The Take

By The RoostTV & Film TV Reviews Film Reviews

The Take episodes

July 15, 2025 Why Superman 2025 Actually Works
Go to http://greenchef.com/50thetake use code 50THETAKE to get fifty percent off your first month, then twenty percent off for two months with free shipping.
James Gunn’s new take on Superman was up against the odds from the beginning – and initial reviews weren’t very kind to it. But now that it’s been released to the public, it’s become a smash hit! While the film has already sparked a lot of discourse, the reasons that it’s connected with audiences actually make a lot of sense. So, how does this take on Superman measure up? And why has it really been so controversial? Let’s take a closer look.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
14 min
June 21, 2025 Our Shifting Perception of Color, Color Blindness & The TikTok Couch, Explained
A recent viral TikTok of a woman who believed her grey couch was actually blue has people yet again thinking about how color plays a huge role in our lives, and how differently we can all see the same thing. Colorblindness and monochromatic-ness have long been used symbolically in film and TV as metaphors for larger ideas. And as we’ve all become more and more connected to visual mediums, many people are beginning to realize the impact it can have in their everyday real lives as well. So, what’s really going on with our perception of color and color vision deficiencies? And what does it all mean? Let’s take a closer look…
Check out the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/ThSaP6FCk2I

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 min
June 17, 2025 Why Rich People Are Labeled Geniuses (Even When They Fail) | Mountainhead, OceanGate Titan, & Beyond
Go to http://greenchef.com/50thetake use code 50THETAKE to get fifty percent off your first month, then twenty percent off for two months with free shipping.
Money has long equaled power – but does it also equal intelligence? Many people seem to think so, regardless of any evidence to the contrary… Both in movies and TV and in real life we’ve seen a number of recent examples of the problems big and small that can arise when immense wealth comes to dominate views of what it means to be smart, productive, and capable. Let's take a closer look at this trend via recent releases like Jesse Armstrong's Mountainhead, the two OceanGate Titan disaster documentaries & more...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
16 min
June 14, 2025 Why Looking for a Job Is Miserable Now (But So Is Having One...) | Explained
While work has never necessarily been fun, recently the “grind” has been truly grinding us down – and, terrifyingly, trapping us in. As the world of employment has become ever more dire, we’ve begun to see this total imbalance between work and a healthy, safe life play out on screen in a variety of ways – from the psychological in Severance, to the physical in Mickey 17 and Paradise, and beyond. So, what do these kinds of stories tell us about the dangers of the total fracturing of our lives for work – and can they give us a map to escape?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
13 min
June 12, 2025 How A Character That Wasn't Supposed To Exist Made The Show Work | The O.C.'s Summer Roberts
While Summer Roberts may have began The O.C. as a ditzy mean girl, she quickly became a beloved fan favorite (and even found the smart girl persona she had been forced to hide for so long!) In this video, we're unpacking how Summer went from a stereotypical side character to a multifaceted star!
The O.C.’s Summer first appeared on the show as a stereotypical mean rich girl ditz – she wasn’t even a part of the main cast but instead just intended to be a glorified extra, a friend of Marissa Cooper’s with minimal impact to be essentially forgotten after the pilot. But even with the minimal screentime she got in the beginning, she quickly became a fan favorite and an integral part of the show. And over time, as her character was given room to grow, she broke free from those 'mean girl' confines and ended up getting one of the best arcs on the show. Summer is the perfect showcase of what can happen when a smart girl doesn’t have that side of herself fostered by her environment, but is instead pushed in the total opposite direction. She’s also a very underrated example of how we don’t have to be trapped in the boxes we’re put in as kids forever – and how learning to embrace our full selves can help us build a life even better than we could have ever dreamed of. So let’s take a closer look at how Summer evolved from a miserable mean girl into a successful smart girl!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
15 min
June 09, 2025 Modern Family: Cameron Was Right About Everything (Almost...)
Modern Family’s Cameron Tucker was criticized for dramatic, over emotional, and generally over the top. But as melodramatic as he may have been, Cam provided a very important counter to the Pritchett family’s more uptight, closed off ways. He’s a dreamer that’s unafraid to go after what he wants, try new things, and think big. Cam’s mindset might cause him (...and others) some problems here and there, but it also allows him to build the life he wants (while also helping those he cares about achieve their dreams, too!) So, let’s take a deeper look at the really important lessons Cam teaches us about living your life your way.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 min
June 07, 2025 Sinners Can Save Hollywood (If They Let It...)
Sinners has become the surprise smash hit of the year, breaking records and raking in over $300 million dollars so far at the box office. Starring Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell and more, and directed by Ryan Coogler, the film has managed to take things that are usually seen as harbingers of low audience turnout (like an R rating and the horror genre) and mold them into a film that’s wildly successful. And it could possibly even save Hollywood – if the studios are willing to take the right lessons from this triumph. So, what does Sinners tell us about how to make a winning film in our modern era? Let’s take a closer look!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 min
June 04, 2025 The Lilo & Stitch Ending Change Controversy, Explained
The new Lilo & Stitch live action remake has been a huge box office hit, but reviews have been mixed... While it’s definitely a cute film with some bright spots that (at least attempts to) stay true to the original film, it falls flat in some important areas. While some of the changes to the film are minor, others seem to lose sight of the entire point of the story itself. One major change to the ending of the film has people particularly unhappy. So, let’s take a look at how this new film grapples with the story’s most important theme: family – and if the changes have really forgotten what 'ohana truly means.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
13 min
May 23, 2025 The Truth About the Lopsided Love Trope, Explained
Click our link https://www.paired.com/thetake25 to get a 7 day free trial of the Paired app and 25% off paired premium!
There’s one big fear hiding at the heart of many relationships: that you love your partner more than they love you...
We all want our relationships to feel equal, but so often it seems that one person ends up more dedicated to the relationship. This can happen for a number of reasons – from fear of commitment to lack of care and beyond – and lead to strife and even tragedy. But there’s more to lopsided love than meets the eye. So, what’s really behind unequal love matches – and is there any hope for a happy outcome? Let’s take a closer look at the trope on screen, from How I Met Your Mother's Lily and Marshall, to Anora and Vanya, to Friends' Chandler and Janice and more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
16 min
May 13, 2025 Is Covert Narcissism Killing Critical Thinking?
Go to http://greenchef.com/50THETAKE and use code 50THETAKE to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping!
There’s a problem that’s become more and more prevalent across social media, popping up in nearly every comment section and thread... it seems that personalized algorithms have caused people to forget that not everything they encounter online is made exclusively for them. From the Bean Soup controversy and beyond, people have noticed what feels like a drop in critical thinking skills dovetailing with an uptick in self-centeredness. And it seems that a lesser-known culprit might be at the root of the problem: covert narcissism. So, how is this different from the regular narcissism we’re used to, and why has it seemingly taken over online? (And… is there any hope of things changing for the better?) Let’s take a closer look!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
17 min

About The Take

From the publisher's feed

This is the Take. It's where you come to understand more about your favorite movies, shows and culture. Our video essays make the story worlds you enter richer and deeper. Think: Endings Explained, Character Studies, Hidden Messages and Symbols Revealed, Actor and Director Profiles, and more.