. This radical, experimental style, deeply rooted in ideological resistance, has dazzled some critics while putting off others. It also seems to have had an impact on the Academy, which nominated the film in two categories.

In this episode, P.T., Antonio, and I share our viewing experiences and try to unpack Ross’ choices. To what extent are they a subversion of the white colonial gaze that cannot be disentangled from classical Hollywood cinema? How did the cinematography fit the themes of the story? How did it help deliver key plot points? And why might book readers like Greg be a little cooler on the film? Come for the answers and stay for an inspirational story from Antonio’s legal writing class.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 29:17 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to serve your sentence with this film, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: New York Times

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.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com